Palm Desert, CA–What’s the biggest challenge e-tailers face today? “Consumers have started a revolution,” according to Gabe Greenberg, Vibrant Media global vice president/strategic relations. “They are taking control in how they engage with your brand.”
Speaking at eTail 2008 on Wednesday, Greenberg said consumers do not their online shopping experience to include intrusions, but they do want to be entertained. This changes the way marketers need to reach them online.
The old way of direct marketing – the push method – is an online faux pas. Engagement is the key to hooking the Web buyer.
“We spend a lot of time fine tuning our search engines, but not enough time in the social networks,” Greenberg said. And the social networks are where you want to be these days.
More specific, he said, “We need to get into the mobile space, social networking, in-text advertising, and word-of-mouth. Let the consumer decide what is important to them.”