Brands are moving away from broadcast and print advertising in favour of driving consumer recommendations on social media. Rakuten-owned Play.com is the latest brand to announce plans to reward customers for promoting its brand through social media.
Consumers are being encouraged by brands to spread good news about popular products in return for commission. The soaring popularity of online shopping and smartphone technology have increased the number of social shoppers happy to share their experiences with others.
High street brands such as Tesco and Debenhams are asking shoppers to share product information and reviews with others online. Consumers are already using the Internet to carry out competitor price monitoring and gathering pricing intelligence before making their purchasing decisions. Tesco’s new Share & Earn scheme allows its Facebook followers to earn Clubcard points for sharing products with their online community.
Mark Entwistle, marketing director at Tesco.com, says that the advent of social media has resulted in increased numbers of customers “openly discussing their opinions” on specific products or retailers. This should be viewed as a positive for a business that prides itself on putting the customer first, explains Entwistle. “Share & Earn is a way of us saying ‘thank you’ to our brand advocates,” he added.
While relatively new in Europe, brand champions are well established in the US. Many of the related websites allows shoppers to earn rewards for recommending products to their online community. Mulu.me and Mark are just some of the US websites offering incentives to shoppers to share their product knowledge with others for discounts or commission.
© Profitero 2012
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Pricing intelligence company Profitero works with retailers and manufacturers to help them increase sales and maximise their profits by using competitor price, promotions and stock information at scale. For more information on Profitero price intelligence and competitor monitoring, visit www.profitero.com or email sales@profitero.com.
