Brands 'more comfortable' with consumer engagement

Research from Ciao UK conducted at Internet World has shown that 75 per cent of marketers believe brands have become more comfortable engaging with consumers directly over the last year.

The research, conducted at the Internet World event in April 2010, is said to demonstrate brand willingness to communicate directly with consumers and shows the development of brand engagement with social media over the last 12 months.

Ciao UK spoke to 70 marketers and professionals from the online world for the research.

Alongside the 75 per cent that believed brands have become more comfortable engaging with consumers directly over the course of the last year, 62 per cent said they have started to engage directly with consumers, end users or clients to shape the future of their business.

Of these, 25 per cent chooses to do so through online forums.

Thirty-seven per cent of advertising and e-commerce professionals said that consumer input has had a positive impact on their businesses.

Perhaps most positively, a total of 64 per cent said that they had responded publically to online criticism - a figure that has almost doubled in the last 12 months.

The number of people who moderate or delete online criticism also dropped significantly - from 18 per cent in 2009 in 2010, highlighting an increased transparency in company communication.

Alexander Miller, team leader sales Ciao Advertising UK at Microsoft, said: 'Brands have learned to address consumer concerns directly, whether it's through face-to-face engagement or one of a range of increasingly powerful online communications channels.

'Honesty and transparency are the bywords of social media and brands who take that on board stand to benefit from a genuine, two-way relationship with their audience,' he added.

The research also highlighted the value of user-generated content (UGC), with 76 per cent naming it as a key tool to improve sales.

Ninety-six per cent specified peer-to-peer recommendations as one of the most influential forms of UGC and 31 per cent said that online reviews are the single most effective and impactful form of UGC.

Miller said: 'The willingness to engage directly with end users has given brands a better insight into consumer priorities.

'Eighty-three per cent of the people we spoke to said that they felt they had developed a good understanding of what motivates their customers as a result of their direct engagement tactics.

Back to top