What a dilemma

MarketingProfs.com reports that Consumers Prefer Verizon Service, but want an iPhone).  It sounds like there should be an opportunity there.  Customers who have switched over to Verizon were happy to pick up a Google Android phone back in December. 

I got a free coffee

On Monday I was at Starbucks, and I was lucky to get a "long receipt". The long receipt has a section that invites you to participate in a customer satisfaction survey - which I did. The questions were really straight forward, including: what did you order, did you intend to buy some food, and did you buy some food, was the place clean, was the service good, and so on.

The survey only takes about five minutes (as promised by the Barista). The best part is that I got a free coffee out of the deal. Great pay off for five minutes of work.

I did find it interesting that when I 'Google'd "Starbucks Customer Service Survey" I didn't come across very much about this survey. You'd think that there'd be lots of Marketing people out there blogging their heads off about this. The only story I found out there about this specific survey is a write-up by Biff Motley that shows up on several different pages.

I did find one very interesting piece of information about Starbucks customers. Did you know that chocolate and vanilla ice cream lovers are more likely to visit a coffeehouse (such as Starbucks) on a regular basis. I do love chocolate, and I do my fair share of spending at Starbucks. Their research is accurate.

The Definitive Guide to Responding to Buzz in Social Media - #1 Commit Yourself

I've taken a few weeks away from blogging, but now I'm back into it and ready to write "The Definitive Guide to Responding to Buzz in Social Media". This guide comes from several pieces of research that I was doing back in the summer which looked at the best ways to respond to criticism in other fields. Taking that, and some of my own experience in responding to social media, I will be posting an 11-part guide which will give you the tools you need to respond to both good and bad buzz in social media. Join me now as we begin the journey...

#1 == Commit Yourself
As a BIG first step you must commit to responding to social media. To do that is a process in and of itself. But, first off you have to really decide that responding to social media is an important thing to do. You need to believe it deep down in your gut, and you need to be able to make others believe it as well.

To commit yourself means that you have to plan and execute actions that are really the next 10 steps in the responding process, which are ...

• #2 ==> Set out your Strategy
• #3 ==> Build out your Tactics
• #4 ==> Determine if you should engage
• #5 ==> Craft meaningful responses
• #6 ==> Reply based on the context
• #7 ==> Follow some basic etiquette
• #8 ==> Enlist your critic's help
• #9 ==> Create a response template library
• #10 ==> Bring in a professional when you need it
• #11 ==> Get metrics

Join me on the journey to Social Media Response happiness over the next couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to it.

Well done UPS

I bought a new ("previously enjoyed") cell phone on eBay this week. I'm really looking forward to receiving it. The phone is being shipped by UPS, and I received an email from UPS yesterday telling me that my phone is on the way. I clicked through on the tracking link from the UPS email, and found a great deal of detail about the shipment.

I'm not sure what to do with all the detail, but I find it fascinating that UPS provides this.

What a great use of the web.

Can you think of ways that your company can do something similar to "wow" your customers by publishing information on the web?

Free Surveys

For my latest client I have been looking into analytics tools. There are two kinds of Web Analytic Tools that are important:

• Traffic source and path analysis - Tools like Google Analytics, Omniture Site Catalyst, and WebTrends
• Direct survey data - Tools like iPerceptions and ForeSee Results which allow you to actually ask the customer about their experience on your site and how successful they were in completing the task they set out to when they hit your site.

The iPerceptions team pointed me to www.4qsurvey.com - which is a project by Avinash Kaushik and iPerceptions - that will provide you a free survey solution that allows you to ask 4 set (but somewhat customizable) questions.

I love the idea. It even fits with one of my Marketing Trends for 2009.
In fact, I loved the idea so much that I'm implementing it on my own website! Check it out at www.MarketGoGo.com.

Trends for 2009: #5. Simple Strategies ... Back to the Basics

When times were good things were easy. It was easy to get a new customer. Consequently, it was easy to ignore a customer, since there was always at least one (and likely many more) new customers waiting to take their place.

2009 brings an entirely different playing field. As an example, I heard an interview on the radio in late 2008 of a couple of Realtors. It appears that they are actually having to learn how to market and sell again. In their "good old days" all they needed was a listing and potential buyers would flock to the property to participate in a bidding war. Those glory days are long gone.

What are the basic strategies to focus on in 2009?

• Branding - What is your brand promise? How does your company support it? (Does your company support it?)
• Retail Ads - To paraphrase David Ogilvy, a good ad is one that sells your product. 2009 is not the time for airy fairy branding ads. 2009 is the time for simple and honest ads that educate people about the value of your product and scream out at them to take action.
• Customer Retention - The cheapest customer to sell to is an existing customer. It is time to revisit and work your current customers to remind them that you are a low-risk and well-known value for them (of course, I'm expecting that you really are). Reselling, upselling, and cross-selling are all ways that you can make ends meet (and maybe even eke out a profit) in 2009.
• Customer Satisfaction - It is almost like hearing the same message twice. If you are going to revisit your current customers, then you better ensure that they are happy with your product or service, and make real steps to bolster your customer satisfaction.
• Real Return on Investment - Projects you undertake in 2009 better have real and demonstrable ROI (and they better have it fast). The Accountants will be watching every project nickle like hawks (except, of course, their own International GAAP projects which will likely be "non-discretionary", unlike keeping their company in business which is, of course, discretionary ... ooops, did I write that out loud).

Will I be right? The year will tell!

• Follow this blog and watch for the next marketing trends I'm forecasting for 2009.
• Feel free to contact Market GoGo to discuss this further.