By Dean McElwee, eCommerce leader and author of eCommerce for CEOs
I talked in my book eCommerce for CEOs about being where our consumers and shoppers are, not where we want them to be. The same applies for marketing. It’s tempting sometimes to follow what we are familiar with rather than where our consumers and shoppers are. After all, consumer attention is a fickle master.
It’s clear that consumers’ attention is captured by TikTok but there is a gap where marketers don’t see it as a medium for their attention. There are several studies where TikTok is increasingly playing a role in the search process. It’s time to follow consumers (and the data) rather than our own gut feelings. Equally, there are platforms like Pinterest which are overestimated in terms of the consumer attention they get.
What’s not surprising me is the role that Amazon has in capturing consumer’s attention. Marketers need to see Amazon as a marketing channel. There is this perception amongst marketers that retailers who provide retail media like Amazon aren’t credible as marketing channels. This needs to change. Here’s a challenge for you and your business:
- Download your Amazon reports and sum all your products so you get a monthly view
- Do the same for your brand websites
You will find Amazon is a credible marketing channel getting tons of views. Now work how you plan to use Amazon as a marketing channel even if you don’t plan to make it a large sales channel.
