Confronting the customer

Julie MathersHead of Sales and Marketing, Coles Online

What are we doing?

Why did we start?

• Show our human side• Give our customers another avenue to speak to us• Flexible, quick, instant• Marketing and promotions• Others are doing it!

When and How?

• Launched in stages from Dec 09

Social Media Team:• One guy, with marketing background, an iPhone and a

lot of creativity• Minimal budget – all in house• Freedom within guidelines

What’s happened?

• Quality not quantity following• Use facebook for proactive and reactive comms• Strong tie in to customer service on Twitter and

Facebook• Very successful blog with 90% recipe content, team

bloggers and guest bloggers• SEO Improvement• Operational risk with one person managing 24/7

Is confronting customers painful?

Is confronting customers painful?

• Insightful• Immediate • Opportunity• Snowball effect • Risky

Learnings

• Be authentic• Be transparent• Be immediate and timely• Answer in the same forum• Have guidelines• Re-assess the set up/ de-risk• Be bold