Retail Trade Switzerland

If you talk about advertising in Switzerland, you can't avoid the ranking of the biggest advertising clients. As is well known, the same two players have been leading this ranking for years: Migros and Coop. No wonder, because hardly any need is more basic than the procurement of food. While the splurge for the biggest budgets may make media agencies go into raptures, it is irrelevant for consumers. They want to satisfy their needs as cheaply as possible. Don't they? Maybe that was the case in the past. But since the advent of social media, expectations have changed. Consumers don't just want to shop quickly and cheaply, no, they can now form their own opinions and even have their say. The Cluetrain Manifesto recognized in 1999: "Already, companies that speak in the voice of the market shouter are not reaching anyone. Anyone who assumes online markets are the same markets that once endured TV commercials is kidding themselves." The question is whether this has changed the behavior of Swiss retailers. One player, Migros, is particularly active in this area. Time and again, the orange giant shows inventiveness when it comes to social media. The center of Migros' activities is the notorious platform www.migipedia.ch, where since June 2010 customers have been able to give their opinion on a good 10'000 products, express wishes or ask questions. Although the website is still in beta, it has already won the Best of Swiss Web award in 2011. Migipedia is just the tip of the iceberg, however. Because Dutti's heirs are busy on practically all social media (with the umbrella brand as well as with the subbrands). Be it www.facebook.com/Migros, www.twitter.com/migros or www.youtube. com/user/MigrosTVSpots. And Migros is being richly rewarded for this commitment. With 52'000 fans on Facebook, 2800 followers on Twitter and 870,000 views on YouTube. But these are only the superficial figures. Much more valuable is the dialog that is created. And it bears fruit. Because customers are given the opportunity to have their say and help shape the company. For example, six months ago we were looking for an idea for a new, young type of confectionery. A total of 1102 ideas were received. The 20 best recipes were finally cooked and tested at a professional tasting together with representatives of the Migros community. Over 4300 Migros customers cast their votes in the final survey on Migipedia. And now the two products, marked with the new "Developed by customers" sticker, are on the shelves. User-generated products. So far, so good at Migros. But what are the other competitors doing? The answer is simple: nothing. Nada. Zero. Sad, but true. The very industry that should maintain direct contact with the consumer, whose success and failure is the barometer of our economy, ignores the customer when it comes to social media. Denner did benefit from the popular Bündnerfleisch laughing fit of Federal Councillor Merz and, thanks to a night-and-night campaign, generated Facebook fans in the short term. But what will be done with the almost 29'000 fans is still unclear. All other retailers are even still in the darkest Middle Ages. Regardless of whether they are called Lidl, Aldi, Spar or Coop. Migros' big counterpart Coop in particular is not just one, but several steps behind. Although the user is asked to share the content of the website, there is no trace of a dialog far and wide. Not on any network. Even customer service is less accessible (Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) than the competitor's Twitter account. In my Social Media Management course at the HWZ (Zurich School of Business), I always say that it's a no-go to make fun of someone who is gaining experience on the social web. But what we are seeing here is the negation of dialogue. I have no understanding for that. The tag cloud on the homepage seems like a clumsy marketing gag. It's a shame, really, because by ignoring customers' needs and wishes, Swiss retailers miss opportunities to improve their products and lose valuable time to gain experience. And although we have an orange lighthouse, the predicate #fail applies to the Swiss retail trade. Because, "companies that do not belong to a discursive community will die out".