Need a good reason to try and sell products online? More and more folks are finding innovative ways to reach a variety of customers. I’d like to share some predictions on trends and habits of consumers that will make 2011 an amazing year to shop online!

1) Random Acts of Kindness

Following the path made by Zappos (randomly sending flowers to customers or giving them free shipping) has established performing random acts of kindness online as hip. It also satisfies a need or craving for human contact and to make the world a better place.

One example of this is a flower delivery service Interflora. They launched a social media campaign in the UK designed to brighten up the lives of Twitter users by sending them flowers. Interflora simply monitored Twitter,  looking for users that they can cheer up. Once found, the users are contacted via a tweet, and sent a bouquet of flowers as a surprise.

2) Group buying and more…

Groupon has changed how we look at discounts and purchasing a “deal”.  This movement has started a large trend toward collective buying with social networking expanding the reach of information.

Expect to see similar Groupon websites pop up this year, along with a focus on member sales: exclusive membership to receive discounts. Some of these sites might be by invite-only. This is happening in mostly fashion focused businesses but expanding to travel and furniture as well.

3) Flash sales

Flash sales use both time-limiting and frequency offers to encourage impulse buying.

Threadless has done a great job on demonstrating this type of sale over the last year, offering a special t-shirt sale every so often. This sale is limited to certain sizes/styles of t-shirt and must be purchased with a 24 hour timeframe. Threadless blasts the sale over Facebook, Twitter, and email newsletters and it’s proven successful!

4) Local discounts

Location based services are really taking off! With the help of mobile apps using geo-location such as Foursquare and other technologies, it gives businesses the ability to focus on regions. One aspect is having small businesses offer special deals to locals. The use of social media to hype/promote has made a huge impact and keeps spreading the word.

A good example of this is how Starbucks was one of the first to extend the “local store mayor” specials to all it’s stores with a single $1 Frappuchino coupon for any Starbucks mayor at any Starbucks. Read more about how it was executed.

5) Social-lites

Social-lites is a label for those folks who want to try new things, are  very curious about new products & services and will actively promote and share what they discover. They are all over Twitter and Facebook. Some might have their own blog, but they can be one of your biggest allies if they rave about your product. Once you’ve won them over with your business, what they announce can worth 10x more than a paid advertisement!

Both Yelp and Amazon are great examples of where the social-lites hang out. Yelp allows members to post about their experience at different restaurants and other establishments and that post can also be broadcast onto the Facebook platform, even spreading the review even further.

Amazon reviews of products have literally changed how we shop online. How often do many of us visit amazon.com before purchasing something, if only to read the reviews and overall rating for a product? It’s become a very powerful, entertaining, and persuasive way to share knowledge about an experience with a product, including the good, the bad, and the ugly!

6) Netflix treatment

Consumers are realizing they are enjoying ‘renting’ some items instead of buying them. It’s the overall new wave of Access vs. Ownership. We are seeing this huge trend through movie rentals, video games, cars, and other so-called luxury items. It has the power to make people feel more eco-conscious and less wasteful. As a business, it’s an opportunity to provide a more sustainable way to rent instead of offering purchased items.

A great example is the streaming content Netflix is offering. Recently, they began allowing a select group of movies and TV shows to be streamed onto your TV via the internet and through a game console such as the PS3 or a similar device. For a small fee, you can access this content at any time, on your TV. Articles have been written in Wired magazine and other places how Netflix is beginning to replace cable with the streaming option. Talk about a powerful way to make an impression.

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I just finished reading “Delivering Happiness” – Tony Hsieh’s story of how Zappos, the large online shoe store, is pretty amazing. I was lucky enough to get the book for free. The Delivering Happiness campaign were giving the books away for free off of Twitter and I couldn’t resist.

One of the biggest messages I got from “Delivering Happiness“ is how to build community. The author Tony talks a lot on how he built different communities throughout the process of Zappos and some of the relationships were pretty  intimate. Building community helped the company weather different phases of the companies’ growth, as well as provide a place for people to be themselves and encourage a great customer service model. I love how they (Zappos) are know to upgrade a customer’s shipment from ground to overnight delivery, just randomly. They’ve also been known to randomly send flowers to customers too!

Overall “Delivering Happiness” was an inspirational book and it got me thinking how much community plays a role in how we live and work. How can we build more community with our clients, colleagues and all those in-between ?

Recently, Keith Ferrazzi made a few suggestions on his blog on relationship/community building:

*Host a monthly dinner or happy hour

*First thing every day after you turn off your computer, ping one friend and one acquaintance.

These are simple yet powerful ideas. When you reach out to people, there’s this amazing energy that builds and grows. People feel special and want to return it. Bringing people together can be as easy as inviting them into your home, at a bar or restaurant or even a walk or hike.

One experiment I’ve decided to try is personally writing a note to past clients and colleagues, 5 times a week. Many of my clients aren’t in the Portland areas, so a note seemed like a great way to reach out! I decided to send a funny or cute note and in the note, I don’t talk about my business. I ask them how they are doing and ask specific questions about their lives, about their family, their business, etc. It feels really amazing to do this every week. And the response I’ve gotten has been great.

What’s one thing you can do to build your community? What’s working for you now?

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