| Promoting Your Program Walker's Marketing team offers insights on communicating your customer program including branding, marketing, and design strategies. |
I love the Lego brand. Many hours of my childhood were spent building and creating with these interlocking pieces. In fact I still have a majority of my collection. So how does a company like Lego remain viable in an era where videogames and technology are king? Lego has been fighting the decline facing most toy companies by listening to the customers. Early on, Lego realized that adults who had grown up with their product had a high opinion of the company and still spent large amounts of money on their products. Lego started a corporate habit of tracking what Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL) were saying through social media outlets and then acting on the feedback. They have even taken it as far as to include members of the AFOL community into new product development.
The attention given to the AFOL’s has boosted Lego’s bottom line. The lesson: take time to listen to key customers, but don’t stop there. Actively engage them. Let them know you’re listening and you want their opinion.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
One of the first things to consider in a marketing campaign is to know who your target audience is. It doesn't make much sense to create a campaign for your business consulting firm that appeals to teenagers if the people who want your service are middle-aged.
This tactic is also true for internal marketing. Think of it as a form of customer segmentation, but the employees are your customers. If you are trying to promote your customer loyalty program to executives, you should take a different approach than if you are targeting the customer service department. You will get a lot more traction if you focus your efforts to specific areas in your company.
You can accomplish this by creating multiple targeted campaigns, or one general campaign that can be adjusted for certain areas of your company. Point out what customer listening can do for their role, or how they can utilize it for their benefit. Not only will your audience pay more attention to the campaign, but they will get more out of it as well.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
This tactic is also true for internal marketing. Think of it as a form of customer segmentation, but the employees are your customers. If you are trying to promote your customer loyalty program to executives, you should take a different approach than if you are targeting the customer service department. You will get a lot more traction if you focus your efforts to specific areas in your company.
You can accomplish this by creating multiple targeted campaigns, or one general campaign that can be adjusted for certain areas of your company. Point out what customer listening can do for their role, or how they can utilize it for their benefit. Not only will your audience pay more attention to the campaign, but they will get more out of it as well.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
United, the airline that breaks guitars, had a chance to really leverage the experience of one of their customers, and totally blew it. David Carroll of the "United Breaks Guitar" fame, flew United again, only to have the pleasant experience of lost luggage. Maybe his next song will be, "United Breaks Guitars and Loses Luggage."
If you are not one of the 5.8 million people that has viewed his music video, you can read more about his story here. The gist was Carroll was flying on United Airlines and watched as baggage handlers threw around his guitar, and in turn, broke it in two.
He and his band made a music video about the experience, and about his struggle to get any sort of help from United. I don't think neither Carroll, nor United, realized that this music video would be a YouTube sensation, but it was.
At this point, if I were United, I would use the voice of the customer (in this case, literally) and think of this as an opportunity to do some damage control. They could have taken it to their social media platforms -- perhaps, release something on YouTube addressing the situation and how they were going to fix it, or even poking fun at the situation. Even mentioning something about it on their Twitter page, or using it to form some sort of customer listening strategy.
Apparently, United's spokesperson, Robin Urbanski said, "This has struck a chord with us, and we’ve contacted him directly to make it right.” Yes, she really said "struck a chord." United also sent a canned, direct message from Ms. Urbanksi to anyone that had tweeted about the situation, mentioning that 99.5 percent of the time, baggage is not lost or damaged.
I am sure they were not expecting a customer in that .5% to lose their luggage again. And, of course, that this customer would have a breakout hit on YouTube. Maybe they will do something different this time around.
Brianne Drlich
Marketing Communications
If you are not one of the 5.8 million people that has viewed his music video, you can read more about his story here. The gist was Carroll was flying on United Airlines and watched as baggage handlers threw around his guitar, and in turn, broke it in two.
He and his band made a music video about the experience, and about his struggle to get any sort of help from United. I don't think neither Carroll, nor United, realized that this music video would be a YouTube sensation, but it was.
At this point, if I were United, I would use the voice of the customer (in this case, literally) and think of this as an opportunity to do some damage control. They could have taken it to their social media platforms -- perhaps, release something on YouTube addressing the situation and how they were going to fix it, or even poking fun at the situation. Even mentioning something about it on their Twitter page, or using it to form some sort of customer listening strategy.
Apparently, United's spokesperson, Robin Urbanski said, "This has struck a chord with us, and we’ve contacted him directly to make it right.” Yes, she really said "struck a chord." United also sent a canned, direct message from Ms. Urbanksi to anyone that had tweeted about the situation, mentioning that 99.5 percent of the time, baggage is not lost or damaged.
I am sure they were not expecting a customer in that .5% to lose their luggage again. And, of course, that this customer would have a breakout hit on YouTube. Maybe they will do something different this time around.
Brianne Drlich
Marketing Communications
Everyone agrees that PowerPoint presentations get old fast. So what can we do to keep people involved?
Workbooks
Instead of using slides and expecting people to take notes, give people a booklet with the key graphics, charts, and ideas. Don’t give all the information, but let them fill in key facts throughout your presentation. Workbooks can be used by themselves or with PowerPoint. Walker has developed a couple of different workbooks that can be easily modified for different presentations. Seth Godin recently advocated this concept in his blog.
Use a whiteboard
I know what you are thinking, “I’m not an artist.” You don’t have to be. Everyone is capable of drawing basic shape and concepts. It could be as simple as writing out the main points. For more ideas check out Dan Roam’s book The Back of the Napkin.
Present your data differently
Before you create another graph or text filled slide, take a few seconds to think about it. Is there another way to show the data? Does your concept have a corresponding image? Check out www.prezi.com to see an interesting tool that uses a non-conventional approach to presenting.
Ask questions
Questions keeps people involved. TurningPoint is an add-on tool for PowerPoint that allows audience participation. It is easy to set up and lets the audience give immediate feedback.
Use your creativity to set yourself apart. Live beyond PowerPoint and see how many slides you can cut.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
Workbooks
Instead of using slides and expecting people to take notes, give people a booklet with the key graphics, charts, and ideas. Don’t give all the information, but let them fill in key facts throughout your presentation. Workbooks can be used by themselves or with PowerPoint. Walker has developed a couple of different workbooks that can be easily modified for different presentations. Seth Godin recently advocated this concept in his blog.
Use a whiteboard
I know what you are thinking, “I’m not an artist.” You don’t have to be. Everyone is capable of drawing basic shape and concepts. It could be as simple as writing out the main points. For more ideas check out Dan Roam’s book The Back of the Napkin.
Present your data differently
Before you create another graph or text filled slide, take a few seconds to think about it. Is there another way to show the data? Does your concept have a corresponding image? Check out www.prezi.com to see an interesting tool that uses a non-conventional approach to presenting.
Ask questions
Questions keeps people involved. TurningPoint is an add-on tool for PowerPoint that allows audience participation. It is easy to set up and lets the audience give immediate feedback.
Use your creativity to set yourself apart. Live beyond PowerPoint and see how many slides you can cut.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
Steve Jobs is one of the best presenters of all time. He has a knack for building up excitement, then delivering the key message at the right time to get the audience excited and to keep them engaged. He has been honing his presentation skills over the last 30 years, and has mastered the art of the presentation.
Communications coach Carmine Gallo has been studying Steve Jobs, and has just released his new book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great In Front of Any Audience. In this book Carmine Gallo breaks down Steve's mastery into five key areas.
Read more about Carmine Gallo's book and Steve Jobs' presentation techniques from his article posted on BusinessWeek.
Watch the interview below with Carmine Gallo discussing his new book.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
Communications coach Carmine Gallo has been studying Steve Jobs, and has just released his new book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great In Front of Any Audience. In this book Carmine Gallo breaks down Steve's mastery into five key areas.
- A headline - All of Steve Jobs' titles are short and memorable. Spend a little extra time in coming up with a good title. Make it fit in one line and use it consistently.
- A villain - Using a villain as a motivator helps bring people together under a common cause. It also helps bring out the competitive nature in everyone. Your main competitor would be the most obvious villain, but it could also be an idea or roadblocks that stand in the way of your company's goals.
- A simple slide - Keep the clutter off the slides. Jobs uses mostly pictures and very few words. Too much information on a slide is distracting to the audience. You should be presenting the information, not making the audience read it.
- A demo - People start to lose interest after about ten minutes. Mix up the presentation with demonstrations of a product, an example of a situation, or a video. Jobs does something different about every ten minutes to keep the audience interested.
- A holy smokes moment - Create a memorable event that your audience will want to remember. This is something that should be unexpected, and should emphasize the main topic of your presentation. When they leave your presentation, this is the one thing that they should not forget.
Read more about Carmine Gallo's book and Steve Jobs' presentation techniques from his article posted on BusinessWeek.
Watch the interview below with Carmine Gallo discussing his new book.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
I am sure that you think my answer is a resounding "YES!" especially since you are reading a blog right now. But, my answer is a, "Well, maybe." And that is with the qualification of, "If it is done right."
There are a million ways that a blog can be done right or wrong, involving the topic, the frequency of posting, the quality of content, etc. A common mistake right now are companies just jumping on the blogging bandwagon without any direction or strategy. That could result in a huge waste of time and energy. Here are some questions that you should ask yourself in deciding if you should blog:
Brianne Drlich
Marketing Communications
There are a million ways that a blog can be done right or wrong, involving the topic, the frequency of posting, the quality of content, etc. A common mistake right now are companies just jumping on the blogging bandwagon without any direction or strategy. That could result in a huge waste of time and energy. Here are some questions that you should ask yourself in deciding if you should blog:
- Do I have a focused topic? Blogging could be a great way to spread awareness and information within your company about your customer listening program. Your blog could be used externally or internally -- both being powerful vehicles in getting the voice of the customer out.
- Am I willing to take some time to write on a consistent basis? I don't think you have to blog every single day, but I do think you should post more than once a month. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to post everyday, but that is unreasonable for a lot of people. But, once you set a precedent, you should keep up with it. After all, the only way to have an effective blog is to create good, quality content and lots of it.
- Do I have to be a brilliant writer? Absolutely not. You don't even have to write that much. Sometimes, just posting an intriguing photo with a short caption is enough. Or, you could write a review of a great book you just read. Brilliant writer you need not be, however, spell check is a must.
Brianne Drlich
Marketing Communications
If you are just broadcasting your message to your users, you may want to adjust your tactics and try engaging them instead. You will get a much better response, and buy-in, if you open up your communications and engage your users in open discussions.
The advent of social media has brought an overall acceptance, and many expectations, for a continuing dialog that encourages two-way discussions. An engaged user would be more aware of your customer loyalty program and hopefully more energized in using the information and promoting the program to others.
What you know about customer listening can also be utilized with your users. Listen to your audience, don't just feed them information that they may or may not want. Leslie Pagel wrote a good blog about engaging people on Twitter. She gives some good advice on how to engage your audience, which can also be used to share customer insights with your users.
Another way to engage your users is by creating a training program that not only teaches them about building customer loyalty, but is ongoing and continually reinforces the goals of having a customer strategy. To learn more about creating an engaging training program, read Pat Gibbons' blog Customer insight training - reality sets in.
Broadcasting is not as impactful as engaging users, people inherently want to feel like they are part of the conversation. Read more about broadcasting vs. engaging in this blog, Social Media case study: Broadcast vs. Engagement in forums.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
The advent of social media has brought an overall acceptance, and many expectations, for a continuing dialog that encourages two-way discussions. An engaged user would be more aware of your customer loyalty program and hopefully more energized in using the information and promoting the program to others.
What you know about customer listening can also be utilized with your users. Listen to your audience, don't just feed them information that they may or may not want. Leslie Pagel wrote a good blog about engaging people on Twitter. She gives some good advice on how to engage your audience, which can also be used to share customer insights with your users.
Another way to engage your users is by creating a training program that not only teaches them about building customer loyalty, but is ongoing and continually reinforces the goals of having a customer strategy. To learn more about creating an engaging training program, read Pat Gibbons' blog Customer insight training - reality sets in.
Broadcasting is not as impactful as engaging users, people inherently want to feel like they are part of the conversation. Read more about broadcasting vs. engaging in this blog, Social Media case study: Broadcast vs. Engagement in forums.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
The first time I saw this video I thought, "How funny! How true! I love Trader Joe's!" Okay, maybe I wasn't that enthusiastic, but I did really enjoy this video as a loyal customer of the grocery chain.
I loved the catchy tune, I loved the witty commentary, and I loved the fact that it wasn't totally a glowing review of the place (handles that break on the paper bags, and the weird cylindrical salmon). Yet, it seemed to be the perfect approach to advertising, especially for a store that relies on word-of-mouth advertisement. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if this was really created by Trader Joe's - it seemed almost too good to be true.
So, I did some digging and it turns out that it was definitely not created by Trader Joe's, but by a guy that creates real commercials, such as this one. But, really, could Trader Joe's have done a better commercial? I really don't think so.
Maybe customer-created commercials are the future of advertising. If that is where things are headed, it seems imperative that you know what your customers are thinking. The voice of the customer is more powerful than ever. (Remember this video for United. )
In any case, if you are a company that takes care of your customers, you may just get some viral commercials for free.
Brianne Drlich
Marketing Communications
Taking care of your customers is now more important than ever. Social media has given people a larger platform to air their grievances. Take David Carroll for example.
Dave, a guitarist in the band, “Sons of Maxwell,” had a bad experience with United Airlines and his $3,500 710 Taylor guitar (for the complete story, click here). When baggage handlers broke his guitar, Dave contacted them to seek compensation. For months he was passed from one person to the next. What did he do about it? He used his talent in concordance with social media to distribute a song, “United Breaks Guitars.”
Did United get the message?
Within four days of this song being released, United found themselves in a PR nightmare. Stocks fell 10% costing shareholders around $180 million, and tarnishing their reputation.
Don’t take your customers for granted. Put your customer listening program to good use.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
Dave, a guitarist in the band, “Sons of Maxwell,” had a bad experience with United Airlines and his $3,500 710 Taylor guitar (for the complete story, click here). When baggage handlers broke his guitar, Dave contacted them to seek compensation. For months he was passed from one person to the next. What did he do about it? He used his talent in concordance with social media to distribute a song, “United Breaks Guitars.”
Did United get the message?
Within four days of this song being released, United found themselves in a PR nightmare. Stocks fell 10% costing shareholders around $180 million, and tarnishing their reputation.
Don’t take your customers for granted. Put your customer listening program to good use.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
Does anyone know about your program, or is it a well-kept secret? Don't let your customer loyalty program go unnoticed to your customers and employees. Stay in front of them so they know that you are customer focused and you do care about building customer loyalty.
One way to accomplish this is by using video (see this post on how to use video). I don't think I have to tell you about how engaging video is on the internet, and it has become a low cost solution.
Another way is by using social media. Just jump in on some social media tools and start letting people know about your program (see this post on using social media).
Promoting your program is essential in keeping it alive within your organization, but another often overlooked solution is training. You need to let your employees know what you are doing, and how you are doing it. If they don't understand it, they aren't going to care much about it. Start by putting together a basic overview of why the voice of the customer is so essential in your organization, then promote it.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
One way to accomplish this is by using video (see this post on how to use video). I don't think I have to tell you about how engaging video is on the internet, and it has become a low cost solution.
Another way is by using social media. Just jump in on some social media tools and start letting people know about your program (see this post on using social media).
Promoting your program is essential in keeping it alive within your organization, but another often overlooked solution is training. You need to let your employees know what you are doing, and how you are doing it. If they don't understand it, they aren't going to care much about it. Start by putting together a basic overview of why the voice of the customer is so essential in your organization, then promote it.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
Or, more importantly, how did you hear that Amazon bought Zappos?
I first found out from a tweet by Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, linking to his blog . Then, I watched a YouTube video made by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Next, I read a “liveblog” satirical take on Bezos video.
All of this information and none of it included a press release or “traditional” article. These companies didn’t need to involve any press, and were able to say exactly what they wanted from their point of view, without any commentary or speculation from a third party.
My point is this: these two companies really took advantage of social media tools. And, guess what? I imagine it cost them next to nothing. That is a powerful medium. Think about how you could use even one of these tools – YouTube (video), Twitter, or blogging – to get your customer loyalty program’s message out. Would it be powerful? Would it be inexpensive? Would it be easy?
Brianne Drlich
Marketing Communication Specialist
I don't know what it is about this video, but I love it. Over 8 million people have viewed it, but have you given it much thought? Why is this video so well liked? I suggest part of the reason is it combines two ordinary things (skateboarding and a dog) and creates something extraordinary.
Bring this back to your customer loyalty programs.
Ordinary 1: A majority of successful companies have listening programs.
Ordinary 2: Every company has its own corporate identity (logos, brochures, websites, etc.)
Extraordinary: Merge the two!
The combination of a listening program with the backing of the company brand will set it apart in employee's minds. It increases the program’s value to your organization, makes it memorable, and can also increase employee loyalty.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
An effective method of communicating your customer loyalty program is by getting your CEO or corporate sponsor to create a short motivational video for your intranet. A personal message from your CEO will encourage employees to take notice of the program and give it credibility.
With the popularity of YouTube, video is now easier to produce than it has ever been before. Modern video cameras and software make it easy to create and put the video on the web. You don't need an elaborate studio or production staff to create a video for your company. YouTube has made homemade videos acceptable, and expensive, high-end production quality video is no longer necessary.
Just keep in mind to try and keep the video motivating so it isn't just a boring talking head. A little editing by adding graphs or pictures can add a lot to make it more interesting. For an example of a nicely created video for employees view the Alaska Airlines video below.
For more information on how to create video for your company, explore the Videomaker website.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
With the popularity of YouTube, video is now easier to produce than it has ever been before. Modern video cameras and software make it easy to create and put the video on the web. You don't need an elaborate studio or production staff to create a video for your company. YouTube has made homemade videos acceptable, and expensive, high-end production quality video is no longer necessary.
Just keep in mind to try and keep the video motivating so it isn't just a boring talking head. A little editing by adding graphs or pictures can add a lot to make it more interesting. For an example of a nicely created video for employees view the Alaska Airlines video below.
For more information on how to create video for your company, explore the Videomaker website.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
As a customer strategist or business leader, are you struggling with getting your voice of the customer program noticed? Take a look at some of these great marketing initiatives. These examples are a little extreme, but is there anything similar you can do to build the awareness of your customer program both internally and externally?
The key features are they are different, creative, and out of the ordinary. Maybe that is what your program needs. Your employees need to know how important acting on customer information is, and your customers need to know you are listening to them. Customer insights are too valuable to waste (visit Pat Gibbon’s post on this topic).
– monoface
– UPS Whiteboard
– Got Milk – Get the Glass
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
The key features are they are different, creative, and out of the ordinary. Maybe that is what your program needs. Your employees need to know how important acting on customer information is, and your customers need to know you are listening to them. Customer insights are too valuable to waste (visit Pat Gibbon’s post on this topic).
– monoface
– UPS Whiteboard
– Got Milk – Get the Glass
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
Make sure your customer relationship strategy is being fully utilized throughout your company. Reach out to your peers and other departments to find out how they are using your customer strategy to help in their daily decisions. Help them find ways to be more customer focused and to use the information that you have collected.
Being customer focused is not only about measuring customer satisfaction, but more about using that information to spread the voice of the customer throughout your organization. View the video below to hear how impactful customer listening can be to a company.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
Being customer focused is not only about measuring customer satisfaction, but more about using that information to spread the voice of the customer throughout your organization. View the video below to hear how impactful customer listening can be to a company.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
For most of us, the main focus of our knowledge is centered on our career and a hobby or two. We spend a majority of our effort learning all we can about our positions, and being an expert in our chosen career. While this is important, does a singular focus lend itself to us becoming better people? How much of what goes on around us are we missing? Maybe we need a little push to broaden our world. Take a step and try learning something new every day.
It really isn't that difficult to do. The internet makes it easy. Here are a few suggestions to help get you going.
Keep your life interesting and your mind sharp. Never stop learning.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
It really isn't that difficult to do. The internet makes it easy. Here are a few suggestions to help get you going.
- Listen to podcasts
- How Stuff Works
- This American Life
- Search iTunes for any podcast that sounds interesting
- Find podcasts with a customer focus
- Subscribe to RSS feeds
- Most major sites have RSS feeds. Subscribe to a few that aren’t specifically related to your work.
- Keep up to date on current issues
- Read more blogs
- Attend events and museums in your city
- Get out and see something different than your drive to and from work
- Read books on diverse subject matters
- Try Audible
- Visit your local library
- Research your clients and customers
- Do you really have a good understanding of who your clients and customers are? What can you learn about them that will help put the voice of the customer into context?
Keep your life interesting and your mind sharp. Never stop learning.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
I'm sure everyone has seen many bad presentations in their career, but the key is having the ability to recognize that they are bad presentations.
How you communicate your customer listening information is crucial in getting people to not only understand what you are delivering to them, but for them to buy into it as well. If they don’t understand your concept, they will not support it, and all of your hard work will be lost.
Spend a little extra time on developing the presentation, and consult a designer if you need to. Taking this extra step will help you in getting your company to understand why it should be building customer loyalty.
I encourage you to read Dan McCormick's blog post "Are you killing your presentations?," which gives some guidance on avoiding some of the pitfalls of bad presentation design.
And for a little entertainment, view comedian Don McMillan's routine about bad PowerPoint practices entitled "Life after Death by PowerPoint."
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
Are you finding it hard to get people to take action on the customer feedback your program delivers? Is it difficult to get traction with your listening program?
Maybe your co-workers can't see past their box. No, not their cubes, but their day-to-day routines and tasks. It is amazing how much is missed when we are focused on something else.
Help re-focus your organization. Develop ways to get your program noticed. Branding your program and starting a campaign are great places to start.
Being in a box can also be applied to customer loyalty managers. Are you blind to any parts of your organization? Can the voice of the customer be used anywhere else?
Avoid the box. Be active.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
Maybe your co-workers can't see past their box. No, not their cubes, but their day-to-day routines and tasks. It is amazing how much is missed when we are focused on something else.
Help re-focus your organization. Develop ways to get your program noticed. Branding your program and starting a campaign are great places to start.
Being in a box can also be applied to customer loyalty managers. Are you blind to any parts of your organization? Can the voice of the customer be used anywhere else?
Avoid the box. Be active.
Dan McCormick
Marketing Communications
Every company should have an internal marketing plan to keep their employees aware of the company’s efforts and philosophies. It may not be a structured plan, but all companies need some type of communication vehicle to share their vision, goals, brand, and values. It’s better to define these vehicles and determine what the best and most effective method of delivery is in your company. Everyone should be striving to reach a common goal, but how can they do that if they don’t know what the goal is?So whether or not your company has a corporate internal marketing plan, you should create a plan for your customer loyalty program to share your customer relationship strategy. Developing a plan for your program is essential in enhancing your customer focus and getting it ingrained into your company’s culture and building customer loyalty.
“As companies empower staff to build stronger customer relationship, internal marketing underpins the drive for greater involvement, commitment, and understanding.”
- BNET Editorial
The “Planning Internal Marketing” blog post by BNET Editorial is a great place to start, and the book Internal Marketing can give you more insights on how and why to create an internal marketing plan.
Jeff Wiggington
Marketing Communications
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