The podcast

This is the first podcast for customer maniac.  Please be kind this is just a beta for the format.  This was really a test for me to see if I could get this done.  Next step refine then itunes.

"My company is on Facebook!", "Well you don't seem to have many fans."

This is a topic that has become very near and dear to my heart.  Companies all across the world are joining social media in an attempt to connect with their customers, employees, and markets.  Now every marketing company wants to tell their clients that they should jump on it, and put themselves on all the social network sites, make them nice add video, photos, and audio, flashy so people will look at them and push your advertisements through the new medium. I happen to agree, that you should get your company started on social media, however almost no articles and discussions I have heard address a few key issues:

1.  As the Cluetrain Manifesto (The Cluetrain Manifesto: 10th Anniversary Edition) says, and I'm paraphrasing, your customers are more than likely already having a conversation and meeting somewhere to discuss and research their interests.  Why will they want to go to you, online, to meet about their interests?  How will they find you?  What new can you offer them online?

2.  Are you using your social media site as a firehouse or a bullhorn for advertisements and media that people can see on TV, the radio, or newspaper?  What value added piece are you giving to people on your page?  Remember people go to the internet to escape from hassle.  Use Hulu as an example.  Why do I watch things on Hulu?  Because I can watch shows in my own time, not when the network wants me to, and I only have to watch one commercial for 2-2.5 minutes as opposed to 7-8 minutes for a 30 minute show or 17 minutes for a 1-hour show.

3.  Make it interesting?  Quit giving me dates for things that are going on, or lame corporate pictures.  What can you give me that will peak my interest?  Why would I recommend you to my friends by adding you to my page?  My page and its connections are about who I am, tell me why you should be apart of it.

4.  Back to the Cluetrain Manifesto, and possibly one of the most important parts.  Are you conversing on your page with a human voice?  Not corporate speak, not talking at people.  Are you allowing people to connect with you and converse with you?  If I have a question will someone answer it, and in a way that doesn't sound patronizing or false?  Do you care what I think, do you have an area where I can tell you?  Show me who you really are as a company, be social, after all thats what the sites are for.  Talk with me about what you have going on, and I'll tell you what I think about it and maybe how to improve; talk at me and I will probably tune you out.

So before you take a big leap into social media just ask yourself the above questions, and take some time to get some honest answers.  As marketers we must work hard to be honest with ourselves about where things are going, and how we interact with people.  In todays world if you are dishonest people will call bullshit on you, and faster than you may think.  People aren't stupid they can figure out when they are being lied to, especially in the internet age, when you are speaking down to them, or when a deal really isn't a deal.  Remember people can index dozens of sites for almost any product to find out what it might cost, or how its made, etc..

The internet really applies itself to a spray and pray philosophy of marketing, but if you choose to go this route it remains to be seen how much you really understand about its capabilities as a medium and the people who use it.

Dismiss at your risk.

Don't dismiss anything. I want that to be your maxim for the day.
We all have a tendency to discount and dismiss items that don’t fit into our particular sphere of influence and interest. We also tend to gloss things over in the constant flood of information that we are bombarded with everyday. Today I would like you to make a conscious effort to reach beyond your comfort zone and read a blog, listen to a podcast, pick up a new book that isn’t your usual fair. Lets help each other to broaden our horizons and look at new perspectives.

I will digress for a minute here. I picked up a book on Audible.comnot to long ago called “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall after I had seen him on an interview with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. Let me tell you how much I hate to run, I’m a big guy over 6’3” and 250+, and being from the mid-west have always been a short range football runner, but McDougall’s narrative about running and the people, places, and ideology involved gave me an entirely new perspective on running and on life.

I also picked up WWGD (What Would Google Do) by Jeff Jarvis on Audible.com. I’m not necessarily in the tech industry, but who isn’t affected by it anymore, yet the insights and ideas proposed by Jarvis about business have helped me think about how I do my job and look at my customers in an entirely new light. The book also pushed me into looking into other areas and information. Since I read WWGD I have also read The Cluetrain Manifesto 10th anniv edition, which is also a great pickup for anyone looking at taking their business into the digital age (there will be a blog post later about the Cluetrain Manifesto). It also turned me on to Jarvis’s blog, BuzzMachine,

which he continues to update with ideas and insights into the digital economy.

What I’m getting at, the long way, is that these are books that I would have never picked up if I didn’t break out of my comfort zone. They have information that may change your world view or help reinforce it, but ultimately they help to broaden your horizons and knowledge base and that is always a good thing.

Why are we so mad at Tiger? The Kobe Principle.

By now almost everyone knows about Tiger Wood's marital problems. The story has been plastered across every major news outlet around the country, he’s gone on ESPN and publicly apologized for his actions, he’s gone to rehab, and on and on. The question is “Why are we so mad at Tiger Woods?” Are we mad at Tiger because he had the affairs, because he initially lied about it, his family situation? I don’t think any of these is the main cause for why most of us are so upset about the situation.

Tiger is a brand. Yes, I know Tiger is a person, but he is also a brand, what he wears, what he plays with, and what he says and does are his brand. Professional athletes are brands, they are their clothing styles, their shoes, and their charities, you believe in what they sell because they are essentially open, they are on TV, they tweet, they do radio interviews, they have a Facebook page you understand who they are as a brand better than say Nike or Reebok because they speak with a human voice, and to us rather than at us.

A big part of Tiger’s brand is about who he is. Tiger works hard, he practices constantly, he takes the game very seriously, he isn’t a showboat or smack talker, and he’s consistent and trustworthy. We believe in Tiger because he is a by the book, never in trouble kind of athlete, he does what he says, and portrays himself as an upstanding individual. This is why we are so damn angry with him.

We collectively trusted Tiger, we believed in his image, we feel betrayed. Oh we will get over it we will still buy some Tiger products, but not as many. We will have a harder time believing what he tells us, sure he will still probably be one of the best golfers of all time, you can’t take that away from him, but collectively we wont care as much, he will just become to an extent another great golfer on the tour, and if I was the head of the PGA this would scare me. Tiger was the one guy we could all collectively cheer for and get behind, who can take his place, who is as exciting?

 Tiger didn’t follow the Kobe Principal. The Kobe Principal is this: When your image is based upon your work ethic and character, both inside and outside the industry you’re in, if you betray that you can never get it back and will forever be relegated from a superstar in our hearts to just another great player.

Don’t get me wrong both of these guys are superstars in their fields and both will be immortalized for their talent, but in the court of public opinion they will never be thought of in the same light as the other greats in their field, not for lack of talent but lack of integrity. If this had been John Daly or Allen Iverson we may have been upset by their actions, but we wouldn’t quit following them, we wouldn’t quit buying their products, because they have never portrayed themselves as having a sterling character. Is that right or wrong? That is their brand, that is who they are and we have accepted them as flawed individuals, which is what makes them exciting.

What is your personal brand? How do you present yourself to the world? Think about what you have done, what you can do. How can you present that as your resume to the world? Are you promoting yourself enough, and how are you doing it? What is your personal brand based on?
 
Leave comments let us know about your brands, or your thoughts on Tiger.

Marketing around penny pinching

It seems like any time a company has a financial down turn the one of the first budgets that get slashed is the marketing budget. Marketing seems like a fluff expense and besides you need to focus on your core set of customers in this time of economic upheaval.


Warning!!! This is dangerous!

Who is it that sets the conversation that your business has with your customers? Yes the teller or the sales associates have some communication with your customers, and a very important one, but your marketing is how you communicate with your customers when they are not at your store, your website, or your location.

Marketing sends out the message of what your selling, where its provided, how it benefits them, and in today’s world most importantly who you are as a company. If you cut off your outside contact your new customer draw will steadily decline, if your not bringing in new customers and your current customers begin to decline through slow attrition, dissatisfaction, relocation, and death, you have not just halted growth but have actually begun to decline.

Businesses must work to have an active dialogue with customers and if you turn off that dialogue people will begin to wonder away and find someone who will have a dialogue with them. Any marketer who has tried knows that even starting the conversation with customers and potential customers in the first place is hard, let alone if you have lost their trust or attention by cutting it off midstream.

 

What if tomorrow though, you woke up and, all of your marketing budget had been taken away? What if you had no budget and had to find ways to drive business? What would you do?

First think about free. What do you have that you could offer to your customers, ideally your best customers, that is free? Free parking, free water, free pens and pads.

If I am limited to just manpower what can I do?  Can you go out into your communities and help at charity events, get involved in other places, volunteer?  Become more a part of your community than just a jobs center, become a good will center.  Getting involved with your community will get your name out there in a positive way that advertisments don't and will make people feel like they have a connection with you and share common interests.  Most of the organizations that you can help with don't always need money and sometimes you cannot afford to give it, or that much, but you can always provide time.  I know time isn't really free, we are all very busy, but making time is what will put you over the hump.  Many of us feel like we have no time but if we took a realistic look at what we were spending the majority of our time actually doing I bet we could fit more in.

What are your ideas in dealing with reduced funds?  How would you suggest reaching your customers?

Service Videos

Visit my Youtube channel for some videos on customer service.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCustomermaniac

From time to time I will be having short videos with customer service ideas and commentary.

As I want this blog and my Youtube channel to always remain an open conversation I welcome any comments, criticism, or new ideas.  Is there an idea that you think has merit?  Do you want something discussed?  Bring it up.  I don't have all the answers, but as a community we can do anything.

Marketing Amnesia

Let’s say you and everyone in you company wakes up tomorrow with absolutely no memory of your marketing plan, budget, or vendors. Marketing is now a clean slate.
What do you do?
How many of you in your marketing departments were just rehashing and carrying on with the marketing plans and processes that were already in place. How many of you think that renegotiating your TV and Radio rates for the same spots every year is changing your marketing?
Let’s take an even fresher look.
Is TV, Radio, Newspaper, or the Internet right for you and your company? If you didn’t know you had used them before, when you took a look at your customer base would you use them now?
Let’s look at this with an open mind. Treat each medium like you would any prospective new vendor that you might use, put them through the paces. Do they meet with your target audience? Are they cost effective for that audience? Are they communicating your message in an easily understood way with your audience
As Marketers we have to understand we don’t set the conversation, our customers do. We also don’t make the communities that our audiences are in, we must find a way to get ourselves into those communities and speak with them how they speak. In almost every industry there are options for people to choose between one business and the other, and most people will choose the business that communicates with them on a human-to-human level, no a corporation-to-human level.
Your flashy TV ad doesn’t mean anything to me if it’s not communicated correctly, and it definitely doesn’t mean anything to me if you can’t back it up when I come to your location. If you have a great advertisement or even a Facebook page and it links back to your crappy under maintained store or website you have probably lost me as a customer, possibly for life.

Try this experiment at work. If you started from scratch which vendors would you keep? Which would you throw away? Which vendors would you possibly add? How do you communicate with your audience? Are you talking with them, at all, or just at them? Is it genuine? More importantly, WHO is your audience and are you communicating with them?