This fast-growing internet store has discovered a secret to online retailing — deep customer involvement. It goes beyond feedback and ratings in Amazon.com and rewards customers for participation. The site has online contests, comments on items the company is considering selling and online photos of customers with the distinctive company bag in hand. The site makes shopping fun and personal and as a result has reached $30 million in revenue in three years. A lesson for PR practitioners is to let the public have a say. Yes, that opens a site to trolls as well as customers, but input should be curated. Most web sites today are little more than brochures that get updated occasionally. For some companies that have no b-to-c involvement that might be OK, but for consumer-facing businesses, it is missing an opportunity to build closer relationships.
Marston Strategic Communications
Communicators Who Get Results