Work Toward Loyalty

Good morning,
Price may get them in (and may even cause some to shop around), but it is the service and experience a customer receives that makes him loyal to you or your brand. We lead such hectic lives it is wonderful to find a brand you can count on to get it right and put you first.
How comforting is it to walk into your favorite restaurant where you are known, the food is consistent, and, the service right on? The service provider who is always on time, knowledgeable, and friendly? 

Need to see the numbers, check out this infographic from Entrepreneur.com

Customers have choices - work toward loyalty.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Cheers,

Toby

Thanksgiving Wine Tutorial

 

Good afternoon all - 

Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I would like to share two red varietal alternatives. With the cold November weather and hearty sides that accompany old Tom, reds can actually be a better match than white wines.

Red Zinfandel and Pinot Noir have the combination of tasty flavor punch and silky mouth feel to be wonderful complements to your meal.  

Below are some of my favorite wine makers as well as regions - even if you local wine shop does not carry these brands, look for a Zin or Pinot from these regions.

Zins:
Ravenswood - Steele - Plungerhead - Ridge - Four Vines (Wine Makers)
Russian River - Mendocino - Lodi - Paso Robles (Wine Regions)

Pinot Noir:
Belle Glos - Meiomi - 90+ - BearBoat - Argyle (Wine Makers)
Willamette Valley - Russian River - Sonoma (Wine Regions)

Have fun and try something new this Thanksgiving!

Cheers,
Toby

Don't feed the Troll - Respond to the objective third party

No matter if you are a blogger, marketer, or community manager, you have had a run in with a troll.  Rather than using their experience to help others, trolls concern themselves with asking "gotcha" questions or starting arguments with other community members for the purpose of attention.  It is important to have an engagement plan of how to deal with them.

Here are some simple guidelines to get you started:
If the post, tweet, or comment is a legitimate complaint:

• Your response should come within the hour
• Apologize and show empathy
• Answer the question or provide a resolution
• Include a link to your site or YouTube channel
• Thank the customer and confirm satisfaction

If the subject seems to be a troll's rant:

• Your response should come within the hour
• Ask the poster to define his expectatiions
• Offer a private engagement channel like phone or email (NEVER argue with troll in public)
• Fighting with a Toll will only encourage him to continue - sometimes ignoring or deleting the comment is best

Before responding, step back and remember there are objective third parties who see the difference between a legitimate customer complaint and a troll's rant.  If the post is a legitimate complaint: excellent, you have an opportunity on your hands because all brands encounter problems from time to time - the great ones acknowledge and overcome the problems.  It is not always what is said about your brand, but how you respond to it.  People follow you on Twitter or join your community to learn from and engage with like minded folks; they do not want to be bullied or read fights.  It is often best practice to not respond to trolls, but sometimes these folks can be transformed in to brand advocates. 

As always - I welcome you comments.

Best,

Toby

Slow Down to Move Faster

Have you ever clicked "send" and realized there was an error in your memo or an important thought or call to action was left out of your email?  These mistakes can move you further away from your goals rather than closer to them.

"I'm under the gun."  "I want to be first to market."  "I need to beat my competition to the punch."  All of these things show passion and drive, but without planning and attention to detail, your message will be lost.

A quick, but funny example:

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

Programs can identify spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, but they cannot help you with the clarity and flow of your message.   Just like spelling, your objective and message are clear in your head and this may result in missed errors when proofreading; it is imperative you have clearly communicated your thoughts and calls to action to your audience.

You are busy, your team is busy - your boss and potential clients are certainly busy.  Do not waste their valuable time or lose that opportunity because you had such desire to be heard or first to their inbox.

Slow down to move faster.

What happened to the practice of conversation and the art of debate?  Why are certain topics off limits at all times? For some reason we are no longer happy with a simple exchange of information and learning from one another; now someone has to win.
Political correctness, self-importance, ignorance - cast these things away.  Research what you do not know, trust and ask those around you for their thoughts, and accept that you may be wrong.
Conversation is not a competition, but an opportunity to learn.
Who wants to sit down for coffee?

Tough Talks

Manager, boss, parent, coach, friend, or neighbor - difficult conversations are going to happen.  The worst thing to do is to not have them and hope the situation or problem will correct itself; it won't.  

Do not fear the conversation: prepare your facts, figure out how you will deliver the message, set aside time for the conversation, then have it.  Treat the employee, vendor, child, or partner with respect, give them time to respond and give feedback.  Ensure you are both on the same page before the conversation ends.

You may both learn something.

Find The Good Stuff, Share The Great Stuff

Twitter is a fantastic tool for listening, promoting, and gathering information about your brand, but how do you do these things in the most efficient way?  Utilizing a dashboard like HootSuite will help you listen to your Twitter lists, but I need a more efficient way to uncover the best and share it.
Flipboard is a social media aggregator that brings the content of your choosing to you to your tablet or smartphone, then allows you to easily share it across any social network you use.  It is not only a sharing tool, but an customer engagement method as well.
Create your own magazine and fill it with relevant content aggregated by Flipboard.  Now you have a content marketing piece to share with others.  You may even invite customers and brand advocates to curate the magazine with you - keep them engaged with you and your brand.

Happy Flipping!

Cheers,
Toby

Twitter vs Email Marketing

Each week you break out that trusty email list and send out your latest collection of brilliant thoughts.  You have taken time to research and craft this wonderful newsletter to show your readers (and clients) that you have something to offer them, that you are different from all the rest who are bombarding their inboxes.  Is your message getting through?

How many emails are you sending?

How many are getting opened?

How many are getting forwarded to others?

Twitter can answer all of these important questions.

But how do I capture leads with Twitter?  I am using a subscribe button on my site to build my database of email addresses.  Your Twitter followers become your leads to convert into clients.

How to get started:

1.  Create a Twitter profile for your business.

2.  Add a Follow button on your site next to that trusty subscribe button and give your visitors a choice of how they want to receive your content.

3.  If you are not doing so, host your newsletter on your site.

4.  Include a Follow button within your newsletter.

5.  Utilize hashtags within your tweets to make them easy to find.

6.  Measure the following with a tool like Hootsuite or Google Analytics 

• Compare the click through rate for links within tweets to those that open your emailed newsletter
• Compare the leads generated (Twitter Followers), to month over month newsletter subscribers
• Follower growth, mentions, and retweets

Building a twitter following takes time and effort: measure your growth, engage those who reach out to you, and know that a large following will not happen overnight.  Twitter is a vehicle to show you are a thought leader because of your great content and it will allow your followers to become your brand advocates and share it with others.

Cheers,

Toby

Giving Away the Good Stuff

Technology has given companies targeted reach to consumers they never had before, but it has also made it easy for potential customers to ignore them.  Companies are trying to prove they are different while connecting with potential leads that matter.

Content Marketing has been successfully utilized since 1895 and provides a way for a company to demonstrate it is an industry thought leader by delivering helpful, free content to its current and potential customers.  White papers, eBooks, and infographics are current examples of content marketing and they do a wonderful job of providing value, creating leads, and giving calls to action, but they miss the mark in one place - human touch.

A TweetChat allows you to engage with and listen to many people at once while documenting the conversations and capturing contact information. Idea-share, focus groups, and feedback sessions: it’s all about conversation.  Lead the conversation and answer questions: you are able to provide insight and promote your brand without mentioning it.  Because your twitter profile is your mini-resume, those who you exchange information with are able to see who you are and even click on a link to your personal or company's website.

As with any content marketing vehicle, a tweetchat takes time to organize and promote, but because they are real-time, they allow true connections and provide these potential customers insight to you and your brand.

As always, I look forward to your feedback.

Cheers,

Toby

DO NOT change your shirt!

My beloved Boston Bruins came one step closer to the Stanley Cup last night with a 2-1, second overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It is clear from watching the game the Bruins are playing with heart and fire, but that is not the secret to their success.  Then how are they winning you ask?  The secret is my shirt:

From the first drop of the puck in this series and the three victories that have followed, this shirt has been on my back then carefully put away for the next game.  Life and especially sports are surrounded with routine and superstition. 

No matter if you are enjoying a game or preparing for a significant life event, embrace superstition and keep your lucky shirt at the ready.

Cheers,
Toby

reEnergize old users or attract new ones

Google is a brilliant company for may reasons.  Technology, user entanglement and now marketing.
Their latest announcement about discontinuing Google Reader has created outcries via twitter and endless chats in G+is simply testing the waters and reverses their decision, they look wonderful in the public eyes - the people have spoken and they listened.  Really?  Even if they do not, people will not walk away from Google; they are too entangled.  If you use Reader, I doubt it is the only Google product you utilize. 
Talk about getting the word out.
Is Google the next marketing superpower?
What say you?
Cheers,
Toby

What's THAT in your pocket?

HTC thinks a second tiny phone is the answer to your oversized smartphone complaints

I do not agree with the statement.  If 1 large phone is too troublesome, adding the 2nd, smaller phone, will not help matters.
I see going mobile going in 1 of 2 directions:
1.  Follow the Samsung Galaxy designs and stay just smaller than a tablet.
2. Follow the iPhone design and go the compact route.
I lean toward the larger design - what say you?
Best,
Toby

Don't fear complaints - embrace them

These Big Companies Are Abandoning Twitter And Facebook For Customer Service

Good morning all,
The link above take you to a piece in Business Insider.  As I read it, the thoughts started flowing and I kept asking myself why?
Every company has needed to do more with less and streamline their organization, but Social for Customer Service helps you do just that. Even if your tweet or facebook post is not responded to right away, it is better than being on hold or navigating a phone tree.
Is this bigger than efficiency? The fear of complaints in public? If that is true, I answer the decision maker: "it is no what the customer said, but how he is responded to." I also ask: "Is the customer right and our process wrong?"
Are we too afraid to hear from those who consume our products?
Companies must learn not to fear the negatives, but learn from them, improve their product or service and create advocates.
Don't respond to the troll who howls at the moon, respond to the objective lurker who is your fan.
Looking forward to your comments.
Best,
Toby

What is your Social Strategy - What tools are you using?

Social media is a powerful group of tools that can help your company with everything from Sales to SEO.  Before setting out please use this as a guide to get you started.


Social Strategy

1. What is your goal?
2. What are the tools available?
3. How will success be measured?

Goal

What are you trying to achieve?  SEO for your company's site, create a community, enhance customer service, promote a blog or press release - all can be accomplished through Social.  Once you determine what you want you accomplish, you can choose the right tool to reach your goal.

Tools

1. Linkedin - SEO and Community
2. facebook - Community
3. twitter - Give your Marketing campaign reach
4. Pinterest - just like twitter, Pinterest spreads the word and brings memories alive with pictures.

Measurement

1. How many have joined the Linkedin Group and do the comments and discussions look like?
2. How many new posts hit your facebook pages?  How many new "likes?"
3. How many twitter followers, re-tweets, and mentions are you getting?
4. How many followers and re-pins are you getting on Pinterest?
5. Here is the hard one - can sales be tied to these efforts?

I have named my four favorite Social channels, but there are many out there.  It is important to experiment with a few and find what you are comfortable with and to also remember that less can be more. It is easy to think about the reach Social can deliver; don't lose sight on the importance of engagement.  Without discussions, a community is only a list.  

Cheers,
Toby