Posts about Marketing

The New Brunswick Challenge – Can You Rise to this Challenge?

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If you live in New Brunswick, keep reading. If you don’t it’s your choice whether you want to take the New Brunswick challenge or not, but it is a real challenge that I am issuing to my fellow New Brunswickers – can you rise to this challenge?New Brunswick Challenge

So, maybe you were born in New Brunswick and chose to stay here. Maybe you went away to school, but returned afterwards. Or, perhaps you went away to see the world and work “somewhere else” for a while, but returned to raise a family. Maybe you weren’t born here, but moved here for a career, you married a New Brunswicker, or for some other reason. Regardless of the reason, you have chosen to live here. And yes, let me be clear. If you live here, you choose to live here. At any given time you can “choose” to leave. You can always move somewhere else. That is the beauty of living in a free country – a democratic society.

So, what is the challenge? I challenge you to think differently about a number of topics listed below and to share your thoughts on social media. I challenge you to stretch your thinking and to propel your thoughts to that of solutions and positives rather than complaining and negatives. So, let’s give it a try with the following:

  1. How many of you have watched the #NBProud videos available here? How many are familiar with all the companies in the videos? How many of you can think of other great companies right here in New Brunswick? How many of you have shared these videos?

2. How many of you know that the snowblower was actually invented right here in New Brunswick….Dalhousie to be exact? Cool, isn’t it? Innovation right here at home…and in my home town.

3.  How many of you know that New Brunswick has one of the most vibrant start-up communities in Atlantic Canada. How about Canada? Well, we do.

4.  How many of you know that UNB’s BioMedical Institute is one of the top five IN THE WORLD? Again, this is true!

5. Did you know that there are countless jobs in New Brunswick that go unfilled each year because we don’t want to do them? Just ask the Harvey’s of Maugerville. After years of farming, the family has decided to sell their farm because they couldn’t get workers for the countless acres of vegetables. Did you know that immigrants often have to fill this void. It’s true. So, no they aren’t taking our jobs. They are filling a very necessary void to ensure our food security and helping support “buy local.”

6. Did you know that there are countless immigrants who come to this country and create new businesses. Just ask Sam Masry who came to New Brunswick from Egypt and established CARIS 37 years ago. Oh, did I mention that CARIS employs more than 200 people, including engineers and IT professionals? What about Dr. Ali Ghorbani who established Ara Labs, which has grown into Sentrant and employs IT professionals in the cybersecurity field?  So, no they aren’t taking our jobs. They, among countless others, are creating companies and jobs for New Brunswickers!

7. Did you know cities, provinces/states and countries around the world actively go out and seek companies to expand in their regions and offer financial incentives? Did you know that this is a normal attraction practice and it is not unique to New Brusnwick? In fact, because this is a competitive process, where New Brunswick is competing with well-known cities like New York and San Francisco for jobs, we often rely on the selling point of the quality of our people – New Brunswickers, quality of life and sheer determination to win the expansion plans of major brands? Again, this is true. And the end result? More jobs for New Brunswickers. As a former Salesforce employee, I can attest to this. Working for Salesforce, I got exposure to people and expertise that I would not have otherwise achieved, unless I moved away. The experience, including having worked for a publicly traded company, was priceless.

8. Did you know that the McDonald’s McFlurry was created in New Brunswick? It was…in Bathurst to be specific.

9. Did you know that the software used to locate J.F.K. Junior’s crashed plane was created in New Brunswick? Did you know that the Franklin Expedition’s lost ship was found by that same software? Well, it is true. That little company I mentioned above…CARIS…ya, it was their software.

10.  And, here is a good one I heard about in the last year and after some google searching, I found out it was true…did you know that the movie E.T. was written in Zionville? William Kotzwinkle and his wife Elizabeth Gundy, moved up here during the Vietnam War. They even built a house.

11. Did you know that there is no such thing as the status quo? So many people talk about “if things would only stay the same” or “why do we need to attract more people or companies?” The answer is simple. Nothing stays the same. If we aren’t proactive our population will age. People will die. Companies will cease to exist. Our tax base will decrease. This is not sustainable. This is why all active and intelligent communities are always looking to attract and retain people and business. It’s in our greater interest.

12. Did you know that UNB was named the most entrepreneurial university in Canada? Well, it was!

13. And finally, did you know that Google Earth uses technology developed by UNB? Yup, that is also true!

I have been fortunate to live in New Brunswick all my life. I have been fortunate to work for companies that have enabled me to travel and work around the world. Because of this I realize and I appreciate what a wonderful place New Brunswick is. I am #NBProud. I choose to live here. I see the potential and I want to change the narrative. I want to tell people about all the wonderful things that are happening here. If we constantly go looking for what is wrong versus what is right, we will always find the bad. I was at a session today where the founder of a local company that exports to more than 20 countries said it best: “if you think you live in a shit hole, then you will live in a shit hole.” 

If you believe you can, then you will. If we believe that we have talented and innovative people and companies in this province, which we do, then we need to shout it from the roof tops. We MUST believe in ourselves before others can believe in us.

So my challenge to you is to be #NBProud and to share your #NBProud moments. Share one exciting and powerful story each day for a week on social media. Can you rise to the challenge?

12 Proven Methods to Increase Your Traffic

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Insider Secrets to Using Emotions to Influence Buyer Behaviour

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Aren’t we all looking for ways to increase our blog and website visits, with the ultimate goal to increase sales? Of course we are. Depending on how much effort you want to use, there are some really great ways to do just that. In this post I share 12 proven methods to increase your traffic. Let’s dig in!

Minimum Effort:

Take a fresh and objective look at your blog. Are you missing some key elements?

1. Add a call to action – this is a big opportunity for you. You definitely want to do this. Are you simply ending your blog asking for thoughts, comments, or ideas? While I applaud you for wanting to engage, let’s take this up a notch. What do you want? When applicable, ask them to go to your website to learn more? Maybe fill out a form to get the ebook. Put in specific calls to action. Don’t be afraid.

2. Improve your headlines – think about magazine headlines. What grabs your attention? For example, what would you read: Body Found in Topless Barr or 

• Lists: 8 Lives Impacted by Unexpected Change

• Social Proof: Why the Kiwanis Club of Fredericton Partners with the Stan Cassidy

•      Headlines tied to current events

3. Add your Facebook follow button to your website and blog (and if you use Twitter, do the same)

Medium Effort:

4. As blog editor, there are things that need to be done to blogs to make them better for SEO. One such thing is adding links to other blogs, websites, etc. directly in your blog posts. If your blog is missing links, it’s an easy fix.

It could be done via a checklist box or some other sidebar. It can also be done by referencing similar blogs on your blog, or adding your contact us page. This is quite important to add to your blog as it will help with getting search engines pick you up.

5. Ask people to share. This can be done in your blog post, and definitely done in your Facebook posting of the blog post. Each blog post should be shared on your Facebook page and ask people outright to share. This is important for reach. It can be sharing did you knows or content of other similar types of organizations. Find content that matters to your audience.

6. Check to ensure that keywords are used consistently in posts to boost SEO. 

7. Leverage a Twitter account. That channel is great for sharing and promoting the blog as well as your events. Again, ask people to share your content.

Most Effort:

8. Create videos – the great thing about videos these days is that you don’t need high production. An iPhone and good external microphone and you (your staff or guest bloggers) can easily do a blog interview or highlight video. People love these. Also partner with community members. Share their videos. Have a contest to create videos and have high profile community members be the selection committee. This will generate buzz for you. (Remember videos should be short – two to three minutes is the golden number in terms of length)

9. Create evergreen content – Essentially evergreen content is content that you can repurpose and share over and over again. It could be something specific to an event, a product, etc. Having this content to fill voids is important and takes the pressure off of those involved.

10. Profile employees, volunteers or other key people – this is a great way for people to get to know you better and feel connected. 

11.  Use Facebook Insights to determine what posts are doing better. Insights will also help you determine what time of day and what day is the best for sharing content in order to get noticed. 

12. If you aren’t currently leveraging email to let your audience know that your blog is live, you should. This is also a key strategy to boost visits.

13. (bonus) Increase your blogging cadence. It is proven that blogging at least three times a week benefits organizations more in terms of conversations from calls to action.  

Want to learn more about using content strategies to generate leads, increase brand recognition and grow your business? Give us a call. We can help.

Press Release is Dead

5 Reasons the Press Release is Dead

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Ever get the feeling that you just don’t get the same pick up from your press releases that you used to? Well, it shouldn’t be that surprising. As a PR Practitioner with more experience than I really care to admit, the press release might just have gone the way of the Dodo bird – well, the press release as we know it today. Want to make your press releases more effective? Take a look at these:

1. First and foremost your audience is wrong!

To effectively write a press release it can’t be written for your client! This applies to both your internal clients for those PR Practitioners who work for companies and also those who are consultants.

Press Release is Dead

HA MacLean Image

Remember the golden rule: Always write for your audience. If you are writing for your client you have lost before you begun. No reporter is going to be interested in an obvious self-promotion piece. There has to be more…see #2.

2. Ask yourself who cares

Directly tied to your audience, you need to ask the question who cares? What is it about the news that you want to share in your press release that is so significant? How does it impact your customers or the public? Given what is actually happening and being covered in the news, both locally and internationally, is your news tidbit really that much more important and/or interesting? What problem is it actually solving?

If you honestly can’t think of a reason that an objective person – with no skin in the game – would have to care about what you are pushing in your press release, then by all means, don’t write or issue one. Be honest with yourself. There has to be something interesting/relevant.

If you do decide to go ahead, at best it will be ignored by all media. However, the flip side of this there will be a number of reporters, assignment editors, producers shaking their heads and dismissing your submissions as well…useless. In the future they won’t waste the effort to even consider anything in their in boxes from you.

3.  Not understanding how to pitch

Admittedly this can be the most difficult part about getting to a reporter, particularly if you don’t know the reporter from Adam or Eve.

If you make a cold call and “IF” the reporter or assignment editor actually answers, you better have your elevator pitch fine tuned. And, I am not kidding when I speak of having an elevator pitch ready to go. You will literally have seconds to tell why your product, service or company deserves an interview, news story or feature in said publication and/or newscast.

Oh, and don’t call the reporter to ask permission to send a news release. He or she is already inundated with people sending news releases, both good and bad. Make the most out of the phone call with the details in an elevator pitch. If the reporter bites, then you can send along supporting information.

You need to be quick, some might argue pithy, and interesting. If you are unsure, hesitate or can’t convey the why the information in your press release is important and how it is going to change things, then forget about it. The reporter is moving on. He or she has tight deadlines and lots of expectations. And, that takes me to the next point!

4. Lack of environmental awareness

Now, I am not talking about global warming here. No, I am talking about how the news/media industry now works. Things have changed significantly in the last 10 years and even more drastically in the last three years. There are fewer reporters covering more stories and topics than ever before. Many media outlets not only have reporters interviewing and writing, but they are also researching, taking photos and if for TV or video, shooting that same video! All of this adds pressure to what a reporter can or cannot do.

If you really want to make headway with a reporter, there are a five key things that every PR Practitioner MUST do:Press Release is dead

  • Be absolutely certain to know and understand what their area of expertise/interest is. Sure some reporters cover everything, but there are still a few specialists. So, if you want to pitch a story about a revolutionary new product in the manufacturing industry, don’t call the court reporter. Not only do you annoy the person by distracting him or her from what they need to do, it shows that you didn’t do your homework.
  • Keep in mind that because some may specialize in a certain area, he or she will not know everything about that industry, so make it easy for him or her. For example, if you find the IT reporter and get through be sure to have your elevator pitch on this great new startup ready, but also have a fact sheet ready that you can send, if required.
  • Above all else speak in laymen’s terms. Too many times I have visibly seen what happens when people start to get all technical and using terms that the average person does not understand. The eyes glaze over and then it is the “well thank you” and they move on. You don’t have to speak in technical terms to sound smart and most importantly you shouldn’t if you want the reporter to be interested. Remember, the reporter has to make quick decisions and if he or she is not really sure of what it is that you are talking about, not only does he or she not have time, but maybe their audience won’t either. That is then a colossal waste of time.
  • Have photos, interview subjects, quotes, Q&A’s, video and factsheets all ready and available immediately for the reporter.
  • Don’t ask the reporter to Tweet about you, your company, event or product. That is just not going to happen and by asking you are again demonstrating that you don’t understand the roles and responsibilities of the media.

5. Time is of the Essence

Always remember to pitch new information. Never pitch something that was released previously and may not have been picked up. If it wasn’t picked up last month, there is probably a good reason for that. See # 1 and #2. If it was picked up, it won’t be difficult for the reporter to determine that this is not news and that you just wasted his or her time. Again, not cool.

So, what are the key take-aways to make the best out of today’s press releases?

  • Know your audience and write for that audience (and it is not your client)
  • Be prepared and don’t waste a reporter’s time
  • Ensure that what you are pitching is really news
  • Help reporters by having all the relevant information they could want/ need ready at your finger tips

Remember PR is not a science. It is an art. We are dealing with human beings. This means that we need to remember the basics in terms of human wants and needs. Reporters are people too. They need a lot of things to be successful. Let’s give them what they need.

Want to learn more? We can help you with your press releases, pitches and media training.

 

The Smell of Sales – How Small Business Can Use Scent to Sell

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There are many things that influence sales. In an earlier post I talked about how color really can influence buyer behaviour. Color however, is not the only thing that influences sales. In fact, small business can really leverage the power of scent to increase sales. Interested? Let’s dig in!

Know that feeling when you smell fresh baked bread? Of course you do. It is pretty much universal. It is calming and makes you think of home, comfort and overall happiness. When my husband and I were looking to buy our first home, one seller really understood this. He had a loaf of fresh-baked bread sitting out. The smell was amazing. Of course we could see ourselves living there. And, we did buy the house.shutterstock_150831380

This same principle also works for small business.

  • Own a sports store? Creating a lightly scented environment with peppermint for example makes people feel energized.
  • Are your employees a little too relaxed? Introduce a citrus scent. It is known to increase productivity.
  • Going back to my house hunting, the smell of baked goods tends to foster collaboration. Maybe it something around family meals that evokes this reaction, but it works. So, if you want to boost collaboration, introduce the scent of fresh-baked goodies.
  • Maybe you want to create the environment of relaxation and comfort. In this case consider scents like lavender or chamomile.

Scent can be very powerful in terms of creating an environment which helps influence how people feel and therefore make purchase decisions. An important factor however is not to go overboard. Many people have health-related issues that can be impacted by various scents. This is not the reaction you want. It is all about subtleties.

Want to learn more about how to take your marketing to the next level? Connect with us.

The Sunday Brief (April 19, 2015)

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Well, it’s another Sunday and I sit thinking of the week that has passed and the week that has yet to start as I write The Sunday Brief. Not so much out with the old and in with the new, but rather there were a lot of great things that happened over the week that has wrapped up and so much potential for the week coming.The Sunday Brief heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com

Maybe my optimism is shrouded in the fact that it is a beautiful sunny day with snow melting and so much coming alive. Maybe it is because I am sitting having a great cup of coffee at Second Cup while I await my afternoon meeting guest to arrive.  Regardless, it is an awesome day.

So, let’s take a look at a few great reads that stood our for me this week:

1. The Rise of Inbound Marketing and the Death of the Cold Call by Derek Miller

I love this post because it gives a great easy understanding of what inbound marketing is. I also like it because it really focuses on the fact that people have changed. Buyer behaviour has changed. Unfortunately many people in traditional sales roles are holding on for dear life not fully grasping how buyer behaviour has changed. I also really like that Miller is not claiming that there isn’t a role for salespeople. There is actually! The role has changed however; and embracing that change will make them more successful salespeople.

2. You Have the Power to Rewire Your Brain for More Joy by Catherine Clifford 

This is another really great read! Why? It points out the obvious really. While obvious, there are still many of us who choose to ignore it.

So, what is so obvious? Well, if you think that going after and getting the perfect job will make you happy – when you aren’t already happy – you are wrong. If you don’g have basic and fundamental happiness in your life, seeking it from external facets won’t make it better.

“If you only look to your professional achievements to sustain your sense of purpose and well-being, a sense of emptiness or desperation is almost inevitable.“When that job is gone or when you get fired or you get really disillusioned by what you thought, then you are going to suffer.”

All-in-all, the second point of this post is that we have the power to define and make ourselves happy.

 3. 10 Behaviors of Smart People by Steve Tobak 

Stupid is as stupid does. It says a lot doesn’t it? That is the point that Tobak is making in this post. He has some great points actually, but more importantly he lists some of the things that smart people do. For example, learning from mistakes rather than repeating them and admitting that you don’t have all of the answers. I mean really, who really has all of the answers?

There are other behaviours (yes I am spelling this like a Canadian or a Brit), but this list is a great one.

So, I hope that you enjoy reading these posts. I seemed to have loved a lot of posts from Entrepreneur.com this time around, but I do think that they are pretty great.

Until next time, be sure to check out our Twitter Feed and our website for more information!

Shel Israel: How Technology Is Changing the Buyer-Seller Relationship

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Are you ready? Is your company ready? Technology is drastically changing the buyer-seller relationship and your survival could depend on just how proactive your business is. In today’s post, I catch up with Shel Israel, co-author of The Age of Context to get an update on how technology has developed in the year and a half since the book’s release. 

Shel Israel

Shel Israel

MacLean: First off, what project are you working on now that has you really excited?

Israel: I am working on a book that is intended to serve as a sequel to The Age of Context. In that book, Robert Scoble and I looked at the technologists. In this new book I am looking more at how businesses are using contextual technologies.

The book also examines how this technology is shifting power from the seller to the buyer through social media, reviews and star ratings.

MacLean: In The Age of Context you and Robert Scoble focused on wearable technology or wearable computing. A lot has transpired since then, what is your take on where we are headed? Was Google Glass just ahead of its time? Keeping in mind that Apple just launched their watch.

Israel:  In the short time since The Age of Context was published, a great deal has happened. The new era is becoming a reality far faster than I had imagined. In my new book, my attention expands from just those who are making new world-changing technology to those who are adopting it in existing businesses to enhance customer experiences.

This is a new era and there will be a great many experiments. We pioneer the future by trying and failing. One of the grandest and most visionary experiments so far is Google Glass. In itself, Glass was no success. But it has already spawned vertical apps that will endure. For example digital eye-wear is being used in surgery, where a remote expert can help a less experienced local practitioner. Elite auto brands such as Ferrari are using digital eye-wear to let factory experts assist local mechanics worldwide. A blind athlete named Lex Gillette has adapted Google Glass into his artificial eyes so that he can live-stream his races to handicapped children’s classrooms in real time, where kids see precisely what he sees in real time.

There will be more. Issues such as apps, battery, tethering to the phone, will be resolved either by Google or some other company who will owe its success to Google’s spectacularly brilliant first-round failure.

MacLean: It seems to follow that sensor data and sensor technology continues to be growing like crazy. There is so much potential. What is your take on where things are headed in this area? Have there been any surprises for you since the book has come out?

Israel: Robert and I now fold sensors into the larger category of the Internet of Things. This area is experiencing exponential growth. My focus has been in places where customer experience is being enhanced in retail: malls, department stores, stadiums, airports, concert halls, etc.

This is important to merchants.  For 20 years online retail has been sucking customers out of stores, and onto web sites. Now, the stores are using contextual technologies to enhance the customer experience at every touch point from, in-store mapping, to personalized text discount offers, to mobile apps that lock-and-unlock dressing room doors, knowing which customer can be allowed access. 

The surprise with sensors is not the devices themselves, which are simple little things that notice change and signal the change elsewhere, usually into the cloud. The real action is in the massive adoption we are seeing in proximity platforms such as Beacons, NewAer Proximity Platform and the hopes of Qualcomm LTE Direct which will be released in 2016 where Wi-Fi will replace Bluetooth, thus vastly expanding range and direct communications.

MacLean: Social media and social networking continues to thrive, but there have been some negatives. Do you think that people will begin to pull back a bit from social media, particularly in light of privacy concerns and/or data mining?

Israel: Actually, I see the opposite.

Social media has become a mature platform. Those exciting days when large brands allowed real people to speak as humans from a brand blog or Twitter account has sadly diminished. Social Voices like Scott Monty at Ford, Richard Binhammer at Dell and Frank Eliason at Comcast are no more.

But the amazing phenomenon is that brand marketers have lost their control in social media because they could not learn how to converse as peers with customers. So now people use social media to talk with each other; our friends and previous customers influence much of what we buy, where we eat, what we watch and listen to. Customers do this in social media, on social networks in customer reviews, in star ratings of Uber and Lyft mobile apps. The brands are diminishing in exercising control over influence and message. There is a power shift that is diminishing the brands and elevating the customers. This is fundamental and wonderful in my view.

As for privacy, I have been researching Millennials a lot in recent months for the new book. They are far more concerned about the quality of their experiences, than their personal privacy. They see it more as transaction where they will volunteer personal data in exchange for a better customer experience online or in stores. There are now more Millennials in the marketplace than aging Boomers like me. 

Privacy is becoming less of an issue. What is replacing it is a sense of transaction: I will let you know who I am, where I am and what I want. In return for that, you will make my shopping/buying experience easier than ever before. If you want to put offers in front of me, that’s fine, just as long as they are personalized based on what I am interested in.

Marketers need to stop talking and start listening. [Heh, I’ve been saying that for ten years-but I guess they aren’t listening]. People tell marketers everything the need to know voluntarily on social networks already. We announce when are planning a vacation, a night out  at a restaurant or for entertainment over a billion  times every week on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. It is public and there for the culling by any marketer who cares to pay attention or understands how to search unstructured data.

All marketers have to do to make more money and profits and improve customer relationships and acquisition, is to pay attention to what customers are saying online, and in public. 

MacLean: Naturally you can’t speak of, or think of, social media and privacy without thinking about location data. Do you think that the concern around privacy might impact app development in this area? Or, are the apps just so cool and useful that people will accept the risk?

Israel: I think the shock and outrage related to personal data is subsiding. I think most people understand what is going on and have decided the upside of what this technology can do is worth the cost-because the apps improve the user/customer experience.

Yes, the apps are so cool. However, users have more choices than ever before, and they will have even more choices for at least the next few years.  They will choose the apps and merchants who give them the best experiences for the loss of their personal data. They also will prefer doing business with companies that allow them a few filtering options, as well as the right to correct wrong data and the ability to opt out during private moments.

MacLean: What impact do you think all of this has on business? Are businesses really leveraging technology and data the way they could be, or still in a wait and see mode?

Israel: All this is new stuff in a new age, one in which users have far more control than has previously been possible.  For tangible retail, and other customer-facing businesses, this is a new hope. As mentioned we have witnessed online technologies for the last 20 years sucking customers out of the stores. Now with contextual technologies, particularly mobile apps, and proximity platforms such as Beacons, etc. they are modernizing the experiences in malls, stores, stadiums, airplane terminals, and concert halls.

Merchants are using this stuff in new ways, some of it is a bit clumsy, but there are other experiments that show great promise, such as smart mannequins that know when a loyalty program enrollee is interested in an item and wants to try it on. It can signal a clerk who then puts the garment, in the right color and size into a dressing room. The customer then uses a mobile app to unlock the dressing room door and try on the item.

In airports, there will soon be apps that tell shoppers how much time it will take them to get to the gate based on the walking speed that the mobile app is observing.

It’s amazing stuff and it has all just begun.

MacLean: What impact is all of this having on conversations with customers and prospects?

Israel: Contextual technology is now weaving itself into the fabric of the buyer-seller relationship. The data we just discussed, allows the seller to treat all participating customers as individuals, making offers and giving assistance when needed and being unobtrusive when that’s what the customer wants.

What’s also very important here are conversations between customers. We tell each other what and where to buy, travel, eat, watch and listen to. Technology has given customers great power to influence, recommend and warn against brands, and brands have less influence over customer decisions as customers rise in power.

MacLean: How are you using technology differently than you were a year ago?

Israel: In the last year, I have not really changed much. I have my own portable, Wi-Fi and switched back to non-Bluetooth phones. I have probably double the number of mobile apps I am using. 

The real issue is that I am using more, much more, technology in more ways. I am using it more with family members and medical service providers. I am paying for more with online checking and starting to make mobile cheque deposits-although I get paid increasingly through electronic systems.

Want to talk more about using technology in your business? Connect with us.

The Customer Service Lies You Continue To Tell

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Customer service! It can set you apart from your competitors. It really can – either in a good way…or a really, really horrible way. If you and your staff really understand and “care” about your brand, both you and your staff will deliver GREAT customers service. Unfortunately, if neither you nor your staff care, it is quite obvious. Customer service in this case is non-existent.  Customer Service

About a month ago I experienced the latter. (I actually wrote this blog post the day after, but decided to wait to see if I would still feel the same weeks later. I do.) I was meeting up with a couple of different people and decided to go to a new Starbucks in my city. I was looking forward to checking out the new spot. It’s location has great parking and it was convenient for me as I had other errands to run afterwards. Overall, they “get” location, location, location.

When I first walked in, I was impressed with the ascetics. It looked great….on the surface. Once I was in and my eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight, there was more than first appeared. First and foremost there were six people working behind the counter. Three were working the drive thru – although there were no cars going through. They were engaged in conversation with each other and two others that were behind the counter. Meanwhile, I stood patiently and waited for someone to wait on me. Did anyone disengage from their personal conversations while a customer waited? Nope. I timed it – six and a half minutes. In the big picture, not a lifetime I realize. In customer service terms however…ya, it was a #fail. I did “finally” get waited on  by the sixth person working, but only after she finished flirting with the guy in front of me and messing up his order in between the giggling and goings on. Hey, I get that. I was a teenage girl once too. But..and there is a but, I would not make a customer wait. I worked as a teenager too! I would ensure that “someone” else took care of the customer waiting. After all, there were five other people standing behind the counter. The rest of the crew however, were just too engrossed in their own socializing. Again, a customer service #fail. I should also note that there was at least one other staff person on site.Customer Service

After being served my coffee and a snack I headed to get a napkin and a lid. This area was a complete and utter disaster. Someone obviously didn’t know how to use the cinnamon shaker. The stuff was all over the place. There was garbage everywhere. It was clear that the six people working there had not cleaned this area in some time. Considering I was there in the morning, I think it was safe to say it was like that the day before.

When I claimed a table, it was not much better. I had to remove the dirty dishes, used napkins and clean up the crumbs. I did look for a cleaner area, but this one was the best, so I settled in.

Approximately 15-20 minutes later, I saw another person emerge from the back of the store. I almost think that she might have been a member of management. This is an assumption on my part because she was clearly more mature than the rest of the team. I thought, o.k. finally someone is going to get these workers..well..working. To my dismay she walked out, looked around and smiled at everyone in the restaurant, but she seemed completely oblivious to the employees who were much more interested in socializing amongst themselves than serving customers and keeping the place clean. She quickly retreated to the back area again and I didn’t see her again.

This was quite disappointing to me as I have a lot of respect for the Starbucks brand. I often use them as case study examples in a lot of my workshops that I deliver. They really do a lot of things well. And, in fairness I did live Tweet about the incident and @starbuckshelp did respond. This is one of the things that they do well – social media. I appreciate that they were listening and did take steps to correct. I haven’t been back, but I will give the new store one more try. Customer Service

So, what is GREAT Customer Service? Here is my take on it:

G = Genuine people are easy to pick out. This can also be said about people who are not genuine. 

Employers need to consciously hire for genuine people. If your staff are more interested in flirting with the cute guy in line versus serving other clients and/or keeping your restaurant clean, you have a serious issue. Employers need to be fully convinced that the staff they are hiring genuinely believe and can extol the values of your business and deliver on your brand promise.

R = Respectful people believe that everyone should be treated well. They understand the value of each person.

E = Exceptional people have a need, no a desire for continuous improvement. Exceptional people can and should be at all levels of the organization. Of course the trick here is that employers need to reward exceptional behaviour. This is a must.

A = Attention to Detail is an asset not everyone has. Unlike some other attributes, this is one that you can train someone to be good at. Taking the steps to ensure that the small things that make a difference are taken care of is something that can set your organization apart. Of course ensuring your establishment is clean is not something that falls into this category. That is something that “just” meets minimum standards.

T = Thoughtful people think of others and how their actions impact others.

Are you hiring for GREAT customer service? Want to learn more about how GREAT customer service can make a difference in delivering on your brand promise, contact us for a *free consultation.

NOTE: *This is a limited time offer.

Social Media Profiles

3 Easy Tips to Freshen Up Your Social Media Profiles

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When was the last time you updated your social media profiles? Has it been awhile? It has…hasn’t it? I know, I know, it can be daunting when you haven’t touched them in awhile. But relax, we have some really easy tips to freshen up your social media profiles. And, now is a perfect time to update your social profiles. After all, they are an extension of who you are – your personal brand. What do your profiles say about you? Let’s dig in:

1. Picture This!

Still have the egg avatar on Twitter? Is your LinkedIn image your company logo? It’s time to get a headshot of you! Remember, these are your personal reputation assets and they should serve as a way for people to recognize you, not your employer.

We know from research that profiles with photos get more views. Why? Well, primarily it’s about human nature. People want to connect with people. After all, social media is a means to be social, so be social. Say cheese!

Social Media Profiles

2. Don’t be Bio Shy

Whether in Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and on and on, be sure to always complete your bio. Do you have to write a book about who you are? Of course not. Each channel however, does have different character limitations in terms of length. A general rule of thumb is shorter is better. If you have a longer bio, you can always put a link to your about.me page.

Social Media Profiles

3. Some Simple but VERY Important LinkedIn Profile Tips:

  • Be sure to include a summary at the top of your profile, but please, please and please don’t speak in the third-person. That is just weird and creepy!
  • Update your LinkedIn url to be reflective of your name and not the default.
  • And be sure to turn of your auto notification setting so that every time you edit your profile, notifications aren’t sent out to your network. It’s easy to do really…just go to your Privacy and Settings click on “Manage” and then click on the “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts” as noted below. This will help ensure that you aren’t inundating people.

Social Media Profiles

Of course there are many other things that you can do to improve your profiles, but these are the basics that every professional can easily implement within only a few minuts …well maybe not the photo, but everything else. Your social profiles are an extension of you, the story you tell about yourself. They are your personal brand. Take control!

Looking for help with your marketing and social media? Click here, we’ve got you covered!

Why the New Domain “.sucks”…Well…Sucks for Business!

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There are countless blogs and messages right now encouraging brands, a.k.a big companies to jump on the band wagon and purchase their .sucks domain name. Why? Well, if you are a Marketer, the obvious reason is to get it before someone else snaps it up and uses it to “dis” your brand. After all, if your brand is, McDonalds, would you really want someone using www.McDonalds.sucks? Or, www.McDonaldsFood.sucks?

On the surface it makes complete sense to buy the domain name. After all, most brands have bought .com, .ca, .net. org, etc. etc. So of course brands should buy .sucks and for that matter you might want to look at .porn…#justsaying.

The issue I have with this however, is not the purchase of the domain name. No, it is much bigger than that. My issue is around what looks and feels more like a shakedown, or the holding of a domain name for ransom. It just feels opportunistic.  Vox Populi Registry, the organization that has the rights to administer the domain names will be putting the new domain up for grabs very shortly. It will be open first to companies with their names trademarked. Sounds good right? Sounds like the right thing to do, right? Wrong. They are charging these companies $2500/year for the domain name. We all know how much domain names cost; and they are no where near this amount. On the high end you might be talking $75/year. So, this in actuality, sucks!sucks

I heard an interview yesterday with Vox Populi CEO John Berard and was really quite amused to hear his defence. His take on this? That they are providing a service. That companies should embrace the .sucks domain and use it to help customers, etc. have an open and honest dialogue. Ya, right! As a Marketer and Communications Practitioner, I actually do believe in open and honest dialogue, but I would never suggest that a brand have a .sucks domain to accomplish this. There are many, many other proven ways to successfully do this! Companies will feel “compelled”, which really means forced, to buy the .sucks domain. This is not so bad for huge brands, but it will certainly be a financial burden for smaller brands. And don’t think that those who buy them are doing so to use them. No, they will be buried and not easily found. No marketing person is going to want a .sucks domain used!

And, what happens if you don’t buy the right to your domain name for this insane yearly fee? Well, it will become available for anyone to buy…at..a…wait for it…..substantially lower amount…a normal amount! So, trolls for example, or competitors could buy the domain and potentially use it maliciously. Does this make sense to you?

Finally, what really intrigues me about this whole process was one of the final questions of the interview. It was a question that I couldn’t help thinking about and hoping it would be asked. And, it was! The question: Will Vox Populi, or those associated with you, use the .sucks domain for your brand? Of course I am paraphrasing, but the answer was telling. Berard responded saying that they could hold up to 100 names for their own purposes and that they would likely look at doing so. But it remained unclear if they will actually make their own .sucks domain live and easy to find so that their customers can have an open and honest dialogue on voxpuli.sucks. His answer did not leave me feeling like they would. So, in the words of Alanis Morissette, isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?

Have questions about your marketing, you website or domain? Click here to connect with TaylorMade Solutions.

 

5 Ways to Use Influencer Marketing

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Influencers

Eric T. Tung

The term ‘Influencer Marketing’ can mean different things to different people, and can sometimes be narrowly defined as one particular type of influence marketing. A brand might be constraining itself by only considering one type of influencer marketing, when others could be used to supplement it. Here’s a quick rundown of various methods of influencer marketing, from the least involved to most involved for influencers: 

Marketing From Influencers: Use Them for Trending Info

Whether you use simple tools like Twitter Lists, or something more thorough like Traackr, you can learn quite a bit from your influencers. What are industry experts predicting for the future, or what are the trends being talked about currently among influencers? Even without contacting influencers for input, you can gauge industry trends just by seeing what influencers are talking about and then adding to the conversation with your view. Not only will you find that your viewpoint will add to the natural conversation around the topic, but you’ll provide great SEO for others looking for more information about it.

Marketing Through Influencers: Give Them Exclusive Access

One key aspect of influencer marketing is making them feel appreciated, and part of that is offering them exclusive access to your events or influencers. At Ned Lamont for US Senate in 2006, our campaign communications team worked closely with political bloggers locally and nationally. We offered access to the candidate, and even issued press announcements and daily schedules to bloggers as well as mainstream media. By offering bloggers daily announcements and exclusive access, we helped create or inspire content.

Marketing To Influencers: Giving Them Free Stuff

When thinking about influencer marketing, most people think about free-stuff marketing. That is to say that a company will offer free services or products to influencers for review blogs, videos and social shares. Ford gave away 100 Fiestas in Europe in 2009 and in the US in 2013 to celebrities, bloggers and reviewers to increase awareness of the new vehicle. Influencers spent between six months and a year and produced tens-of-thousands of pieces of content. Some sources quoted a 60% market awareness of the vehicle before it was sold. (Disclosure: I am a member of the Ford press fleet program where I review vehicles for them, typically for a week.)    

Marketing With Influencers: Set Up a Social Influencer Program

A step beyond offering influencers exclusive access is to formalize a social influencer program. At BMC Software, our customer connect team uses an advocate hub to help customers interested in supporting BMC. Tools like Social Toaster and Addvocate help by offering pre-approved messages and social posts to influencers and employees to share on your behalf. With a  formalized tool, it’s much easier for influencers to share company and product information without fearing they are sharing unreleased information prematurely. 

Marketing Through Influencers: Guest Blogging

Perhaps the most time-intensive option in influencer marketing is guest blogging. Just like I’m writing this blog post for TaylorMade Solutions, your company can also recruit guest bloggers interested in sharing their perspective on the issues. They can help you create content and share the information with their audiences, while you can provide them an outlet and platform to reach new audiences.

Whether you’re just getting started in influencer marketing, or you have been working at it for years, it’s always a good idea to take a step back and see what other ways you might be able to improve or expand your program. While most people think of free-stuff or guest blogging as influencer marketing, there are many more options to engage and work with influencers for your mutual benefit.

About Eric T. Tung: is the top-ranked social media professional in Houston and was recognized as a top 33 global social professional by Forbes. Eric is a national speaker and consultant in social media.  Eric’s experience includes communications, marketing and sales for Apple, Dell, Applied Materials and Newell Rubbermaid, and he is currently the full-time social media manager for BMC Software.