Ch. 18 -Social Media and Marketing

Social Media  

In modern age, technology has become an integral part of businesses to become more successful. Social media is a tool which facilitate conversations between buyers sellers which creates an engaging experience for customers in the digital world. To my understanding, companies are beginning to realize that they need to understand this phenomenon and get into the conversation. In this turbulent economy, the use of social media helped many businesses to stabilize their sales by bringing online customers to make extra purchases. Using social media, my company Godiva Chocolatier has developed marketing strategy to build deeper relationship with their customers. Collecting data effectively results in superior accountability. It is a way of communication through social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter etc.) that listens to customer-driven innovation. Godiva leverages the data obtained in social media networks and uses it to cultivate relationships with their clients. Through online business, Godiva is making special offers relevant to their customer base to find out exactly who and what to ask when conducting new product research via social media. 

Mobile Technology 

In recent times, another popular way of  making purchases are the mobile apps. Many companies have designed mobile apps for their customers' convenience which helped increase their businesses, resulting in higher sales by the users. In 2009, Godiva developed their first mobile app, which allowed mobile users to purchase the products directly from their iPhones or Smartphones. Most people carry their Smartphones with them, so it made their lives easier to locate nearby Godiva stores to satisfy their need for chocolate cravings. From 2009 to 2010, Godiva saw a 57% increase in mobile revenue. 

Blogs

Blogs have been around since the late 90's and started to gain increased importance for businesses. When done well, blogs are cost effective marketing tools for driving lead generation and sales.  I've been reading and writing blogs myself and know how influential they are for the readers as well as for the company or the product it is written about. It gives an opportunity to find out information about any product and give your own comments to appreciate the product which eventually allows the other users to try the product. A brand like Godiva have good reviews most of the times by its fans since Godiva is always coming up with new introductions and flavors. Their vast line of product is always attracting new and existing customers. Blogging helped Godiva to appreciate its product in a big way.