07/16/2009
Imagine this scene - You've invited me to your home to discuss my ideas that may help you .. fill in the blank .. do your job better/make a better product/write a job description, etc. You also invite lots of other people. We find our way to your house. Instead of drinks together in your living room or coffee around your kitchen table you show us to separate rooms.
Then you walk away. However, naive that we are, we assume you are listening, care about us, that we matter to you. So we happily share our creative ideas. Although our thoughts echo in our empty rooms we smile pleased to be of service to you. Every once in awhile some one wanders by and chats briefly. But rarely if ever is it you. Not even to say "thank you."
Where are you? You're sitting behind an online dashboard gathering our intellectual capital as if it were digital diamonds. No girlfriend, it's not a focus group. Or maybe it is. Maybe this is the social media version of a focus group but with less honesty and less transparency. It's called IdeaXYZ or IdeaFireStorm or My(your brand) or ShareYourIdeas ... But don't expect anything back other than the satisfaction you derive in a bit of ego boosting on a brand site with some people who might vote you up or vote you down.
Are The Brands exploiting customers in the name of "engagement?" Are we so excited that The Brands have given us a way to directly and easily express our opinions that we clamor to give mega brands our creative ideas without even expecting a "thank you" in return?
Or is this simply the way that Brands approach the interaction of social media. Is it the way they view their role in the "conversation" of social media? Is it naivety or is it digital social media ineptness on how they perceive what is appropriate to build and nurture relationships?
Social media has two aspects. The first is digital research. That simply means reading posts and tweets of your customers to better understand who they are, what they care about and what they say about your brand. I think of it as raw, informal, qualitative, real time or what should be the "first listening post" in your marketing research strategy.
The second aspect is something that is unique to social media. Other than trade shows, there are no business initiatives that I know of where marketers can hang out with their customers. Like any person-to-person exchange it's rarely structured. It can get messy and to make it work there has to be genuine interest on both sides.
- Establishing an authentic presence in social media is where many
marketers fall down. "Most brands aren't doing it successfully." Shiv
Singh, vice president/global social media lead Razorfish (study)
Then there is a new kid on the block - Digital Idea Management or Viralsourcing - which seems to me a mash-up of these two concepts. Although based on the user group experience this has a stronger social media overlay. Customers are invited into a special company-based website to talk about what would make a better computer or latte or retail experience.
It's highly social since comments are open, often voting of each idea is encouraged and of course every post comes with the opportunity to be Dugg, Tweeted, Facebooked (new word) etc. One would naturally assume that the people who are on The Brand side would pop in to offer encouragement, provide feedback, say thank you. In other words to join in the conversation or as Shiv Singh says, "Establish an authentic presence." Rarely happens.
If I were a bettin' diva I would say that Digital Ideology sites will become more prevalent across industries and sectors. Maybe even to engage in real exchanges. For now it seems that companies are using it in a traditional media/marketing way.
Dell is exploring this model and sharing learnings. This presentation from Dell details their Idea Management strategy behind IdeaStorm. On slide 12 Dell outlines customer expectations as positive experience, action taken on ideas and recognition. With tactics on How To Address including: timely feedback, clear status updates, thank you mechanisms.
Happy to help you out dear brands but I expect you to join in t
he conversation with me and at least say
07/07/2009
The recent rains awaken the heady scent of the lavender bush at the front of my house. I pass by it every day. I planted it several years ago but today the scent was exceptionally strong .. almost intoxicating. I had to stop what I was doing for an extra moment or two. Sometimes what we see all the time, what
is in front of us can be overlooked.
This afternoon an email popped into my in-box from a favorite dessert company - Dancing Deer - from Boston. I send Dancing Deer gifts all the time. Somehow I feel connected to the company for a number or reasons: Boston, my friends love their presents, the site is graphically whimsical, frequent coupons, they have "heart" in giving back to the community.
The subject line "Sweet deals and ice cream cookie sandwiches" caught my eye (it's summer and I'm making ice cream .. there goes the diet again!) and I opened and clicked into the site to find out more. The click took me to a blog. Way cool! I had no idea. Dancing Deer and I had yet something else in common - social media. Must be new I thought. Nope .. it's been around for several months.
I went back to the home page - no mention or link. I went back to the blog and searched a round some more. Oh my .. the owner, Tish Karter, was in Atlanta in April for the start of a 1500 bike ride "..to engage the public in a conversation about how to end homelessness." She blogged and vlogged her journey.
Awesome but why did I not know about this? I guess I missed the email? Surely I would have noticed that email. I mean come on .. Atlanta, social media, a bike ride from-to the 2 cities I've lived in. They reached out to bloggers - some of whom are friends. They never talked to me.
Now I'll tell you something that you might think is rather silly .. I felt a little sad. Isn't that odd? I've never met Tish, homeless is not my "cause" but If Dancing Deer had
reached out to its customer base, If they had told me about their blog
or that they were tweeting I might have been able to help. Not only that there would 
have been a significant brand experience creating not just a fan but a raving fan.
Adding social media to your communication strategy you give your customers more than an email, or a press release or even a free cookie. You are inviting them into your world beyond the spin of advertising or PR. Odd as it may sound - when you talk to your customers it becomes personal for them.
Sometimes, like with my lavender bush, what we see all the time, what
is in front of us maybe overlooked. Developing All of your strategies with your customers in mind becomes increasingly critical if you step into the world of blogs, vlogs, twitter, Facebook, podcasts .. social media marketing.
11/18/2008
Update: 11-18-08; Kathy Widmer, VP of Marketing apologizes on the home page of Motrin. This is the follow-up post to one I wrote on Diva Marketing on 11-17-08 on how social media changed the direction of a Fortune 500 company's marketing campaign.
As is always the case in a slide down the slippery slope of social media, there are lessons we can take away from the Mortin Moms Social Media Case Study. I've reached out to Bonnie
Jacobs, VP Communications and Kathy Widmer, VP of Marketing at McNeil
Consumer Healthcare offering Diva Marketing as one platform to tell
their story. (Btw .. would not be surprised to see someone from the
Morin marketing team making the conference rounds.)
The influence of "just" a few thousand people changed the marketing
direction of a Fortune 500 company's multiple channel advertising
campaign (McNeil Consumer Health is a division of Johnson and Johnson). Within hours of social media conversations a website had
been taken down and put back up with an apology. Plans were in the
works to pull print ads and perhaps other initiatives that were set to
launch were halted.
Listening to, what went beyond the sentiments of "just" a few
thousand bloggers or tweeters, but perhaps reflected a signification segment of Motrin's target audience, may have
saved the company some hefty dollars in terms of ultimate goodwill and
stopped the ooze of brand erosion before it could spread further online
and off.
The social buzz is that the brand team could have responded faster. Perhaps. But for their actions to a Sunday Social Smackout McNeil Consumer Healthcare gets a gold star from Diva Marketing.
In trying to understand what happened, we don't have a lot to go on .. We don't know what research went on prior to the launch of the campaign. We don't know the infra structure or
the communication that most certainly flew from site to site to phone
to office meetings. We don't know when Mortin's marketers begin to
"listen" in on the tweets and blogs or when they first found out. Nor do we know when the decision
was made to send the letter to Amy Gates at Crunchy Domestic Goddess and why Amy and who else received Kathy Widmer's email.
We
can only guess the impact that this had and will continue to have on the human
resources at McNeil Consumer Healthcare and their marketing parners as they execute their new strategy. We can assume that it will cost a pretty
penny in terms of dollar investment.
We also don't know the end of the story. Or perhaps it is really the beginning of the story. What lessons did the Morin marketing team take away from the Mortin Mom's Sunday Social Smackout?
What counsel is their agencies giving? Will they embrace the women and men who
Helped them avoid an even bigger blow-up? Will they participate in the
social media conversations? Currently Motrin's people are messaging one-sided .. there is no dialogue that I can find.
Morin's social media experience reinforces that social media marketing is a complex, multi-faceted strategy.
- It is critical to have strong communication systems in place that integrate muliple departments: marketing, PR, customer service, legal, sales, operations, etc.
- It is critical to listen and participate in your customers' online exchanges.
- It is critical to be humble.
The end game to this post: There is value in the asset: Mortin Moms. Mortin marketing team .. what will you do with that one?
Sidebar: Thanks to Mark Story for posting the updated Mortin website.
11/16/2008
Subtitle: Motrin's We Feel Your Pain Ad Campaign Targeted To Moms: Proof of the Influence of Social Media
Background
Today sipping my morning coffee I clicked into Twitter and was intrigued by a tweet from @chrisbrogan.
What I found was a video that was apparently an element of Motrin's We Feel Your Pain campaign that was targeted to moms. <the link to the page has been taken down>
Script: "Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion. I mean, in theory it’s a great idea. There’s the front baby carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch. And who knows what else they’ve come up with. Wear your baby on your side, your front, go hands free.
Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience. They say that babies carried close to the body tend to cry less than others. But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those who don’t. I sure do! These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your back?! I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because it’s a good kind of pain; it’s for my kid."
Situation
Surfing over to #MotrinMoms (a summary of tweets tagged with #MotrinMoms) I was overwhelmed. At that time there were 65 pages, with 15 tweets per page, or 975 posts. I can only imagine what the team at McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of Johnson and Johnson,
must be feeling.
The majority of tweets were from moms who were Passionately outraged about the video. They felt hey and their babies were being disrespected.
So passionate that Mamikaze designed t-shirts, mugs, buttons and bags for sale at CafePress. So passionate that Katja created a video of what she felt was should have been the message. In social media style it was uploaded it to YouTube. Before this post went live there were 2014 views.
People are wonde
ring ..
Solutions
So .. I've been thinking .. if McNeil Consumer Healthcare were a social media marketing client how would I advise them?
- First I'd say, especially to Bonnie Jacobs, VP Communications and Kathy Widmer, VP of Marketing - McNeil Consumer Healthcare - take a deep breath and be prepared for some long nights.
- Second I'd say "listen" to the angst of what should be the community of Motrin Moms.
Sadly, you will learn that you have lost some customers.
You will learn what went wrong for these moms and how they felt.
You will learn from women who were so upset that they took online, tweets and blog posts, offline to main stream media, advertisers and friends.
You will also learn from women who generously offered ideas on what McNeil Consumer
Healthcare could have done with the campaign that would have added
value and increased brand appreciation.
Laura Fitton aka Pistachio wrote a detailed post that includes a few lessons for the Motrin marketing team:
But
not tuning in while you launch a new tactic borders on gross
negligence, in this day and age. Rolling out a new tactic is THE most
important time to lend an ear.
From Sarah Browne, Guru of New, more lessons:
The
lesson here for corporate America? This didn’t have to happen. All you
have to do is ask and Moms will help — with your creative, your
research, your buzz.
- Third, I'd say join the conversation sooner than later. That is the challenge.
Neither Motrin or McNeil Consumer Healthcare have a presence in social media. However, there is the Johnson & Johnson blog - JNJ BTW and the social networking community Baby Center where they could tell their story. Perhaps Twitter is an option .. if they can put people resources against it
How do you reach out to over a thousand people who have written about you? Do you invite a handful of mommies to corporate headquarters and wine and dine them? How do you determine the "influencers?" No matter who you tap there will be hurt feelings.
How do you give back to a community? Maybe you make amens by identifying moms in need. Maybe you do something Big that is Important. Maybe you ask the community's help in identifying what that should be.
The big lesson that we continue to learn
Not stepping into social media especially when a significant, vocal, powerful segment of your market .. IS stepping into social media.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." Charles Darwin
Update: McNeil Consumer Healthcare Responds to Amy Gates, Crunchy Domestic Goddess. Amy posted the email:
Dear Amy -
I am the Vice President of Marketing for McNeil Consumer Healthcare. I have responsibility for the Motrin Brand, and am responding to concerns about recent advertising on our website. I am, myself, a mom of 3 daughters.
We certainly did not mean to offend moms through our advertising. Instead, we had intended to demonstrate genuine sympathy and appreciation for all that parents do for their babies. We believe deeply that moms know best and we sincerely apologize for disappointing you. Please know that we take your feedback seriously and will take swift action with regard to this ad. We are in process of removing it from our website. It will take longer, unfortunately, for it to be removed from magazine print as it is currently on newstands and in distribution.
-Kathy
Kathy Widmer
VP of Marketing - Pain, Pediatrics, GI, Specialty
McNeil Consumer Healthcare
Update: 11-18-08; Kathy Widmer, VP of Marketing apologizes on the home page of Motrin. Part 2 of Motirn: A Case Study in Social Media.
08/31/2008
... life just happens. However, every once in awhile when you round a corner, when you least expect
it, you bump into something that causes you to pause. No where is that
more magical than in New York City.
Big bronze pennies leading to whimsical art, created by local sculpture Tom Otterness, was one of the many little surprises that my friend Kate introduced me to during our walk along Rockefeller Park (Battery Park City) this weekend. I found it interesting that the name of this wee park is The Real World but the children call it Penny Park. I couldn't help but think .. what's real and what is play and how as adults we loose our sense of wonder and miss the moments of delight.
It's only a description of what I see in New York: the constant clash between people walking on the same street, living in the same world. I see small vignettes of meaning, but the connection between the events is beyond my understanding. Tom Otterness
Later that night Otterness' words would ring true for me. In a NYC taxi my aunt lost her purse. Panic set in as she was told by the 311 operator that due to the holiday weekend no one would be able to help her for 7 long days. Her lost money and cell phone were not so much a concern as her identification. How much of a hassle would it entail to get through TSA security? Life can be so complex.
The cabbie had found her purse. Taken the initiative to call several people from her phone list who in turn called family who was with my aunt. Happily ever after occurred when this good samaritan took time out from his job to return her pocket book.
I see small vignettes of meaning, but the connection between the events is beyond my understanding.
What might this have to do with marketing, or branding you may ask? In my way of thinking it is a reminder that be it taxi rides or art it's the people who we touch .. who we connect with who matter. For me social media marketing is making that happen more so every day. Because business is personal.
06/05/2008
It is with great delight that Diva Marketing is a stop on the virtual book tour for my dear friend 
Sybil Stershic's first book .. Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care published by WME.
Take Aways: Easy to read, Sybil's passion for the subject is evident, From concept to how to do it, Smart, Elements of social media e.g., transparency, inclusion - breaking down silos, conversations critical, A must read for everyone in management and those who aspire to those positions.
I hope you enjoy reading my conversation with the author of Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care - Ms. Sybil Stershic.
Toby/Diva Marketing: The phrase “Internal Marketing” sounds so .. well warm and fuzzy .. not very strategic. However, from Chapter 1 you set the stage that Internal Marketing is grounded in ROI with this quote from Francis Hesselbein – “Dispirited, unmotivated, underappreciated workers cannot compete in a highly competitive world.” Let’s set the record right. On a high level, what is Internal Marketing?
Sybil Stershic: Internal Marketing is a strategic blend of marketing and human resources focused on taking care of employees so they can take care of customers. While that still sounds warm & fuzzy, nonetheless it’s critical because if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers!
Toby/Diva Marketing: How does it differ from Internal Branding?
Sybil Stershic: Internal Marketing is based on the self-reinforcing relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction, whereas Internal Branding is based on making the brand part of the organization’s operations to ensure employees deliver on the brand promise. While management may use Internal Marketing to address employee and customer satisfaction and/or retention, internal branding is more likely to be used when launching a new brand or revitalizing an existing one.
Those differences aside, both approaches recognize “the brand walks around on two feet” and, as a result, are focused on engaging employees for marketing and organizational success.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Your book not only details the many aspects of Internal Marketing but provides a tangible work path, from an Internal Marketing audit to where people can develop a customized strategy. a beginning audit to an Internal Marketing Action Plan. Looking at the Internal Marketing Audit checklist where do you find companies fall short? Why? and can you offer a few suggestions?
Sybil Stershic: Surprisingly, they fall short in remembering to communicate the organization’s overall goals and what’s expected of employees in helping achieve those goals – reinforcing where each employee fits in the scope of the company and how the employee impacts its success.
For most companies, it’s an issue of time and, in some cases, inertia or neglect. The company gives out job descriptions to new employees, introduces them to the company in orientation, and then it’s back to business as usual. The company keeps plugging along and assumes that employees are up to speed with what’s happening in the organization. Meanwhile, face-to-face staff meetings have become almost nonexistent as they’ve been replaced by a barrage of e-mails.
Here’s what I suggest: managers need to develop a checklist of information that new employees need to know (especially in firms too small to offer a formal orientation) PLUS a checklist of regular information that all employees need to know, such as where the company is headed and what its strategy is for getting there, etc.
Managers who aren’t sure where to start with this can ask employees (those who have been with the company for a while and those who are relatively new): What information do you think new employees need to know about the organization? What do you know now that you wish you learned as a new employee? What type(s) of information do you need to stay updated with what’s happening in our company?
Toby/Diva Marketing: What have you seen is the biggest challenge, from management’s viewpoint, in developing a successful Internal Marketing program?
Sybil Stershic: The reality is Internal Marketing is more than a program – it’s an ongoing effort. And it’s one that’s best implemented gradually rather than introduced as a new “flavor-of-the-month” management initiative.
I find it ironic that many companies who do Internal Marketing well aren’t necessarily aware that they’re using Internal Marketing. These are companies with a workplace culture and operations committed to the value of both customers AND employees.
For managers and employees who are not part of such companies, the challenge is to apply Internal Marketing despite members of management who don’t get what it’s all about. The good news is you can still have a positive impact by applying Internal Marketing on a “micro” basis – at the department or division level – if not throughout the organization.
Toby/Diva Marketing: You provide great examples of companies who are doing it right. Many are using recognition and rewards as part of their strategy. Sometimes a plaque or pizza party feels like a patronizing platitude. How can recognition and rewards be perceived by employees as a heartfelt “thank you?”
Sybil Stershic: It depends on the manager or management involved. Recognition is genuine when it’s given by a manager who is respected by employees.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Let’s look at Internal Marketing from the employees’ viewpoint. How can employees contribute to the success of an Internal Marketing strategy?
Sybil Stershic: Great question, Toby, and it’s somewhat difficult to answer because Internal Marketing is really seamless. As mentioned earlier, Internal Marketing is inherent in a workplace culture truly committed to customers and employees – beyond the usual lip service given to employees as a valuable “asset.”
Whether applied formally or informally, Internal Marketing includes any and all initiatives, activities, and programs that connect employees to three levels: to the organization, to customers, and to other employees. For example: orientation, recognition programs, customer or employee roundtables, training, departments coming together for a combined staff meeting, job shadowing, customer and/or employee appreciation events, etc.
Back to your question on how can employees contribute to the success of an Internal Marketing strategy. They can best contribute by being open and honest with management regarding how they feel about the organization and what they can do to help it succeed; in addition, they should also share any feedback they get on how customers feel about the company and its brand(s).
Toby/Diva Marketing: It seems an exciting benefit of an Internal Marketing strategy is, call it a cross pollination among traditional corporate ‘silos.’ Would you please talk a bit about how that occurs?
Sybil Stershic: Earlier I talked about employees needing to know where they fit in the ‘big picture’ of the organization and how they can contribute to the company’s success. This is not done in a vacuum, however, as employees need to know how their work impacts others within the organization, including “internal customers” – employees whose needs must be met in order to serve the company’s customers.
So I advocate opening up communications within as well as across departments. Some companies do this by encouraging employees to trade places or ‘shadow’ another employee to better understand that person’s job function. Departments can also host an “open house” (in real time or online) to showcase what they do. At a minimum, you can begin to break down organizational silos by opening up your staff meetings to other employees. (There I go again pushing staff meetings!) Seriously, such activities serve to create empathy and appreciation for other employees.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Let’s wrap this up by talking about the next generation work force. How do you think the Millenniums will impact the future of Internal Marketing? Do they expect a different work environment then the XYers or the Boomers?
Sybil Stershic: I believe there will still be a need for Internal Marketing as the work environment and workforce continue to evolve. Here’s why.
Despite different generational attitudes in the workplace, companies will still need to engage their employees. And that’s where Internal Marketing comes in – enabling organizations to communicate and reinforce a sense of common purpose, a sense of belonging, and a sense of being part of something special, particularly in workplace that’s becoming increasingly insular. Internal Marketing will continue to be relevant as a ‘high touch’ people-centered management approach in a ‘high tech’ world.
Thanks, Toby, for allowing me to share this with your readers.
Thank *you* Sybil!
Special Discount! WME is kindly offering a 20% discount when you purchase Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care from the WME online book store. Please the code 107VBT on the checkout page.
On The Virtual Book Tour - Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care
Lisa Rosendahl, HR Thoughts, posted a great review.
Chris Bailey, Bailey Work/Play: The Alchemy of Soulful Work, shared insights in his review.
Kevin Burns, Burns Blogs Attitude, provides his views about about Taking Care of the People.
Toby Bloomberg Diva Marketing (moi!) a conversation with Sybil Stershic
On June 6th, Becky Carroll, Customers Rock!, gives us a two for one .. an interview and a review.
On June 9th, Paul Hebert, Incentive Intelligence, will review Sybil's new book.
On June 10, 2008, Phil Gerbyshak will post an interview on Slacker Manager
Diva Special Treat! The first person who drops a value-add -to-the-conversation comment (as determined by Sybil herself!) will win a copy of On The Virtual Book Tour - Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care.
More Sybil: Catch Sybil on the Diva Marketing Talks podcast when she dished with me and Nettie Hartsock about being a new author.
02/17/2008
Memo
To: Smart corporate marketers who are including social media / Web 2.0 strategies
From: Your customers
Blogs, podcasts, videos, communities building, social networking, widgets and gidgets and digg and Twitter and the ten thousand other technologies are worth NOTHING if your internal processes are broken.
Forget about how to create, measure and analyze the buzz about your brand. It means NOTHING if your internal processes are broken.
My friend Marianne Richmond details a very frustrating story of how HP is playing games with the education of Sam - a high school freshman - whose HP laptop has been zonked (I think that's a technical word) since November 2007 .. with no resolution dispute hours with tech support, emails to bloggers, on and on. What adds insult to injury is that this is the company that boasts not 1 or 2 or 10 or 15 or 20 but over 50 HP blogs along with podcasts and other social media initiatives. There is even one about social media by Scott Berg. They all mean NOTHING because internal processes are broken.
HP, I'd like to introduce you to two of your customers Sam
and his mom Marianne, 
who are about to go MAC. Well, HP you might say, the loss of one high school student and his mom .. no big deal. It's not like they are a Fortune 100 company where you might have opportunity for an account with hundreds perhaps thousands of orders.
Oh, by the way, HP if you or one of your 50+ bloggers happen to be listening to this conversation, I forgot to mention one minor detail. Mom Marianne is a highly respected blogger. Her post - HP: Customer Experience Disconnect might influence as many potential customers as that one Fortune 100 account.
Some times life shows us some unexpected humor this cartoon 
from gapingvoid.com was next to Marianne's post.
Lessons Learned:
- Social media is more than a well written blog.
- Social media changes how we conduct business.
- In developing your social media strategy do not neglect a review of internal processes. How will information be disseminated?
- In the nano second world of the Internet, internal systems must be developed to ensure rapid responses to questions and problems.
- Excellent customer service is not a nice to have .. it's critical.
- Listening in on conversations means NOTHING if you can't take corrective action .. immediately.
04/27/2007
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
"A little piece of history in the making" is what Lois Kelly, one of the newest story tellers calls Blogger Stories.
Blogger Stories is a special blog that I launched to tell the stories of how people have been touched by blogs, podcasts, vlogs and other online interactions. The virtual library is almost at 90 "chapters" that have been contributed by bloggers from all over the world.
The little website with the odd name is influencing lives more than one might imagine. For the three new blogger story tellers blogs renewed interest and gave new meaning to their career directions.
Sherry Heyl, What a Concept! Sherry's Blogger Story
Mark Goren, Transmission Content + Creative Mark's Blogger Story
Lois Kelly, The Foghound Bloghound Lois' Blogger Story
The next time you're on a boring conference call .. don't doodle. Read a Blogger Story! Want to tell your Blogger Story? Drop a comment and I'll send you the details.
In keeping with stories, it's been a media kinda day for me. I was quoted about blogs and social media in articles about two different industries, financial and food/restaurants, that are stepping into the world of people talking to people communication.
Restaurant News, Restaurants wade into social media to hook virtual customers written by Liza Berger. Unfortunately a subscription is need to access content on the site. Thanks to BBF Stephan Spencer for the introduction to Liza.
Growing up in Boston made my interview with Jesse Noyes, of the Boston Herald, a special treat. Jess wanted to understand why and how organizations are tapping into bloggers for his story - Wainwright Bank plans a meeting with liberal bloggers. Very interesting that a financial institution is developing a program that solicits bloggers' feedback. However, in more "banking culture" than "bloggy culture" the bank is not revealing much about its strategy.
Jesse reported that Wainwright Bank "wouldn’t divulge many details about the planned meeting with liberal bloggers." "This is all exploratory,” said Steve Young, senior vice president at Wainwright Bank. “There are certain people who are invited to meet us.”
Josh Ourisman, who writes the On The Other Hand blog, was asked to the party. He was also asked to extend the invitation to join Wainwright Bank's bloggy talk to Boston/Cambridge/Somerville progressive bloggers. I'm not sure what progressive blogger means. However, I can't help but wonder if Wainwright Bank is also developing relationships with bloggers in their target market which might include business owners, homeowners (there is a village in the blogosphere that focuses on home ownership not to mention a lively real estate community) and non profits.
Since Wainwright Bank is monitoring the social media buzz I'd like to extend an invitation to Steve Young, or any of the bank's folks to drop by and give us a few lessons learned about their blogger relations program and if they launch a social media initiative I'd love to know that too. 
In the meantime toss of a
pink boa to an innovative financial instituion.
One more thought to ponder. This post is an example of how a story can go from a traditional main stream media source, a la the Boston Herald or Restaurant News, to a blog where the information is further extended and virally pass along. Hmmm, girlfriend, can't help but wonder how many of MSM (main stream media) are building blogger relations programs. Perhaps they should take their cue from a traditional industry like banking (wink). And so dear divas and divos the media lines continue to blur.
02/27/2007
Where oh where is the heart and soul of Starbucks? How can Starbucks get its groove back?
johnmoore, Brand Autopsy, wants to help out his pals at Starbucks. He sent a few bloggy pals the following email this afternoon -
- I’m sure you’ve heard about the leaked Howard Schultz memo to key Starbucks executives. In this memo, Howard derides decisions the company has made in order to grow. Howard closes the email by asking his executive team to get smarter about the business and to get more innovative to once again differentiate Starbucks.
- Taking blatant inspiration from Seth Godin’s WHAT MUST GOOGLE DO ebook done a few years ago, I’m doing a WHAT MUST STARBUCKS DO ebook. It’ll be totally free and posted somewhere online for all to download. And just as Seth did, I’ve asked people to send me their ideas on what Starbucks must do to become the company it once was. The crux of this ebook will be the ideas generated by the "Starbucks Board of Customers."
Here's what I sent johnmoore -
Thanks for asking me to play along .. Here's my 2 cents, which we know won't even buy the opportunity for a deep breath of java aroma at SB. Ooops.. there is none!
Starbucks built its success on the warmth of the experience more so than the excellence of the coffee. The neighborhood coffee shop where "everyone knows your name" or your coffee of choice must begin with the baristas and ends with the baristas. The in between details are the foam on the java that should reinforce the sense of local community.
My suggestions to would begin at marketing 101 - understanding your customers and their needs. That might result in jazz nights with area musicians or cookies from an area bakery instead of a corporate buy. Or it might mean a play area for kids with moms in one city or more outlets for laptops in another neighborhood. It might even mean giving up some of the 'corporate' cookie cutter standardization. I wonder if Starbucks is really ready to "be" that neighborhood shop once again?
If you want to play along all the details are on the What Must Starbucks Do post at Brand Autopsy.
02/15/2007
Does the title of this post "Social Media's Positive Influence On Customer Service" sound like an oxymoron to you?
Earlier this week I wrote about my dear friend Millie Garfield's, MyMomsBlog, unhappy experience with a major financial institution - Capital One. Not knowing if Capital One was in tune with monitoring the blog buzz I searched thru their corporate site and eventually found an email link to a person in the PR department (which let me tell you girlfriend was no small feat!). I kindly sent off an "e" - posted on Social Media's Influence On Customer Service. Well, I thought it was nice of me to go through the trouble. I mean if your company isn't tracking the buzz about your brands and an influencer blog like MyMomsBlog was dishing a product wouldn't you want to know?
Social media and customer care is on the minds of other people this week. Diva Valeria Maltoni's Fast Company Expert Blogger post, Chasing Customers Away, addresses the issue of the impact of social media (with reference to the Diva Marketing's post) and asks this question:
In this new business context where social media is gaining in credibility and scope can you afford to ignore these inquiries?
Sidebar: Valeria writes about customer communications. I found it amusing that that Fast Company is listing her blog under the category of Innovation. Sadly, Fast Company may be right. Excellent customer care might well be an innovative strategy.
Let's spin this in a positive direction. I've written several atta good company posts .. even about the TSA. Teresa Caro's comment may hold some of the answers to our questions.
I don't think they understand the true impact of the blogosphere. More importantly, I think they are afraid. Those in the mainstream who just hear about the blogosphere through the media, only hear about the times companies have been flamed. Never about the times where they have been complemented. Maybe showing examples of positive experiences would help here.
Let's take our clue from Teresa. Here's the challenge .. drop a comment about examples where bloggers have said nice things about their customer service experiences AND the company has responded back to the blogger. And to do nice things for you - a surprise Diva treat to a Max randomly selected blogger or perhaps two.
To get this started here are two positive social media customer service examples.
Unilever - Heard this from the diva divine Charlene Li, Forrester Research, at New Communication Forum 2006. As the story goes .. Dan Entin couldn't find his fav deodorant - Degree For Men. He did what many a blogger might do and posted about his quest on his blog Two Percent Nation. Unilever was listening and sent him a carton of Degree.
Kudos to Mike for seeing what I wrote and taking action to make a loyal customer even more devoted.
Radio Shack - Kristie's, WebMomz, experience is about a Radio Shack sales clerk who spent 20 minutes hooking up all the assorted cords and parts and
actually did some test recordings till we got everything working. Now that’s service! Here's the comment from Radio Shack manager Tony Rosen
Thanks for the positive feedback Kristie. It appreciate the recognition you sent to my company. It always feels good to know i did something positive for a customer, we usually only get to hear about the negative. Hope everything worked out for you, and look forward to seeing you in my store in the future.
When it's all said and done, customer delight has to do with letting people know - "You matter. I hear you. I'm paying attention to you." In this world that spins too fast, consistent customer delight is one of the most powerful branding strategies you can put into play. Using social media, honestly and transparently, to help get that message across makes good business sense.
However, there's another element that reinforces the importance of using social media as a customer service tactic. The element of trust. Edelman conducts an annual a multi-country research study seeking to understand the state of trust in institutions. In Richard Edelman's summary of the Edelman Trust Barometer 2007 he says -
- The remarkable rise of the “Person Like Yourself” as credible
spokesperson from 2003-6 (from 22% to 68% in the US in that period) saw
a decline this year (in the US, trusted by 51%), but still ranks as the
#1 trusted spokesperson in most of the countries surveyed.
- There is a general decline in trust in all spokespeople and sources of information. That means a company must tell its story consistently and in multiple venues in order to achieve trust.
To wrap this one .. your story: 1. a positive experience with a brand that you have posted on your blog 2. the company responded back to you.
To be continued ..
