More and more consumers are taking to the internet to voice their concerns or praise for liquor brands according to evidence provided by Nielsen at the ALSA conference recently. Because customers are making their voice heard online, retailers and producers should be doing the same thing, making their presence felt online. Social media especially is a tool that can be used by liquor retailers to market and promote their products.
This post on TheShout.com has more:
Liquor retailers were this week shown evidence that drinkers are increasingly taking to the web to voice their experiences with products and service.
At the ALSA conference, Nielsen executive director Michael Walton showed delegates a recent online discussion initiated by a consumer about his experience at a liquor store in Western Australia.
In a post on a fishing website, the drinker vents about the price of beer, kicking off four days of debate about the bottleshop and the beer brand concerned.
Walton said such incidents are happening “all the time”, demonstrating that suppliers and retailers must play in the online space.
If you’re not there, it’s already happening and it’s moved past you,” he said.
But rather than being a threat, Walton said social media and online marketing is a great opportunity because it is cost effective and “a great leveller”.
It is true many customers would rather take to social media to either rant or rave about a product or service received as it is less time consuming, more convenient and a more anonymous way of getting their views out there. This trend is demanding that retailers and businesses offer the best customer service possible at all times if they do not want to anger customers and spark complaints online, thereby damaging the reputation of their business.
Some of the other major benefits of using social media especially for your business include:
1. Branding your business. Even those users who do not directly engage with your brand, will still see your brand and they will begin to develop an impression of your business, making them more likely to remember your brand in the future.
2. It allows you to manage the reputation of your brand. As the study by Nielsen explains even if you are not engaged in online marketing, your brand is probably being discussed, whether you take part in that discussion or not. Rather be involved in how your brand is perceived. Feedback from Social Media can also help you make informed decisions based on customer impressions.
3. Customer Service and Feedback is streamlined. Providing support to your customers is vital to the success of any business and social media is no exception to the rule. When a person reaches out to you, whether their input is good or bad it is extremely important to respond in a timely and helpful manner. Social media provides the platform for consumers to interact on a personal level.
4. Social media facilitates Competitive Analysis which in an industry as diverse and saturated as the liquor industry is especially important. Social media makes this process easier by allowing for complete transparency of the content and conversations your competitors are having on their social accounts. Social media can help keep you on track with other non-profits, businesses, publications or partners.