Images above: Twitter is proving a successful marketing tool for retailers such as Selfridges and Asos.


“In many respects, social networking is the modern day equivalent of ‘word-of- mouth’ communication. And therein lie its strengths and its weaknesses.”


Tim Denison


The downside is that negative feedback has even more damag- ing impact; not only might the shopper fail to return, but they are likely to tell their 10 best friends about their poor experi- ence with the potential to influence their shopping behav- iour. The greatest differences between old fashioned ‘WoM’ and modern social networking on the internet are the very fac- tors I mentioned earlier: scale and speed; the ability to access


and influence thousands of oth- er consumers, not just tens, instantly, not over a matter of weeks or months. For department stores that target the younger generations, that have built strong commer- cial websites and multi-media operations and marketing teams, becoming active on so- cial networking sites and within communities might be a com- fortable and logical next step of connecting with, and influenc-


ing your customers. For the vast majority though, I suspect it is a step too far and too risky. De- partment stores are driven by product and service excellence and the buzz of the in-store ex- perience. In my view, this is where the focus and effort should remain. That said, retail- ers must be in a position to monitor (most probably via an agency) and to act quickly and decisively if needs be, if disgrun- tled customers decide to share their grievances with the world and these criticisms are picked up and escalated by mainstream social media sites. It is a brave, new media world out there and department stores, if they de- cide not to participate in it directly, should at least be aware of what “cyber-shoppers” are saying. >>


What concerns you as a retailer?


Want to set the next topic for Question Time?


If you have a question you would like to put to the panel, we would love to hear it!


Email naomi.davis@onecoms.co.uk


Our industry experts provide a compelling insight into the topic of social networking.


THE EXPERTS...


CHRISTOPHER ANGUS WARLOCKMEDIA.COM


Christopher Angus is an SEO expert who runs a bespoke digital market- ing agency. His


specialities include so- cial media marketing


and pay-per-click management and he is rated the 26th most influential marketer in the world in 2009.


DR TIM DENISON BSC MSC PHD MCIM


Tim is director of Synovate, specialising in performance improvement systems for retailers. Trained as a social scientist and a marketer, Tim has worked for Synovate for 11 years and


previously managed the Centre for Advanced Research in Marketing at Cranfield School of Management.


Department Store Buyer 9


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