The other day while I was reflecting on blogging and blog monitoring (I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately at the office), it dawned on me that since I launched Bargainista, not one company has commented. And yet, I have written about several retailers and manufacturers both big and small, the good, the bad and the ugly.
People tell me they’re reading this blog regularly.
Traffic reports support their claims.
I know some of you are influenced by what you’re reading because you’re telling me so either online or in person. When will retailers realize the impact of word-of-mouth marketing on their bottom line?
A huge gap still exists between the blogosphere and the retail world. Retailers in particular, seem to be in the dark when it comes to what’s being said about them online.
In his post on One Degree last week, Richard McCann wrote about the disconnect between retailers, their brands and the shopping experience both in the store and online. There are so many opportunities for them to improve the customer experience by bringing the online and offline worlds closer together, and yet they’re missing the mark.
Online shopping isn’t new anymore but retailers still haven’t figured it out and many have a long way to go.
When will they learn to:
- pay attention to what their customers are doing online; and,
- provide an integrated shopping experience online and off?
When will they understand that doing so will only improve their bottom line?
