by
Andy Strote
15.11.2009
By now we all agree that the real definition of a brand resides in the head of the customer. As a brand owner, you work hard to influence that perception, but in the end, it’s your customers that define you.
For them, it’s their total experience of you – from logo to advertising, website, retail store, customer service, your environmental policies and of course, your actual product design and functionality. This combined experience = your reputation = your brand.
The challenge for many companies is that they focus the great majority of their efforts on the traditional “front end” – logo, advertising, website – without truly co-ordinating with the “back end”.
As marketers, it’s natural for us to focus on the front end. That’s where we work, where we are most comfortable. But with the client’s best interests in mind, it is up to us to try to bring everyone to the table. Why? Because often a campaign succeeds or fails on the performance of the back end. The last interaction with the brand is what customers tend to remember – not the great website, but the 45 minute wait with customer service. And that’s what they talk, blog and twitter about and that’s what becomes your brand.
So, the next time there’s a marketing meeting to introduce a new product or service, look around the table. Are you being joined by sales, customer service and the product design team? It would be far better for all if you were.
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by
Andy Strote
11.11.2009
If you sell a product or service, you likely have a customer service department. Typically it includes a call center.
Why would you add Twitter?
Look at it from a customer perspective:
Many call centers do not operate 24/7.
Calling often means call center hell. Long waits, disconnects and really bad music. In the realm of horror stories, call centers occupy their own department. Therefore, many people avoid calling. That may seem like a good thing, but it’s not. It doesn’t mean they don’t have an issue – it’s just not worth the agony. So they talk to their friends, blog about it, make videos and create URLs like (yourcompany)sucks.com.
Email can be dicey too. Some companies are good at responding, others not so good.
Compare this to Twitter. A customer does a search on Twitter and finds the company they’re thinking about. They send a tweet with a query or complaint. The company monitors Twitter and gets back within hours. The situation is acknowledged and on its way to being answered. read more
Tags: web
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by
Andy Strote
2.11.2009
As marketing continues to move online, it’s getting ever more possible to market to niches – in fact, it’s nearly becoming mandatory. And yet, too often we still try to identify markets by age group, income and education when interest groups cut across those definitions and provide much more focused targets.
Consider the broad category of fans – whether they’re following sports, music, movies, cars or bikes. Many of them are heavily invested in their fandom and will re-arrange their lives and spending priorities to pursue their interests. read more
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by
Andy Strote
2.11.2009
I had a mental mash-up reading Seth Godin’s post on the The Problem with Positive Thinking. Seth posits that it’s often easier to think negatively despite the proof that thinking positively has been proven to deliver superior results. Negative thinking feels “more realistic”. Yet people want to do something, which tends to be positive.
So now it’s decision time. You can decide yes or no. Or, you can let it hang in mid-air and not make any decision. Put it off. Wait until you get more information. Do some research, ponder a bit more. Hope that somebody else comes up with an answer. read more
Tags: strategy
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by
Andy Strote
18.10.2009
Here are the keys to Augmented Reality: your 3G smart phone (likely an iPhone or Android-powered phone) with its camera, GPS and compass technology enabled, a new browser such as Layar or the Wikitude World Browser and any number of use-specific applications that you download to your phone.
read more
Tags: web
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by
Andy Strote
19.8.2009
1. Perfect your core products
At one time, the North American coffee experience was completely generic. Starbucks raised the bar in quality, taste and choice so that even their basic product was the best in the category. They charge more than everyone else. And they continue to prosper. Are your core products the best in the category? If not, what would it take?
2. Build on your core
Having the best coffee gave Starbucks the foundation to expand their product range. It was natural to introduce higher margin espresso, cappuccino and lattes. With those bases covered, they were able to make the next great leap – customer-driven customization. Are your core products strong enough to build on?
3. Let your customers customize your product
Starbucks orders have become the subject of parody – the venti, no-foam, non-fat, two sweeteners, caramel latte – and Starbucks laughs all the way to the bank. Customer-driven customization takes the product further out of commoditization and into ever higher profit margins. Think about your products. How could you accommodate customer-driven customization while still meeting your standards for delivery and quality? read more
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by
Lionel Gadoury
19.8.2009
Rise above commoditization
Don’t live and die on price alone
We are in the midst of a massive information revolution that is being driven by the Internet.
Specifically, the easy access to information has dramatically changed the balance of power. Now buyers can comparison-shop on a global level without ever contacting a seller.
Consider the significance of this if you are a seller. You may not have a chance to make your pitch. You don’t know a customer is even shopping. They have no need to contact you or visit your store or showroom. They can buy from your site if you offer e-commerce, or come into your store. In either case, when the customer comes to you, they already have competitive quotes and reviews in hand. read more
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by
Andy Strote
19.8.2009
All together now
It’s an integrated world. Your campaign should be too.
Here we are well into the 21st century and newsstands are exploding with more new magazines than anyone could hope to read in a lifetime. What’s happening?
Wasn’t the Web supposed to replace paper? Why do most major cities have a number of daily “quality” papers competing with free papers which are further augmented by free weekly entertainment papers?
The fact is, paper has survived the onslaught of all the other media quite well. Consider that over the past 100 years, we’ve had the introduction of radio, movies, television, VCRs, DVDs, cell phones, the Web, email, blogs, podcasts and more – all of which were predicted to be the death knell of print. read more
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