Social Media in the Retail Industry

Social and shopping go hand in hand. Thus  in this time of hyper-competition, it becomes crucial for retailers to take advantage of all channels of social interaction at their disposal.

Offering a good product is not enough, but a product that gets everyone talking completes the whole loop. Which is why Social Samosa teamed up with Retailers Association of India - the unified voice of Indian retailers for its annual flagship event, Retail Leadership Summit (RLS 2013) on 7th & 8th Feb 2013 at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai.

RLS 2013 is a platform that promises the audience an unparalleled retail learning experience. Indian Retail’s largest congregation of business leaders invites you to SHARE thoughts, CONNECT and IDEATE with the best minds in retail from across the world.

Theme of the event: “An invitation to innovation!!”

The event is expected to be attended by the Who’s Who of the Indian Retail Industry i.e. about 500+ Delegates, 60+ Speakers and 50+ partners in India.

You can find more information about the event Here

Unquestionably, the complicated Indian retailing  Industry is a hard nut to crack but Social Media can be a game changer. Lets us see how:

1. Brand Awareness:

Consumers have started discovering new products and deals in the online world. The million dollar question is whether you are there to respond?

With advanced targeting options like age, gender, location, language, education, even relationship status for that matter,  it is now easier to reach and engage with your tailored target market on Social media, that too in a very low budget.

After all, people would always prefer to buy products from someone they know and whom they trust, won't they?

2.  Impact of Social Influence and Peer Recommendation on Purchase Decisions:

92% consumers rely on recommendations from their Peers for making purchase decisions. People learn about the positive as well as negative experiences of others and the prevailing sentiment can certainly magnify.

Thus it is critical for  retailers to go social with their marketing plans and enhance their customers retail experience.

3. Building Brand Communities:

It becomes difficult to build a sense of connection in today's fragmented market. This is where brand community practices come into picture. Brand communities create value for businesses.

A community built around a common passion, lifestyle, interest and ethos of the brand delivers maximum benefit. They must be integrated with the brand's marketing plan across the social ecosystem. This will help foster a meaningful brand experience and customer loyalty.

4. Market research and Customer Feedback

Everyday millions of people are expressing themselves on Social Media. There is no limitation to the amount of information  available online

Social interactions are rich with demographic and psychographic information such as behaviors, preferences embedded in them. Online sentiments can help to draw real time actionable insights from these interactions.

Retailers can not only listen to their customers’ feedback on existing products but also source opinions from their targeted consumer base to co-create a new product enhancements.

You can actually create your own personalized market research with a number of Social Media monitoring tools.

5. Customer Service 

Go Where Your Customers Are!

Customers are quick to voice their disappointment in the connected online world. Imagine the impact on your business if customer service through social networking platforms is ignored. That is why it is important to be easily accessible.

Make sure your offline Customer Service is also integrated with Social Media.

6. The Road Ahead - Fusion of Social media and eCommerce

It is evident by now that eCommerce is the latest trend and it is here to stay. But retailers need to incorporate Social in their eCommerce strategies to harness the true potential of the online revolution.

Brands need to move to social integrated modes by adopting Social Commerce to become a game changer in the retail space

The question is how fast?

To catch all the actions at the Retail Leadership Summit,  tune in to our livestream . You can use the hashtag #rls2013