MADE IN THE UKRETAILERS – Make every day a good news day
Are you utilising your digital marketing tools to good effect? Do you have a Facebook page for your tack shop or horsey business? With Christmas coming, you can for example add posts about special in-store events, opening hours and festive occasions. Also, remember things like customer testimonials, success stories, reviews and the like. Peer to peer recommendations are one of the most powerful tools available in the modern marketing mix. Can you obtain feedback from customers, with a view to using their comments on social media, or your own blog? (With permission of course!)
So, what does ‘advocacy, involve, and how can horsey retailers utilise it?
Advocacy could be recommending brands to a friend in person, over coffee, or in digital marketing terms, on blogs and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Remember that these social channels allow for both good and bad reviews – and which way the pendulum swings is often down to good customer service, turning a negative into a positive.
The key ‘advocacy’ goals are to see increases in sales, as well as improved customer loyalty. Her are our tips, as a wholesaler servicing the retail trade:
- Utilise personalised email newsletters inviting feedback from customers, perhaps with incentives or prizes.
- Get your employees on-side. Successful employee engagement produces strong customer satisfaction.
- Develop a community. Create a customer club with personal benefits and discounts and exclusive access to events.
- Utilise ‘sharing’ options on social media whenever you have relevant content, and encourage followers to tag a friend whom the information would apply to.
- Keep your website and social channels full of useful content.
