We’re bringing back our Top 5 Social Marketing Quotes of the Week this summer, and we’re kicking it off with some fantastic insights on word-of-mouth marketing, Facebook’s new (and more direct) path to purchase, and many more from across the industry.
- The Quote: “As a strategist I am happy to have access to a new set of tools and information. But I also fear that in this data-driven era, we are losing something along the way. We are forgetting that marketing, at its heart, is about understanding people. About eliciting a human response. If we fall in love with the tools and forget to ask, “What is the story they are telling us?” we can miss the emotions and motivations that define our audience.” – Andy Grayson – Head of Brand strategy at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in Forbes
- Why It Matters: Data for data’s sake doesn’t help any marketer. Understanding the people behind every number, every share, and every purchase is what makes data matter. In this piece in Forbes, Grayson focuses on the benefits of prioritizing Emotional Data, or “Data with a pulse.” Finding the heartbeat of thee customer should be the focus for any marketers, and data, when prioritized properly, can be the roadmap that leads them there.
Photo: TechCrunch- The Quote: “Facebook wants its ads to sell you stuff directly so you never have to click away to another app or site. Until now, Facebook was testing a Buy Button that does that with just a few selected test merchants, but now its opening it up to more retailers on Shopify‘s ecommerce platform.” – Josh Constine for TechCrunch
- Why it Matters: There was a long discussion at this week’s Digiday Retail Summit around click attribution, and how difficult it has become for finance and marketing teams to figure out exactly which click led to a sale. Was it on Facebook? An email? A retargeted ad? A friend? This is one step forward in solving that, and figuring out exactly how much of an effect Facebook is having on eCommerce. What we love about this update is that it’ll also help to let brands know which of their customers have the greatest purchase influence on their own networks, with actually hard sales numbers attached.
- The Quote: “Every business’s success or failure starts and ends with people. Have low retention rates? Then your brand doesn’t have enough people making repeat purchases, Moore argued. Poor customer service? Your company has too many unhappy people. Low engagement? Your business has too many disconnected people.” – John Moore, coauthor of The Passion Conversation and “chief of wahoo” for word-of-mouth agency Brains on Fire, said in Direct Marketing News‘ recap of the Bazaarvoice Summit in New Orleans.
- Why it Matters: Moore later goes on to say, “If you’re not successful, then you’re not connecting.” That quote is going to be on my desk for the rest of 2015. Often times, the cause and effect aren’t complicated, they are rooted in a baseline issue that can only be resolved with one overarching commitment to the customer’s needs. Finding ways to connect with the consumer isn’t just a feel-good story, it’s a necessary tactic to yield successful results — especially in digital marketing.
- The Quote: “Whirlpool is still studying how open people are to thinking about appliances when they’re not in the market,” Mr. Hall said. “But the increase in purchase intent and brand sentiment bodes well for gains far beyond the short-term lift the brand already has gotten.”…”Whirlpool is looking to keep the conversation going post-purchase — a critical time when the reviews that drive many purchase decisions in the category come. So the brand is looking to keep people involved in its social media accounts post-purchase by providing “tips and inspiration,” Mr. Hall said. – Whirlpool Senior Brand Manager Jon Hall to AdAge‘s Jack Neff
- Why it Matters: Understanding that one of the most powerful ways word-of-mouth spreads is post-purchase, Senior Brand Manager Jon Hall and the Whirlpool team has widened the sales funnel to make sure their customers are feeling the love well after their decision to buy has been made. Seeing a large, industry-leading brand like Whirlpool focus their digital efforts on customer love and retention, and not just the KPIs tied to the immediate sale is extremely refreshing. It’s a shift we expect to see many more brands make this year, where the focus is put on building a lifelong customer and not just a one-time sale. Looking at potential customers well before, and well after purchase is a great way to do that, as it allows them to truly feel a connection to the brand that will keep them coming back.
Photographer: Brent Murray/Bloomberg
- The Quote: “In an industry zigging toward automation, e-commerce, and targeted advertising algorithms, West Elm’s maneuver is a remarkable zag. The handyman business is about as old-school as it gets, and installations are labor-intensive and outside the company’s competitive strengths, which lately have included nailing the mid-century modern trend and vanguard digital marketing.” – Kyle Stock for Bloomberg Business
- Why it Matters: West Elm is going analog to deliver an experience to its customers that makes their lives easier. The brand found that its customers were becoming frustrated post-purchase, when after committing to a piece of furniture, or curtains, or any of their other home items, they were then tasked with assembling them, or finding a reputable source to do so. By expanding its view of the customer journey beyond the store, the brand has seen an average same-store sales gain of 18% in the past eight quarters. While those numbers may not be entirely attributed to the handyman side of the business, West Elm’s focus on its customer’s experience in its entirety has certainly had a large hand in the positive swing.