Retail '11 - How Technology is Changing the Customer Experience

Holly Brown, the Chief Innovation Officer of our company, r2i, and I attended a great conference today at the University of Washington on retail management. The event was keynoted by the elusive EVP, Jamie Nordstrom.  I asked Holly to share what she thought that was the most interesting takeaway from today's discussions. Here's here answer. 

The Dbar is opening in Seattle!

We are entering a time in the digital landscape when most product information is already known and readily available to all potential consumers. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and other peer-to-peer communication networks have created dynamic communities of interest which inform customers about product options and influence their purchasing decisions.  The content that is created through these communities, the people that publish into them and the places where these interchanges occur are all now connected. That's why I am looking forward to this event - The Networked Consumer - How Content and Community Are Driving Commerce.

The panel brings together local digital thought leaders to discuss the conversations and innovations that are impacting consumer buying behavior and brand engagement. There will also be an interactive lab for hands-on product experiences. 

Here's the 411 for you all to come. And here is the RSVP link to the Eventbrite. Sign up now because seating is limited and it's almost 50% full already!

Where: Founders’ Co-op, South Lake Union, 511 Boren N., Seattle, WA 98109 

When: April 28th, 2011 5:30-8:00 PM

Event Moderator: Tricia Duryee, eMoney columnist, Allthingsd.com

Event Participants: James Lively, COO DIY Media, Scott Blanksteen, CEO AppStoreHQ, and Kathy Savitt, CEO Lockerz, and Jordan Williams, Digital Engagement Lead, REI.

5 ways social media will change your marketing plan

First published in iMedia Connection

Article Highlights:

• Campaign ideas will be deconstructed into smaller, more digestible messages
• Applications will continue to adapt to user behavior, leading to hyper-personalization
• User-generated content will influence marketing strategy

Reputation and relationship management skills are foundational to architecting an effective customer development strategy for both B2B and B2C enterprises; this will be acutely true in 2011. No longer just the responsibility of a community manager, social communication will be integrated into service and support experiences, product, point of sale, and commerce solutions. Because official spokespeople are no longer the sole purveyors of your company's message, social channels can be counted on to accelerate and amplify the conversation between customers and brands. Look for the following trends to drive changes to integrated marketing plans in the year ahead... read more here

Marketing in the Age of Social Media

I enjoyed this presentation by Edward Boches (@edwardboches), Chief Creative Officer at Mullen, recently named #3 in Ad Age's A List. So, naturally, I thought I'd share it.

Four Steps Toward Marketing in the Age of Social Media

View more presentations from edward boches.

Favorite Tweets Of The Holiday Weekend

@kenradio Why Bing "Likes" Facebook, Facebook should give Microsoft an edge against search rival Google -http://bit.ly/g6CJQ4

@bgershon Ad Execs Gaze Into 2011 Crystal Ball - Great overview.... http://tumblr.com/xsb16mkrnd

Social Media in 2011: Expect a Big Dose of STFUhttp://networkedblogs.com/cvGB1 from my pal @BigGuyD

Great article from @Jabaldaia to start the new year, Design Thinking and the courage to do things http://bit.ly/gTboJu

RT@quirkyinc The NY Times Pogies celebrates product features which are "clever twists that make life just a little bit better" http://qrky.co/hwMqe3

Understanding The Relationship Between Social Networks And Social Media

Despite the title that's overlaid on this frame, the video is not about a circular argument. It's worth the three minutes to listen to Matt explain the consumer intelligence that has grown through the creation and maintenance of trust and admiration networks, technical networks, and advice networks.

Lessons From BlogWorld: What Goes On In Vegas Shouldn't Stay There

So you couldn't make it to BlogWorld and New Media Expo this weekend? Don't worry, though, because I had a Technorati press pass and headed to Vegas to get a little taste of the South Pacific...Ballroom, that is. The Mandalay Bay Hotel Convention Center served as host for the event, and while hotel guests toured the Shark Aquarium a couple of hundred yards from the conference, bloggers and digital marketers dove into the deep end of the social media pool. Corporate exhibitors like the U.S. Army, Ford, Southwest Airlines and Kodak shared space with Co-Tweet, Radian, Rackspace and Tungle,to participate in the business of conversational media.

Interview with BlogWorld Co-Founder Rick Calvert

If you search for job openings with the keywords “community manager,” LinkedIn will return over one thousand results. According to Rick Calvert, co-founder of Blogworld and New Media Expo, the popularity of job listings on sites like Linkedin or Monster is an indicator of how bright the future is for social media in corporate America.

“Companies know they need Community Managers,” Calvert says, “because they know they need to engage with their customers in a range of ways through social media, even though they are still learning how to manage those conversations.”

Education remains a primary goal for Calvert and his Blogworld team. “These attendees reach a global audience of over 250 million people.” he pointed out. “Their influence is undeniable.” In an interview conducted halfway through this year’s Blogworld event, held in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Hotel Conference Center, Calvert indicated that attendance has doubled in the last three years of the conference, but at 3000 attendees, what’s billed as the World’s Largest New Media Conference, is still pretty small given the nearly 200 million blogs that have been created worldwide.

Calvert acknowledged that it is hard for corporate marketers to know what technology platforms will stick with consumers; Calvert admitted even he “missed the point of Twitter at first. I wasn’t sure if it had real value or would turn into FriendFeed.”

Education is why he says he is committed to growing the conference over time.  Read more...

And more about my experience at BlogWorld on Technorati.com 

Marketing To Communities Of Interest

Fellow ex-Visio marketer, and Chief Innovation Officer at r2i, Holly Brown presented at the Social Media Breakfast on the challenges for marketers in a peer to peer world. Authentically engaging in relevant, real time conversations is job #1.

Brands as Publishers in the Age of P2P Communications

View more presentations from SMB Seattle.