24 Aug Brands Pay Big for Your Attention
Shelf space is at a premium and it’s not just the brick and mortar stores. Online shopping and even news sites are using the same persuasive tactics to get your attention and drive you to make choices. No one is doing this better right now than Amazon.
In a recent New York Times article, flourishes like magazine-style images, recipes, and calculated ways to acquire customer reviews are among a few of the tactics employed by brands to go beyond your attention in pursuit of garnering your good opinion. Amazon, it turns out, offers brands the option of buying the middle of a product page to customize the content. Some brands, the article states, even conduct “guerrilla sampling” at events where staff with iPads can capture the public’s opinion in a review on the spot.
All this is telling us that reaching customers and harnessing the energy of their opinion is succeeding because we are willing to be flexible and open to meeting customers where they’re at. We encourage you to think broadly about how you connect with your customers in meaningful and actionable ways.
Our experience shows that traditional research tactics like focus groups, surveys and depth interviews remain extremely effective. What excites us is the latest techniques of gathering information real-time and garnering the first-reactions and emotional feedback of customers on behalf of clients that these new techniques provide. In addition, soft promotional opportunities like Amazon’s availability to customize content at the point-of-purchase are changing the game for marketers. Some are even adding staff that specializes in these types of opportunities.
Manufacturer-sponsored virtual displays are eclipsing brick and mortar shelf space in a big way. According to some, it’s even possible to monetize your virtual shelf space.
Competitors of Amazon are fighting back too. Google and WalMart announced today that they are teaming up to offer online grocery ordering starting in late September. There’s more to come in this fascinating virtual space.
If you’d like to explore these ideas further, please contact us, seinck@axiomcom.com.
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