Archive for the ‘marketing’ CategoryI was taught that way back when I was in sales, to ask for a report card from clients ESPECIALLY when you think it’s going to be a bad one. Many companies that are reluctant to dive into social media tell me that they are afraid of their brand being “out there” for public criticism — whether it is deserved or not. Reputation management is one of the key objectives for which SMM (social media marketing) can be used, and that same “report card” lesson applies. No one can debate the benefits that a good review or customer comment can provide to any business. But a bad review, or blog/Twitter comment, can be just as useful if it is addressed correctly and in a timely manner. Below are some tips on how to make lemonade out of that potential lemon of a review. Assess the damage –
Decide how you are going to respond, but whatever it is, respond quickly.
When NOT to react –
Even a bad review can be good. Remember that mantra of social media connect/create/engage. The secret sauce is transparency. A bad review addressed is a very good thing. Don’t be afraid to have your brand out there, it’s all good.
My guest blogger today is friend and colleague Kellie D’Andrea.  Business Coach Kellie D'Andrea Kellie is a business coach and master marketer. She has help everyone from the smallest entrepreneur to the largest organizations realize tremendous growth. In today’s economy many business owners are faced with tough decisions that will streamline their business to save a few dollars without compromising service. As unemployment hits an all time high and people and businesses are not spending as much as they did in years past, what can a small business do to survive in a tough economy? 1. Become the ultimate deal maker: With everyone pinching pennies and looking for new ways to save money, this is a great time to offer excellent deals for your products or services. Now is the time for you to be strategic about making deals with your customers, vendors and service partners. In fact, try bartering for services, ad space or product. Every business is looking for ways to save money so do not be afraid to renegotiate contracts with your current vendors and to offer more value to keep your current customers. 2. Look for efficiencies: Take a look at all of the processes in your business and see if there are ways to streamline and become more efficient. Look for areas that are manually heavy tasks and see if there is an opportunity to automate. Look for areas that are paper heavy and duplicated and see if you can tighten up. Combine like tasks for greater productivity and do not shy away from investment opportunities that may reduce your overall labor in future periods. For example, investing in technology that could would reduce labor by 50%. Although there is an upfront outlay of cash, the investment will pay for itself. 3. Up your marketing: Now is the time to increase your marketing. Studies have shown that in times of a downward companies, small business that increase marketing have a greater chance of growing their business since there are so many business owners that cut back on their marketing. Here is a great opportunity to stand out from your competition and grab more market share. Marketing is a process and a continuous one so to get customers in your sales funnel, you need to continue to market your business. 4. Bring additional value to your customers. Since your customers are why your business exist, show them how much they mean to you. This is the time to reach out and strengthen the bond you have with your customers and show them how much you appreciate their business. Try offering them an appreciation day, or discounts for their continued business. Offer rewards and frequent buyer programs and see where you can add more value to your current service model. Perhaps a free bonus, an extra drink, a whitepaper… be creative and think out of the box. 5. Plan. Take out that marketing and business plan and review it and revise it. Now is the time to build a plan a new plan and create new financial projections based upon the current economic climate. By shifting your business to be more efficient now and to train your team to do more with less, you are setting the business up for success when the economy comes back. Once a company knows how to run lean and mean, it stays during the economic swing upward resulting in more profits. Do you know that many successful businesses were started during a recession? Having a strong foundation in branding, leadership and selling techniques will help you weather any economic storm and position you for long term growth. We have built our business on customer acquisition in its many flavors — building mailing-list strategies for major catalogers, developing databases for software manufacturers, conducting hefty lead-generation campaigns for various high-tech companies, and now we are assisting the small-business owner in growing their lists and attracting new customers — another way of saying lead generation. But whether the enterprise is huge and complex, or a mom-and-pop, the lead funnel stages are the same. I want to take a minute to focus on the lead nurture aspect. This is the part that is too shortened or ignored in the larger enterprises, who are so focused on quarter-by-quarter performance that they may not have the time to nurture a lead properly. Smaller companies and entrepreneurs frequently don’t undertand or spend enough effort in the wooing process. The classic lead funnel has 4 stages — brand awareness, lead generation, lead nurture and finally the sale. Let’s look at 1. Know – The prospect first has to know your brand, company or product. Awareness, branding, is the first step in any purchase decision, absolutely. Here is where first impressions are made, and an initial opinion established. This is probably the most formal features-and-benefits oriented, strictly informational aspect of communications to come in to play. Formal white papers about the product capabilities, PowerPoint presentations, spec sheets — all of that formal credibility-building collateral is right on target here and should be used. Social Media plays an important role here as well, but done with an eye to creating the right image.
2. Like – Stages 2 and 3 are really the important pieces, in my mind. You are now building a level of involvement and increasing intimacy with your prospect. This may sound like a romantic, consumer-ish, and odd concept. But buyers are people. And people make decisions more with their emotions than with their brains, whether they are buying blade servers or scented soap. Knowledge about the product, features, and benefits, are all part of what needs to be communicated. But that is truly not what makes a sale happen. This is the time to provide value at no cost; white papers about a pain point in the industry, resources for problem solving, a free e-book pertaining to a specific concept of particular interest to your prospect. Give all this away. Give lots away, and give it frequently and often. If you are providing truly valuable (to your prospect) information, frequent contact will not be perceived as harassment, so don’t be shy. But don’t ask for the sale, not yet. 3. Trust – This is an even more intimate stage, and the nurturing process should reflect that. Podcasts and interviews tend to be more personal and more involving, and this is the perfect stage to integrate them into the lead-nurture process. There is something about having an ear-bud plugged in to your ear that creates a very intimate relationship between the listener and the presenter. Emails with a brief embedded video create direct interaction and conversation (if comments are allowed) with the viewer. Here is where personal stories from the sales rep or CEO, or longer off-topic lunches (in old sales parlance) make a difference in the quality of the relationship. You are building trust. Use Social Media at this stage as well on a more intimate level; invite prospects into your blogging community, internal wikis or mini-sites to gain a more human perspective on your company, brand or people. Invite them to participate as a guest blogger, interview them for an internal video, and involve them in the social media community. Envelope them with social media love and you will be holding them very closely. 4. The sale – If you have done steps 2 and 3 in a truly nurturing way (this is a Mom speaking, but it’s still true), then asking for the sale is easier, and more comfortable for all concerned — almost a natural and expected progression. Think again about levels of intimacy and how and where to include social media into the nurturing stages of the lead funnel. Your close rate will certainly improve. The first thing people think of when weighing the pros and cons of blogging for business is “who’s got the time?” We all know that blogging is a terrific way to keep your site fresh with new content so that you stay high in search rankings, attract traffic to your site, and gain new prospects and eventually sales. But it has to be done regularly, and on an ongoing basis. Daunting, no? Well no, not according to David Spark.
 David Spark I’m delighted to announce that my friend and collegue David Spark of Spark Media Solutions will be joining us for an inteview August 11, 2010, at noon Pacific Time (3 pm Eastern). David’s topic will be “Blogging for Business – for People Who Have NO Time to Blog”. You my know David from his regular TV appearances or reading his many articles and columns. He is a 14-year veteran tech journalist and founder of Spark Media Solutions, specialists in developing industry voice through storytelling and social media. David has written for more than 30 media outlets in print, radio, and TV including eWEEK, PCWorld, TechTV, and Wired News. He’s currently a regular contributor to ABC Radio, Mashable, Socialmedia.biz, KQED, and John C. Dvorak’s “Cranky Geeks.” Spark blogs regularly at the Spark Minute. David is a wonderful speaker and a fun interview, but he is also very practical. David will give us some great tips on how to make the blogging process a part of your daily business life, and keep the creation of blog material seamless as well as painless. Please join us! Sign up below and we will send you an email with dial-in information.
How to Choose an Email Service Provider Whether you are just launching your list-building efforts or have had a mailing-list for a while, the choice of Email Service Providers is critical to the success of your email marketing efforts. But what to look for in an ESP can be complex -– yet it shouldn’t keep you from making the best decision for your company’s current stage of list development. Below are 10 considerations for evaluating an ESP. 1. Deliverability Deliverability stats are easy to document if the ESP is a good one. A few signs — will the ESP allow a third-party deliverability audit by a company such as PivotalVeracity or Return Path before requiring a contract? Do they consistently monitor deliverability? What about data hygiene services? Does the ESP scrub against known spam traps, active complainers, and undeliverable addresses? Can you have your own dedicated IP mail server address, or can you elect to be in a shared or distributed IP mail server pool? And really important, I’ve found — does the ESP have a team of postmasters to interact with ISPs? This is an area that takes babysitting and diligence. 2. Training Some ESP platforms are very intuitive, but many are not. Are there costs for initial or follow-up training? Is training available both online and live? Is training mandatory before being allowed to call customer support? Do new software releases include training? You want an ESP that offers easy access to resources to ensure your ramp-up time is minimal. Spend a bit of time exploring their online training options (videos, tutorials) and see how comfortable you are. 3. Both broadcast and autoresponder options Broadcast is when you set up a message to be sent out immediately or at a certain day/time. A broadcast is going to go out to your full email list. Autoresponders, both drip and triggered, are emails that are set up to be delivered automatically at certain intervals after someone signs up to your list. As someone who uses email marketing, you want both options as they’ll be useful to you in many ways while you work to reach your market. 4. Customer service With over 100 ESPs to choose from, much of email service is being viewed as commodity-based. Therefore, level and quality of service is a prime differentiator. Consider the overall account servicing. Check their website or sales people to find out if you will have online or email access to immediate customer support, or will it be next day with a ticketing system? Ask for references from current clients –- this will be most telling. 5. Personalization capabilities Adding personalization to your emails is a great way to increase interest and conversions. You can personalize emails with first names but you can also use functions like where they live, what hobbies they have, or other categories to call out your prospects. 5. Multiple email lists hosting Some programs only allow you to host one email list. You will likely want to keep separate email lists for different websites, topics or even to separate current customers from potential customers. 6. HTML and Text email creation Some people prefer to send plain-text emails while others like to add images and html code through an HTML email. Be sure your ESP can do both. HTML with a text backup will always get a higher open and read rate, and presumably click-through rate as well. 7 Easy and flexible sign-up form creation You will want to have the option of creating multiple sign-up forms that will create multiple lists. This is crucial for better targeting as your marketing becomes more complex. Check on the ESP’s form-creation opyions and capability -– if they even have one. 8. Reporting and analysis If you’re sending out emails without knowing the results, then it’s very difficult to be successful. Make sure you’re clear on the metrics that matter for your business, and review how well the reporting capabilities of the ESP match those needs. Standard metrics should include sends, deliveries, opens, click-throughs and forwards. What level of detailed reporting is available for bounce messages (i.e. why did a message bounce)? Take a look at the standard reports -– this should give you a good overview. 9. Templates and design assistance If your design skills are limited or non-existent, templates can be very helpful. Some companies make it easy to get a professional email campaign going by providing templates. If this would be helpful to your organization, this feature is a must. 10. Pricing You don’t want to choose your ESP based solely on price, but you do want to know exactly what you’re getting. Some ESPs require a 12-month usage/revenue commitment, while others have a pay-as-you-go model scaled for volume. Which optional features have costs? Ask for contracts from potential ESPs and have them reviewed for any red flags before final vendor selection. If you are in a larger enterprise, get a copy of the agreement from ESPs that are finalists so that your legal department can review indemnity and liability language. The inability of either side to be flexible can be signs of difficulties to come. All that work you put into finding your favorite ESPs can be wasted if you can’t come to terms. The best way to figure out if a program is the right one for you is to do your research first, then explore the option of taking a trial of the program. Your email list is without a doubt one of the biggest assets you will ever have in your online business. Take some time to do your homework and set it up correctly, and that initial investment of time and effort will pay off in multiples for years to come.
1. Direct Mail is back – have I said this enough yet? Yes, I know postage is going up, yes I know this seems old school. But mail boxes are pretty light these days, so there is not much competition for your prospects’ attention. Mail a piece that has your company’s Twitter handle on it. Invite viewers to follow you, and set up an autoresponder to their follow that includes a special offer with a quick timeline to drive that call to action (example: 20% off on your next order if you place the order by Friday). 2. Send a postcard (snail mail) and include a QR (Quick Response) code that can be scanned by your smart phone to send the reader to mobile enabled page of your website with a special offer, or to a training video that tells a better story or demo of a product, or even a free donut if they come into your store or place of business. (Keep donuts on hand, then!) QR Code generators are simple apps and easy to use. Do a Google search on QR Code generators and find the top rated suppliers, and jump in. 3. Or on that same postcard, send them to a squeeze page on your website with a specific white paper or eBook in return for registering for your newsletter. Now you have proved your value with some educational material for your prospect, and you have gleaned their email address as well for ongoing marketing. Not a bad quid pro quo. I’m a big believer in the give-to-get mentality. 4. With that same email registration (see #3), set up an autoresponder email to thank visitors for their registration to your newsletter, and link to your Facebook page, inviting them to “like” your page (FB, please change that concept — such an awkward verb), and set up a special tab with a timed offer. Now you have a postal address and their email address and have gained more traffic on your FB page — all for future marketing. Sound gimmicky? Not at all, certainly not these days and very easy to do. I’ve been following Fabienne Fredrickson for about a year and am a complete fan. She is launching a new tour targeting the mindset of the entrepreneur and I just wanted to spread the word. If there’s a struggle on the OUTSIDE, it means there’s a struggle on the INSIDE. This is how Marketing and Success Mindset Expert, Fabienne Fredrickson describes why you might not be experiencing the success in your business that you should be. As Fabienne explains, once you shift the internal mindset barriers that are sabotaging your success, you have the ability to be prosperous and to multiply your revenues, over and over again, with ease–but only when you get to the root of what’s holding you back. Pretty intriguing, don’t you think? Fabienne is taking her Mindset teachings on the road at three One-day LIVE events titled, ‘Millionaire Entrepreneur Mindset Secrets’: San Diego, CA: July 22nd New York, NY: July 29th Atlanta, GA: August 5th (Even if you’re not living in these cities, this event is worth flying in for, taking the train or going on a road trip with friends…) During these events, you’ll be “stretched” by Fabienne to see a much bigger vision of what’s possible for you, and you’ll begin to uncover the hidden reasons why you’re not currently making more in your business. You’ll also discover the exact process to shift your mindset, transform your in-come, and upgrade your entire life–both personally and professionally. ‘Millionaire Entrepreneur Mindset Secrets’ promise to be a real game changer for entrepreneurs ready to truly experience success–something that will immediately impact your business and your life. Fabienne is known for her down-to-earth, yet powerful presentations so I promise you, you won’t want to miss this event! She is a trusted business mentor and coach to thousands of heart-centered entrepreneurs around the globe. Now you can have her teach you the same mindset principles that she teaches her clients, for a fraction of what they pay. (Only $95 and you get to bring a guest for free!) Watch Fabienne’s new video about this event, here: http://bit.ly/92zYYF So expect a full afternoon of Fabienne teaching you the secrets she personally used to transform her own business and multiply her in-come, dramatically by using proven internal mindset principles. Fabienne uses these principles daily to keep doubling her business every year, and her private students are doing the same…and you can too! Get all the event details here: The event also includes high-level networking, “mindset makeover” hotseats conducted by Fabienne, as well as a gourmet hors d’oeuvres reception immediately following–so you can meet and talk to Fabienne personally. It’s only $95 to register (and, each paid participant gets to bring a guest for free.) There are only 100 seats available per location, so register quickly before they sell out. I hope to see you there! Brown Sugar Kitchen is an absolutely wonderful “new style down home” cafe in West Oakland. I’ve watched them with increasing admiration since they appeared both on Mandela Parkway and on Twitter and Facebook. I’m doing an interview with Phil Surkis, one of the owners of BSK on his social media strategy, which is wonderful to behold. I should explain. BSK is in the middle of an industrial area, which is to say, almost nowhere. There is no foot traffic, no retail buzz, no reason to be in the nabe except to pick up pipe for that construction project, or to drive by on your way to IKEA or Best Buy. But somehow (and my bet is thru Tanya’s excellent food So, in my new series of interviews on the use of social media for small businesses, I’ve asked Phil to share his secrets. If you have any kind of small biz, retail store or restaurant, I’m sure you will get lots of great ideas to incorporate with your social media marketing plan. And maybe a recipe or two…can’t promise, though. When: Monday June 14th, 1 pm Pacific time If you would like an audio file of the interview, please sign up below. Geo-Marketing (also known as Geo-Local, and Geo-Social) is becoming the hot topic of of the online/mobile/search/social media worlds. Rightly so, it’s the next big thing. How big, you say? Look who is jumping into the pool:
We have talked in a previous blog post about the impending tsunami of mobile marketing and Geo-Marketing. With the smart-phone market exploding, GPS apps on the rise, and location-based sites like Gowalla and Brightkite gaining traction daily, this is a marketing phenomenon that can’t be ignored. Is your company ready to ride this wave? Is your company Geo-Social ready? Please join me for a webinar to find out what the new breed of Geolocation-enabled services and applications is doing for brands, for businesses and for consumers, and how your company can be a part of it. In this webinar we will discuss the benefits and components of Geo-Marketing, including Geo-Listings on local sites like Yelp, Google Places, the upcoming trends in Mobile Marketing and Geo-Social Marketing and how each should be a part of your marketing plan. Webinar attendees will walk away with a thorough understanding of:
The Webinar is a joint venture between Elymedia, a San Francisco-based media strategy and buying agency, and SmartFinds Internet Marketing, a Detroit-based national firm which provides businesses with Internet marketing services and solutions. Please sign up below, and we will send you an email to set up a date and time for the event.
Lest you think that Social Media has completely swallowed us up, we are still very much in the traditional media business as well. We have sourced a few new services that have me very excited.
Most business professionals are on LinkedIn at this point. LI tells us that: •LinkedIn has over 65 million members in over 200 countries. To me that says clearly that if you have almost ANY kind of business and are prospecting, LI will be a good resource for you. But just setting up a profile and dabbling once a week or so is not going to do much for your prospecting efforts. Below are a few tips that not many folks know about, but are powerful techniques for increasing your visibility and maximizing that “inbound marketing” that Social Media is known for. 1. Using LI to research potential prospects? You can create 3 saved searches. If you are doing a search on a person, save your searches. Once you have done a search from the search box in the upper right of your home page, you will see your results. At the top where you see the number of records in your search you’ll see a “save this search” button. LI will give you the option of sending you a weekly email, to get updates to your search. Great ongoing tool! 2. Recommendations are important, so ask for them. Companies, people and brands are evaluated by who else like them. But make it easy. First call or email your contact and ask if they will recommend you. If so, write the recommendation yourself. Not only will you be sure that you are positioning yourself in the best light, but you will make it much easier for your contact to provide the referral. All they need to do is cut and paste. Easy. 3. Use the Question and Answer area to gain more visibility on the Internet. On the question that you answer you will see a “share this” with a drop down menu. You can email your network, Digg it, Bookmark the question on Delicious, or use the link provided in your answer and link to your one of your blog posts, or somewhere else on your site to pull in traffic. Great for online visibility, gaining credibility and helping people find you. 4. Join groups that are in-line with your business, your objectives or a desired job. Fish where the fish are. The more “on target” the group, the more valuable the content they provide, and the greater the networking opportunities (and ultimately leads) will be. 5. Use groups to expand your network, but be selective. In the groups tabs, you will see one called “other” with a drop down menu. Select members and you will see a list of all of the members in that group. Offer to connect with the ones that make sense. You might evaluate based on the size of their network, the type of company or industry they are in or how much interaction they have had with the group. 6. Did you know you can export your connections? Go to “Contacts.” then “Connections.” At the bottom of your Connections box is “Export Connections.” Export the connections and import them into your preferred address book. Do this frequently so you are consolidating all of your contacts in one spot (might be Outlook, Act, Salesforce)
I’m doing another free teleclass on using Social Media to generate leads and build sales on Wed, May 12 at 1 pm Pacific Time, 4 pm Eastern. Register here to join me. I’ll send you dial-in information the day before the event. I started this class because, after conducting a monthly breakfast meeting on Social Media for the SVAMA, it became clear to me that the small business was not getting the kind of strategic direction that they really needed. Everyone will say that they are using Social Media. They are on Twitter, or have a Facebook profile, but few really understand how to use Social Media strategically. It’s a marketing powerhouse if used effectively and I want to give all businesses the tools to do just that. So please join me. If you can’t make the class live, sign up anyway! I’ll be recording the class and will send everyone who signs up an audio file the following day. Hope to see you there!
I never thought I’d say this, but my mail box is starting to get full again. Brands and agencies seem to be slowly returning to the tried and true method of direct mail. Perhaps our email inboxes are getting too full, or the online world is just getting too cluttered. Or the marketing people have realized that they have been missing an important piece of the marketing puzzle all along. But direct mail is becoming more sophisticated as technology is allowing for more capabilities. Even if you are going to mail a simple post card (very powerful, by the way), below are a few trends that you might want to take into consideration: Direct Mail/Social Media integration Personalized and customized mailings Improved data capture, database enhancements all allow for a more robust body of information on each customer. This translates, with digitized printing, into the abilty to create more targeted and personal messages. Personalisation in itself is not new but in the coming months we will see it move to a new level, making reference to past purchasing behavior and suggested next purchases. Companies who find ways to personalize communications will continue to see a better response. Using direct mail to drive web traffic – Given all of the above capabilities with customer data. Some smart marketers and sending readers not to the home page, but customized mini sites based on the recipients data. – Transaction history, advanced demographic info all can point reader to a very individualized experience. Marketing automation to cross and up sell
If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, please join me for this fascinating event: SVAMA Presents - The “last mile” is a telecom term for installing the final wire connection to the customer. It is considered the most critical, but also the most difficult connection. Similarly, businesses are establishing the final marketing mile to the customer through mobile technology. Yet this critical link is also proving to be difficult. Today’s always-connected customers suffer from information overload and distraction. Technology connects us in so many ways, but also adds to the fray. Ultimately, there are 16 waking hours of attention. The last marketing mile presents a cornucopia of opportunities to redefine consumer relationships, and enable competitive advantage. We will review:
Speaker: Adrian Ott, CEO, Exponential Edge Inc. (www.exponentialedge.com) Bio: Adrian Ott has been called “one of Silicon Valley’s most respected, (if not the most respected) strategist” by Consulting Magazine. She helps businesses gain an exponential edge in today’s turbulent markets. Adrian has worked with HP (where she was recognized in an annual report for “infusing HP with new revenue streams and new technologies and new business models”), Microsoft, Sierra Ventures, Clorox and others. Adrian is the author of The 24-Hour Customer: New Rules for Winning in a Time-Starved, Always-Connected Economy (HarperCollins, August 2010). She writes a regular column at Fast Company.com. When: May 25th 8:30 – 10 am Where: UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley, 2505 Augustine Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054 Cost: Currently $5 SVAMA members, $15 for non-members Please RVSP to info@elymedia.com This is a bit last-minute, but I want to invite you to join me on a live call with Ann Convery, creator of “Speak Your Business in 30 Seconds or Less”. If you thought you had an elevator speech down – think again! Ann is a master of neuromarketing and understanding what engages the brain and what turns it off. Ever introduced yourself and seen glazed eyeballs in a matter or seconds? She will discuss why using key verbs, avoiding others, and leading with “dessert” and other tips will turn ON your audience instead of turning them off. Really I was stunned when I first heard her speak; it was completely new information to me, so don’t miss this! When: Monday May 3rd (I know, very short notice!) Cheers,
I started using Social Media to promote my business 3 years ago, without much real knowledge about the whys and wherefores. I wasted a tremendous amount of time – Tweeting now and then, connecting on Facebook with whoever seemed like a likely prospect and getting distracted by numerous small and unimportant social media sites. Does this sound familiar? I was tired and frustrated with the trial and error of “trying” social media. I had no real strategy, or understanding of the power of the medium and knew I was missing out on a lot of potential business and can’t even imagine the Over the next 3 years, I made it my job to take classes and webinars, read blogs, and follow the thought leaders of social media. Now, I am armed with the critical knowledge needed in order to take advantage of all of the social media tools that help businesses grow, and I want to share it with you. Did you know that social media is the number one source for lead generation for our company? And these are WARM prospects – people who are coming to us ready to sign a check…or pretty close. Let me save you all of that wasted time and money. Why make the same mistakes I made? I’ve put together all of that hard earned expertise into a content rich and action directed teleseries. I’ll take you step-by-step through the process of setting up a social media strategy without the headaches, miss-steps and wasted time. Grab your spot NOW…the class starts on Tuesday April 27th and I don’t want you to miss a thing! Hope to see you on the call.
Customer Service problems can be daunting for any company. But the last thing you want to do is pretend that they don’t exist or will never exist. The best thing to do is meet them head on, resolve issues, make the customer as happy as possible, and move on. The last thing you want to even consider is ignoring an unhappy customer or client. Customer Service and Twitter.com were made for each other. The immediacy of Twitter, coupled with the accessibility of the customer-service “fixer” creates a terrific tool for staying in close and concerned contact with customers. And they feel the love. Below are a few tips to make this successful:
Twitter aside, one of the best things you can do to build and reinforce your brand is to take customer service very seriously. A problem will only get worse, and a customer will only get increasingly unhappy if the issue is not acknowledged. Companies will get far more “points” for being proactive in their efforts to resolve even horrendous problems to the best of their ability. The resolution may not be perfect in the customer’s or the public’s eye, but a true and strong effort to resolve will go far towards saving the loyalty of that person. Hopefully, they will spread the word and Tweet about the positive outcome, not the bad experience.
I’m thrilled to be the guest speaker at renown business coach Kellie D’Andrea’s weekly “Marketing Mondays” tele-class on April 12th. Here is Kellie’s write-up:  Business Coach Kellie D'Andrea Q: Are you curious about social media? A: Well, you don’t want to miss this call! “Generate Leads and Increase Sales with Social Media” during Marketing Mondays with Kellie D’Andrea. WHEN: MONDAY, April 12, 2010, 6 pm Eastern (NY) time (That’s 5 pm Central, 4 pm Mountain, 3 pm Pacific.) WHERE: Virtual Sign up to get call in information TIME: 6 pm Eastern (NY) time (That’s 5 pm Central, 4 pm Mountain, 3 pm Pacific.) Today the owner of a small business is struggling with a bad economy, declining sales and not enough resources to get the job done. Marketing for small business usually takes a back seat – just when it’s needed most! Social media adoption by small businesses doubled during the last year, from 12% to 24%. And among those, nearly half anticipate it will be profitable within the next 12 months, according to the Small Business Success Index. During this call, you will learn:
About our Guest Speaker: - – - – - - Thanks Kellie! Hope to see lots of you on the call!
Social Media is about 3 things — connecting, creating, and engaging. Sounds easy enough, but the value of everything you do using social media will all go back to who you are engaging with. This is a real case of “garbage-in, garbage-out.” If you “friend” or connect with anyone and everyone without any concern about who or why, you won’t get much out of all the time you may invest in your social media strategy. To make your social media strategy productive, efficient and successful, here are tips on creating a strong network.
My own Point of View: beware of the applications that promise to connect you to hundreds and thousands of people. They will. But so what? Quality and relevance trumps quantity. It’s important to keep expanding your connections in social media. But always be sure there is a well-thought-out strategy every time you go through the exercise. The quality of your network, and the payback it will give you, will be worth the extra time.
I’m delighted to announce the agenda for the March meeting of the Morning Forum on Emerging Media. SVAMA Presents: Twitter for Marketers: Lessons from the Enterprise
Learn about the best practices of how big brands use Twitter to engage in real life conversations with customers. You will be presented with real case studies from the social media managers who are responsible for driving customer engagement at Cisco and HP. They will present case study examples of how they drive consumer engagement on the social web. We will discuss:
Moderator: Tatyana Kanzaveli
Panelists: LaSandra Brill, Sr. Manager – Digital and Social Media Marketing, Cisco; Tony Welch, Lead Social Media Strategist and Community Manager for HP PSG, HP WHEN: March 30 , 2010, 8:30 – 10 AM WHERE: [NOTE NEW LOCATION] COST: Currently $5 SVAMA members, $15 for non-members RSVP: info@elymedia.com Speaker bios: Tatyana Kanzaveli, CEO of Social CRM World, has broad experience in sales, marketing and business development, technology and professional services. She held executive roles in number of start-ups and large multinationals. She was an early adopter of social media and social networking channels, using them to build successful online and face-to-face communities. Tatyana runs strategic Social CRM and social media marketing consultancy – http://scrmworld.com. She can be reached on Twitter: @glfceo LaSandra Brill, Sr. Mgr, Digital & Social Media Marketing, at Cisco Systems, is a social media enthusiast, avid blogger and marketing innovator. As Senior Manager of the Service Provider Digital & Social Media Marketing group, LaSandra Brill shapes Cisco’s marketing strategy to include a mix of social media marketing techniques leveraging Web 2.0 technologies. At Cisco she is known for building and executing the social media strategy of one of the top five product launches in company history. LaSandra holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from San Jose State University. Tony “Frosty” Welch is the Lead Social Media Strategist for HP PSG, and the Community Manager for The Next Bench – http://www.thenextbench.com. His Twitter handle is @frostola Hope to see you there! |
This gives you a chance to address the issues with the client, let them know you are listening and concerned, and turn those issues around. Plus you get extra points for being proactive.
it another way, from the prospects perspective — the Know/Like/Trust/Sale continuum with a focus on the inner 2 stages. One of the best-kept secrets of converting a prospect to a buyer is making sure that the bait used to hook them is in alignment with what they are expecting, wanting, and needing AT EACH STAGE OF THE FUNNEL. That will differ, and there is the difference.
How do you stand out amidst the millions of emails in our inbox, Tweets, Facebook posts, LinkedIn status, blog mentions, direct mail offers et al? It’s a challenge. It’s always been a challenge but now more so than ever. And more than ever, creativity is the solution — and multi-channel/cross-channel activities or old media-new media combos will win. Below are several ideas for creating multi-channel efforts that will shine:
and Phil’s wonderful touch with their social media efforts) they have built a standing-room-only crowd on weekends — and some weekdays as well.
