Have you ever thought about opening a restaurant?

Posted: July 28th, 2010

A budding chef follows her dream and opens a restaurant. She has traveled often to Asia and thinks that a Pacific-Rim theme and style of cuisine would be really popular in her city. She pours everything into this business because she knows that there are people out there who want this kind of food. She spends hours sourcing ingredients and creating a well-balanced menu of all of the best dishes that she found through her travels.

On the first day, the restaurant opens and a few customers trickle through the doors. She stays in the kitchen eagerly waiting for her server to bring the first order. Her guests select dishes from the menu and she uses all of her knowledge and passion to create amazing meals.

After a month, more people have tasted her cuisine but most are not coming back. There are lots of restaurants in this city to choose from and it turns out that not everyone likes spice.

Her tastes are obviously not going appeal to everyone else in the city. The people that love spice didn’t find out about her restaurant before she ran out of money. She didn’t get to know her diners.

What if on the first day, she didn’t hire a waiter. What if she didn’t pre-design a menu. What if she went about things completely differently. Did she need to hire someone on the first day? She could have kept only a small number of tables and gone to the first diners and taken the order herself. She could have talked to her customers and offered to create whatever they wanted. Would they tell their friends? Would they come back? Would this be truly remarkable?

If she did this until she got too busy, she’d have a great idea of what diners in her city wanted. Then she could hire someone to take the orders for her. She could go back to the kitchen and use what she’d learned to create an instantly popular menu. Along the way, she might have built a loyal, passionate community who felt truly involved in the menu that they’d helped to create.

Market research before investing helps reduce the chance of being wrong with our assumptions. Market research used to be expensive, now it just costs a little time because social tools let you talk to anybody, including your target market.

Have you ever thought about starting an online community?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Social Media | 1 Comment »

Social media is a telephone.

Posted: July 27th, 2010

When the telephone first hit the market, there were business owners who vehemently opposed it.

“There is no way I’ll ever let my staff use the telephone because they will spend all day talking on it”.

How long would an employee on your team last if they said “I don’t believe in the telephone and I’m not interested in learning how to use it.” What about email? What about social media?

If you were hiring for a sales role, would you hire the employee who had experience with telephone marketing and had grown up doing it every day of their lives or would you hire the one who had proven results with outdated direct mail campaigns?

Every single one of today’s college graduates know social media intuitively because they have grown up with it. Do you think they’ll use it in their jobs?

Social media is an advance in communication. It will be integrated into every job that requires communication. Your sales team, public relations team, marketing team, customer service team and anyone else who talks to people will be much more productive when they learn integrate more efficient communication tools into their jobs. You’ll use social networks for internal communication soon too.

We don’t hear or read about Mr. Bell’s critics because their businesses no longer exist. People are generally scared of change. Organizations of people struggle to change together. Organizations who embrace change and are nimble will be more competitive.

There are people learning these new tools. You should too. Re-learn how to listen. Learn who to call. Learn what to say to them. Learn what to say when people call you.

Do you wish you could get your sales team to spend the entire day talking to prospects on the phone?

Tags: ,
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

What I learned about social media at DMAI 2010 – Part II

Posted: July 26th, 2010

A vendor’s booth on the trade show floor has many parallels with a business’ Facebook fan page or email newsletter. Prospective clients can choose if they want to come and talk to you. If no one is coming to your booth and asking you questions, you could be doing something wrong.

People are reluctant to walk past booths in a trade show because they’ve been spammed by sales pitches for too long. People are reluctant to sign up for email newsletters for the same reason. People need to have a reason to go to your booth. The same is true for your online community, whether that’s a Facebook Fan page or something else.

Clients don’t need to go to every booth. They may only have one problem that they need to solve right now.

When I first open my email in the morning, I have to reduce the number of things because its not possible to deal with that many emails. I’ve found that I start by deleting emails that didn’t come from a human, then work on the most pressing ones first.

If you’re a vendor and you’re not going to the shirt sleeve sessions and listening to your clients, you’re never going to understand their problems. If you don’t understand their problems you can never offer them a solution when they need it.

What did you learn at DMAI 2010?

Tags: ,
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

What I learned about social media at DMAI 2010 – Part I

Posted: July 26th, 2010

If I stepped into the middle of a circle of potential clients in conversation at a conference and shouted – ‘Hey, I’m Rodney from Think! Social Media – buy my product…” – you’d think to yourself, wow, that guy was really rude. You’d probably turn your back, continue your conversation and never do business with me. Ever.

Why would it be acceptable to do that when other people are having conversations online?

To be successful when selling to people you don’t already have a relationship with you need to make your sales pitch timely and relevant.

Build trust.

Foster a relationship.

Understand your clients needs and problems.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

Customer satisfaction just got a little more real-time.

Posted: July 20th, 2010

Social media has allowed individuals to communicate with other individuals, often in real-time. Conversations that are written down and can be visible by anyone who wants to see it. Google helps us find information online, including conversations, more easily.

Part of the reason I’m in this business is because I get bored without consistent challenges and I have a passion for travel. Social media changes daily. If I get complacent, our business won’t survive. This forces our entire team to be consistently learning and innovating.

I am currently sitting on an AirTran plane across the USA with onboard wifi. I unfortunately have to admit that having wifi makes me happy (its the little things…). Welcome to the future.

The job description of flight attendants just got a whole lot more complicated. Now, in addition to keeping us safe and not spilling drinks when it gets bumpy, they’re also a live support desk and computer technician rolled into one. They’ll get questions about different computers and browsers and all kinds of problems that aren’t necessarily related to wifi.

The (good) airlines will also be adapting their PR and crisis-response strategies to become even more real-time. Offering a new service (wifi) is a great selling point. Making sure it works is essential. Training staff on the new product is exceptional service. Giving consumers access to social communication while they’re actually experiencing your service is cutting edge engagement!

Allowing your customers to talk about your product service while they’re actually experiencing it is amazing empowerment. You’re giving up more of your brand but you’re gaining loyalty in return by making your customers feel part of that brand. It’s also risky. You’d better make sure your product is up to scratch, you have systems in place to listen to what customers are saying and your staff are trained on how to respond.

When we’re sitting on a plane with not much to do, and have our computer on, that’s really dangerous for the airlines. I could make a video, edit and upload it right now. All while I’m sitting in your seat and looking for things to occupy my time. How far can this go?

Think of all of the implications. I could be planning my trip and booking my hotel right now – last minute travel arrangements will surely increase. I’m spending 8 hours online today that I wouldn’t have been able to do last year – tech savvy people who can afford to fly will spend more time online. If I’m traveling for business, I’m not cut off while I’m in the air – up goes employee productivity.

Does this mean that flight attendants should start monitoring the conversation on Twitter to see what’s being said on their flight?

Posted in Digital Innovations and Marketing | 1 Comment »

Facebook Credits for travel purchases?

Posted: July 19th, 2010

Facebook have begun actively pushing their credit currency for applications. I just sent a postcard to a friend from one of our applications on the Think! Fan Page. After I had sent the postcard, I received the following prompt:

It will be interesting to see where this goes, especially considering that Zynga just received investment from none other than Google.

Do you think Facebook can successfully integrate their currency into all applications using their platform? Will we be able to pay for hotels and flights with Facebook Credits? Will this be the international currency of the future?

Tags:
Posted in Facebook | No Comments »

Spam or sharing?

Posted: July 13th, 2010

There is a time and a place for sharing content social applications with our friends and this is a great example from a Dutch friend of mine, William. When people are passionate about what your site or application offers, they will willingly share content with their network. You should realize that this will most likely be the exception rather than the rule. Some people will be more passionate than others (William is Dutch). People will be more passionate at certain times than others (around World Cup, before Holland lost). You can’t compel people who are not passionate about what you offer to promote your offering to their friends. We learned that very quickly with Life Points.

Many social applications still insist on prompting users to share content with their friend networks. Foursquare prompts us to share check-ins with our Twitter and Facebook friends in an attempt to gain exposure. Facebook cracked down on what developers on their platform can require users to do as a result of applications like Mafia Wars and Farmville clogging news feeds. LinkedIn still prompts users to invite all of their webmail contacts (I recently inadvertently spammed all of my gmail contacts, sorry – blame LinkedIn). This kind of prompt is often be seen as spammy.

You should provide an easy way for your community to share content and promote your business IF THEY WANT TO. Not being spammy is all about relevancy and mutual interest. Build a community of people who are passionate about your product or service. Value their input. Align your interests. Then your community will tell their friends.

Tags:
Posted in Social Media | 1 Comment »

Make it relevant!

Posted: July 11th, 2010

Yesterday I got an unexpected email from my ex-girlfriends’ godfather’s son. It isn’t important how we met, he’s extremely charismatic and we got on well. I don’t hear from him often but I’ll definitely get in touch if I go to Spain, where he’s been living since I met him.

The email announced and described a new business that he’s obviously very excited about called The Barcelona Taste. At the end he asked:

“Tell your friends, e-mail your acquaintances, and pass on the website however you know best. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! And, if you are thinking of visiting Barcelona, we hope you’ll consider taking a tour as well! We would love to see you all and to treat you to some of Barcelona’s great hidden culinary treasures.”

Does this story sound familiar? Whenever anyone I know has a cause to promote, they email everyone in their network using one group email. I’m extremely guilty of it too but have found that there is a much more effective approach. He could have sent two different emails.

His immediate family and friends would be interested in promoting his business generally. It’s a talking point for them and they most likely share his enthusiasm. For the rest of us, we’re more interested in how the content of his email directly affects us. Not because we are selfish, but because we receive so much information each day. There are too many things that we can promote, too much information that we can pass on. Outside of our own immediate networks we tend to get overwhelmed and do nothing.

Tell me the problem. Tell me how you can help me solve it. Ask me to refer it to one person either now or when I see fit. Offer it free to people in your network who are influential, at least until you’re too busy to give things away for free. Make them feel special.

Hi All,

I hope this email finds you well, wherever you are. I’m not sure if you’ve heard on the grapevine but I’ve started a new business in Barcelona. When first-time travelers come to Spain, they miss out on the real taste experience. It’s too hard to find a good mix of authentic restaurants unless you’ve lived here a while.

I’ve started an intimate walking tour for small groups. During the course of the tour we take visitors to 4-5 small family-owned shops and eating establishments that are off-the-beaten-path. The tours last 2-3 hours with pre-selected food and drink provided at every stop along the way. While the tour participants are filling their bellies, we share anecdotes and information about the food being enjoyed. We also provide a map of the places we’ve visited so participants can return to the establishments at their leisure.

If you know anyone coming to Barcelona, send them my way and we’ll look after their taste buds and give them something to remember. If you ever want to come to Spain, I’d love to give you the tour.

This story is analogous to traditional email database marketing. In short, the idea is to collect as many emails as possible, broadcast to them regularly and hope for uptake from a small percentage of the overall audience. How many Constant Contact emails do you ignore every week? As soon as we realize that the content of the first few newsletters is not directly relevant to us, we stop opening them. As marketers, its quicker and easier to send one message to many people rather than learning what your audience is really about. Once we get tired of deleting unopened emails, we’ll open them once more to find the unsubscribe link at the bottom.

If you want to get results through online marketing, stop thinking about broadcasting to a large number. I can’t count how many tourism marketing newsletters my email address has been added to but I know that I am not a golfer and don’t travel with my family. I am not going to start golfing or start a family before I unsubscribe either because my inbox is already full. As an industry, we’re gauging success by measuring the wrong things. Marketing no longer needs to be about repeatedly shouting to a big audience, it needs to be relevant.

If you or any of your friends are going to Spain and want an authentic exposure to Spanish cuisine, tell them to check out The Barcelona Taste. Joey’s has an compelling personality and would be the ideal guide. He’s been living in Spain long enough to know the secret spots too. His concept and business are far superior to the email promoting it.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »