Channel Strategy for Social Review Industry Direct or Indirect?

Businesses Market Segments          Selling Customer Service Campaigns

Why Many Online Marketers are Rethinking Their Yelp Strategy 2. IOS 6: Apple will be deepening its relationship with Yelp to provision business listing data and reviews. And, it seems Apple Maps will have Yelp check-ins built in.Apple Maps will have Yelp check-ins built in 3. Google/Bing/Yahoo: But it’s not just Apple platforms where Yelp is taking over. Across the board, Yelp’s SEO team kicks butt. For most business name searches on major search engines, Yelp’s review is on page one. And in many cases, if a merchant has not proactively managed their own rankings, Yelp’s listing will be at the very top of page one. 4. The reviews paradigm: Data suggests that social media users are both active consumers and creators of business reviews. The data further suggests that more than 70% of buying decisions are now informed by online reviews. While not a factor solely in favor of Yelp, this fact expands the need for businesses to be active in acquiring reviews from current customers.acquiring reviews

5. Search on mobile is increasing: The Kelsey Group predicts that by 2015, local searches on mobile phones will exceed local searches on desktop computers. With the insertion of Yelp into the search-by-mobile market, it only makes sense that it would be part of an overall reviews strategy.by 2015, local searches on mobile phones will exceed local searches on desktop computers

Types of Market Segmentation Psychographic Segmentation- The basis of such segmentation is the lifestyle of the individuals. The individual’s attitude, interest, value help the marketers to classify them into small groups. Behaviouralistic Segmentation- The loyalties of the customers towards a particular brand help the marketers to classify them into smaller groups, each group compromising of individuals loyal towards a particular brand.

Types of Market Segmentation Geographic Segmentation – Refers to the classification of market into various geographic areas. A marketer can’t have similar strategies for individuals living in different places.

Types of Channel Strategies Direct, distribution and Retail DIRECT: selling their products themselves, without the use of a middleman. B2B deals are often handled in a direct manner. The advantage of distribution strategy is that the manufacturer makes the sale but does not have to handle customer service issues or implementation. The VAR must be compensated for its work, which cuts into the manufacturer’s profits.

Keys to Effective Cross-Channel Marketing Social Search Marketing/ Display Ads Direct Mail Mobile Telemarketing Content Marketing (webinars, blogs, guides, whitepapers) Traditional (TV, radio, press, billboard)

Forrester Research Online Display Advertising Forecast, Interactive marketing and channels Online display advertising (interactive marketing)

Channel Strategies Direct- simplest, consumer buys directly from consumer. Indirect – involve several intermediaries, value added resellers (VAR), managed service providers (MSP), consultants, system integrators (SI), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), retailers, wholesalers and distributors may all be channel partners..

Push Strategies Used By Social Review Industry Push Marketing strategies reach customers directly. Companies could create an database of potential customers and send them product announcements and promotions directly. A promotional strategy involves taking the product directly to the customer- ensuring the customer is aware of your brand at the point of purchase.

Push Strategy Examples Trade Show promotions to encourage Direct selling to customers in showrooms or face to face Negotiations with retailers to stock your product. Efficient supply chain allowing retailers an efficient supply Packaging design to encourage purchase Point of sales displays

Pull Marketing Strategy Involves motivating customers to seek out your brain in an active process. “Getting the customer to come to you.” Examples of pull tactics: Advertising and mass media promotion Word of Mouth Referrals Customer Relationship Management Sales promotions and discounts

How Will Marketers Change Their Future Social Media Activities Only 21% of marketers plan on increasing activities on social review sites like Yelp. B2B marketers plan to invest more on social review sites (23%) compared to B2B marketers (17%). Increase of 21%, 20% Stay the Same, 1% Decrease, 59% Have No Plans to Utilize the use of Social Review Sites

Direct Marketing Channels A business engages in with its customers by directly marketing and selling to them. Traveling sales representatives, direct mail, media advertising, trade shows, telemarketing and digital marketing a

Indirect Marketing Channels A business uses wholesalers, distributors, retailers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), VARs and other intermediaries to reach customers.

Consumer Markets Marketing channels include direct channels (the internet and direct marketing) and indirect channels that either flow through distributors and wholesalers to retailers or flow directly to retailers.

For the Business Market Direct channels include: the Internet and direct marketing Indirect channels include: distributors and value-added resellers (VARs).

Social Media Channel as a part of Marketing Strategy Online channel strategy is a part of the Marketing Strategy for the social review industry. For the purposes of the Marketing Strategy used for social review sites, Yelp will be used as an example.

Communication Strategy as a Part of the Social Media Channel Rather than pulling customers into the fold, marketers are pushing them away with relentless and ill-conceived efforts to engage. Frontier marketers are using Big Data and sophisticated analytics to map consumers’ purchase paths. Haul videos

Communication Strategy as a Part of the Social Media Channel Marketers provide tools that allow customers to identify and weigh the features that are most relevant to them.

Consumer Segments Former phase consumer Late phase consumer