September 6, 2012
Retail TouchPoints: Making ‘Socialytics’ an Integral Part of Retail Operations
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
IDC Retail Insights’ 2012 U.S. Social Media Trends by Vertical study revealed that 60.3 percent of retailers’ social media budgets are focused on social networking through sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But to glean greater insight on the wants and needs of loyal and prospective shoppers, retailers are increasingly leveraging social media analytics, or "socialytics," a term coined by IDC.
"Retailers need to have a deep understanding of how socialytics can help them make a broad range of decisions that extend well beyond brand management, traditional and digital marketing, and personalized communication," Greg Girard, Program Director of Merchandising Strategies and Retail Analytics for IDC Retail Insights, told Retail TouchPoints. "A process must be implemented which allows them to harvest data and understand customer concerns by tuning themselves into relevant sites. From there, they can apply social feedback to relevant business decisions that need to be made."
To optimize socialytics, IDC Retail Insights offered a typology of socialytics methodologies, including:
- Text Analytics to determine what is being said across social sites, and how often.
- Social Data Analytics, which allows retailers to quantify how often individuals are visiting retailers’ social sites, the traffic source, what is being said, and the data or resources being accessed.
- Social Relationship Analytics, offering information about how much revenue is generated from interactions taking place via social sites.
- Social Collaboration Analytics to reveal how information flows within specific networks and to pinpoint influential groups and individuals.
The process involves increasingly sophisticated insights into concerns such as tone and intensity of sentiments, topic trending, individuals’ influence and the strength of communities.
The concept of socialytics still is fairly new. In fact, most retailers are still developing their social strategies around outbound tactics, such as developing optimal messaging and engagement strategies for specific consumers and their peers. However, "retailers must understand that there’s an inbound side of social media, such as unaided consumer feedback," Mr. Girard explained.
Best-in-class retailers are already harvesting, organizing and analyzing content across internal sources, including social networks, e-mails, call logs, online chat transcripts and Voice of the Customer programs. Implementing socialytics arms retailers with the granular information to make better decisions in the following areas:
- Brand management and marketing;
- Merchandising;
- Fulfillment; and
- Commerce strategies.
However, the key to optimizing socialytics is determining the best personalization strategies that don’t hit on the "creepiness factor," Mr. Girard advised. "Retailers have to exercise caution yet remain relevant and helpful to consumers."
- Making ‘Socialytics’ An Integral Part Of Retail Operations – Retail TouchPoints
- IDC Study Reveals Emerging Social Media Trends Across Vertical Markets – International Data Corporation (IDC)
- Business Strategy: Socialytics – Enabling the Social Business of Retail – International Data Corporation (IDC)
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Discussion Questions
In what areas would retailers particularly benefit from understanding what consumers are saying about them and their competitors in the digital universe? What hurdles will retailers face in gathering such insights and avoiding the “creepiness” factor?
Poll
Sentiment analysis — more monitoring of the text element of the social space — gives the retailer more firsthand feedback on the mood and satisfaction of their shoppers. This area catches the mood at the closest point to the transaction — either ordering, at-store purchase, or receipt of product. The “creepy” factor can be overcome by responding to the positive sentiments via thank you notes, coupons etc. But still, the who side of sentiment analysis is a bit creepy.
On the monitoring side, analytics help with marketing, customer service, assortments and allocations. On the profiling side, analytics help with personalization, crowdsourcing, and viral marketing. See my diagram here for more detail. This will be a gradual journey that allows customers to get comfortable with the privacy tradeoffs.
Retailers would also benefit from network analysis to determine which of their consumers have a lot of influence in the marketplace. Responding to and fixing problems is helpful rather than creepy. Asking for and responding to consumer comments is not creepy. Providing individualized offers on personal or private products is creepy.
Another company issuing a study to support its coining a phrase, in the quest for recognition among its peers.
Regardless of what one calls it, retailers need to pay attention to what customers are saying. Through a regular process of listening to customers, retailers can glean valuable information about customer likes, dislikes and desires. Retailers can also begin to engage in a dialogue with customers, which can benefit both.
Social media is not going away. Neither are empowered consumers. Retailers would be wise to listen and then engage with consumers. Those who do will gain insights that market data might not provide.
In association with A. T. Kearney I have done a fair amount of research in this area. New media clearly demand new metrics and measures, but it’s important to select the correct ones.
One of the problems of business punditry is that everyone — including one or two BrainTrusters from time to time — become instant experts in the wake of the next big thing. Think back to the 1990s when all those folks who had their AAs print out their emailed invitations to speak at conferences addressing what the Internet would mean for business.
The social media world is so vast, so quickly evolving and, in the end, so largely uncontrollable that people ought to wait before they impose analog metrics on it. The best way to avoid the perception of creepiness is to not act like a creep and deal with the social media world on its own terms.
The temptation to jump the gun is strong, but that’s the best way to make sure you’re in position to be shot when it finally goes off.
Social Collaboration Analytics combined with sentiment analysis gets my vote for being the closest to really understanding the shopper. Yes, the rest is great business practice for retailers. They can improve in so many ways from this information.
Personalized storefronts are coming soon, creepy or not. The wise retailers will deliver only when the shopper has agreed.
Other technologies in the emerging marketplace will let shoppers pull together their own personal storefront. That’s not creepy at all.
Social media feedback or “socialytics” will benefit retailers by gaining instant knowledge of consumer feedback, positive and negative. Social media is always current so complaints or situations can be remedied almost instantly. And learning of the competitors’ feedback is an added benefit that would allow one retailer to play against another retailer’s weakness.
The biggest hurdle for retailers is the constant monitoring of all social outlets and responding appropriately and in a timely fashion. There has to be a fine balance that must be determined to avoid the creepiness factor; retailers do not want to scare off consumers and their social media feedback.
There needn’t be ANY “creepiness factor.” There have been great tools available for years now that can determine retail and CPG brand sentiment at any point in time…in real time.
Today, there is absolutely no reason why CPG and retail should not be leveraging this technology in virtually every aspect of the sales, marketing and advertising. I know of CPGs that have completely rewritten their marketing plans based upon the finding of these tools. I also know that new product development and introduction has been augmented with these insights.
I agree with Ralph. Using customer data intelligently doesn’t come off as “creepy” — consumers welcome and value it.
A lot of the analytics discussed in this article are indirect at best. Social data become really interesting when tied to customer transaction data. It’s one thing to know what people talk about online. It’s an entirely different thing to know what your most valued customers are talking about, and the economic impact they are making among their peers through social advocacy.
The insight becomes really powerful when it is connected to how customers are behaving and shopping (so unsurprisingly I agree with Malcolm!).
New islands of data and insights can create more confusion and hot air than benefits … as they can be hard to reconcile with other views of the business. I suggest retailers need to be very careful about diving too far into this without the right strategy and without a clear path to integrating the data and insight.
It strikes me that some retailers have been out doing lots of this stuff, but seemingly not benefiting much. I can think of one electronics retailer in particular. Insights are not that helpful unless the business is able to reconcile and respond to them across the entire enterprise. I would recommend retailers focus on this challenge first.
Rather than thinking about what people are saying about your brand socially, why not influence and help direct the conversation? I have pointed to them in the past, but Tasty Treats (stores in NYC) has one of the best social marketing programs I have seen. They are so great at guiding the social conversation and creating positive buzz that leads to sales.
I recently met with the CEO of Smiley360. What an interesting business. Through their network of bloggers (LOTS) they find the ones that fit best with your brand and then provide that blogger with an experience that they can write about. Maybe a coupon to try a new flavor of gum. I have not used the solution personally yet, but the results were impressive. Imagine if your new flavor gum was talked about by 5,000 bloggers who shared it with their network that was over 500,000 people.
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Sentiment analysis — more monitoring of the text element of the social space — gives the retailer more firsthand feedback on the mood and satisfaction of their shoppers. This area catches the mood at the closest point to the transaction — either ordering, at-store purchase, or receipt of product. The “creepy” factor can be overcome by responding to the positive sentiments via thank you notes, coupons etc. But still, the who side of sentiment analysis is a bit creepy.
On the monitoring side, analytics help with marketing, customer service, assortments and allocations. On the profiling side, analytics help with personalization, crowdsourcing, and viral marketing. See my diagram here for more detail. This will be a gradual journey that allows customers to get comfortable with the privacy tradeoffs.
Retailers would also benefit from network analysis to determine which of their consumers have a lot of influence in the marketplace. Responding to and fixing problems is helpful rather than creepy. Asking for and responding to consumer comments is not creepy. Providing individualized offers on personal or private products is creepy.
Another company issuing a study to support its coining a phrase, in the quest for recognition among its peers.
Regardless of what one calls it, retailers need to pay attention to what customers are saying. Through a regular process of listening to customers, retailers can glean valuable information about customer likes, dislikes and desires. Retailers can also begin to engage in a dialogue with customers, which can benefit both.
Social media is not going away. Neither are empowered consumers. Retailers would be wise to listen and then engage with consumers. Those who do will gain insights that market data might not provide.
In association with A. T. Kearney I have done a fair amount of research in this area. New media clearly demand new metrics and measures, but it’s important to select the correct ones.
One of the problems of business punditry is that everyone — including one or two BrainTrusters from time to time — become instant experts in the wake of the next big thing. Think back to the 1990s when all those folks who had their AAs print out their emailed invitations to speak at conferences addressing what the Internet would mean for business.
The social media world is so vast, so quickly evolving and, in the end, so largely uncontrollable that people ought to wait before they impose analog metrics on it. The best way to avoid the perception of creepiness is to not act like a creep and deal with the social media world on its own terms.
The temptation to jump the gun is strong, but that’s the best way to make sure you’re in position to be shot when it finally goes off.
Social Collaboration Analytics combined with sentiment analysis gets my vote for being the closest to really understanding the shopper. Yes, the rest is great business practice for retailers. They can improve in so many ways from this information.
Personalized storefronts are coming soon, creepy or not. The wise retailers will deliver only when the shopper has agreed.
Other technologies in the emerging marketplace will let shoppers pull together their own personal storefront. That’s not creepy at all.
Social media feedback or “socialytics” will benefit retailers by gaining instant knowledge of consumer feedback, positive and negative. Social media is always current so complaints or situations can be remedied almost instantly. And learning of the competitors’ feedback is an added benefit that would allow one retailer to play against another retailer’s weakness.
The biggest hurdle for retailers is the constant monitoring of all social outlets and responding appropriately and in a timely fashion. There has to be a fine balance that must be determined to avoid the creepiness factor; retailers do not want to scare off consumers and their social media feedback.
There needn’t be ANY “creepiness factor.” There have been great tools available for years now that can determine retail and CPG brand sentiment at any point in time…in real time.
Today, there is absolutely no reason why CPG and retail should not be leveraging this technology in virtually every aspect of the sales, marketing and advertising. I know of CPGs that have completely rewritten their marketing plans based upon the finding of these tools. I also know that new product development and introduction has been augmented with these insights.
I agree with Ralph. Using customer data intelligently doesn’t come off as “creepy” — consumers welcome and value it.
A lot of the analytics discussed in this article are indirect at best. Social data become really interesting when tied to customer transaction data. It’s one thing to know what people talk about online. It’s an entirely different thing to know what your most valued customers are talking about, and the economic impact they are making among their peers through social advocacy.
The insight becomes really powerful when it is connected to how customers are behaving and shopping (so unsurprisingly I agree with Malcolm!).
New islands of data and insights can create more confusion and hot air than benefits … as they can be hard to reconcile with other views of the business. I suggest retailers need to be very careful about diving too far into this without the right strategy and without a clear path to integrating the data and insight.
It strikes me that some retailers have been out doing lots of this stuff, but seemingly not benefiting much. I can think of one electronics retailer in particular. Insights are not that helpful unless the business is able to reconcile and respond to them across the entire enterprise. I would recommend retailers focus on this challenge first.
Rather than thinking about what people are saying about your brand socially, why not influence and help direct the conversation? I have pointed to them in the past, but Tasty Treats (stores in NYC) has one of the best social marketing programs I have seen. They are so great at guiding the social conversation and creating positive buzz that leads to sales.
I recently met with the CEO of Smiley360. What an interesting business. Through their network of bloggers (LOTS) they find the ones that fit best with your brand and then provide that blogger with an experience that they can write about. Maybe a coupon to try a new flavor of gum. I have not used the solution personally yet, but the results were impressive. Imagine if your new flavor gum was talked about by 5,000 bloggers who shared it with their network that was over 500,000 people.