AUK on Glaxo Smithkline | Marketing Week

In response to a release on 15th Sept 2010 by GSK in Marketing Week “GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare division is looking to bolster its understanding of its customers’ online shopping habits and improve the marketing of its products with the launch of an online store.”

I accept that there is value in owning and mining consumer transactional data, but without a diverse range of products on the site, it’s going to be very difficult to attract any sensible level of traffic and make worthwhile correlations between behavioural trends.

Perhaps the plan is for GSK Direct to become a broader online health store or pharmacy. If so, will wider product ranges be introduced, or will the site develop into a health portal such as Net Doctor? Judging by existing information on the site, the latter looks a more likely route.

Either way, its success will largely come down to relevant visitor numbers, and how consumers are going to find the site. That’s where social media could play a powerful role, helping drive search via free advice, forums and discussions.