Any company
involved on the net tries to use this media as well as possible. The big
advantage of the Internet is to allow proximity between a company and its
customers. On the web, the customer is looking for off record relationship with
a brand. Thus, to increase its sales, many companies started to develop supports
that give away as much information as possible. Since then, the customers can
find answers to the problems encountered after buying a product.
Keeping information at home is not good anymore for companies' marketing.
For
instance, I buy a computer on www.apple.com.
First of all I can find all the technical information I need which is also a
proof of transparency of the product. Then, I also can find answers to my
problems by surfing on the support.
This is a good way for me to find proximity, transparency and a good after sale
service. Once I have fixed my computer, I rely on the brand and I am more
likely to buy a new product.
If I keep
the example of Apple, there is also another source of information which are all
the unofficial blogs and websites
(macbidouille, macgeneration)... Apple
has a big interest in encouraging those unofficial sites that make product
tests, provide fixing methods… By giving computer for test, by transmitting
information that they could not display on a corporate website, they make
proximity.