Today’s question: When is social media so pervasive that it starts to impact our lives in a negative way?
I admit it. I was dragged kicking and screaming to the social media world. While I’ve been on Linked In since it launched in the early 2000’s and I have blogged for quite some time, I did not use Facebook and Twitter until a project in 2009 forced me to do so. And I’m not even touching Foursquare, which totally creeps me out.
Truly, I do love the connection, interactivity and dialogue. I really do. Please don’t judge me a Luddite. Once I learned to manage the time spent on social media, I found myself benefitting from the connection, community, content – and building my business presence successfully through it. And I love my Red Slice Nation peeps on Facebook and finding interesting articles via Twitter that I never would have found on my own.
And we can all agree that social media has changed the flow of global information, political reform and even disaster warnings.
But everyone needs to just settle down, y’all. I know there are people who are 24/7 on social media. Yes, I can access my accounts on my smartphone, especially when stuck in line for a latte or waiting for the Fremont Drawbridge to come down. But I am not one of those “always-on” people. I never want to be one of those people. I don’t even check my mobile phone before breakfast.
Some of my Facebook peeps chimed in and said their pet peeves are the pressure to respond to everything and the barrage of marketing messages that the floodgates have unleashed upon us.
This point was driven home recently when a class was cancelled and when I showed up, the instructor asked, “Didn’t you get the note?”
No, I did not. It’s Saturday freaking morning at 9 am and I didn’t check my Twitter account, Facebook page or phone between Friday night and this morning. I was LIVING MY LIFE! I was walking my dog, having breakfast with my husband, sipping coffee while reading the paper. So stop asking me “Didn’t you get the Tweet?” or “Did you get my invite on Facebook?” If I did, you’ll know. But if it’s something important or something you’re expecting me to attend, don’t just assume that I did if I didn’t respond.
Social media is great. But it has made us become extremely non-committal in making firm plans because we feel we can contact everyone instantly to change said plans. Which is good in some situations. But it’s not to be abused!
Photo credit: Pet Life Radio
What are your biggest social media pet peeves that drive you mad? Please share in the Comments and get some Link Love back to your site!
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
It’s not often you get to see two similar brand rollouts side by side and see clearly why one way is better.
As you know, sports fans tend to get closely attached to their team’s brand… and nowhere is that more true than when it comes to college sports.
Arizona State University (ASU) has been trying to differentiate itself over the past few years… in some ways successfully, and in others… well, not so successfully. ASU Athletics, working with Nike, created a unique launch campaign leading up to the April launch of its new and improved brand. To help fans, alumni, and the media prepare for the upcoming changes… and to generate some buzz… they produced a series of dramatic and emotional videos teasing the new branding to come. The first video of the “It’s Time” campaign was released on March 1, followed by this one on March 9, this one on March 16, this one on March 24, this one March 29 and this one on April 1. Ya gotta check them out – they are really top-notch quality and focus on the emotion and pride behind college sports.
At no point in the early part of the campaign did they mention it was specific to changing the brand. They just continued to leak bits and pieces about the fact that the new branding was coming. They apparently handed out cards with an invitation to an event for ASU boosters before the launch (with no details beyond the “It’s Time” messaging) and then launched a video that generated lots of buzz (even on ESPN) about what they planned to announce on the full launch date of April 12.
Rumors and speculation abounded that there would be a new logo for ASU athletics (potentially something that plays up the trident/pitchfork), new uniforms (including some alternate designs/colors similar to, but not as extreme as Oregon’s multitude of uniform combinations) and that the image of Sparky the Devil would be removed from the ASU football helmets. That last part had lots of Sun Devils choosing sides on whether this is good or bad for ASU. ASU hew this would be controversial to make these changes and that is why they address it in one of the last videos, saying “don’t fear change” and showing other changes from the past. Fans and alumni always have strong opinions on any changes, just as customers and employees have strong opinions when a company changes it branding (especially a logo).
They didn’t just create a new logo in vacuum, but based it on a clear brand strategy and message
They stayed authentic to who ASU is and what it stands for
They planned. Yes, planned. They created a multi-stage, timed campaign to speak to various audiences (the public, alums, the press) and built buzz and excitement, which can lead to better adoption and acceptance. This teaser campaign gave them a chance to tell the story behind the new brand before anyone got caught up in colors and typography. It also gave people a chance to get used to the idea of change.
They leveraged social media for maximum impact
Contrast that with Washington State University (WSU), who approached their brand change with a simple press release and unveiling event. They also collaborated with Nike on this rebrand for almost a year.
Why the changes? For both schools, it was lack of consistency in brand image and colors, a need to update and refresh a dated brand look and a general need to move forward into the future. “Throughout the project, equal attention was devoted to maintaining an appreciation for the traditions of the past, while positioning ASU for the future.”
Thanks to my good buddy and ASU alum Peter Olson for contributing most of this post.
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
Here I am, preaching about building a strong brand so you can choose the right marketing tactics in which to invest. I talk about measuring progress and success so you always know your ROI. But, as is often the case with doctors and consultants, we are our own worst patients/clients.
Let me share with you my faux pas so that you can learn what not to do – and give you a review of a unique marketing tactic that may actually be a good investment for you, depending on your product or service.
AnyLuckyDay.com is a unique and simple marketing concept. The founder, Giancarlo, will create a 24 Hour advertising campaign, Custom Sponsor Video. Multiple Insertions into their Twitter and Facebook Streams and Search Engine Optimized post on AnyLuckyDay.com. You can also purchase optional items such as an email sponsorship and Publishing Rights to your video. All you do is pay him to “sponsor” a specific day for $150 and offer something for the contest winner.
Visitors are encouraged to visit your website and then post a comment on AnyLuckyDay.com to officially enter the contest. I’m always eager to learn how innovative marketing tactics work, so I gave it a shot and bought January 20 as my day to promote my book. I offered three free books as the giveaway.
The process was fairly easy. Once they got in touch with me (which took a while, because I think they are understaffed), I sent them some information, photos, website links and a copy of the book. They then created the video and allowed me to review it before posting. I would say the hard part is their customer service is not that great, meaning they went a while after I paid without getting in touch with me, and it seemed like I was just being put into “the machine.” Granted, we had some email glitches where some of their emails to me seemed to have been lost or never got to me, but let’s just say that I tolerated it because the price was really not that high. Sometimes price can be an indication of the level of hand-holding you will get.
So the video looked good, the promotion ran, and I was delighted that many of the Commenters were actually small business owners. I had no idea what his database or follower profile looked like so I went in blind just to try it. Giancarlo even invited me to comment back and created a Disqus account for me in case I didn’t have one.
Results? Here’s the lessons I learned and where I fell down:
1) Failure to set concrete goals: I really didn’t give this promotion any real time or attention because I’ve been so slammed and because it was so cheap. I should have set a few metrics of what I wanted to see increase: Twitter followers, FB fans, Newsletter signups, etc. and determined pre- and post benchmarks. But I never took the time. Qualitatively, I think my follwers and fans did increase on that day, but since I failed to take a snapshot of Jan 19, I can’t be sure.
LESSON: Set clear goals and capture a “before” benchmark so you can compare your “after” numbers to it.
2) Failure to put a tracking mechanism in place: Because I don’t sell my book directly, I will need to rely on Amazon figures or my publisher telling me if there was a spike in sales. There was a noticeable ranking increase on that day, but how Amazon decides rankings are not from pure sales – it’s a wonky rating system based on sales in your categories. I also don’t have visibility into all my book sales data overall. And on AnyLuckyDay’s end, they told me they could not provide any clickthrough metrics, and did not provide me with a post-promotion list of “Number of Tweets, Number of Comments, Number of FB Posts” etc., which would have been nice.
LESSON: Create trackable response mechanisms. I should have created a custom URL through Bit.ly so I could at least track clickthroughs and exposure, if not sales. But I also should not have invested in an advertiser that could not provide any tracking info to me from their side.
3) Failure to determine audience fit: OK, I knew upfront I was taking a risk on this one. To be fair, I am not sure if I ever asked them to provide some sort of breakdown of who their audience and followers are (again, lack of time and attention on managing this campaign on my part). I was lucky that many of them were indeed business owners, but what if they were not?
LESSON: Always ask for a audience segment breakdown and try to get any info you can. If the vehicle will not provide it, you should invest somewhere that can.
4) Failure to take time: All of my problems stemmed from just paying for this tactic and not ensuring I thought through it all. If I was too busy to properly leverage this tactic, I should never have done it.
LESSON: Make sure that if you invest in marketing, you have the bandwidth or help to leverage it to its fullest and don’t just throw money away.
AnyLuckyDay.com is a great idea for a variety of products and services just to get a blitz effect. My verdict is still out on whether it’s better for higher-end or lower-end items, as I still don’t know who is in their “tribe” but I would assume something too high-end might not work for more than a one-time sales blip. You need to remember you’ll get noise because you are giving some items away, but will it lead to any sales in the future? This is such a unique contest/advertising concept that I can’t say with certainty that people with higher incomes are not in the tribe. Case in point: there were small business owners in the bunch. But if you have a fairly general consumer product, this would be an excellent – and inexpensive – way to get some some buzz going. I know I got the word out about my book to many who may not have heard of it, got some new followers, fans and signups – so to me, that is worth $150.
Have you tried any other unique advertising tactics like this? What was your experience? Please share in the comments.
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
My good friend and videographer, Philip, sent me a clever social media campaign that I am just now getting around to sharing with all of you (yes, trying to get myself more organized in 2011). Have you heard of the musical group Belle & Sebastian? They have a sort of a “folksy pop” vibe about them, and maintain a cult following throughout the world.
For the release of their album in August, they did a fun social media campaign that not only engaged their fans, but generated buzz and probably made their SEO rankings zoom off the charts by asking fans to create photo content. The best brand campaigns are the ones that ask your fans to do something (show their loyalty and commitment), promotes your business (what you ask them to do creates buzz for YOU) and creates beautiful content that can be repackaged with the tribe (that’s just my own personal vote.).
Their new album was called Belle and Sebastian Write About Love. When working on art for the album, they captured this image of a hip chick writing the record name in chalk in secluded spots in Glasgow:
Photo credit: Belle and Sebastian
So they launched a social media contest, via Flikr, to ask fans to do the same thing (write the album name in chalk in the towns where they live) and upload their photos. Winners would be used in their online TV show, and others would win trophies for “the most striking, scenic, artistic or funny contributions.” Here is the contest page and you can see some of the wildly different, yet artistic and fun entries they received. This insight into the “art” of their fans also probably gave them some valuable intel of their customers.
By doing this fun & spontaneous contest, Belle and Sebastian increased their tribe engagement and loyalty, creating an event that caused people to “check back in” and see how the entries were looking, offered incentives for really putting thought into the entry by offering prizes fans would cherish, and turned their tribe into a slew of field sales reps, promoting their album from here to kingdom come. For every one photograph, imagine the onlookers wondering what the heck each entrant was doing when they came upon them writing the band’s name in chalk and snapping pics?
The moral? Get creative with social media as it can have more arms and legs than you think. The other moral? Promotion does not have to be icky and sleazy. It can actually produce something artistic of which your fans can be proud and which can make them ever more loyal to your message.
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
Lynn Baldwin-Rhoades is a community maven. She founded a grassroots community of women business owners called Power Chicks and shares how she nurtured a thriving presence on Facebook. In early 2011, Lynn will launch Power Chicks International, LLC, allowing her to offer even more connections, resources and inspiration to help women reach their big, bold goals. Lynn is also the founder of Marketing Shebang, a company focused on helping small businesses connect with their female customers.
RS: Welcome Lynn! So, give us the dirt: you have more than 2,000 Facebook followers for Power Chicks. How the heck did you get that going and what advice do you have for others who want to build a following on Facebook?
LBR: Building a community on Facebook requires patience. Lots of it! Every one of us starts with a single follower.
I launched the Power Chicks Facebook page over a year ago by inviting my personal friends. Now, granted, they weren’t my ideal peeps, who are women in business, entrepreneurs and professionals looking for community, resources and inspiration. Joining the page were my father-in-law, my sister who’s in school – well, you get the picture. Nonetheless, it gave me a base of around 70 people.
So, my advice would be, start with who you have. Invite friends – but don’t stop there. Talk up your Facebook page everywhere. Put your link in your email signature, on your website, your newsletter, your brochures – anywhere your ideal customers might be. I’m a huge believer in radical visibility. If people don’t know your business or Facebook page exists, how will they know what good stuff you have to offer?
Give your followers a reason to “stop by” every single day. I imagine the Power Chicks as a community gathering place – an actual location. Maybe that’s goofy, but it does have a good, relaxed vibe. On the page, I offer tips and tools for growing businesses, inspirational quotes, and conversational prompts about what works and doesn’t work for folks. These can be quite engaging chats, and it’s cool to see women from allover come together in a collaborative way. I also offer opportunities for Power Chicks to network with one another on Twitter Tuesday and Thursday Facebook Fan Day.
What you post on your page will revolve around your own business, of course. If you’re really stumped for ideas, begin to follow others in your industry. Use their ideas as a jumping off point for your own original thoughts.
Be casual in your posts – and whatever you do, don’t engage in heavy-handed selling! Facebook is a platform to build relationships with others that will, over time, enhance your business’ bottom line. But it’s a slow process and requires lots of TLC. Hardcore marketing message really turn people off on Facebook.
RS: Wise advice. How active is your community in terms of commenting and interacting? What tips do you have for getting more out of your community so your page does not feel like crickets are chirping and everyone is asleep?
LBR: I confess: I’m a stat watcher and I track how many Power Chicks are interacting on Facebook, Twitter, and emailing me about stuff. Why? Because if there’s no conversation, no connecting, no sharing of resources or cheering each other on – there’s no community, right? There’s just a number.
When I do social media consulting, I always say, “Don’t be eager to build up some sort of empire. Better to have a few red-hot fans than a lot of tepid ones.” It’s like this: You want raving followers who wake up each morning and think, “Hey, what’s Red Slice Nation got going today?” rather than a bunch of people who really don’t give a rip.
As far as tips for getting more out of your community, that’s easy. Give more. And if you’re not sure what to give, ask! The beauty of social media platforms is that you really can say, “Hey, what would you like? How can I best help you?” A following, even a small one, can offer fantastic feedback.
RS: I’ve always been a fan of quality over quantity! Do you think that the actual community topic is a factor to interaction? For instance, do you have an advantage in that your community is full of women talking about inspiration and motivation? What advice would you have for those of us with B2B topics or a less vocal community? What gets the most conversation going within your community?
LBR: Well, I think my advantage is less that we talk about inspiration and motivation and more that I understand what truly brings Power Chicks together – a sense of belonging and camaraderie. There’s a “We’re in this together” feeling. Having this advantage isn’t a calculated thing but sort of an intuitive knowing. Anyone else can have that same advantage.
See, what drives our decisions – whether to join a group, hire a web designer, make a purchase – arises from some need inside of us. We might hire a financial planner and think we’re paying for number-crunching but our deeper need is for safety and security. Identifying the deeper need in your community and addressing it, even obliquely, skyrockets your ability to develop a solid community.
For those with less vocal communities, evaluate what you’re doing and see if you can winnow out what’s not working. Again, ask people. Pick five reasonably active people, email or call each separately, and request specific feedback. You might be surprised at what you hear!
To get the most engagement, you also need to play with the days you post, and even the times of the day. Also, did you know posting a picture along with your updates statistically pushes up your response rate? So does posting a video. I love marketing and these little factoids, because I’m just that nerdy – and knowing stuff like this does come in handy.
Bottom line? Facebook is a fantastic venue for people to increase their business’ visibility, gain credibility, gently (did I mention gently?) sell, and more. But it takes time, patience, lots of trial and error. But stick with it! It’s worth it.
RS: Wise words, Lynn. Thanks so much for giving our community such great advice.
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
Californication is one of my favorite television shows. Naturally, I am going to ‘Like’ the show’s page on Facebook. But ever since the season ended, there has been no interaction from the page’s administrators. It’s a complete dead zone. I then began thinking about all the other brands or products that are on Facebook and Twitter that abandoned their audience. For instance, I follow Citizen on Twitter. Citizen is a small chic restaurant that I absolutely love going to and it’s right down the street from where I live. The reason I follow them on Twitter is to hear about their specials and new items on the menu. But their last post was in March. It’s almost September and I know that they had many changes to their restaurant, like building a new patio area to fit more people. This is absolutely Twitter worthy, yet they have failed to mention it to those who follow them. The point of my story is, if you are going to make your presence known in the social media world, you must plan for whatever happens, whether it is your campaign coming to an end or if it naturally closes. A few thoughts:
Plan ahead of time your exit out of the social media world: Once you have entered the cyber world, it’s almost impossible to completely get rid of any trace of your campaign, brand, product, etc. Think of it as verbal communication. You cannot take back what you have already said. It’s important when planning your debut in the social media world to also plan what will happen at the end of your campaign. Will you keep your account and look after it for other long term uses or will you simply delete the account?
Manage the transition: If you do decide to keep your page, even if you are on a brief hiatus, it’s extremely important to communicate with your audience. I understand that Califorication is on summer break until the next season, but I would like to be up to date on what is going on, such as knowing when the start of the next season is or what to expect in the new season.
Thank those who made it possible: Investing time into creating a community surrounding your product takes much time and effort. If you decide to delete your page, you may want to direct people where you want them to go next, like a cliffhanger. Never leave without thanking those you supported you because they will feel abandoned.
Although I would hate to see any brand disappear from the social media world, I understand that sometimes it wasn’t meant to be. But there are several brands and products on Facebook that do a fantastic job of keeping their audience updated. Silk is a product and brand that I ‘Like’ on Facebook and I always see updates on new recipes or the audiences’ opinion on certain things. Do some light research and see how these brands and products are keeping their audience hooked. You could use what you fin to help you in your own social media campaign. After all, the last thing you want is to break up with your audience by just abandoning them without an explanation.
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
The advertising environment in 2009 was dark and gloomy due to the budget cuts, causing the industry to face a new reality and evolve. Mainly, businesses and brands hopped on the social network and consumer-generated media bandwagons to create more personal interactions with customers. Ultimately, this brought customers closer to a product or brand, just as marketers had hoped.
So how are businesses (and traditional marketing and ad agencies) expanding to reach all audiences and adapt to the changing world in which their customers live?
Optimizing media convergence: As companies reduce their budgets in TV, radio and print, they will put more money and efforts into the online community where the metrics can be measured. To accurately measure activity and link online ads to offline purchasing is crucial in today’s marketplace. In addition, the increase in online shopping has many “old school” companies finally looking to advertise online. In order to deliver a better return on investment, companies will need to close the skill gap – or start hiring really smart people who get it – to more appropriately understand and harness the power of this media convergence.
Adapting to smart phones: It seems that smart phones are slowly taking over the world. Almost everywhere we look, someone is jiggling around on his or her fancy sleek phone. So it’s more important than ever to understand in what direction media is headed and what customers are using in order to stay ahead of the game. If mobile media is where everything is occurring, then that’s where the industry needs to be. Meaning, advertising companies will customize campaigns to cater to smart phone media in a more innovative and creative way.
Cross-media ad campaigns: In addition to mobile advertising, we see media shifting into new territories such as online and offline video games. In Grand Theft Auto, you may drive past a billboard for McDonalds or some other giant company brand. Because the video gaming community has seen rockstar growth, companies understand that this is a successful and innovative way to promote interactive branding campaigns across screens.
Social media: Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t get away from social media. It’s taking over how we interact with anything and everything. This platform will provide a new sales channel for establishing brand and product awareness, taking campaigns further away from traditional advertising and text-based ads. Many of the rules are being made up as we go along, but tons has been written about the proper etiquette for “selling” in social media – and what communities will and will not accept.
Valuable and innovative ads: Because this generation of consumers is always looking for something new and lives in a world of constant connection, companies are looking for more creative advertising and content for the online community. This is why we have seen an increase in viral ad campaigns.
What will the next year bring us in advertising? Please add your thoughts in the Comments.
It’s 2 a.m and my boyfriend and I decide to do some late night grocery shopping. Normally, I shop at Whole Foods where I buy the same brand of whole-wheat sunflower bread. But because they close at 10 p.m., I ended up walking down the street to QFC.
“Suz, come look at this.”Roger is awkwardly holding a loaf of bread with bold colors on the packaging.
“What is that? That’s not my normal loaf of bread,” I say. I shrug my shoulders and continue to walk down the bread aisle looking for my sunflower bread.
“Suz. Come read this!”Fussy anddefeated, I walk back towards him.
I grab the bright yellow bag from him and begin to read: I was a four-time loser before I realized I was in the wrong game. 15 years in prison is a pretty tough way to find oneself, but I have no regrets… Immediately I am hooked. Who is this guy spilling his life story on a loaf of bread? I continue reading and realize that this guy created his whole brand on his incredibly story. He was in and out of prison for drugs, assault, and robbery until he realized he needed to change his life: A whole lot of suffering has transformed an ex-con into an honest man who is doing his best to make the world a better place…one loaf of bread at a time. My heart sunk. I turn the bread around and see “Just say no to bread on drugs!” and I cannot believe how clever and fantastic this is. I see that the specific loaf that Roger had grabbed was called GOOD SEED. How cute. A loaf of bread named after Dave’s change. Ultimately, it is Dave’s story, a story that is personal and inspiring, that will make his business and brand successful. And the best part, his products live up to his brand promise. Heavenly Texture and Saintly Flavor. His bread is probably the most texturally pleasing bread I have ever tasted in my life. I practically devour the entire loaf in three days. I am beyond obsessed. As a strong supporter of the green movement and sustainable eating, Dave had won me over with his organic bread, compostable bags, the wind farms, and only providing the Northwest with his mouth-watering bread. He believes everyone deserves a second chance, so most of his employees are ex-cons as well. Dave, can you be anymore fabulous?!
I follow Dave on Twitter and I try to see him at almost every festival where he is present. I recently saw him at the Bite of Seattle where I bought six loaves of bread, a T-shirt, a coloring book, and had the opportunity to meet the guy behind the brand. I feel like a giddy ten-year-old girl! The only words that came out of my mouth were, “I am a huge fan and I eat your bread on a daily basis!” Really? How did I become a “bread groupie”? At least once a week, I tweet “How can I get on Dave’s PR team?” I have yet to receive a response but they seem to reply to everything else I tweet about them.
It’s brands like Dave’s that reaches out to interact with their customers, creates relationships, and has a clear vision of what it wants the brand to do that will be more than successful. I am proud to be a consumer of his bread and will follow Dave wherever he goes. So when can I start?
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
A big welcome to Red Slice summer intern Suzi An, the author of this guest blog post.
Once a brand has been established, it’s easy to forget the importance of monitoring its impact. How do you know if it’s “working” or if the right buyers are responding unless you immediately see a sales jump (not likely to happen immediately). Many business owners and entrepreneurs develop a brand and expect it to work it’s magic. This is true to a certain extent, but it takes much more than just a logo to build a reputable status. This is why it’s important to monitor your brand so that you may see how people perceive it in addition to their reactions. This will give you the means to tweak the necessarily elements in order to create the brand that matches your identity.
There are many tools out there that can be used to observe who is talking about your brand and the exciting thing is that you have the option to monitor your reputation for free. Here a few free tools that are user friendly and can be customized to your liking.
1. GOOGLE ALERTS: The most popular as well as accessible tool that is buzzing around is Google Alerts. This tool sends you email updates daily, weekly, or on a real-time basis on the latest topics of your choice, or your brand name. You can even customize where you want Google to search for your name such as blogs, articles, videos, etc.
2. TWEETBEEP: Tweetbeep uses Twitter to email you updates every time someone Tweets about your keywords. The great thing about this tool is that you can set alerts up for what people are saying about your competitors in addition to your industry sector.
3. BLOGPULSE TREND SEARCH: This tool allows you to create graphs based on buzz trends for your keywords or phrases. BlogPulse gives you a visual on how your brand is doing online and you can easily compare and contrast results to your liking.
4. BRAND MENTIONS: This social media listening tool forages around user-generated content, which includes comments, blogs, events and tracks mentions of your keywords throughout these areas. Brand Mentions searches through Flickr, YouTube, Digg, Delicious, Twitter, etc and emails you results. You may also choose to subscribe by RSS.
Though this is a relatively short list, there are more than hundreds of tools on the Internet whose soul purpose is to help businesses and entrepreneurs alike in securing their brand. Use these tools to your advantage, meaning collect your data, analyze, and take your next step in making your brand beyond everyone’s expectations.
This is a guest post from our new Red Slice intern, Suzi An.
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™
I had the best car rental experience of my life last week. And that is a bold statement from someone who worked as a management consultant and in affiliate sales during her career and used to travel up the yin-yang.
I rented through Alamo at the Philadelphia Airport because they were the most cost-effective option on Expedia. What I got was an amazingly friendly, professional and warm experience that far exceeded my expectations. I had doors held open for me at every turn. Everyone I passed greeted me with a smile and a “How are you today?” I’ll admit to being a little creeped out by this at first, as my expectations of a car rental brand are so low that they all look and sound the same. And this is coming from someone who is a Hertz Gold Club member.
Once inside, the gentleman who held the door open for me also ran around the desk to check me in. He bantered with his fellow staffmates as they ran around to get me the GPS I’d requested and then he showed me step-by-step how to set it up. I could tell everyone there genuinely enjoyed their work and each other – and it made me feel like I was in good hands.
Once outside, my car was blocked in by a rental bus. Immediately , two other staff members saw my dilemma and cleared a path for me without me even asking. It was like as soon as my problem materialized, there they were, solving it proactively.
That’s what I’m talking about, people. Delight. Happy, empowered employees who have a clear service mission leads to a happy brand experience for customers, which leads to me talking about this company on social media. Maybe they are helped along by my previous lackluster experiences or the low service bar in the industry - who knows? Who cares? Bottom line is that I’m still talking about them. See how it works? Easy peasy.
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