21 Nov
2011
21 Nov
'11
12:37 a.m.
I feel the influence of social media on purchasing is real. The real
question is how strong an influence it is and to which demographic.
In the case of QVC, having worked for a home shopping channel, the key
is: what is the product, who is it marketed to, and what sort of time
do these people have on their hands. We are talking about selling
mostly jewelry and cosmetics (high margin items) to a bunch of
housewives with time on their hands. The key is the focus is narrow
and with repeated exposure.
I feel the big appeal of social media is that the corporate types look
at it as a panacea and a low cost way to send the message out to
millions. Sure it may influence just a few folks but the cost so very
low per person. Hey, it's cheaper than a Super Bowl commercial!
Wine customers are a little different. As with most things caveat
emptor. They all make the stuff out to be the best thing ever like the
diner sign that says "Good Food". But wine, unlike jewelry or cars,
is something that is not as easily manipulated by the hard sell to
core customers. As Nicholas said, his wine purchases are more
calculated. It's enough for the jewelry to just look pretty, this is
not the case with wine. The hard sell will never go away. The number
of jaded consumers may increase however.
Nicolai
On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 1:32 AM, Jeff Grossman <jeff(a)prolifics.com> wrote:
To Nicholas: I do not agree. I think the hard sell
is alive and well. My
evidence is that I just looked up the value of QVC -- the people who
broadcast nothing but hard-sell over several 24x7 TV channels -- and their
parent company was worth 26.6 billion dollars in 2010. Clearly, somebody's
buying!
I do agree that those of us who have been exposed to the barrage of noise
coming from commercials, junk mail, spam email, robo-calls, etc, have become
wiser about how to stem the tide.
My wine shopping is dictated largely by experience and by friends'
recommendations, with a little room left for recommendations from retailers
that I get to know. I put most comments in social media at the level of
"rumor" or "scuttlebut".
To Jason: I think social media are very appealing but I also find them
enervating. After a while, when I have wallowed in my personal
reminiscences long enough, I am moved to get up and do something.
You are absolutely correct that the wielders of social media work very hard
to create an aura of trustworthiness, fellowship, and savvy. You
know... "flim-flam". :^)
To Ted: I am astonished that you can get anything sensible out of Snooth.
I've visited it a few times and I always leave it bewildered and confused.
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: Nicholas Livingston
To: Jason Kallsen
Cc: wine(a)thebarn.com
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 5:29 PM
Subject: Re: [wine] FW: Survey Results: Social Media Effects on Purchasing
I think the hard sell is effectively dead.
_______________________________________________
wine mailing list
wine(a)thebarn.com
http://www.thebarn.com/mailman/listinfo/wine