Discount retailer Loehmann's Gives Social Media a Try. Will it Work?

Loehmann's this month joins scores of consumer-facing businesses who are jumping on the Social Media bandwagon. Today, Inside Members received this loosely-branded email, urging them to text, join twitter, and connect via Facebook for all things Loehmann's.

Loehmann's appeal to customers via "Social Media" or Web2.0 tools suggests the company is smartly reconsidering how it interacts with its customers.  Perhaps Loehmann's execs finally realize there's room for improvement and that selling at discount prices doesn't automatically mean market share. That's a good thing. It also suggests Loehmann's is thinking hard of how to evangelize itself as an accessible, with-the-times, retailer.

But while it is a noble effort Loehmann's Social Media strategy is far from being solid.

First, Loehmann's risks setting the wrong expectations. While customers do want to know about new promotions and discounts and will be tempted to follow the instructions and text "INSIDER" to the number provided, their initial excitement will soon be replaced with dismay when they begin to get the semi-weekly announcements Loehmann's now sends via mail and email.

Second, the campaign seems to mix two types of audiences. Customers with PDAs such as iPhone and Blackberry can easily open emails at the store and use the code from the email--they do not need text duplicate. But then there are the less mobile-savvy users, those who primarily use text messaging, and to these, facebook and twitter may not be the right channel. So it seems that Loehmann's is trying everything hoping to see what will stick. Definitely one strategy, but it may not be the one I'd choose for a company who's strapped for cash.

In essence, what Loehmann's is saying is:

Dear Ms Customer: You can now learn about our promotions in any way that's convenient to you. You can continue to receive our mailers, get our emails, opt for text messages, get updates on Facebooks, or follow us on Twitter.
(Internally, Loehmann's is saying "gotcha! Now we can spam you till end of time" oh, and "thanks for helping us cut the cost of marketing by 30% in the coming year.")

And what Ms Customer is likely to say in response is:

Dear Loehmann's: Thank you for finding more ways to send me information. How about we start with making sure that your promotions get to me before the promotion ends, extending your return/exchange period to 30 days, having nicer in-store customer service, letting us take more than six, nine, or whatever the number du jour might be into the fitting room, and finding a way to make us look less horrid in front of those large mirrors in the community fitting room?

 

Fun aside, this is an extremely difficult time for retailers who thrive on consumers' discretionary income. Discount fashion retailers are no exception. For Loehmann's, this is not the first downturn having submitted for Chapter 11 in 1999. For Loehmann's to win this downturn, it must first do better at listening to its customers and build optimal experiences around its customers' needs before trying to patch the cracks with a Facebook fans page or a twitter account. Only then, when it is focused on the customer experience (and less on outbound marketing), will it be able to capitalize on the power of passionate, fashion-minded customers.

Comments

[DivaDiscount]

"Listening to its customers and build optimal experiences around its customers' needs" is exactly the thing that Loehmann's DID do before launching their presence on Twitter.

Dub as the "great Twitter experiment" inhouse, Tweeting the current sales and promotions which would allow Loehmann's shoppers to get Loehmanns updates sent to their phone was a request BY customers. When the current sales and discount merchandise became the only tweets produced, the numbers of followers began to increase and grow all on their own signifing a desire fo that exact kind of update.
It was only THEN that the actual offical Loehmann's Twitter account went forward as a project.

The Facebook page, on the other hand, brings Loehmann's to the shoppers and will allow then to DIRECTLY convey what they need. Just as with all communications on the fashion blog, Loehmanns' monitors them and responds directly when necessary to people who have issues or questions. So far, though, the greatest interaction is folks discussing how much they just love the big L.

Sucessful social media models of behavior by other corporations such as Southwest and Comcast have actually been carefull observed and will be emulated.

It's not about spam, nor even cutting costs, but "making sure that promotions get to me before the promotion ends" because, yes, that is what Loehmann's customers want."

And like any form of communication, there is always that little trick if someone gets annoying.. it's called unsubscribe.

You assumed a lot by one email flyer.