Social Media is where customers are empowered. Control is handed over and companies better listen or they could face the consequences! In order to have a successful Social Media existence Companies must understand their customers’ needs and wants. This works both ways as customers must relate to the brand to engage with it.
H&M are different in their use of Social Media as they see it as a global tool which it is however a localised operation is preferred by customers. Sue who is 28 from Essex says “I want to know what’s happening in my country and what I can go and buy on my high street”. Therefore the use of YouTube with New York fashion week information may not be suitable for the UK market.
Top Shop has a famous British identity which customers relate to. Multinational brands like H&M will struggle to find this and leave customers confused disabling the ability of good quality two way communication as seen below.
Very is a newer site and therefore is only starting to build a reputation within the industry. The site focuses on its advertising campaign featuring Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton rather than Social Media. It only features at the bottom of the page.
Asos on the other hand push the use of their Blogs. This works well for them as customers can get involved and write a blog on a ‘look’ they like at the moment. Customers again have the power as although there are many styles from people around the world each customer chooses a blog and style that suits them. Unlike H&M this gives customers the option to take ‘looks’ from foreign customers or simply stick with a look they Asos have used social media the way it was suppose to be used as are more familiar with. it is globalised but customers from different territories can relate on a local level also.
H&M are going wrong their and could alienate customers by not catering to individual countries needs. Top Shop have an understanding with customers however they need to get customers involved more as the media savvy young customers will engage more if they are a part of the process. Whilst Top Shop have a presence on the blogging site tumblr it is not a main focus and customers could switch to Asos which does offer this service. Very uses social media in a much less focused way than its competitors. As it is a department store it does need to cover more areas other than fashion however blogging about the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing is not advised. Blogs for this type of thing already exist and in such a competitive market turning your back on your main business is a risky one.
ONLINE VALUE PROPOSITION: Making it COMPELLING WHY WOULD THEY COME BACK?
MAKE IT INTERESTING
Competitive Inteligence