Kevin Harrington // marketing // blog

You know, I really don’t like shopping at Asda. But you never know, I could get converted. Recently I have been impressed with a number of their marketing activities:

1. I’ve heard some really good things about the way Asda motivate and acknowledge their staff. It sounds like they are setting a standard in the supermarket sector.
2. Asda seem to have managed to manipulate average basket prices to be frequently the lowest and sometimes half the price of Waitrose.
3. And now Asda plans to launch its own social networking site, designed to increase customer interaction. A brave move perhaps? Some people are wondering whether the supermarket chain is opening itself up to potential criticism from any disgruntled shoppers that may be out there. But frankly, they are better off hearing the feedback and addressing it than ignoring it and letting customers migrate.

So well done Asda. From my point of view choice and quality are things I want to hear are progressing and then I’ll be back to have a look.

There’s tons of stuff on the internet about web 2.0. This extract from Positively Glorius! is part of a very good article.

The basic point is that if you are there interacting with people, finding ways to help them, then the rest will fall into place. It’s not marketing, it’s involvement. If you tell me you can solve my problem, I may (but probably won’t) trust that you can and will. If you simply solve my problem or help me in another way, or even just connect with me on a personal level, I may (and probably will) trust you and continue to build a relationship. It may not lead to a financial gain from me immediately, or ever, but it will be a relationship. And those relationships are what will help you survive and grow.

The article talks about about some of the fears businesses have with interactivity on the web. Use this link to read the rest.

Shuzac

How many hours a week do you spend on Bebo, Facebook or MySpace?