What was your journey until taking on this role in the company?
To be honest, mine is a somewhat particular path. After graduating in Statistics, I joined Padova Star as Customer Care Manager. Here, in addition to the complaints and reviews part, I also dealt with the CRM, which allowed me to also set foot in the IT world. I then moved to AW LAB where I worked as a CRM Manager: I also took care of the marketing area, managing campaigns and promotions through an internal system that acted as a link between these various aspects. Subsequently, I joined O Bag because I was immediately struck by the CRM project that was starting and which, this time, was based on B2C. Now I also follow the entire marketing and e-commerce part of the brand. My "luck" is that I am able to understand the data, from the beginning to its destination. This allows me to understand where to draw from for each project we carry out and will carry forward.
What do you think about the use of social media in the B2B market segment?
I believe that the Italian B2B market is still a bit behind compared to abroad in this specific area. However, I have noticed an increase in the use of social media recently, even if the level is still very embryonic. I have seen that various companies are approaching the B2B market with engagement actions aimed at the supplier customer, therefore we are witnessing an awareness in this sector. At O Bag, at the moment, we do not use social media for the B2B side but almost exclusively for B2C.
Which social network is more in line with your business model and which is less?
At the moment O Bag's target audience is very active on Facebook because the age range is higher. By analyzing the data we realized that those who follow us on Facebook are more inclined to buy in our stores while those who know us on Instagram buy our products mainly online. There is therefore a gap of approximately 5-10 years between the two targets and also a difference in the items purchased based on the age group. TikTok is perhaps the platform furthest from our line of business, both in terms of resources and investment.
The data shows that having a low number of followers damages the brand image, what do you think?
I find that the perception is still this: when you see a low number of followers on a social channel, you tend to translate it with a negative meaning. With O Bag we prefer to focus on the quality of the public and among the projects there is certainly that of renewing our community, expanding it with new catchment areas. This allows us to constantly convert and bring added value thanks to social platforms.
How important are online reviews, are they important?
For O Bag, at this juncture, reviews are considered very important but we are still unable to manage them as we would like. We continue to read and monitor them, above all to collect data and develop strategies. In the future we plan to create a business focused on managing reviews, both on social media and on other platforms, such as Google or the website. Right now the reviews reflect the post-covid situation and the renewal of the brand: they practically speak in their entirety about our physical stores. Unfortunately we are unable to prioritize this aspect now. We have noticed, however, that those who have a negative experience are more inclined to share it than those who have something positive to communicate. We therefore need to find a way to involve the customer more. Personally, I try to leave reviews of positive experiences and prefer to speak to customer care in case of problems. I find it a useful tool especially for those who arrive after me, if I can provide practical information I will gladly do so.
Have you ever collaborated with professionals regarding the social sphere?
O Bag collaborates with an agency from an advertising point of view while the contents are managed internally. The team is made up of six resources, each vertical in their own sector, from creativity to social media. We follow the entire photo, video and graphics part to create coherent and complete strategies. The site is also managed internally together with the social networks and the CRM part.
What are the future corporate communication projects?
One of O Bag's objectives for the future is certainly in the strategic sphere. We want to show that with the tools at our disposal we can create communication in line with our intentions. These are therefore all-round projects whose goal is the return of the brand in the minds of customers and beyond. We would certainly like to continue the discussion of live shopping: we have seen how it works and how many results it brings us so we will continue in this direction.