Social commerce needs to be embraced across every consumer touch point, advises Reevoo

The vehicle purchase process has changed. Buyers now rely more on online research and advice from their peers than on manufacturer brochures or multiple dealership visits. Consumer conversations are shaping today’s purchase decisions before buyers even reach the forecourt.

With 66% of car buyers reading reviews before purchases*, social commerce is becoming central in the car purchase process, as it gives you the tools you need to engage with car buyers at every stage of their purchase process.

Whether you are just starting out in social commerce or have already implemented it, the following checklist, compiled by Reevoo, ensures that your organisation obtains the best results in the short and long term.

Top 5 Social Commerce Tips:

1. Social starts at home: 40% of marketers believe social commerce can help brands improve their search rankings, visitor return rates and increase conversion rates**. Recommendations, ratings and reviews from friends or “trusted strangers” (honest reviews, from verified owners) have always been a source of increased sales, so make sure you have them on your site. It may feel uncomfortable, but it’s important to include the bad reviews as well as the good, as breadth and honesty are what visitors are looking for and are effective in lending credibility. Believe it or not, bad reviews will increase your sales and fresh content (good or bad), also increases traffic to your site.

2. Don’t interrupt: Allow your customers to have conversations amongst themselves. Establish interactive features such as “ask an owner”, wherein a real owner is available to provide customer feedback, or offer a “brand response” in addition when needed.

3. Listen and learn: Hearing what your customers are saying will help you improve your communication and tailor what you present to them on an individual level. We call this “micro-segmentation” and it enables you to have true personalised engagement with your customers.

4. Share: Conversations are constantly happening in real-time both on and offline and on a number of devices. Extend the reach of your customers’ comments and opinions so that this content can reach and help other potential customers. Deliver and publish this content to social networks, such as Facebook, as well as to other platforms, such as publisher websites.

5. Go multi-channel: Your customers use a multitude of channels to gather information before they purchase, including web, mobile, social networks, and the physical shop. The dialogue should be seamless and consistent - and information easy to find - across every channel your customer chooses to use.

Richard Anson, Reevoo’s Founder, comments: “Social commerce has always existed, in the form of individuals making recommendations to their friends and family. Now it is happening across multiple channels and touch points and between trusted strangers. Accordingly, social commerce solutions should be deployed across every channel and consumer touch point. Your customers need to be able to engage with your brand and brand advocates, whichever channel they use.” 

 

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* GMI Reevoo consumer research report March 2012, 1,000 UK consumers surveyed.

^** The Marketer survey October 2011, 250 marketers surveyed.

 

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