MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over

Social Media “Marketing”

Feb 22, 2009 Branding, Customer Service, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Marketing & Communication, PR, Social Media, social networks

Some time ago (before my sleepless night) Beth Harte had an interesting post “Is Social Media the Same as Marketing?” She questioned the term “Social Media Marketing” and said “the term social media marketing is not working for me: social media is about sharing and discussing information. It’s communications, not marketing.” What ensued in the comments section was not only a discussion of whether we could call social media – marketing or social media marketing; but a conversation examining the hierarchy and definition of Marketing itself. Now I am a little late jumping into the discussion – believe it or not this has been in the “drafts” for a long time!

Define Marketing…

Some comments on the post placed Communications squarely as part of marketing, others separated marketing and communications as though it were Church and State. The four Ps are mentioned, and then suggested they are an over simplification of marketing.  Marketing runs the show. Communications runs the show. One comment says PR, Sales, Marketing, and advertising are all different disciplines. Another says MarCom and PR are separate but collaborate more often. Still another commenter says that the P for Promotion stands for various communication techniques that would include PR, personal selling, advertising and publicity.

Dale Evans, the author of Social Media an Hour a Day said

“marketing is being defined more and more by what consumers experience and translate into shared content than it is by what a marketer has to say directly”

Walter Pike quotes Peter Drucker:

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself”

As does Gabriel Rossi:

“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”

And Laurie Broderick quotes the AMA

“Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”

the original market

Ultimately, I don’t think it was necessarily the definition of marketing that was really in question, as all definitions brought up seem to recognize that the role of marketing is to have such solid understanding of their customer base that they strategically create, deliver, and appropriately price the products or services that this customer wants or needs. The original meaning came from literally going to the market to buy or sell goods. However,  I think confusion surrounding the definition comes when we assume that Marketing is just sales promotion.

From the variety of comments it may be that the trouble is not defining marketing, but defining the roles that fall in the umbrella of marketing. In particular, the role of Communication and Marketing Communication.  My understanding has always been that MarCom would fall into “Promotion” – one of the simplified 4P’s of Marketing. In, my working experience it has always been that MarCom and PR have reported into Marketing.  I realize that is not always the case.

Start with the Basics

I took a look at Marketing using the perhaps over simplified 4ps (from my school days, many years ago!):

The Marketing Mix:

Product: Create a product that fits the needs or wants of your customer. Specifications of the goods or services should meet those requirements.

Placement: Otherwise known as distribution and refers to the channel in which a product or service is sold.

Pricing: This is the process marketers use to set the price of a product for market.

Promotion: Textbook definition houses the following in this “P” – Advertising, Sales Promotion, Publicity, Personal Selling (Sales), Branding and other methods to promote product or service.

It is this final P that seems to be the conundrum. Many businesses house these promotional roles in a variety of silos, others have them report directly to Marketing, still others work in tandem with the Marketing group, and of course still others outsource some of these roles to (a variety of ) agencies. Some include only those aspects that would be considered Marketing Communications:

According to Wikipedia: “Marketing communication is concerned with the general behavior of an organization and the perceptions of the organization that are promoted to stakeholders through these touch points. The six areas usually associated in this representation are: Advertising, Public Relations, Promotions, Direct Marketing, Event Marketing, and New Media.”

Others see MarCom as those “selling” aspects of Communication and leave PR out of the mix – seeing it as a Communication role.

Needless to say it is all a bit of a mixed bag.

We also need to examine Marketing as potentially having three additional Ps  (often associated with Service but could just as well work when talking about products):

People: Any person coming into contact with customers can have an impact on overall satisfaction. In the customer’s eyes, the people are generally inseparable from the company and they can therefore highly affect the customer’s experience.

Process: This is the procedures involved in providing a service (or product) which can be crucial to customer satisfaction. Example I buy a new Humidifier at Sears for my baby’s room, take it home and discover it sounds like an airplane jetting off so I take it back – but have to wander the store (with stroller and baby in tow) find an elevator and return it to hardware (where there is no immediate staff member to help) – despite numerous “Service” desks on the main floor.

Physical evidence: To reduce the feeling of risk, thus improving success, it is often vital to offer potential customers the chance to see what a service (or product – especially key for online shopping) would be like. This is done by providing physical evidence, such as case studies, or testimonials. This could also refer, I suppose to the physical appearance of the product – the quality (or lack of) it promises.

Is it Marketing vs Communication?

After reading Beth’s post and the numerous comments I decided I would search about to figure out if there was a rule of thumb for the relationship between Marketing and Communication. It seems once again that there are two schools of thought. In fact- this leads to two possible hierarchies.

1) Marketing is the 1-way, the push, the sell. Communication is two-way. They are two different disciplines. Two different departments.

2) Communication is a piece of the marketing puzzle. It is the tactics used to market and to converse with the target market. Same discipline. Same department.

Hmmm. Doesn’t help does it? While I believe that Communication must work in an integrated manner with the Marketing department, it seems that there are just as many that see the two as very separate pieces of the corporate puzzle.  If separate how do we ensure that all communications are sending the same messages? And, where does Social Media fit in – Marketing or Communications? Both?

The Dreaded Social Media

Like Beth, I dislike the term Social Media Marketing.

Social Media is defined as “primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.” (Wikipedia). The words “sharing” and “discussing” being an important factor to differentiate the “media” from other one-way channels such as television.

The problems I see with the term “Social Media Marketing”:

It is a name that in a few years will be dated. The web is, and has been for years – social. What happens when every site has some sort of forum, profile sharing, comment field etc. Will we still call it “social”? Or will that be rather redundant?I wonder if the even the term “media” too closely relates it to Television and Print Media which are traditionally used in an interruption method which as of now is a method which has not worked for the web.

and Social Media cannot be seen as only a tool to send simple outgoing marketing messages, as it also allows for two-way communication which can help an organization do much more. Amber Naslund said it best in the comments to Beth Harte’s post:

“Social media doesn’t just need to fit into marketing or public relations or other disciplines that are used to communicate. It’s also about customer service, technology and user experience, client relationship management, product and service innovation. It’s an undercurrent of so many more business touchpoints than we’ve ever seen, and I think that’s causing some consternation. In a good way, but it’s still hard.”

Social Media is two-way, it is authentic conversation between customer and company – and in such should fall under Communication. However, look at it in another way it works to benefit marketing in a number of ways:

Let’s just look at a few examples:

Product Idea Generation and Product Innovation

Sites such as My Starbucks Idea and Dell Ideastorm allow customers to work along with the company to develop products and innovations. To work this must be a collaboration between Marketing and the customer. However, as always it must remain “on brand” and conversational – so Communication must also be at play.

Customer Support Forums

Software companies have for quite some time had self-service support forums, allowing customers help other customers. These types of forums allow customers help others trouble-shoot, personalize and understand the product or service. Examples could include Apple iPod Discussion Forum; or the more community oriented Ubuntu site. This type of support can have an effect on how the brand is perceived, and despite the fact these are not employees of the company, on overall satisfaction with the product or service.

Customer Support via Twitter

Many companies are using Twitter to promote products or services, or drive traffic to their website. More effective however, have been the companies such as JetBlue, Starbucks,  and others who have also offered Customer Support through their Twitter accounts.

Corporate Blogs

There are certainly corporate blogs that are using the blogging platform as a tool to promote only, either to solely offer information on products or to drive traffic to their corporate site by optimizing for search using the blog. However, these are generally not successful in engaging their customers.  Other blogs that offer more insight, helpful content, and increased depth of information such as Graco’s Corporate Blog or Fiskars Fisk-A-Teers Blog have helped to build loyalty amongst their target demographic while of course increasing brand awareness. But, once again is this genuwine communication – Marketing? or Communication?

There are an amazing number of examples of Consumer Generated Content (wikis, videos, blogs, even advertising), File Sharing (photos, videos), Fan Pages, Social Networks, desktop widgets, online widgets,  – Peter Kim has an amazing list of social media examples.

Clearly, it seems to me if we treat these social media examples as “marketing”  or a simple tactical tool to sell products or services we are missing out a vast amount of information, we are missing out on a authentic conversation with our stakeholders and customers.  On the other hand, if it lies in Communication – then Marketing can miss out on an incredible space for innovation and collaboration.

This brings us to my 3rd point on why I dislike the term Social Media Marketing

It cannot be a silo. social media needs to fit in the grand scheme of the brand strategy. It needs to be consistent with other communication channels and it needs to work with the 7 Ps of Marketing. Because of this -  hierarchies may need to change.  Perhaps an executive level that joins the discipline of Marketing and Communication, and Customer Service allowing an integrated approach to communicating and marketing to all stakeholders, to all customer touch points.

The problem that Beth Harte recognized is that if we place social media in this type of integrated approach is that “the mashup will allow for people [aka agencies] to offer services like Social Media Marketing or PR Communications or Marketing Relations or… (really, you don’t want me to go on right?) without having a firm grasp on any of the disciplines that they are trying to deliver or implement.”

This kind of approach means that any advertising agency, PR agency, boutique can claim the title of “social media” expert since they work in the realm of communication or marketing, or advertising. The onus is then on us (the “us” that work on client-side) to flesh out the agencies that “know” and those that “think they know” or “don’t know” social media. As Beth says ” the walls need to come down and the need for two-way communications is forcing a sledge hammer through the walls. But at what cost?”.

This comes down to my reason for blogging in the first place. As someone working on the client-side I believe I need to understand what the agencies I work with are trying to sell me. I understand my business best, but if I just take what the agency is telling me without actually comprehending it, and being involved myself then I am not doing my brand justice. So I am involved in social media – social networks, blogging, listening and contributing. We need to be accountable to our brands and unfortunately this will mean sorting out the agencies selling “snake-oil” and those that are true communication “experts”.

As always  – connect on Twitter and Google Friend Connet (right hand side). And, if you enjoyed this content – subscribe!

Images: stock.xchng

Popularity: 42% [?]

Tags: 4 p's, 7 p's, Advertising, amber nasland, Apple, beth harte, business, community, dell, fiskar, graco, Internet, jetblue, marketing & communication, Marketing communications, Marketing Mix, peter kim, Public relations, social media, social network, starbucks, ubuntu

#GNO with @jessicaknows: A Summary of Twitter’s Girl’s Night Out

Jan 7, 2009 Advertising, Blogs, Books, Consumer Brands, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Microblogging, PR, Search Marketing, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Web Analytics, social networks, word of mouth

Jessicaknows

I missed some of the #GNO (Girls Night Out) discussion on Twitter last night so I went into Twitter Search and read the discussion. As always, it was a bit of a dizzying conversation last night – trying to keep up with the multitude of posts. So, it was difficult getting all the tips from @jessicaknows during the discussion.

I tried to pull as much as I could into this compilation. I hope this helps others as well.

Attracting PR Peeps for your Blog

A lot of participants were interested in reviewing more products and wondered how to go about doing this more often.

@jessicaknows said that she doesn’t think that there is a magic number with regards to traffic on your site in attracting PR. She noticed a lot of attention once she had about 20,000 monthly visitors to her blog. However, she suggests if you write about the products you are passionate about the PR folks will follow.

My two cents: She is absolutely correct, while the PR people will look for an engaged community the numbers may not matter as much if you are passionate and are considered an “influencer”. In this case, your review would simply be the tip of the iceberg. An influencer will tend to spread “word of mouth” throughout a variety of networks online and offline -giving a lot of added value to the campaign – beyond the blog post.  I hope to write more posts on books in 2009 since that is my passion. I don’t have 20,000 monthly visitors – but I have already received two books for review in the past. (Dan Ariely – Predictibly Irrational and Don Tapscott – Grown Up Digital)

Use Social Media to Build Your Own Community

@jessicaknows suggests that you pick 3 social media tools & be consistent use them everyday. She uses three social networks: Twitter (obviously), Facebook and LinkedIn. She also uses StumbleUpon for bookmarking regularly. She uses LinkedIn to connect with lots of PR folks, and mom owned business she can partner and work with in the future. On Facebook she prefers to “friend” people she knows in real-life and friends she has met on other social networks (Twitter for example). For users concerned with privacy and sharing with virtual friends she had a great idea to have a user profile for personal use and a Fan Page for your business/blog/website. While the Fan Page will show you as an author, “fans” will have to request to be a friend in order to see your Facebook profile.

My two cents: I post all blog posts to Twitter and Facebook. I try to avoid using the robot when I have the time by personally summarizing the newest post in my status/tweet.  Twitter is also a great place to promote DIY or How To Posts to people who are looking for specific help. I use Tweetburner to track click-through, which can give me an idea of how successful the tweet/status was. Note – don’t just do self-promotion, make sure you tweet other content outside of your own that you think your followers will find value in.

I have just started using StumbleUpon but I have definitely seen some traffic to my site through my profile. StumbleUpon allows you to find “friends” that have similar interests to you which is a great way to find new and interesting websites. Stumble others and perhaps they will Stumble you. All about Karma!

Couple other thoughts on Social Media:
- Use Video to promote your site by placing your URL in videos posted to YouTube
- Participate in Forums and Discussion groups in your topic area
- There are niche Social Networks that you can be involved in TwitterMoms, ClassyCloset and more…Create a profile and participate in the community
- Comment, comment, comment on other blogs. This is an easy way to promote your blog on other similar sites, and show some love to other bloggers.
- Try to link to other bloggers in your blog posts when possible. Give credit where credit is due, and share great information with your community.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

There was a great discussion around SEO last night during the #GNO.  There were folks on all ends of the spectrum – from questions such as “What is SEO?” to helpful tips from experts. @jessicaknows suggests that this is an important part of driving traffic to your website. For Wordpress bloggers she recommends the SEO Plug-in, and she has signed up for SEOBook training to get up to speed on SEO.

My two cents: Having attended SES Toronto last year, I am a believer in SEO for building traffic to your site. I use All-in-One SEO Plug-in for my WordPress blog. I use H1, H2, H3 headers where possible in my blog posts, and try to include Keywords without sounding “canned”.  SEO is great, but you also must use Analytics to compliment your SEO work.  If you aren’t following your stats you won’t be able to measure your success, see what is working and what isn’t, and see where you might have holes. Your Analytics program can also tell you before you start SEO efforts what Keywords are driving traffic to your site, and later on you should follow data for trends in keywords and content that you may not have noticed otherwise.

My SEO for Marketers post is a good SEO 101 for new comers, and watch next week for my Google Analytics Series for Bloggers. Also, take a peak at my “learnings” from my analytics a little while ago

Blogger Relations and Onsite Details

A lot of blogger etiquette and on-site promotional ideas were brought up during the discussion, here are some of the points:

• It is all about helping others: @jessicaknows says “I establish relationships by learning about other ppl’s goals & what they’re all about & then introduce to each other”. This includes helping to promote blogs she believe in the most through her sites. I love this quote from her “it’s so easy…the key word is SOCIAL…use the “have a friend, be a friend” mantra in business and you can’t go wrong”
• Write often, and be consistent. She tries to write daily if she can. Obviously that isn’t feasible for everyone – but I know if I blog 2-3 times a week my traffic remains higher than if I blog 1 time a week. Perhaps that is just a no-brainer.
• Encourage conversation and open up channels for two way conversation.
  
• Show personality in your posts
  
• Offer Blog giveaways (check out @jessicaknows 15 days of Marketing Post on Giveaways)
• Attend offline events (Tweetups, Conferences)
  

For those of you who were at Girl’s Night Out – did I miss anything? Any other hints and tips to encourage traffic?

Popularity: 36% [?]

Tags: #gno, blogging, girls night out, jessicaknows, marketing & communication, promotion, seo, traffic, twitter, Web Analytics, web traffic

If You Are Into Marketing You Should Be Reading AND Listening: Great Podcasts

Jan 6, 2009 PR, Podcasts, RSS, Social Media

My brother recently asked me to recommend some podcasts, instead of just emailing him a list I decided to share my favourite podcasts with you as well. I used to subscribe to about 30 but I had to cut back to the true essentials. Here are the seven I am currently listening to.

Marketing & PR Podcasts

Six Pixels of Separation
Host: Mitch Joel
This is my must listen to podcast! Mitch Joel’s enthusiasm is catching. He talks about all things digital with a flair for creating excitement. He provides the listener with incredible insight and the most up-to-date information on everything including: social media, culture, PR  books and strategy. Only downside- sometimes the podcast can be longer than the commute.

Inside PR
Hosts: Terry Fallis, David Jones, Martin Waxman,  Julie Rusciolelli
Weekly podcast about the world of Public Relations and Social Media. This is a very intelligent podcast with vibrant discussion about everything from Twitter to Client-Agency relations.

For Immediate Release
Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson
These guys have so much to say about PR and communication that they do a podcast twice a week!

Management

Manager Tools
Hosts: Mike Auzenne and Mark Horstman
Tools and techniques for managers. A great resource for professionals. Interviewing, decision making, conflict resolution and team building are just a few topics you will find on Manager Tools.

Technology Podcasts

TWiT
Host: Leo Laporte & Friends
Roundtable discussion on everything tech.  I find this one can go a bit long, so I skip sections I am not interested in.

CBC Podcasts (yes, it needs its own section)

Search Engine
Host: Jesse Brown
Review of politics, culture through the net. Brilliant, thought provoking…can I say more. The latest podcast “Is throttling necessary?” – I can’t wait to listen to this one!

Spark
Host: Nora Young
I just started listening to this one based on a list on Dave Fleet’s blog but so far it is inline with my experience from other CBC podcasts – fantastic. Technology, culture, trends and ideas.

The Hour
Host: George Stroumboulopoulos
Seriously, I had to go back and forth to the web page to make sure I spelt his name right. I am still not sure I did. Short and sweet interviews Stroumbo style. Entertaining and smart.  Perfect for short commutes because they are often less than 10 minutes.

If you are new to listening to podcasts:

You don’t need an iPod you can listen on your computer direct from the site, subscribe via RSS, or get iTunes and use from any MP3 player or computer.

Are you listening to any good ones?

Popularity: 12% [?]

Tags: cbc, marketing & communication, podcasts, PR, technology

Twitter Press Conference on Gaza Violence

Dec 30, 2008 Digital Marketing & Metrics, Microblogging, PR, Politics, Random Thoughts

I have just been following the @IsraelConsulate on Twitter. This reflects a whole new use of Twitter. Amazing discussion! The “press conference” using the #hashtag #AskIsrael allowed Twitterers to ask questions directly to the Israeli Consulate. As could be expected of course there were more questions than Consulate could answer! They will be posting answers within in 24 hours at http://www.israelpolitik.org/.

This, along with the past discussion about the Canadian Coalition, and of course previous discussions about the US election show us that Twitter goes beyond “I am eating cereal” and “Guess what I just wrote on my blog…”. I have talked about how brands can use Twitter for marketing and customer service purposes, and now Twitter shows that it has a role as providing breaking news in a way that even the big networks can’t do. Now the public can ask questions, communicate with politicians, representatives of news-makers, and contribute by “breaking news” themselves. This is fascinating! How will this change how we watch the news? How we get our information? How we EXPECT to be able to manipulate and contribute to the news machine?  It could be fascinating to watch if Twitter gets used more for breaking news and emergency notification. Already, many of the news networks are Tweeting…but how else will they be used for further engagement with their followers?

I can imagine that in the future press conferences and interviewers could use Twitter to “crowdsource” questions, news channels could use Twitter for follow-up after a story, or to continue discussions online. Opportunities for polls, testimonials, and personal stories could be pulled from Twitter for news stories. What other uses can you see?

Check out Twitter Search for a full list of tweets from #AskIsrael.  Here however are a few tweets I pulled from the discussion!

As @shelisrael mentions the most difficult part of this kind of conference or discussion is filtering those who have honest questions versus those that simply want to make a biased point. Sadly, there were a lot of people who obviously joined Twitter just to harass and push their agenda…you can of course see some of them a mile away as most never even uploaded an avatar (image) and use the default Twitter image (two circles on brown background) – and they follow no one and have zero followers.

I hope that the situation in Gaza and Israel becomes peaceful and is resolved soon. The civilians, the good people in Gaza and in Israel should not have to live like this because of extremists, and terrorists (on both sides!) who destroy the chance for peace.

For More Info:

This blogger pulled together a list of questions from the conference.
And of course tomorrow check out IsraelPolitik for the full list of Q&A
A wonderful site of videos of people in Sderot and Gaza: Life in Spite of Everything

FYI while writing this blog, and while following Twitter Press conference I watched the news. Surprisingly no mention of #AskIsrael Twitter Conference.  Why not? Especially since one of the CNN news announcer had his Twitter address on the screen!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Tags: hamas, israel, news, Politics, twitter

Tracking Santa: Experiential Marketing from NORAD

Dec 24, 2008 Family and Friends, PR

You aren’t tired of my Holiday posts are you?

There have been a few I admit:

• Elf Yourself and Portable North
• Getting Me a New Wardrobe this Christmas
• Happy Hanukkah
• Christmas Cookies

I guess the holidays’ (Hanukkah and Christmas for my family) are on my mind! Today we wait for Santa. I remember when I was younger we would watch the news after dinner on Christmas Eve, and they would “track Santa”. They would show maps from NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) indicating the location of  Santa at that exact moment. It was quite exciting. So I looked it up for my three year-old.

NORAD of course is on the web with its Santa Tracker. No need to wait for the news any more! Currently Santa is in China  (Map powered by Google) You can even see a video of him leaving the North Pole this year on YouTube. Yeah, for Social Media Santa!

Did you ever wonder why Norad Tracks Santa? It is an interesting story :

1955 Sears ran an advertisement with a number to call Santa. Only problem is they forget to review the ad apparently and the number was printed incorrectly. Instead the number put kids through to NORAD’s predecesser Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD)…and the Commander in Chief no less! The Director at the time had his staff check the radar for Santa, and gave the updates to the children calling for Santa Claus. Today they have volunteers who answer emails, phone calls and of course help to track Saint Nick.

NORAD’s day job: They are the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada. NORAD provides advanced warning of impending missile and air attack against its member nations, safeguards the air sovereignty of North America, and maintains airborne forces for defense against attack.

Santa Tracker seems a brilliant PR play…however accidental. I wonder if this is one of the early examples of Experiential Marketing?

More on Santa and PR: Check out Dave Fleet’s humourous post “If I Were Santa’s Pubic Relations Guy” where Dave comes up with some PR 2.0 ideas for Mr. Claus and his North Pole crew. (Note: Read the comments too I added a few ideas!)

Popularity: 10% [?]

Tags: experiential marketing, holidays, norad, PR, santa, santa tracker

Monday Mini: Conversations

Dec 22, 2008 Customer Service, New, PR, Short and Sweet

I haven’t written a Monday Mini in quite some time. Monday Mini’s are dedicated to interesting and thought provoking quotes I have read on blogs or in books.

Here is one from Valeria Maltoni at Conversation Agent

“What I think has not hit home, yet, is that if you are in the (fill in the blank) marketing, public relations, social media communications business, you are in the changing the conversation business. And changing the conversation is game changing.”

From post Change the Conversation, Change the Game

Does your company realize that it isn’t business as usual anymore? Are they prepared to connect with their customers in a new, more personal way? Is your company going to participate in the conversation?

Popularity: 18% [?]

Tags: business, conversation, marketing & communication, PR, trends

Social Media’s Next Victim: Motrin

Nov 28, 2008 Advertising, Blogs, Branding, Consumer Brands, Marketing & Communication, Microblogging, New, PR

It seems I leave for a week and a “big” social media story drops. Now, a week late on the game, after EVERYONE has already written about it, I will join the fray. Here I am a “me too” in the Motrin game.

Being a mommy blogger and a marketing blogger I feel that I couldn’t NOT write about this hoopla.

For the uninformed, the basics: ( If you have heard all this before, skip to my thoughts on the subject.

There are many legitimate ways that moms get pain that can be cured via pills. For example right now I am suffering from listening to a three year old whine because he didn’t want to eat his lunch, and my legs hurt from pacing the floor trying to get the baby to sleep, and my back hurts too – from carrying the bloody car seat around, Did I mention the ache in my neck from lack of sleep, and the arm pain from lifting both kids in and out of the car, stroller and grocery cart. Any one of these “pains” are very common amongst new moms…why not choose one of these.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Tags: Advertising, babywearing, mom, motrin, social media

Events: Planning for All Possibilities

Nov 17, 2008 Branding, Consumer Brands, Event Marketing, Family and Friends, Marketing & Communication, PR

As a marketer, I have planned and executed a number of events. So, I know the importance of:

(a) a contingency plan (planning for all possibilities)
(b) not getting your hopes up

But, I have to add something else to think about for next time:

(c) what happens if it goes too well?

I know that this should be in the “planning for all possibilities”, right? But it seems we tend to expect the worse and then be pleasantly surprised if it goes well? We bring two microphones, we take extra press kits just in case someone forgot to RSVP, we go over the seating chart 100 times to ensure there are no major blunders, and we consider the possibility that no one shows up.

I added (c), to my list of important things to remember the next time I run an event, on Saturday after I took my three year old to Playhouse Disney’s first anniversary party at Yorkdale Mall. I saw first hand that sometimes an event can go beyond our wildest dreams, and cause troubles just the same!

Let me set the scene, here is a picture:

Make note this is mid- November in one of the busiest malls in the Greater Toronto Area, Santa Claus IS in the building, and it is raining*. * For the non-parents out there: When it rains kids go certifiably nuts. There is something in the air that makes them go berserk unless they are let out of the house to rampage with other little unbalanced erratic wing-bats in trainers.

Needless to say the mall would have been busy with the (early) Christmas shoppers and Santa viewers. Add the sanity seeking parents and you have a zoo. On top of this add those of us who specifically made a trip to the mall to see costumed characters – and you have something far worse…maybe a circus? Tigger, Poo and Darby were set to make an appearance for the little ones, it was advertised on Playhouse Disney, and on their website for the past two or three weeks. We arrived around 1:30 to find a stage surrounded by kids, parents and a parking lot of strollers. A sea of people set up in the middle of the mall. The Disney folks in their red T-shirts were desperately trying to corral the guests into a small space so that other mall visitors could get by – but their efforts were in vain. Parents wanted their little ones to be as close as possible, so they weren’t interested in following orders.

The celebrities came on and sang Happy Birthday and the Hokey-Pokey with the kids and the host, then they waved and said their good-byes. My son was pleased, he saw Tigger, Pooh and Darby. He received a colouring page, a poster of “Cars”, and his very own DVD. As we were walking away I saw the host and I felt inclined to speak to her. I realized by the look on her face that she was not only the host, but likely the planner and executioner of this event. She looked relieved, anxious, exhausted, exuberant, and beat down all at once. I knew that feeling. The “phew its over, that went well, but oh-my-god this part went wrong, and that part was totally off, my boss is going to kill me because why didn’t I think about that, and what if customers complain…but really I didn’t fall flat on my face so it isn’t so bad. Maybe…” I stopped and told her it was a great event and that my three year old was as happy as can be. She thanked me and told me they hadn’t imagined that this many people would have shown up. The plan had been to allow the kids to get their picture taken with the characters and essentially have some one-on-one time with them. But, they didn’t expect the onslaught of kids. So, they went to Plan B, which may or may not have actually been “planned”. They stopped doing pictures, and stuck with doing just the stage show.

Either my fluke or by plan – on all the ads and on the website they never promised pictures, or hugs, or one-on-one time with Pooh, Tigger and Darby. They simply said “come out and see Tigger, Pooh and Darby”. Under promise, over deliver. Kids arrived, saw their favourite characters and were happy. Imagine if kids came expecting a handshake from Tigger and then couldn’t get closer than ten feet, there would have been tears and screaming for sure!

The lesson here: Have a plan for your event going horribly (the microphone breaks, missing pages in press kits, and no one shows up), AND plan for the event going really well. Playhouse Disney got this right. Of course, the marketer I spoke to would have had hopes for her original plan, and when that didn’t work, it was likely rather disappointing.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Tags: disney, Event Marketing, event marketing, events, family, kids, Marketing & Communication, playhouse disney

I Want to Work Here! : How Employers Will Lose Out in a Web 2.0 World if they Treat Employees As Easily Replaceable

Nov 12, 2008 Advertising, Marketing & Communication, PR, Social Media, word of mouth

Most companies act as though their employees are easily replaceable. Certainly, there are plenty of potential replacements out there, but what companies don’t realize (or ignore) is that there is a cost to the loss of every employee.

Costs such as:

- Recruitment costs (advertising, recruiter/hiring company, screening)
- Termination costs (administration)
- Training

Beyond these direct costs there are the internal resources required to recruit a new employee and the costs involved in covering the position while it is vacant (overtime or temp work). A company needs to consider the value of the time an HR and hiring manager need to spend screening and interviewing potential employees, as part of the cost of losing an employee. As well, it will be likely necessary to fill the shoes of the lost employee while the position is vacant – and this also carries a cost to the company.

Finally, and probably the least considered factor to cost is the decrease in productivity. A new employee takes time and training to get up to speed – to be able to be as productive and knowledgeable as the person they are replacing. According to a variety of sources it can take anywhere from 3 months to 12 months (depending on position and learning curve) for a new employee to become fully competent in their new role.

So, what does it cost to replace an employee? While it depends on the position, level, industry, and required skills – many studies have shown turnover has a great cost to business. For an $8/hour employee estimates range from $3500-$9000. Other sources provide these estimates:

- It costs a company 30-50% of the annual salary of entry-level employees,- 150% of middle level employees,

- Up to 400% for specialized, high level employees.

If it costs so much to replace employees – why do so many companies treat employees as though they were easily replaced?

- Many companies have never likely calculated what it actually costs them- It is left solely in HR’s hands

- They believe turnover is just par for the course of running a business

- They think the solution to end the turnover would cost more than the turnover itself

I have worked at many companies that have ignored high turnover due to the belief that there are a hundred people waiting in the wings to take the positions left by the exiting staff, and it seems too often it was the “little things” the company could have done to retain that top staff member.

Sure, money talks – but sometimes a great working environment laughs louder! This is what crossed my mind when I read these benefits for working at Hershey Canada (my notes italic):

Benefits and Perks of Working at Hershey Canada:

– Of course. exposure to some of the finest chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products. drool, I hope they have a gym too- Health and Wellness Reimbursement program as well as other great employee benefits. check it! must be money towards a gym membership!

- Corporate social responsibility programs – because we should leave the world a little better than we found it ! Companies need to realize we spend 40 hrs a week (if not more!) at work – and we need to feel we are doing something for the greater good – not just selling consumer goods to the masses (although that can be fun too!) Gives me the warm fuzzies!

- Fantastic reward and recognition programs. A pat on the back often is the best glue to keep an employee happy, of course recognition through rewards and money help too!

- Flextime with required core working hours of 9:30 am to 3:00pm – subject to department approval Very nice

- Telecommuting – subject to department approval. Even better if you can work from home on those nasty winter days

- Summer hours from May to September – subject to corporate approval. Bonus!

- Working in a LEED certified and open concept environment. Sounds like a warm fuzzy environment.

Of course a job description is a selling tool for the company, perhaps it isn’t as fantastic as it is outlined. But on paper it certainly looks as if they are making an effort to do the “little things” that make work – less like “work”. There are of course “little things”, such as working environment, management style, and workplace culture that don’t make it to the job description. In the past, these are the things that the new employee finds out about once they take the job. In the near future however, companies beware, potential employees will be going online to find out the truth behind those “little things” that mean an awful lot!

Thanks to the onslaught of Social Media sites exist now, although none appear to have reached a high level of engagement to rate and share your experience at the companies you have worked for. It is only a matter of time before these sites become a regular part of the research process we take on when we go job hunting. We review books, television programs, movies, restaurants and consumer products online – why not the workplace! In the future before anyone takes a new position they will research it like they do purchasing a LCD screen – by reading and research online! Companies that treat their employees as replaceable will suffer when they find the hundreds of potential employees waiting in the wings are no longer there.

Sites to check out and rate your company!

Jiibe
JobVent
Criticat

Photos courtesy of Stock xchange.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Tags: careers, criticat, employment, hershey, hr, jiibe, jobvent, recruitment, web 2.0

Tweet This: Some Do’s and Don’ts of Corporate Tweeting

Oct 16, 2008 Blogs, Branding, Customer Service, Marketing & Communication, Microblogging, PR, Social Media

Over a year ago I joined, a then fledgling social network, called Twitter. While competitors to the microblogging platform have appeared on the scene, Twitter still seems to number one in the flock. Likely you know what Twitter is by now, but if not – here was my post a year ago about Twitter.

A social network must have reached mainstream, (estimates are between 1 and 3 million users) when companies pay attention and try to manipulate the space to promote their goods and services. In fact, many companies have set up their own Twitter accounts – Dell, Zappos, Comcast and Whole Foods are just a few examples. But, what is great about this social space is that it isn’t just about selling products to many of these companies, it is about customer service, challenging misconceptions, and an open conversation with their customers.

For example, according to Business Week, JetBlue tracks what their customers are saying about them, and use a scanning tool to find customers who need help on flight information, including delays and cancellations. Many companies recognize – the ability to offer service at the moment of need, and, the potential of an immediate interaction with a customer – can have a very positive effect on that customers perspective. Twitter offers that ability.

Did I also mention that the cost of being in this space is very reasonable? Just the human resources to monitor and ‘tweet’!

Searching Twitter

I scan Twitter on a regular basis using Tweetscan and Summize. I have also just recently tried TweetDeck. These are tools to monitor the Twitterspere! (Wait for a future post on how to use these tools.)

I currently do not “tweet” for work. I simply participate in the community – follow me if you like (I am on on some days, off other days depending on the mood of my children!) I rarely talk shop (work) on Twitter, and have only on occasion replied to a Tweet regarding the brand (but when I have, I have always introduced myself as an employee of the company!) I have set up a Twitter account for the company, and when we launch our new site (more info soon!) I hope we will begin Tweeting as well.

Home Depot on Twitter

The other day, while scanning Twitter for key terms, I came across this “tweet”:

Wow! Home Depot Canada is on Twitter! Apparently, so is Home Depot in the US. Kudos to them! However, I think Home Depot Canada can learn a few things from their US counterparts. Seeing them on Twitter got me to thinking about the do’s and don’ts of Twitter!

Twitter Do’s and Don’ts

* Listen and Participate First

It is a great idea to listen to the conversation first. Scan Twitter for your company and product names. Listen to what people are saying about your brand.
Participate in the community “as yourself” – get a feel for how the network works, and be comfortable in sharing your thoughts, links and reply to people you are following!

Hint for Home Depot Canada – Did you participate before? Did you listen? Remember this is a conversation

* Follow People!

Find people that have similar interests as you and follow them! Twitter is pretty dull if you are talking to yourself and not listening to others. If you follow people – chances are they will follow you (unless you aren’t saying anything interesting!)

Hint for Home Depot Canada – Currently you are only following 3 people. Search Twitter for terms like “renovation”, “DIY”, “drywall”, “painting” etc and add people who are talking about home projects! Your tagline “You can do it. We can help” can be be actionable on Twitter. Be there to help out the Do It Yourself-ers!

* Tracking

Use tools to track brand terms, product names, and keywords to help you find Twitterers talking about your company, or potential followers (or customers!). There are many tools you can use to make the job easy.

* Be responsive and Be a real person

First of all be personable, not a corporate brochure! Say what you would say, not business-speak! Share more than sales information.

Include a name on your Twitter profile. If a variety of employees are Twittering you can either have multiple accounts like Dell or change the Bio to include “On Duty Now” information as JetBlue does.

Connect with people who talk about your brand – both positive and negative through replies and direct messages.

Hint for Home Depot Canada – Don’t just try to sell stuff on Twitter, by posting store specials alone, people will eventually stop following you or not follow you to begin with! Offer worthwhile, brand-related content outside of great deals!
Respond to tweets on your brand and products- try using “@replies” to communicate with followers and non-followers alike! You will not only encourage followers you will build brand loyalty.
And, add a name for the staff running the show! By the way, your US counterparts are already doing all of this…so perhaps check out their Twitter account!

* Do it yourself

Twitter is one thing you shouldn’t outsource! Brand responses should come directly from the brand. Another company would have to come to you anyhow for the brand responses, so why not do the job yourself!

Done right…Twitter can look like this:

Popularity: 12% [?]