Consumer Behavior Online

Consumers: The Power is Yours!!

Okay, if you didn't grow up watching cartoons in the early to mid 90s, then you won't get the Captain Planet reference (sustainability, anyone?). But the point remains the same: with the internet, social media, and the shift towards a digital era, there has been a power shift from seller to buyer, and consumers have more control over what they, as well as others, buy - now more than ever.

The textbook discusses three cornerstones for attracting customers online: reputation, relevance, and engagement.

1. Reputation: In short, consumers trust each other. And the surge in user-generated content in online communities (Facebook, Twitter, Amazon) has consumers turning to each other for advice, opinions, and help.

Amazon has an extensive rating and review section, where customers can use a 5-star rating system, and post reviews of the product. On the Amazon homepage, several different sections prompt consumers to check out other products; these categories include "More Items to Consider," "Related to Items You've Viewed," "New For You," "Inspired By Your Browsing History," "Recommended Based on Your Browsing History," and, at the very bottom of the homepage, a section labeled, "Customers who bought items in your recent history also bought." This last section can also be found any time an Amazon user visits a specific product's page.

Amazon's use of reviews, ratings, and customer recommendations shows that consumer trusts consumer. If a fellow consumer trusts a company, brand, product, or service, and speaks highly of it, then a consumer is more likely to trust the reputation of that company, brand, product, or service, and also purchase/use it.

2. Relevance: Customers - especially online - do not want to be interrupted with irrelevant information. Examples of this in the textbook include the advent of the national "do not call" registry (which is offline, but still a good example). Some people, for whatever weird reason, don't mind telemarketing calls. For those that do mind, they can place themselves on the list and ask not to be called. And online, users subscribe to companies and products to which they wish to receive e-mails and notifications from. Likewise, they "like" and "follow" only those companies of interest to them on Facebook and Twitter.

3. Engagement: Social media is a prime example of how to draw in internet users with relevant, engaging, and interactive content. Facebook, especially, is considered a social environment, with wall posts, polls, pictures, and more. Companies need to use social media to create compelling environments for attracting and engaging customers. By engaging consumers, it helps them build a personal - and hopefully positive - association with the brand. Good examples of this are when companies ask questions and polls on Facebook, or ask a question in a wall post, asking for consumer feedback, and then actually REPLY to some of what the consumers are saying. This makes a consumer feel as if what they say has value, and matters.


While engagement is important, companies do need to be mindful that:

-Information overload can overwhelm customers. While staying up-to-date with social media is important, it's also important to limit how much content you post per day. Too much could become annoying to your consumer, but too little could cause them to check your page less frequently and, possibly, never again.

-People want what they want, when they want it. Especially with the internet and online shopping, as everything is open 24/7. So companies need to be sure, more online than with their brick-and-mortar stores, that they stay on top of their inventory, and can give as many shipping options, with varying price options for each, as they possibly can. Some people really are willing to spend more on shipping if it means getting their product sooner.

-People online, and especially on social media, want to be connected. They want to be in the know, and they don't want to be left out of the loop. So companies that acknowledge this with various applications and programs will garner positive brand recognition with their consumers.

-Self-service is MUST in the cyber world. Customers want to know that they can go on to your website, find their product, place their order, track their shipment, and pay in a way that is convenient to them. With that, customers need to know that the personal, private, and sensitive information they are giving you via your website will be safe and secure, that they will not be hacked, and that no third party will obtain any of their information unless they request it.


So, companies with positive peer reviews, with relevant information for their consumers, and with engaging and interactive content will be the ones to win favor with their customers; these will be the companies that keep current customers, and bring in new customers.


Now for those of you who were deprived as kids and have never seen it, go watch Captain Planet!