Consumers want 'free stuff' from social, marketers think they 'want to be heard' | Econsultancy

A study from the Chief Marketing Officer Council and Lithium reveals a disconnect between what senior marketers think consumers want from social media, and what people actually want.

According to the 1,300-plus consumers surveyed online globally, there was an expectation that a brand follow, like, post or preference in a social media environment would enable a person to be eligible for exclusive offers (67 percent), have the opportunity to interact with other customers who share the same experiences (60 percent) and gain access to games or contests (65 percent).


In other words, consumers view a social media follow, like, +1 or other "vote" as part of a transaction. Users assent to public support for a brand, in return for value of some sort. 

When the same question was asked to over 120 CMOs, the results were very different. The CMOs saw social engagement is more of a by-product of quality content. They tended not to believe they needed to provide incentives to foster and maintain loyalty among their followers. 


According those surveyed, customers interact with brands because they; want to be heard (41 percent) or are looking for news or information about products (40 percent) Consumers want 'free stuff' from social


It appears consumers view social engagement in much the same way they see TV commercials, namely that it is an exchange of value. In exchange for ad exposure, viewers get free, no incremental cost or subsidized access to content.


Apparently, much the same sort of thinking is at work with social engagement mechanisms. Amazon recently took advantage of that sort of thinking, offering shoppers discounts of up to $5 for checking prices of products in retail outlets, and where Amazon sells the identical item, buying from Amazon, instead. Amazon "Price Check" promotion


That's a value exchange. The user checks a price, lets Amazon know, and then gets something in return if that item is purchased on Amazon. 

Mobile Commerce Provides Lots of Value, and Not Just Transaction Fees

You might think that mobile payments are significant because they represent a potential shift of transaction fee streams from one set of providers to another.


That's true.  AITE Group, for example, in January 2010, it estimated that mobile payments would reach $214 billion in 2015, up from $16 billion in 2010, a 68 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2010 and 2015. U.S. Mobile Payments


To the extent that all those payments will involve a transaction fee earned by some entity, you see the upside. But the value doesn't stop there. 

To give you some idea of what that can mean, eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe said otal payment volume transmitted by mobile devices through PayPal's system will be more than $3.5 billion in 2011. That helps PayPal.

But there are other ways value can be created. EBay, which owns PayPal, also uses smart phone apps like Red Laser, which lets shoppers scan bar codes to check prices online and at other retailers nearby. You might wonder what value that provides. For one thing, it allows eBay to do “comparison pricing” that retailers routinely conduct, but more efficiently, since eBay can rely on its users to do the work. PayPal mobile payments volume

Amazon.com is doing similar things, with a twist. On Dec. 10, 2011, Amazon will offer comparison shoppers a five percent discount, up to $5, on any item whose price is checked, in a retail store, using the Amazon “Price Check” app, and which is purchased on Amazon within 24 hours of the price check.

Though you might say this is a test of how much sales volume potentially can be shifted by offering such discounts, it also is a way for Amazon to gather quite a lot of infomation on retail pricing at brick and mortar locations selling the same merchandise that Amazon is selling.

Mobile now accounts for over 10% of all sales on eBay UK

More than 10 percent of all purchases on eBay UK now take place through a mobile device. And the UK is leading the way for mobile commerce, with more people buying and selling goods via mobile on eBay than in any other European country.

On eBay UK an item is sold via mobile on average every second, more than 85,000 each day. In August 2011 alone, over two million items were bought through mobile, including twice as many men as women.

Mobile now accounts for over 10% of all sales on eBay UK

eBay Introduces "Try It On Before You Buy" iPhone App

"With “See It On,” iPhone 4 owners can take a picture of themselves using a forward-facing camera and then pinch and zoom to fit the glasses to their face. Users can choose from a small section, including Aviator, Wayfarer or Rimless, in various colors. From there, they can search for matching listings on eBay.

For clothing, the augmented reality feature is called “Outfit Builder.” Users can designate favorite pieces of clothing with the eBay app and store them in their “Personalized Closet.” Then, they use “Outfit Builder” to mix and match items in the closet. To try the items on, the user can similarly overlay the clothes on a white canvas or a saved photo or live image (by pointing the camera toward a friend or a mirror).

Once an outfit is created, it can be saved for future reference or shared via email.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ebay-fashion/id378358380?mt=8

eBay Introduces Augmented Reality Into Apps to Try It On Before You Buy | Tricia Duryee | eMoney | AllThingsD:

eBay Expects $1.5 Billion in 2010 Merchandise Sales Using Mobile Apps

Online retailer eBay is launching two iPhone apps, one for the eBay.com global marketplace and one for eBay’s new classifieds site, eBayClassifieds.com, part of its plan to sell $1.5 billion worth of merchandise directly from mobile sites.

With the new eBay Selling and eBay Classifieds mobile apps, consumers can easily photograph and list an item in 60 seconds or less, eBay says. Consumers can now list for free in eBay’s auction format, reaching 90 million active eBay users around the world, or in eBay Classifieds, to reach buyers in their local communities.

Plus, in addition to selling, buying has never been easier with eBay’s leading mobile shopping app and mobile platform and the new eBay Classifieds mobile app.

On April 3, eBay will take mobile commerce a step further, with a new version of the eBay app for iPad. The company earlier had released a mobile app for Android devices as well.

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"Google Me"; "Skype Me"

No matter what financial pundits say about EBay's purchase of Skype, Skype has had enormous impact. As "Google" now is a verb, as in "Google it," so is "Skype" as in "Skype me." Assets can trade one way or the other. But "assets" aren't the same thing as "significance" or "value" to people. Skype is hugely valuable to users. No matter how you want to quantify the matter--10 million concurrent peak users or 200 million downloads--that's a huge user base. More important, Skype is part of the fabric of daily life for millions of people, as is Google. We may agree that EBay overpaid for Skype. That has almost nothing to do with the social significance of Skype. That's huge.