Understanding the mechanism of virtual shopping or shopping in general and the behavior of the consumer is a priority issue in order to compete in today's VERY COMPETITIVE market.
Given the continuous expansion of the Internet and specially of the Social Media outlets we can definitely infer that today Social Media has an immediate and imminent power over the consumers' purchase decision in both physical and online mediums.
Consumers have always been heavily influenced by each other when they make purchasing decisions. They are always asking friends and relatives for advise, they usually observe and mimic each others purchasing decision making, and whether they like to admit it or not; they are usually trapped in peer pressure that forces their decision making.
Today, digital behavior now imitates offline behavior and now consumers are equally influenced by peers and friends in their office or at school as well as their Facebook friends or Twitter followers.
Four key points that make Social Media such an important influence in consumers' purchasing decisions are:
1. OPENNESS: Most Social Media Outlets are open to participation as well as feedback. They encourage comments, voting and the sharing of information.
2. CONVERSATION: Social Media is seen as a two-way conversation.
3. COMMUNITY: Social Media allows community to establish themselves and grow pretty quickly as well as communication successfully. This communities share similar interest in a myriad of aspects and issues.
4. CONNECTION: Social Media is like a spider web full of little connections using links to other sites, other resources and other people.
Today's Social Media Outlets make it possible for consumers to influence each other far more dramatically than ever before.
Social media does allow consumers to share feedback and interact with each other. This has been beneficial not only for consumers, but also for businesses. Getting updated customers’ opinions about products so easily is one of the wonders of e-marketing. One thing I hadn’t thought about before reading this article is that we share a lot of information about products online, but we do it mostly with strangers (or at least I do). If I need reviews about a laptop, I go to Amazon reviews rather than posting questions on Facebook. I think that social media is a strong tool in the sales process but when we need the opinion of a friend, we still pick up the phone or ask someone in person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on your statement that peer pressure forces decision making. I believe that if your friend is following something or likes something someone else will do the same and so on. It's like a chain it goes from friend to friend.
ReplyDeleteOpenness, conversation, community, and connection are great key pointers. Social Media websites like to encourage communication through comments or by sharing interesting information you find on the web. Social Media Outlets definitely play a role in decision making each day.