Chris Mitchell | Director, comments: Regardless of industry or business, it's not surprising that consumers (B2C) and customers (B2B) are connecting the customer service experience to how they feel about doing business with a particular brand.  If clients focus more on creating a positive experience and consistently deliver, brand loyalty and business profitability are the big winners. Measuring performance of those attributes trump random marketing tactics, every time. 

Barnes & Noble is the No. 1 brand when it comes to customer experience, according to a survey released this week by Forrester Research.

Forrester asked more than 4,600 U.S. consumers about their interactions with companies across various industries as part of the "Customer Experience Index, 2010." Participants rated the usefulness, ease of use and enjoyability of their experiences. Forrester calculated the results for 133 companies in 14 different industries and found that retailers, hotels and parcel-shipping firms ranked the highest for all categories, while health insurance plans, TV service providers and Internet service providers ranked the lowest.

The second and third highest-rated companies behind Barnes & Noble were Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Hampton Inn/Suites, respectively. Amazon.com and Holiday Inn Express rounded out the top 5. Charter Communications, United Healthcare and Citigroup, among others, were at the bottom of the list.

"If you step back and look, a lot of the industries at the bottom haven't had the need for competition in terms of consumers -- including health insurance providers who traditionally competed for employees. Other organizations just haven't grown up in terms of being customer-centric," said Forrester analyst Bruce Temkin, who worked on the survey.

According to Forrester, only 13 firms had an "excellent" customer experience rating; 35 received a "good" rating, 40 got "okay" ratings, and 45 received either a "poor" or "very poor" rating. (See the complete survey results here.)

Three industries, in particular, topped the list: Retailers (82 percent), hotels (80 percent) and parcel-shipping firms (78 percent). Only health insurance plans (51 percent) received a "very poor" average rating, the survey found. Retailers are also the ones that have improved the most every year (this is the third such survey for Forrester), while Internet service providers have dropped consistently.

"We've seen an increase in correlation between customer experience and brand loyalty. A brand is made or killed at the point when it interacts with the customer. The results here show that some brands are making progress, while others are not," said Temkin. "Financial is going up and down. Retail brands have been reasonable steady -- they tend to have the highest experience rating."

Temkin said brands that have made the most improvement include Comfort Inn, which has been working persistently on consumer branding; Sprint, which has also been trying to change its brand perception; and Time Warner, which stands out among its competitors.

When asked if there was anything surprising in the survey findings, Temkin said it was how much financial brands have faltered. "Last year, banks saw a big improvement," he said. "But this year, I wasn't expecting the magnitude of how badly hit the banking industry was."

Carnival, with the help of Boston's Arnold, have infused street marketing with digital interaction in yet another example of Carnival's wild side. With more empty spaces than ever paired with the staggering growth of Internet-enabled smartphones, A new Revolution in innovation is upon us. Interactive integration of all things in a consumer's brand experiences is the future of our business and likely yours. Web companies don't get it. Traditional ad agencies don't get it. Media agencies don't get it. It is time to begin thinking about your brand from the outside in. A full 360 degree viewpoint that starts with the consumer and resonates internally within your organization at every level.

Just take a read and you'll find that you can be far more innovative in how you are reaching your customer. 

 

 

In an oceanside city like Baltimore, nobody’s much surprised by the sight of water. Fish, neither. But even longtime residents of the famed Maryland metropolis stopped at scratched their heads at a recent stunt pulled off by Arnold, Boston. Filling the plate-glass window of an otherwise empty storefront at 100 Park Avenue was a massive aquarium -- a study in azure blue, complete with bubbles, exotic fish and plant life rippling in the currents. Given that the client, Carnival, was a cruise-ship company, the installation was both clever and appropriate. But a closer look revealed something strange about that underwater world.

None of it was real. 

Not only was everything in the “tank” -- including the tank itself -- a digital figment, it was a fully interactive environment. A combination of computer vision technology, flash animation, and mobile gaming software, enabled pedestrians to use their cell phones to call a special number to create their own personalized fish, then interact with their similarly finned friends. When the swim was over, each participant received a text message inviting them to visit Carnival’s promotional Web site.

Welcome to guerrilla marketing, 2010 style, where the traditional street-level “gotcha” has  been reinterpreted -- and made more effective -- through a digital lens. “As technology and the Internet grow, opportunities will grow,” observes Jay Levinson, the “father of guerrilla marketing” and author of many books. Technology, he adds, has become easier to use, “and we surely can’t discount the new mobility of markets.”

Indeed, there are many forces that today’s guerrilla marketer can no longer discount. The importance of altruism, for example, and the need to explore the margins of cities for venues that yesterday’s marketers would have dismissed as too gritty. Fortunately, guerrilla’s traditional ingredients -- an unusual idea, an irreverent execution, and the element of surprise -- are still essential. But now, so is the need for complete interactivity surrounding a stunt that at one time was enough just to stare at. In this issue, we take a look at four major trends that are shaping guerrilla marketing as we know it, along with brands and firms that are on the cutting edge of testing the new waters.

Including, in one case, virtual waters full of virtual fish.  

 

Full Article > 

 1. Observation & Research
Pay attention especially to conversations between prospects and your customers. This is key market research. You must understand what information your customers/prospects need to hear (listen). Above all, social media is a research tool for unfiltered information. (here are some free social media marketing tools you can use to help)
2. Relevant Content
The most important part of social media and growing your business is what others say about you. Create content that sparks others to talk about you. Ultimately, this helps links, subscribers, search engine rankings and ultimately, sales. Social media starts with a content strategy.
3. Content Marketing
Maybe the most powerful online promotion around. Social media spreads that content. It's a powerful distribution tool, as long as the content is relevant, valuable and compelling. NOTE: Build the relationships with your network first. Share great content from others. Then, once you share, they will be likely to return the favor consistently.
4. Do People Want to Talk with You?
No, most people do not want to talk with you, but a few do. The others watch. Those that watch are heavily influenced by the conversation. How you handle these conversations tells everything about your company.
5. Authentic Content
Social media doesn't work without copywriting that is true to your company's message. Find a writing team that understands first your customers, then your brand.
6. Be Human
Make social media personal - approach it as people, not a company. Customers don't want to talk to you as a company, but they may want to talk to your thought leaders and content experts.
7. Don't Always Ask for Something
Most of your content should be given freely without asking for something in return. This is the essence of social media. (more here on gated versus ungated content)
8. Earn It
Results will happen if you work the process. A company cannot come in and expect results immediately. It happens after months and years of giving to your customers and prospects.

What is your social media strategy for 2010?

In the face of the economic downturn, consumers have had to make significant choices to keep pace with the impact of a changed economy. And brands have suffered as a consequence.

In the slow and unpredictable process of the economy righting itself, as well as the ongoing progress of technology as a brand driver, brands should focus on how they can help consumers, not only in these trying times, but in the times to come. Now is the time to solidify loyalty through understanding, people and always being there to help.

First, focus your brand's messaging on value and empathy, not discounting, which tarnishes brand strength in the long term. People don't forget when a company compromises its brand values for immediate gain, especially if that gain is for a person's hard earned and hard kept dollar.

Taking the above into consideration, brands should communicate promotions that help consumers minimally sacrifice the experience they've had with the brand to date. Immediate and tangible empathy will go a long way in retaining customers.

In this spirit, Hyatt's Random Acts of Kindness allows staff to offer free meals or services to their Gold Passport members. Similarly, Hyundai's Assurance campaign -- in which it would take back a new car if a consumer lost his/her job -- has been successful precisely because it communicates empathy, addresses a real customer concern and allows customers peace of mind, all without compromising their experience with the brand or its value.

Second, engage your frontline staff in your social networking initiatives. In a time where a personal touch is invaluable, face-to-face contact inevitable and the impact of social networking incredible, there is enormous opportunity to deepen connections. People are going to be the ones to restore consumer confidence and trust.

This is especially relevant given the higher expense associated with acquiring versus retaining consumers and the value of highly engaged enthusiast brand advocates.

Success is dependent on staff clearly understanding how they and their brands are expected to behave in the social networking arena, and a commitment to maintaining the relationships carried over from the face-to-face to the digital space. A vital component of that relationship is listening. Once your staff engages in conversations at the "digital picket fence" it is imperative that they are empowered to react to what they hear.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is a stellar example of company personnel being available in a meaningful way not only to consumers, but to employees as well. His regular blog and tweets provide a new level of transparency to even suppliers and competitors.

Finally, "informationalize" every step of the brand experience. A consumer's brand experience is marked as much by the product and service as it is by the points of sale and "sites of sale," as well as by the surprising times when the brand isn't expected to be present but is.

With over half of the world's population carrying a mobile phone and the likelihood that, as McKinsey & Co. predicts, applications will become "the new Web sites," brands have an opportunity to entirely "digitize" and expand an individual's experience of their brand.

Yelp's blended reality application allows consumers to point their camera at a physical destination to bring up the relevant reviews for the destination. Using GPS technology, the application is able to provide consumers with similar alternatives in the immediate vicinity.

So far, few branded applications have proven successful, simply because they've jumped into the app race without fully understanding how and what to deliver consumers that complements their particular brand experiences. As brands take a step back to appreciate what consumers want from them when, the brand apps market will undoubtedly soar.

No matter the industry, and no matter the economic times, brands have always had to stand for something and provide meaningful value to a consumer. Today, that value begins with clearly understanding what the consumer's personal circumstances are and, as a result, their needs from a brand. Today, those needs are met through product and price, but also information and inspiration that makes sense for the brand to provide.

The people behind the brand are vital in proving that a brand "understands" and are essential in forging and furthering a relationship with a client. People empathize and inform, not products. With employees being ever more loyal to their companies, leverage this depth toward deepening consumer loyalty to your brands.

And, while the trends and tendencies have been to manage consumer relationships online, use the digital means only as a means, not the end. While we can and do keep in touch with an e-mail and a status update, there is nothing like a "personal visit."

The real lesson, as it always is, is a simple one: always lend a helping hand.

 

 

It's taken several years, but virtual trade shows appear to have hit their stride. For one thing, the enabling technology has grown more robust and feature-rich. Just as important, attendees have grown more accustomed to the idea of attending a "show" from their desks-a behavior that has been encouraged, no doubt, by corporate budget-cutting and travel restrictions.

At the same time, media companies have learned that virtual events can be very profitable.

Paul Miller, CEO of United Business Media's TechInsights, hosted a pair of trade shows in 2003 and 2004. "We had good attendance, but they were so much work internally that we mothballed them," he said. "We re-entered the market this year, and we've been blown away. The technology is easier to use; the social engagement is great; and the lead generation is second to none." After producing one virtual event in the second quarter of 2009, TechInsights will produce six in the second half; it is budgeted to do 14 next year.

Make no mistake: Producing a virtual trade show is still a lot of work. But media company executives say the payoff is well worth the effort. "The revenue is four to eight times as much as a one-off webinar, and the profitability is 10 to 12 times," Miller said.

Danielle Hartley, VP-associate publisher at MedTech Publishing, said the data generated from a virtual trade show is more detailed and better organized than a physical trade show, making lead prioritization and follow-up easier. "You have the demographics for every attendee. Then, everything is recorded-who the attendees are, where they went, how long they stayed. Chats and e-mail conversations are recorded, too," she said.

Through its association with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), MedTech put on three virtual conferences in 2008 and will do four this year. HIMSS also produces an in-person trade show that draws nearly 30,000 people, but Hartley said the new virtual events do not compete with it. "Between 70% and 80% of the virtual trade show attendees don't go to the physical show," he said.

Reed Business Interactive has produced five multisponsor virtual seminars and one single-sponsor virtual seminar this year, but only two of RBI's verticals (supply chain management and engineering) have been involved so far.

"These are among our most sophisticated groups from a technology perspective," said Kevin Maloney, VP-sales and marketing at RBI. The company is planning four times as many virtual conferences next year.

Networking is key to the growth of virtual events, said Eric Biener, VP-business development for Nielsen Business Media. "We're moving away from positioning these as virtual trade shows," he said. "The experience might graphically mimic a trade show, but these are really social networking environments."

Nielsen produced 15 virtual trade shows in 2009, more than double last year's number. They won't double again in 2010, but "there will be a healthy increase," Biener said.

The next evolutionary step for virtual trade shows is "to close the loop for buyers and sellers" through e-commerce or request-for-proposal (RFP) tools, Biener said.

Earlier this year, Nielsen incorporated e-commerce into its PDN (Photo District News) Virtual Trade Show. "We provided this audience with an end-to-end solution. They could research, evaluate, discuss products with exhibitors and peers, then actually make a purchase," he said.

For b-to-b media companies covering high-end products and services for which e-commerce doesn't apply, a closed-loop solution could be something like an RFP engine, which Nielsen incorporates into its Virtual Meeting World events, Biener said

The iPhone is a cultural icon of the digital age. Apple's "There's an app for that" slogan in commercials is even repeated both as a punch line and a nod to the ubiquity of new applications on the so-called "Jesus phone" platform.

Many top brands have tested its waters. Coke has two iPhone apps, as does Nike. Procter & Gamble has several, including Tide's Stain Brain, which helps consumers find ways to remove stains. All are searching for the secret formula that will unlock the promise of mobile marketing: a utility or piece of entertainment that is with consumers at all times.

Like any new channel, efforts have been a hit-and-miss affair. The mantra, however, has remained the same: "utility." In the mobile space, brands, it's believed, must provide something of value. Lancome and its mobile shop, Publicis Groupe's Phonevalley, use the iPhone to help women in the aisle choose makeup. Last month, it rolled out an app that lets users mix and match makeup from its Aaron de Mey collection. Zippo scored one of the first iPhone hits with a dead simple application that offers utility through entertainment. The Virtual Lighter simply gave users a digital representation of a lighter, marking a new way to signal for an encore at concerts. The app is still one of the platform's most popular selections.
 

Full Article>

TBWA Uruguay recently produced an issue of Freeway Magazine in which all the pages were redone using only BIC Pens. In a time when magazines are struggling to collect advertising money and clients need the guarantee that their message will get enough exposure in print media, it’s an effective integration of editorial content and advertising. 

Link to article

Germans attach tiny advertisements to flies

Since skywriting may be a bit passé, German agency Jung von Matt has settled for "flyvertising," attaching tiny ad banners to flies and letting them buzz around a convention center during the Frankfurt book fair. Neat idea, but the obvious flaw is that flies are the most annoying things ever, and may not be something you'd want people associating with your product long-term. (The client here, Eichborn, is a publishing company whose logo is a fly.) Reports from the convention indicate that the flies had some trouble staying aloft and kept landing on people. Gross. The banners were attached with an adhesive that naturally dissolves, so as not to hurt the fly. But this could still be considered flysploitation, and some advocacy groups have been rather touchy about flies lately. Via Adland.

From United Stationers, a reseller marketing consultant, comes some nice and simple tips for marketing in a down economy. The tips are easily as relevant for successfully marketing in any economy:

1. Focus on current customers
Concentrate on current customers first. Stay in touch and learn how their business is doing.
2. Reward loyalty
Acknowledge that times are tough and that you value your customer relationships. Try surprising customers with a discount or gift of appreciation.
3. Test, listen and measure
Find and use opportunities to learn more about your customers and their needs.
4. Don't assume too much
Customer responses to economic problems are not predetermined. Price is not always a customer's main concern. Ask and learn what is really going on.
5. Lighten it up
Tap into a sense of fun. Humor works on an emotional level.

Julie Gugliotti | Account Manager, comments:
These tips are just as relevant in any marketing situation. Focusing on your core clients; rewarding those who are loyal to your brand; using marketing as a lead generation and measurement tool; keeping it simple - these are all principles most good marketers utilize.

Two recent surveys - one conducted by Pitney Bowes and one by the United States Postal Service - show that many consumers still react favorably to mail and mail promotions. Mail, says Deliver magazine, "remains fundamental, familiar, easy and safe as a communications pipeline for consumers." The USPS study shows that 98% of consumers bring their mail in each day, and that 77% of consumers sort through and organize their mail immediately. Couple this insight with findings from the Pitney Bowes survey, including that 37% of consumers purchased a new brand or patronized a new business when receiving coupons in the mail. Or that 68% of these consumers were compelled to renew a brand or business relationship.

Amid the endless pronouncements about social media - often shortened to "social" these days by consultants trying to sound like they know what they are talking about - is the reality that social media is not a solution, or a sure bet. A recent article from Advertising Age expounds:

Attention all brands thinking about making an "attack ad" (that goes for you too, politicians!). A new Adweek/Harris Poll indicates that attack ads should go on the defensive.

When asked their feeling when they see an ad where a brand attacks a rival brand,38% of respondents said they "Think less of the brand making the attack." Just as significant was the 44% of those polled who said an attack ad "Doesn't change my opinion of either brand" - another justification of the growing number of consumers who remain indifferent to any type of ad.

As times remain challenging and focus turns to the holiday sales, consumer brands are going social. A recent eHoliday Study conducted by BIGresearch for Shop.org concludes that brands are leveraging the cost-effective tools of social networks to deliver their holiday promotions. In fact, 47.1 percent of retailers surveyed said they will increasing their use of social media this holiday season.

Read the full article

Grant Copeland | Chief Creative Officer, comments:
This study underlines what we often discuss with clients: how should they address social media and what does it really mean for their brand. In essence, we believe that social is simply another channel to distribute information and market through. But it requires a different way of marketing than most companies are used to doing. Social is most effective when it is truly social – short, sweet, void of fluff or traditional tactics, and value-driven, but somehow tied into what the rest of your marketing strategy is.

Brett Palmer | Technology Manager, comments:
From CSS Globe | Web Standards Magazine comes a good article on Search Engine Optimization. It references SEO as an "art" and no longer a "science." It also echos something we've often shared with clients: you can't trick Google into putting your website at the top of the page.

If people find your content to be useful, for example, they may blog about it and post a link to it. If you are actively supplying relevant content on forum posts, they'll give you and your site more prominence. If your design is so lauded that respected online authorities are driving traffic your way, your site will likely be ranked very highly.

The bottom line? If people in general find your your message, your content, your experience and so on to be interesting, Google will recognize it in their rankings. And this is, in essence, today's SEO.

Read the full article

To help marketers identify creative elements that can really engage customers and improve email results, Silverpop recently undertook a comprehensive study of both B2B and B2C email messages, evaluating a variety of creative elements and comparing open & click rates.

Key findings include:

• Messages that include a company or brand name in the subject line had nearly a 12% increase in open rates.
  
• Text-style links averaged nearly a 3% greater click rate than image-style links.
  
• When navigation bars were included in emails, bars located at the top and/or left showed the highest click rates.
  
• A call-to-action above the fold lifted B2B click rates by 3.5%.

Download the full report here

Chris Mitchell | Director, comments:
We found a good article which nicely articulates many of the design strategies we try to implement into our client's email marketing pieces. More than simply best practices, we have seen these tips in action reaping huge rewards for our clients if done right:

From Listrak.com come several tips for designing an effective email piece:

1. Put your offer, call-to-action or primary message in the first 300-pixel height of the email.
2. Include a viral pass-along link, such as Send to a Friend or Share.
3. Link to your social media content or sites.
4. Make sure your call-to-action is clearly defined.
5. Include an unsubscribe link that processes the removal request immediately and without further action required by the recipient.
6. Remind your recipients that they are subscribed to the list and share your privacy policy if you have one.
7. If sending a commercial message (which most marketing emails are), include your postal address.
8. Keep your emails to a width of 600 pixels to ensure that they display without scrolling required.

A recent article in B to B Magazine says that according to a new survey by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the primary challenge for marketers when building integrated campaigns is the lack of metrics to help them properly allocate the mix.

The study found that 59% of client-side marketers are "satisfied" with how their company addresses integrated campaigns; interestingly, agencies involved in the study mentioned a lack of client awareness about the benefits of developing a more integrated approach to marketing and a lack of client cooperation across their operating or divisional channels.

The Worx Group addresses several of the points raised in the study. Our Return On Ideas process builds metrics and analytics into all projects and integrated campaigns; we promote the enormous cost-saving and result-driven benefits of contructing strategies that maintain relevancy and engagement across all media; and we have unique insight into how to align internal client-side channels.

Read the full B to B article

There have been extensive studies done showing the efficiencies (in cost, resource and production) and results-improvements for marketers who use integrated marketing agencies. The problem is that there are very few viable integrated firms, and firms that claim to be integrated often times are not.

A special report done by Graphic Design USA magazine supports how few truly integrated firms there are, and underscores how agencies with skills in translating marketing from the pillars of print and web into specialty mediums like broadcast/video or environmental (agencies such as The Worx Group) are a rare find. The report asked marketing professionals and creatives what types of design projects their agencies had worked on in the last year. Below are their responses:

Print & Collateral: 91%
Internet: 83%
POP & Signs: 70%
Packaging: 62%
Broadcast/Video: 32%
Environmental: 21%