Giving consumers the information they need to make smart purchase decisions is a basic example of Marketing as Service. Unfortunately, very few retailers are actually prepared to share the expertise they have about the products they carry in store. Not wanting to annoy any of their suppliers, retailers tend to gloss over any product shortcomings. Ironically, this kind of honesty has been turned over to consumers who critique products online without the depth of expertise a buyer usually has.
I’m not saying that consumer critiques are bad, on the contrary, they have been vital to the continued success of online retailers. A couple of studies have shown that sites that allow for critical assessments on their site enjoy higher sales than those that don’t. Basically the consumer trusts you more if you let your faults be exposed. But I digress.Wal-Mart has not exactly been the poster child for online honesty having tried to pass off company-paid blogs as consumer-generated blogs. For this, they earned near top billing in the very definition of fake blog or flog on Wikepedia:
Walmarting Across America, written by two Walmart “enthusiasts” who decided to journey across America in an RV and blog about the experience as they visited Walmarts along the way. While the two people actually did travel across America for the purpose of this blog, it was revealed to be paid for by Wal-mart.
So, it is with great interest that I read about Wal-Mart’s newest approach in today’s New York Times, an honest blog called CheckOutBlog.com that is being penned by various Wal-Mart buyers. Serving up the straight stuff from the aisles of Wal-Mart, the blog is gaining steam with consumers and the press. Not afraid to call it as they see it, Wal-Mart may be setting the standard for a new kind of corporate blog, one that actually has teeth. Wal-Mart’s computer buyer actually had the chutzpa to criticize Microsoft’s newest operating system Vista, “Is it really all that and a bag of chips?” he wrote on his blog. “My life has not changed dramatically — well, for that matter, it hasn’t changed at all.”
This site was credited with announcing Wal-Mart’s decision to no longer carry HD-DVD’s which essentially was a death blow to that format. Toshiba announced it was closing up shop for HD-DVDs shortly thereafter. With this kind of power, one Wal-Mart blogger noted on the blog, “To whom much is given, from him much will be required.” This got me thinking about several other cliches that could be relevant to Wal-Mart’s newly chastened approach:
- What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger (unless you’re in the HD-DVD business)
- Once burned, twice shy (except when it comes to blogging)
- Honesty is the best policy (even if it means criticizing one of your largest suppliers)
- The truth shall set you free (even if you were once caught flogging)
- Nobody is perfect (and bloggers will make sure that you stay that way)
Bottom line–kudos to Wal-Mart for a true act of corporate bravery.