Lessons from eBay

Julian Smith | May 23, 2005, 09:13 AM

Apologies for lack of recent blog posts but I have been out on the road recently exploring the delights of mainland Europe and also presenting some of my ideas and insight on online advertising to whoever would listen!! Accompanied by my colleagues Ian and Nate I had a very pleasant trip to Copenhagen to speak at a conference held by the Danish equivalent to the IAB - the FDIM. If you every want indepth knowledge on the Danish online media space - Jon Lund at the FDIM is your man.

Then I made a day trip to Berlin to present some ideas on the societal impacts of digital technology, and what I am calling the 'rise of the digitally empowered consumer', at eBay's Internet Marketers Annual Summit. What struck me when presenting my themes of interconnectivity of individuals, blossoming of self-expression, and consumer as prosumer, amongst others, was how eBay is ahead of the curve on so many consumer trends (a catalyst in many ways) and how traditional marketers could learn a lot from looking at eBay and how they nurture online communities.

As consumers increasingly communicate, share, trade and generally participate online (whether peer-to-peer or with organizations) marketers should look to provide platforms for consumer congregation better enabling likeminded individuals to come together. By building online communities around products or brands marketers can not only harness the power of social networks and encourage peer-to-peer endorsement but also build confidence and credibility in the minds of increasingly sceptical and fickle consumers.

To do this they only need look at eBay for ideas. The popularity of eBay, especially in countries like Germany (where 50% of the online population visit the site each month!), and its success in building a global consumer trading platform, should be studied in depth by any online business - as a great way to aggregate consumers around products.