Facebook, Amazon, eBay, Twitter, WordPress. The biggest brands on the web all allow people to ‘publish’ in some form. Whether that is in the form of status updates, reviews or blogs – allowing customersinto your brand allows for greater engagement.
There are a million and one places to buy the same product or service on the web, but why do so many people shop at Amazon and eBay? They were some of the first organisations to allow product reviews, creating a community online of user recommendations where user journeys involve more than just looking at the price.
Do you want your online proposition to be little more than just a vending machine, or a point of interest where customers feel a sense of loyalty and engagement when they visit you? Mitch Joel at Six Pixels of Seperation has scribed a provocative post on the future of websites and the rise of publishers. He argues that through your brand behaving online as a publisher, you’ll create a more engaging Customer Experience and improve customer retention compared to the old age of “brouchureware” websites.
When you look for a product or service do you want to contribute to the site/community, or do you just look for the lowest price?
