Human Connections with Your Customers through the Marketing Experience Matrix

For marketers, what is this matrix? In the movie, The Matrix, it was a rebellion against machines. In the instances laid out here, it’s about 21st century business communications between your stakeholders (customers) and your organization. Whether you are a service company, retailer or a brand, today’s customer demands more from you than in the past.

Here is where all your multi-channel marketing all blends together into an enticing and successful customer journey. This engagement matrix will be online or offline. In any strategy like this it’s important to connect with your customer in a positive, personalized manner. Although this is not customarily a part of traditional marketing methods, even the user experience on your website is a part of it. People no longer tolerate hard-to-navigate websites, they just move on to the competitor’s seamless digital experience.

Conquering the Awkward Line Between Social Media Marketing and Customer Care

Brands often have a difficult time, especially when handling hundreds of thousands of customers a day (even if only a small percent is on social media). Their social media teams have to straddle a very thin line between marketing and engagement.

Take the @AmericanAir account on Twitter. It can't possibly be easy to act fun, friendly (and civil) while unavoidable delays leave customers stranded and then fling a stream of abusive obscenities at the brand?

I've been watching the last hour of their stream. American Airlines has handled Tweets from customers uncomfortable in their seats, upset about having to check a bag gateside, a plane being too warm, a worn out traveler complaining about the amount of people in the Admirals Club and an Executive Platinum flyer thrilled with his upgrade.

Anyone remember the days when there was no one with whom to vent? When you just wanted to scream at the top of your lungs? Now at least there is someone listening to your pleas for service, and they are also answering.

Aside from handling cranky travelers, they partake in conversations, share information, fun facts, promotions and incredible photos 24/7. They have a target response time to comments of 15 minutes. They seem to be doing this all very right, because according to a report from Sprinklr, American is the world's most social airline; "American is not just relying on its large audience, but is also producing content that effectively triggers a consumer response."

Their social media specialists tweet from the AA #TweetSuite and respond over 1000 times a day. They are a tight knit group of employees devoted to customer care. Unlike other brands, American has chosen not to have each team member include their names in the company Tweets. The preference is that the airline speaks in one brand tone of voice. They train their members for consistency.

---

I personally think the Twitter team is #AAwesome. They once helped me out when I was making a connection and accidentally walked out of security. They've also kept me company with funny tweets

@marshacollier That's where we were hiding the brass band on #millionmiler day! #darn
— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) June 10, 2014

So when I got an email from American saying they would like to interview me as a featured AAdvantage Member in the August 2014 "American Way" Magazine, I was (admittedly) over the moon. I responded right away - and was sworn to secrecy!

I wasn't allowed to talk about it online, even with my Twitter friends or @AmericanAir. This was tough because (as I said in the article) I love tweeting with the crew when I'm flying (although I am convinced that someone from the social media account suggested me for the piece).

Thank you to everyone who is posting picures of the article on Facebook and Twitter and tagging me. It's so much fun to meet you and see when you travel. (I haven't actually seen a hard copy of the magazine yet).

If you'd like to see the article, it can be found online at the American Way emagazine here on page 94 or to see a magnified version, please visit this page.

Since we can't mention names, on the top of this article is a photo of my favorite team of Twitterati — #winning!

Why Bother About a Social Media Policy? Think Twice

You have a business. You're engaging on Social media. So what next? In light of the many social PR fails, consider a policy for your employees.

If you intend to promote your brand and interact with customers through social networks and social media channels – and I highly recommend that you do – you must realize your employees will be there as well, with their own personal accounts. There’s no reason not to encourage your employees to explore and engage in social media communities online, but remember, they are also the face of your company to all their friends and associates – as well as to the customers they know. What they say online or the type of photos they post on their personal accounts may reflect, albeit in a roundabout way, on your business. When they directly talk about you or your business, it will have a cause and effect relationship.

It is your job to guide your business’s online culture and protect your brand’s online persona. Provide guidelines for your employees in the form of a Social Media Policy. This written document, similar to other codes of conduct you have for employees, will let them know what type of behavior you expect from them online and any limits as to what business-related information they can share in the public stream.

Here’s how one of our nation’s biggest companies handled it. Back in 2009, before most people thought about setting guidelines, Adam Brown broke ground by developing a 4R social strategy (review, respond, record, redirect) and spearheaded the development of social media guidelines for the Coca-Cola Company. Aside from designating a code of conduct for their official online spokespeople, Coca-Cola also laid out specific principles for their associates. By taking a look at what Coca Cola deemed appropriate, perhaps it will help you forge a set of standards for your own employees. From Coca-Cola’s Online Social Media Principles, the guidelines below with my explanations outline expectations for any online activities – personal or professional – where employees reference the company or have made their association with the company known.

1. “Adhere to the Code of Business Conduct and other applicable policies” – Coca Cola has several policies regarding specific business activities, including general conduct, information protection and insider trading. All employees (from the CEO to interns) are expected to follow these when mentioning online that they are employees of Coca Cola. 

2. “You are responsible for your actions” – This point is a reminder to exercise sound judgment and common sense when posting online because employees will be held responsible if their actions negatively impact the business or its image.

3. “Be a ‘scout’ for compliments and criticism” – This guideline acknowledges that employees are “vital assets for monitoring the social media landscape.” Coca-Cola even supplies an in-house email for forwarding both positive and negative comments employees observe online, so they can feel confident negative situations will be addressed without feeling like they must be the one to take action.  

4. “Let the subject matter experts respond to negative posts” – This point stresses, again, that should employees encounter a potentially damaging post about the business, the post should be referred to those trained and approved as official online spokespeople to handle responding.

5. “Be conscious when mixing your business and personal lives” – This principle recognizes that personal and business personas often intersect online and reminds employees that everything that is posted online – even when channels or profiles are “private” or “protected” – can still ultimately be seen by anyone at any time 

Actionable Takeaway: Four Professional Social Media Commerce Secrets

Here are four marketing strategies you don't want you to forget. Commerce is your goal — but "social" will get your business front and center with prospective customers. Include videos and engaging content on your website, and interact on other sites and blogs.

• Keep your website fresh: With all the pressure about posting in social media, keep in mind that ultimately you need to direct visitors to a core website where they can learn all about your business — and make purchases. Create a web presence that reflects your business and your company culture. Make it accessible and engaging.
  
• Include instructional videos: Build a library of Facebook videos or YouTube uploads that pertain to your business and demonstrate your products. Link to these videos from your website and post them on your Facebook business page.
  
• Friend and tag other businesses on Facebook: It's just as easy to tag friends on your Facebook personal page and fans on your business page, but you can also tag other business pages as well. See the screenshot above. Go to friendly businesses and "Like As Your Page." Be social — and help spread the word — by including other businesses in your posts.
  
• Make social media fun: Keep the social conversation going. Post more often on a couple of sites instead of posting rarely on many. Aside from posting relevant content regularly (and not self-promoting all the time), reply to those who post to your accounts. Answer and ask. The most desirable social media personas are those who interact regularly.

Let's talk on Twitter! You'll find more tips in my book pictured below, "Social Media Commerce for Dummies"

8 Simple to Apply SEO Tips for Your Online Store

    

If a consumer searches Google for one of your products, what would they find? Would your online store be at the top of the results? If your site doesn’t appear within the first few pages of search results, you’ll lose the opportunity to earn additional traffic and potential customers. While you may advertise your store through social media or paid advertisements, if your ecommerce site isn’t properly search engine optimized, then you’re missing a big piece of the pie.

By implementing SEO techniques, you help search engines like Google and Bing better crawl and index the content on your site. This means your website and product pages are more likely to show up when users search keywords relevant to your online store. While search engine optimization can be a full-time job, there are eight steps you can take right now to improve your site’s standing and increase its visibility:

1. Create unique, user-friendly content on each page. Search engines are placing more value on quality content that results in lower bounce rates, longer time spent on the site, better user experience, and diversity of site traffic. Be sure that you’re using relevant keywords on each page, but write content that’s meant to be read by humans, not just search engines.
2. If you have different URLs that lead to the same product page, avoid getting dinged for duplicate content by indicating a canonical (preferred) URL. See more on canonicalization here.
3. For each product page, include the product name in the URL, title tags, text, and the titles and alt text for images. Since search engines can only index what they can crawl, try not to leave any element “unreadable” by search engines.
4. If you sell a coffee mug in black, red, or green, state the color options on the product page in addition to having color swatches (with alt text), since users might be searching for “coffee mug” or “green coffee mug.” A warning about creating different pages for each variation of a product: this can result in “thin” content that could be penalized by search engines.
5. Be smart in the long-tail terms you include in your copy, since these keywords can drive better quality traffic (i.e., consumers closer to making a purchase). Plus, your site is more likely to rank high for detailed keyword phrases like “tan Italian leather loafers” rather than a very popular and general term, like “loafers.”
6. Allow your customers to leave feedback, reviews, comments, photos, etc., so you get additional content on each page that could help drive more long-tail traffic. Including reviews on your site also improves the user experience and builds better customer relationships.
7. Use rich snippets to display additional information underneath your URL and meta description in search results. Rich snippets provide additional information such as a product’s price, availability, and ratings, which could help users decide to click your link. See more on rich snippets here.
8. If you are serious about your SEO efforts and don’t mind spending a little money, you could take advantage of Google products, such as AdWords and Google Shopping, to help boost your web traffic.

via thinkingforward.tumblr.com

 

Why 90% of Small Businesses Use Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC] / Social Media Week

This coming Thursday, I will be on a panel with some very smart folks at Social Media Week in Los Angeles: Social CRM: Hurdles Along the Path to Measurable Social Marketing Programs. We will be visiting the ROI for brands online. Below is some information that covers some of my thoughts:

A survey of 600 small business owners across the United States indicates that 90% are actively engaged in social networking sites and 74% perceive social networking as valuable — if not more valuable — than networking in-person.

When 42% of owners say that 25% of new customers discovered them through sites such as Facebook and Foursquare, it is crucial that your business is online and social.

But the news is not all merry, as 58% of surveyed owners said they struggle with promoting their Facebook pages — if they have a page at all.

The takeaway is clear. You need to be where your customers are. Forget what your competitors are doing, as their customers are different from your customers. You also need to integrate internet communications into your normal routine of business networking.

via socialmediatoday.com

 

10 Tips for Choosing a Web Design Company That Every Marketer Should Know

I met a really sharp lawyer and marketer, Lee Rosen. I'll be reposting some of his valuable tips on my blog. Here's the first installment...

You need a new website (or maybe it’s your first website), and there are a gazillion options.
First off, depending on how busy you are at this point, you might want to consider building it yourself. It’s not rocket science to build a simple site or blog. I really like SquareSpace . The site offers an awesome interface, cool premade designs, and an incredibly reasonable price. It is a soup-to-nuts solution. It’s worth considering.
If, however, you’re committed to hiring someone to do the work for you, then these tips should help you pick the right someone:

Keynote: "Online Strategies for Improving Marketing & Customer Service" (Free Reg code)!

If you’re interested in launching or building your business in the hot cloud and web hosting space, or just want to learn more about the cloud, you can’t afford to miss Parallels Summit 2012, February 14-16 in Orlando.  Parallels Summit will feature cloud industry leaders and successful service providers, addressing how not to get left behind the cloud, and how you can profit from the explosive growth of cloud services for small and medium businesses.

I'm honored and excited to be presenting a keynote entitled “Online Strategies for Improving your Marketing and Customer Service.”  All attendees at Parallels Summit 2012 will receive a copy of my latest book, “The Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide: How to Connect with Your Customers to Sell More!” 

Guy Kawasaki, the foremost authority on technology adoption, was the original chief evangelist at Apple. In his second act, Kawasaki’s excelled at being a serial entrepreneur and networker, social media guru, best-selling author and featured columnist for American Express OPEN Forum for small business on his blog, Powering Small Business Success. In his keynote, Kawasaki will share insights from his life experiences on how to tap into the potential of customer “Enchantment” — the Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions, as chronicled in his recent book of the same title. Regardless of your company’s size or how you deliver services, Kawasaki will explore why enchanting your customers is the key for service providers (or any entrepreneur) to build a business — it’s the path to differentiate yourself in the marketplace as you earn likability and trustworthiness.

Tiffani Bova, Vice President, Gartner Research, is a 15-year IT veteran, who cover IT Sales and Channel Strategies. Bova's area of specialization includes the development of comprehensive indirect channel programs, the impact of alternative models on the traditional channel, and trends in IT distribution.  Bova will provide insight for channel partners and the requirements they need and should expect from their vendor partners to be successful in today's market in her keynote session, “The Role of Cloud Services Marketplaces in Your Value Chain Strategy.”

For more info and to register, go to : www.parallels.com/summit/2012 and use the code #NU3MC2for your free registration. 

See you there!

           

 

Commerce of Christmas: How Much Are We Spending & Where Does it Go?

How do the numbers really add up? We’ve all seen the Black Friday rush and the news reports of skyrocketing Cyber Monday sales and felt the pressure to spend, spend, spend over the holidays. In this brand new infographic, It's easy to see when people shop for the holidays, where they spend their money, and perhaps most importantly of all, where on the globe is the world’s most expensive Christmas tree?

via outright.com

 

Small Business: 7 Essential Elements of Effective Social Media Marketing

How are savvy businesses using social media effectively to find more customers, boost their reputations, and make more sales?

Here are the seven essentials that will turn your social media marketing from an annoying time-waster to an effective bottom-line booster.

1. Get your home base together

Your home base is your blog or web site. It’s on a domain you own. You control the user experience — from the content to the site design to the user interface.

This is where you show that you know your stuff. That means building a nice cornerstone of high quality content that demonstrates your expertise in a likable, accessible way.

First impressions matter, so make sure the design is clean, professional, and smart. It can still be stylish or funky, if that’s your thing, but it shouldn’t look amateurish or confusing.

Your home base is where you post content to answer your readers’ questions, give them interesting tips, and help solve their annoying problems. When someone wants to know more about you, this is where you send them.

Your home base is a marketing tool, which means you need to be communicating primarily with customers, not with other experts in your topic. Don’t just pontificate to show what you know — tie your news and opinions back to how those things affect your customers.

2. Who’s the face of your business?

If you want to use social networking platforms like Twitter, Google+, or Facebook, you need a human face to make your social media marketing work.

So does that mean potential customers want to know about your personal struggles finding high-quality organic dog food? No. (Unless your company sells organic dog food, that is.)

Just like people have always done in public settings (work, church, volunteer activities), you’re going to adopt a persona — a selected range of your thoughts, emotions, and observations.

You’re going to be social and informal, but in a way that’s relevant, appropriate, and interesting to who you’re talking with.

Just like you don’t (I hope) wear your “I spent the night in Paris, Hilton” t-shirt to your grandma’s house, you’re also not going to share absolutely everything about the “real” you with your social media connections.

That doesn’t mean I want you to be a fraud. I want you to be friendly and genuine. Sound like a human being, not a corporate robot. And you certainly don’t have to stick to business all the time. It’s fine and good to show that you have a life. It’s not so good to show the world you’re careless, rude, or boring.

The truth is, the definition of “appropriate” depends on your audience. Lisa Barone has a very different persona from Ann Handley’s. If it works for your customers, it’s appropriate.

Authenticity for a business doesn’t come from oversharing or boring your audience to death — it lies in doing what you say you’ll do.

3. Who else has your customers?

Social networking platforms were designed to make it easy and fun for people to hang out together. That means you’re going to use them to build relationships that will help your business.

Look for people who have healthy-sized audiences who are a good fit for your product or service. They may be bloggers, they may be authors, they may have a popular podcast or column in mainstream media. They may simply be social media mavens who have lots of friends and like to share good stuff.

These are the people you want to share and promote your excellent content.

Cultivating professional relationships isn’t rocket science. Stick to the basics — link to them from your content, comment intelligently on their blogs and on social platforms, and be a nice person.

Don’t think that picking fights or manufacturing controversy makes you stand out. It doesn’t, it just makes you look like a troll. If you’re going to take a controversial position, make sure it’s one that really matters, and express it with respect.

4. Pick a primary platform

Again, think about where your customers are.

If you love Twitter but your customers spend hours every day on Facebook, you need to recognize that Facebook is probably a better venue for your business. It may not be as fun for you — but that’s why they call it work.

Only move beyond your primary platform when you’re sure you’re handling it well. A lot depends on the industry you’re in. If you’re a copywriter, social media consultant, or online marketer, your customers spend a lot of time in these venues, which means you probably will, too.

5. Manage your time

If you don’t decide how much time and focus you’ll put into social media, the default will be “all of it.”

Sites like Twitter and Facebook are seductive places to drop in and just check what’s new. When your five-minute check turns into 25 minutes, and you’re doing that 4 or 5 times a day per site, you’re going to find your productivity taking a dive.

Remember your home base. That (and actually delivering whatever it is you do) are where the bulk of your time and energy need to go.

The best tool I’ve found for managing social media time is a $3 kitchen timer. Decide in advance how much time you’ll spend checking in and being social, and stick to that.

6. Content first, conversation second

You’ve been told again and again by social media “experts” that your entire business should revolve around something called “The Conversation.”

Too often, this form of Conversation leads to business owners spending hours every day chattering with potential customers and hoping someone will buy something. (Or, more often, chattering with peers and friends and hoping this counts as work.)

Yes, be personable. Yes, keep an ear out for customer complaints so you can respond appropriately. And yes, network with peers in your industry to keep your links healthy.

But if it feels like goofing around all day instead of working, it probably is.

Instead, spend the bulk of your time on content, whether it’s on your own base or used as a guest post to find a wider audience. Use content to educate your customers about what they need to know to make an intelligent purchase. Focus on customer objections, questions, and problems.

When you find someone else’s content that your customers will find valuable, share that too — and add a few insights of your own, if you like.

Even a 100-character tweet can have content value. Think about what you can say that makes readers’ lives better, rather than just filling up time before you run to Starbuck’s. Make sure your reader has a good experience every time she hears from you. Keep it both useful and entertaining.

Social media conversation is a seasoning that makes your content more appetizing. It’s not the main dish.

7. Don’t forget SEO

Too many people think that social media sharing means they don’t need SEO any more. The fact is, social media marketing is a superb complement to SEO.

Play the long game. The same elements that make social media work (content that’s both useful and user-friendly, doing what you say you’ll do, healthy relationships with others in your industry) are the elements search engines would prefer to serve up. Search engines want to find the content that’s a widely-valued resource, and one of the signals they use for that is social media sharing.

Twitter and Facebook are already search engine signals, and there’s no doubt that Google+ is, too.

For too many businesses, social media is a time-wasting ego game. But use the tools strategically, with a focus on content and on getting a useful message in front of a wider audience, and it can be brilliantly effective.

via copyblogger.com

Never take your eye off of the prize: A happy, loyal customer!

Want to Blur The Line Between Online & Offline Marketing? USPS QR Mobile Barcode 3% Discount for First Class mailings

This Mobile Barcode Promotion was approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission on May 17, 2011 and for those of you using Direct Mail Marketing. I thought you should be aware of the available discount!

USPS 2011 Mobile Barcode Promotion

Mobile barcodes are two-dimensional barcodes that can be read by any smartphone with a 2d barcode reader application. These mobile barcodes, when scanned, can direct an otherwise passive customer to take immediate action – make a purchase, register for an event, or download a coupon.

 

Program Goals
The Mobile Barcode Promotion was designed to build awareness of mobile barcodes and demonstrate to mailers how mobile barcodes can increase the value of mail, while "blurring" the lines between online and offline marketing.

How does the Program work?
The Mobile Barcode Promotion runs July 1, 2011 through August 31, 2011, providing business mailers with an upfront three percent discount on Standard Mail and First-Class Mail^® letters and flats that include a mobile barcode. The following rules apply:

• Mobile barcode must be two-dimensional and readable by a mobile smartphone. One dimensional barcodes do NOT qualify.
• Mailing documentation must be submitted electronically and postage must be paid using a Permit Imprint. Current electronic submission methods include: Mail.XML, Mail.dat and Postal Wizard.
• Participating mailers will be required to affirmatively claim this promotion in electronic postage statement submissions, certifying each mailpiece contains a mobile barcode either within contents of mailpiece or on outside of mailpiece.
• All mailpieces in a mailing statement must contain a mobile barcode.
• With the exception of IMb full service discount, only one incentive per mailing will apply.
• Mobile barcode must be used for marketing and advertising purposes. Mailpieces containing mobile barcode that convey information about the postage value, destination, sender and machine serial number for security do not qualify.

For more information view the Rules and the Fact Sheet

Twitter Crushing Facebook's ClickThru Rate: Facebook 2.87% Twitter 19.04%. How does this happen?

What is the most effective way for marketers to spread their message online? Facebook? Twitter? Company blogs? Email?

According to a new report by marketing firm SocialTwist, Internet sharing trends have shifted heavily shifted toward social networking, but other platforms still have a strong presence for word-of-mouth advertising. SocialTwist analyzed more than a million referral messages sent using the company's Tell-a-Friend tool, a widget that lets users share sites through social media.

In the last year, social networking sites saw a 10% increase in usage, and a 16% bump in click-throughs. Overall though, email still accounts for 55% of referrals.

However, when it comes to click-throughs, social networking sites are far more effective, accounting for more than 60% of the market share.

Among social networking sites, Facebook is by far the most preferred service for sharing, making up more than 78% of usage. Yet other sites are gaining: Twitter maintains 5% of referrals, and MySpace, surprisingly, comes in at second with 14.5% share

.

Yet Twitter has become the most effective tool for click-throughs. Twitter yielded a whopping average of 19.04 clicks, whereas Facebook only produced 2.87 clicks.

This is great news for Twitter, which has hinged its business on Promoted Tweets and Trends, tweet-size ads that companies purchase for $100,000 a day. With such a high click-through rate, it's no wonder new Twitter CEO Dick Costolo boasted yesterday that the company has "cracked the code on a new form of advertising, and we feel like we’ve got a hit on our hands.”

via fastcompany.com

I hate to say "I told you so."