Building Customer Journeys in Retail Through Social Media

A vast majority of consumers today spend their time engaging in online activities. One of the most popular online activities among people is social media.  According to the 2020 Statista article about Social Media Usage in the U.S., in 2019, the United States population that had a social networking profile was 79 percent, which represents “a two percent increase from the 77 percent usage reach in the previous year.”

Social media is crucial for retailers to connect with their current and potential customers. Social media enables retailers to develop personalized customer experiences, relationships, and influence customer behaviors, motivations, and attitudes to improve sales and generate revenue. According to the Microsoft 2017 State of Global Customer Service survey, “96% of respondents say customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand.” Retailers must build a strong social media presence to appeal to customers as they shift their focus to customer experience to survive as competitors in today’s market. 

Collect Feedback From Customers:

• Retailers must work on making connections with their customers through social media to develop their brand identity further. 
• They can ask customers questions and obtain feedback to gain insight into their interests and the types of products they want.
• Retailers can identify product strategies and content to explore and changes in trends from feedback received from customers.
• Retailers can observe brand mentions to ensure positive growth. 

Create a Seamless Shopping Experience:

• Retailers can create a seamless shopping experience for customers by ensuring their landing pages are mobile-friendly and scrollable and allowing them to go through their customer journey with fewer clicks and re-directs.

Provide Customer Service and Promote Satisfied Customers:

• Retailers can create personalized relationships through social media by actively listening and responding to customer concerns timely.  
• Retailers can use this opportunity to address customer complaints and questions when customers reach out and draw attention to their positive experiences.
• Customers increase engagement and conversions on social media among their followers through photos. They share their experiences, purchases and talk about the brand.
• Retailers can run cost-effective ad campaigns to connect with and reintroduce their brand to current and potential customers.

Increase Customer Lifetime Value:

• Retailers can engage their target audience regularly and increase their social following, which contributes to long-term results.  

Social media continues to pave the way for retail marketers to enhance the customer journey experience. Social media creates opportunities to improve the customer journey experience by allowing a personalized and engaging experience where it matters most – between the customer’s heart and the brand.

Did you enjoy this post? Read about the importance of building brand equity in my last post!