Twitter for Retail March 2013
Twitter for Retail
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Twitter, the 140-character micro-blogging site, was launched in 2006. Often cited as the SMS of the internet, Twitter garnered quick attention of internet users due to its ability to spread precise and to-the-point information to a larger audience in a short period of time.
Social network on Twitter is built either by following a user present on Twitter or getting followed by other Generated Leads using twittererreded users by creating one’s own Twitter handle; usually a combination of both as Twitter is always about ‘knowing’ and ‘sharing it further’. Functionality-wise, a ‘tweet’ T he Average user from a user instantaneously gets posted on the timeline has weeted times of his/her followers, making Twitter very useful for promoting ‘live events’ (like sporting events, breaking news, product launches, live concerts, promulgation of natural calamity, etc.) via ‘live tweeting’ and disseminating ‘live information’. of
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While most users access Twitter from their cellphones or via website (internet browser on computer, mobile, tablet or any other smart device), SMS and applications for mobile devices (apps) are also used. The 140-character limit is perfect for most users to get the gist of the matter quickly and broadcast the same further using their phone devices. Twitter to add billionth user in a few years time… Twitter is currently believed to have more than half a billion registered users, of which about 40% (200 million) are active users. Registered user base is said to have grown by 40% year-onyear in 2012. Even if Twitter manages to grow its user base at about half of this rate in future, its registered “Our research proves that there is an user base will cross a billion mark in just a few immense amount of conversation surrounding retailers on Twitter, and much years’ time. This number is too high to be ignored of it consists of consumers voicing concern or by retailers, presence of whom on Twitter has requesting assistance with a variety of issues.” - Liel Leibovitz, Assistant Professor tripled in 2012 as compared to the previous year. A of Communications, New York University survey by Compete, Kantar’s market research division, confirms a positive correlation between exposure to “Leaving a tweet unanswered is more retailers’ tweets to online traffic and retail purchases, damaging than not having a Twitter giving retailers another reason to be on Twitter. profile at all, but many businesses learn this lesson too late.” - Keith Evans, Communications Director, MyUS.com
Twitter for Retail
Interestingly, on the other side, another study showed that as high as 56% of surveyed consumers did not Page 2
get any response for their tweets from the companies they tweeted about – clearly setting stage for lower or lost sales for these companies. The study also revealed that almost 86% of surveyed consumers suggested they may spend more if they receive better consumer experience as against 82% who said they may reduce their shopping cart value or not purchase at all if their consumer experience is poor. …ways in which retailers can cash in on the Twitter experience It has thus become imperative for retailers to not only have a presence on Twitter, but also actively manage the account in a way that generates positive sentiments about their brand. Different stakeholders of a retail organization (branding, sales promotion, marketing, HR, customer support, community services, news & media management, etc.) can benefit from connecting “In most cases, social media [Twitter] for with customers on Twitter (via same / retail companies should be considered a customer service communication tool, different Twitter handles/accounts). For especially since a phone call is a one-to-one example, Walmart has different Twitter conversation, but social media [Twitter] creates a one-to-many conversation that handles (@Walmart, @WalmartNewsroom, everyone sees.” - Brian Chandler, President, @WalmartCareers to name a few) for different Commonwealth Public Relations purposes. Retailers can promote a product, ask for customer feedback, run contests to create customer interest, share coupons, provide customer support, update customers with their media announcements, recruit new employees, create brand loyalty and do more of such activities on Twitter. For example, very recently, Target gifted prizes to 1,000 people tweeting about the brand. Similarly, Best Buy rewarded customers with gift cards under its “tweet-to-win” contest.
“A vast number of people are now turning to Twitter to engage in conversations about and with their favorite brands— presenting a huge opportunity for businesses to reach out to customers, efficiently identify conversations that need response, and prevent inquiries from escalating beyond repair. …customer service-focused brands who can preemptively respond to customers, before they turn to more expensive customer service channels, will reap multiple benefits including increased ROI, brand protection, and reduced customer attrition rates.” - Joshua March, CEO, Conversocial
On the other hand, retailers need to carefully monitor their conversation with customers on Twitter to avoid generating any negative sentiments about the brand. It can do more harm to the brand than any good it might have done and may even result in loss of sales or repute.
Sutherland can help retailers in designing and implementing their Twitter strategy. With the help of its Analytics team, Sutherland can further provide retailers with monitoring tools for their Twitter accounts - measuring sentiments and generating business insights. Operationally, Sutherland’s strong presence in customer support can provide retailers with a capable team of people who can manage their day-today Twitter customer support. Source: All data from secondary sources; Sutherland analysis
Twitter for Retail
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