Engaging Social Customers Once and for Real.

Olga Voskoboinikova@dVosk #WVbcn

Quite a few decades ago, consumers relied on a familiar seller, like the local salesman of their neighborhood's general store, to help them find what they wanted

. He was able to suggest them additional items that they might haven't even thought of just by what this seller already knew of his customers or could quickly deduce

. This seller was also well-informed about the product's origin and other additional information that could interest the consumer.

How customers feel.

By the end of the day, there were happy and loyal clients. In the 50's, while the industry scaled and grew, this personal engagement started to fade.

How do (most) brands RELATE to Customers now?

Nowadays, brands communicate massively trough aggressive and innovative marketing strategies, overwhelming consumers with information and options.

Sellers expect that the awesome product stuffed with all-in-one features would please everyone.

Most of the time, there are anything but what suits their clients needs

. The information and options are actually so many that some customers might have a very hard time to find the products or services that they are actually looking for

. Not even the shorthanded and poorly informed crew can give them the personal experience that they were used to before

. Not to mention the online shopping, where customers are totally on their own, relying on other customer's ratings, although they might don't even know each other or have the same needs.

Additionally, brands end up recruiting social media managers but these guys' role doesn't quite fulfill customers needs

. That's because they are still figuring out how to measure Return on Investment and brand awareness trough social networks, bur are totally missing brand affinity.

With the data gathering and analytic tools that we have, brands could already give to their customers something that's maybe even better than the XX's century seller advice

. The technology that we have available already allow brands to satisfy their clients needs with highly customized offers at the perfect time, location and trough the right channel

. As soon as we'll reach the point of near perfect price transparency, what reasons does a customer have to stick to any particular shop instead of any other similar one

? My guess is that it's a tailored buying experience or a truly segmented personal service

. We don't want to waste time with stuff that we don't even need, right?

So, So, what can be done to have happy and loyal clients back again?

We need to drive the technology to fuel personal engagement and customer's sense of intimacy.

We also need an integrated sales experience that combines the advantages of the physical stores with the online shopping experience, because their border is smudging every day and the digital information already influences 50% of stores sales

. Mainly, it's about turning the shopping process into something that is more social, emotional and rewarding for the customer across an omnichannel strategy.

Because brands that won't start acting now, will be left behind.

Thank you!