Follow-up to the Gap logo fiasco

So, in a previous post I talked about my biggest issue with the new Gap logo: they should not have abandoned the old design completely. They should have improved it, but not abandoned it.

AdFreak put together a list of 30 recent redesigns, which is an interesting examination of this design issue.

To me, Burger King, Cisco, KFC and UPS got it right

AOL and Kraft... not so much.

Now here's a twist on the whole issue. The exception to prove the rule if you will. See what Sprint did? They completely abandoned their logo, but with good intention. They redesigned the logo in conjunction with a major rebranding effort, supported with extensive mass media. Remember the pin-drop ads? Me too. The logo was redesigned to support that re-branding. The lesson being: if you are overhauling your brand, you have permission to overhaul your logo in support of it.

But only if you have Sprint money to do so.

SuperBowl Advertising Award Winners

Well, it feels like Boxing Day all over again.

So much excitement was built up about this year's SuperBowl ads, and now that it's the day after, we are left to sort through all the gifts - to spend some serious time with the best ones and to re-wrap the crappy ones and send them back.

Here is my take. Enjoy! Comment. Share. Whatever!

1) Just Plain Hilarious Award:

- Best Buy "Ozzy vs. Bieber" (I mean c'mon, they got Bieber to admit that he looks like a girl!)

1.1) Just Plain Hilarious Runners Up:

- Doritos "Best Part" (he licked the dude's pants!)

- Snickers "Logging" (the actors are dinosaurs, but if you're old like me, you get it)

2) Awesome On So Many Levels Award:

- VW "The Force" (just watch and enjoy)

3) Marketing Fundamentals Award:

- eTrade "Cat" and "Tailor" (because they realize that with advertising, frequency and consistency is key)

4) More Damage Than Good Award:

- BMW "Defying Logic" (yup, this ad defies logic - BMW is successful because they AREN'T from USA... yet they go and do this?!?)

5) What the $&%# Award:

- GoDaddy.com "New .CO Girl" (...is Joan Rivers?!?!? Some things can't be unseen)

5.1) What the $&%# Runners Up:

- GM/Chevrolet "Status" (I get FaceBook, but does anyone REALLY want FaceBook updates from OnStar?... something about that just isn't right)

- Coca-Cola "Siege" (they usually get SuperBowl ads right, but I have to admit, I scratched my head on this one)

6) Taking the 'Sex Sells' Concept WAY Too Far Award:

- GoDaddy.com "The Contract" (I'm at the point where this offends me, so no, I won't go to your site to see more)

and the winner is......

7) The Best Overall SuperBowl Ad Award:

- Chrysler "Born of Fire"

I can't believe I gave Chrysler the highest honour, but I gotta hand it to them. They get TV ads. They understand that with this medium, you have to make a compelling brand promise, make it memorable, and glue it to your brand. I see too many ads that say something funny, but not compelling. I see too many ads that are so generic and bland that I have forgotten them before their 30 seconds are up. I see too many ads that are well done, but we forget who made them.

Chrysler got it all right.

They made a very strong statement, and they made it because they know that if they are to survive, they must appeal to the audience to whom the statement was directed. They made it memorable by conjuring up a new concept - that Detroit is back - and reinforcing it with a striking closing tag line: "Imported from Detroit". Finally, they imbedded the Chrysler brand in your memory by spending a good portion of their 2 minutes on the logo, including a fairly impressive, lengthy shot of a Chrysler grill.

It may not end up saving them, but given the challenges they face and the objectives they were surely given, this is the best possible execution. And it's better than the rest.

Soooooo....? Agree? Disagree?

Small Biz Tip: uber-simple landing pages

Do you want more from your email and social media marketing efforts? First look at your landing pages.

Most of what you do online - especially email and social media campaigns - include links back to your web site. You have most likely designed the best campaign you can to encourage people to respond - to click on that link! But have you spent as much time designing your landing page as you did designing the campaign?

A landing page is the web page people "land" on when they click your link.

But what happens next?

That's the key to effective online campaigns - making that 'next step' as interesting and as effortless as possible.

If the browser lands on your Home page, they still have work to do. They have to navigate through the site to find the offer / product / information that inspired them to click-through in the first place.

If you ask the browser to do more work to find what they're after, they most likely won't. So all your efforts to inspire them to click-through are wasted!

Design a landing page that points them directly to the topic of the originating link. If you're offering a 50% discount on wrapping paper, create a page with a huge image of wrapping paper, a huge confirmation of the 50% offer, and a huge "Buy now" button. All they have to do is click the button - no real effort required. If you directed them to your web site and made them find the gift-wrap section, you're asking them to do too much.

Here's an example from Staples. If you were so inclined to click the link on the email for a refurbished computer, optical mouse or printer paper, you're only one more click away from having the product in your shopping cart. Simple. Effective. Effortless.

That's how you increase your chances of online marketing success.

LESSON FOR SMALL BUSINESS:

• Every link you put out there through your marketing efforts should have a dedicated landing page.
• Those landing pages need to be simple, obvious and effortless.
• Don't forget to use web analytics to track campaign effectiveness (how many people land on the page; how many of them click to buy; how many of them actually buy and so on). Contact me for more information about web analytics tools and how to implement them (I don't sell them, so it's not a blatant pitch).

YOUR TURN:

• Any favourite landing pages... or bad ones?

5 web site designs that rock

I'm a web design minimalist. Less is more on Home pages, as these 5 demonstrate.

www.web2mobile.ca













www.apple.com













www.sethgodin.com













www.diyseo.com













www.twitter.com














TAKEAWAY FOR SMALL BUSINESS:

S.I.M.P.L.E.


YOUR TURN:

Any you want to add?

The 6 "p"s of marketing - open for debate

OK - here's a topic that's surely up for debate: I believe there are 6 "p"s of marketing.

Those of us that studied marketing in university/college some ____ years ago learned the 4 "p"s of marketing: Product | Pricing | Promotions | Place.

The dominance of the internet in the marketing mix has expanded that list to 6, in my opinion. There are articles that talk about 4, 5, 6, 7 and even 8 "p"s, and the words that start with "p" aren't always the same. I've seen 'People' and 'Process' included in many lists, but I don't believe they contribute to the act of creating demand (the definition of marketing) as much as the other categories (open to debate!). I've also seen 'Physical Evidence', described (by valuebasedmanagement.net) as 'the ability and environment in which the service is delivered, both tangible goods that help to communicate and perform the service and intangible experience of existing customers and the ability of the business to relay that customer satisfaction to potential customers.' ... HUH?!?!?

Here's my list:

1. Product (How do you shape your offering to match consumer needs and build demand?)
2. Pricing (How does your pricing strategy support your positioning and generate demand?)
3. Place (Where do you need to be to reach your audience?)
4. Promotions (How do you tell people what you have to offer?)
5. (new) Positioning (What is your reputation? How do people describe your company? Why would anyone buy from you?)
6. (new) Conversations (Are you participating in the conversations that are taking place about you and your industry?)

OK, that last one doesn't start with "p", but I couldn't find an applicable and adequately descriptive word that did. The best I could come up with is "People Talking". Yep, I thought it was lame too. We've got 5 "p"s and a "c". Deal with it.

Social media, in case you were curious, fits clearly into the Conversations category. In fact, it was the catalyst in creating the category. Social media participation is just as important to the marketing mix as promotions or anything else. Deal with it. Embrace it.

LESSON FOR SMALL BUSINESS MARKETERS

As you create a marketing plan for your business, or as you make decisions to help build interest and demand, be sure to consider all 6 marketing categories. Promotions alone, which many businesses confuse for marketing, is insufficient for driving significant demand. You need to be creative and intentional in all 6 categories to be giving marketing the attention it deserves.

It also means you're that much more likely to build demand for your products and services, and what is there that's more important than that?

YOUR TURN

How is your list different, if at all?

Recession's over - how is your marketing positioned to capitalize?

Yes, we've been in a recession.

As I talked about that with clients over the past couple of years, there were two primary responses:

1. "I have no money to spend on marketing - talk to me when the recession is over."
2. "I want to invest in marketing now so that when the recession is over, people will buy from me first."

Both are valid responses, although I'm sure you can guess which one I think is better.

Since the summer started, the TSE has risen consistently (from 11,093 on July 4th to a high of 13,052 on November 7th - that's over 17% growth in 4 months). Since March 2009 (7,567 on March 8th), it's up 72%. I'm thinking things are looking OK right now.

Sooooo....

1. OK, the recession is over, is your business investing in marketing again? How, exactly?
2. OK, the recession is over now, how did the marketing go? Are people buying from you?

The future is now, at least as it relates to the recession. What are you doing about it with respect to your marketing spend?


LESSONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS MARKETERS:

• Marketing in down time is advantageous - just pick the inexpensive tactics!
• Choosing not to market in down times puts you at a clear disadvantage (assuming at least a portion of your competition has decided otherwise)
• Remember, marketing is the art and science of creating demand for your product. If you're not marketing (regardless of economic conditions), no demand is being generated. And without demand...

YOUR TURN

Any marketing success stories from the recession?

My new favourite web site

www.customink.com. In particular, I like the "lab", where you can design custom apparel.

I found them through a Google search, and loved them right away. I'm making some custom t-shirts and the site is terrific. Here's why:

1. Everything you need is right in front of you. Through the clever use of tabs and icons that serve as link buttons, you never need to navigate away from the page - always keeping your t-shirt design right in front of you.
2. It's clean, but not bland. That's a significant accomplishment.
3. All the functions are obvious. If you find yourself asking "I wonder if I can...", the answer usually presents itself to you before you finish the thought. Terrific user experience.
4. You get exactly what you want. Promotional gear, exactly how you want it. And you can order 1 if you want.
   
5. They use words that everyday people use in everyday conversation, like "talk to a real person" and "super rush delivery". It's just nice to see a site that doesn't pretend to talk down to you.
6. Great main navigation: Home | Products | Ideas | Lab. That's it. Simpler is better.
7. OK, this next one isn't related to the site design at all, but it has to go on the list. Sorry. Their tag line is "You think it. We ink it." Does it get any better than that for the product they have? Genius.

(WEB DESIGN) LESSONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS

• Simple is good
• Clean is good
• Tabs and buttons that keep you on a page as opposed to links that open new pages are great for enhancing the experience. You don't want people to get lost on your site. The "lab" on this site looks (to the user) like one page, yet you can do all kinds of things.
• Put yourself in the customer's shoes, and imagine they are considering or buying your product in person. What would they want to see and do? Take that, and replicate it on your site to the greatest extent possible.
• Use words and phrases that people actually use when they talk.

YOUR TURN:

What are you favourite sites from a design / user experience perspective?

What Rogers' $10-million fine teaches us about advertising

The competition bureau has ruled that Rogers Communications has misled consumers with advertising that claims their new Chatr service is more reliable than its competition's services. It was found that despite Rogers' claims in their advertising, there was no discernible difference in dropped calls between their service and the ones offered by new entrants. This was deemed to be misleading and unduly damaging to the competition, and could end up in a fine of $10-million or more (if the judge agrees to retribution for consumers).

Now, Rogers is certainly being held up as an example, and it's easier to pick on the big boys, but it does bring to light some important lessons that small businesses and marketers should remember as you advertise:

1. Don't make a claim you can't support. Simply saying that your product is "the best" without backing it up is lazy and, it would seem, potentially costly for you!
2. If your competition is making claims that you know they can't support, you have an avenue for challenging their claims.
3. If you do have data to support your claim, make sure it's good data. Rogers is fighting this ruling, but I wonder how valid their data is. Don't just go ask 3 of your friends if your pizza is the best pizza they've ever tasted then call it the "Best tasting pizza in _____" (makes you wonder how many dentists were actually surveyed to support the claim "4 out of 5 dentists recommend ____" - perhaps 5?).
4. Be specific with claims. Don't say you have the best pizza, say you have the best Hawaiian pizza East of Hawaii. Helps your product stick out in the consumers' minds.
5. If I read/see/hear one more company claim to have "the best quality, price and service", I'm going to... You can't be all 3!
   

Sure, you only have 140 characters, but you're still talking

The first thing to remember about social networking, and Twitter in particular, is that you are having conversations. Many try to promote with social tools, but first and foremost, social networking is about starting and participating in conversations.

In the case of Twitter, you are limited in what you "say" to 140 characters (which would be a nice limit for live conversations with some people!), but you still need to remember that real people are "listening", which should guide your tweets.

Go ahead and use shrtfrms & spcl chars, but remember, you are what you say.

For example, this tweeter includes in his tweet: "... a great post from me..."

A bit on the arrogant side, wouldn't you say?

TAKEAWAY FOR BUSINESSES

• Remember that you are what you tweet.
• If you have people in your business tweeting on the business' behalf, are they supported with guidelines and policies for tweeting?
• Think of social networking interactions as real conversations with real people

The top 2 rules for advertising

Rule #1: Advertise where your customers shop

Rule #2: Make that ad stand out from all the other ads

Rolex puts both rules into play with this clever ad on pgatour.com










See what they did there? They advertised on pgatour.com, since (presumably) male golfers are their target audience. And to stand out from the other online ads on the site, they did three things. First, the hands of the watch move in real time (take my word for it). Second, the ad shows the time zone you're in and compares it to the time zone of the tournament you're watching. Third, their ad showed up when I clicked on tee times. Get it?

It's a very atypical ad, in a good way. Noticeable. Clever. Well done Rolex.


LESSONS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES:

Well, to reiterate:

1. Advertise where your customers shop
2. Advertise cleverly; creatively

Gap: "We have a new logo?"

This is part 2 of 2-part blog about Gap and their recent logo redesign. Part 1 focused on the design itself. This part focuses on the roll-out of their logo redesign.


"We have a new logo!"

"We have a new logo?"

How would you rather announce to the world that you have a new logo?

Gap appears to have taken the timid, experimental, almost apologetic approach to a logo redesign.

In a recent Advertising Age article, Gap's spokesperson: 1) confirmed that the new logo was NOT a joke (as many people believed), but more importantly 2) confirmed that they had planned all along to roll out the new logo by placing it on their North American web site... ONLY.

That's just the wrong way to roll out a logo redesign.

It's as though they're standing outside of the meeting room, sliding the idea under the door, then listening through a glass pressed up against the door to see how people will react.

Now they've gone so far as to: 1) admit it was experimental in nature ("to monitor responses") and 2) write a FaceBook post that solicits new logo ideas!

As though they burst in to the meeting room yelling "Psych! We weren't really going to do this!" when they really were.

Now it just so happens that the design is in fact poor, and that the response has been overwhelmingly negative, so they've paved the way for retracting their new logo experiment without too much invested. But they were setting themselves up for failure by the method of the roll out.

They didn't do anything other than post the new logo on the web site. Their corporate FaceBook page had the old logo. And the challenge page (where you select your country) on the web site even had the old logo!

Exceedingly poor execution of a strategically monumental undertaking, with an overwhelmingly negative impact on their brand reputation.

LESSON FOR BUSINESS OWNERS / EXECUTIVES:

• Create a detailed, coordinated, thorough (internal) roll-out plan (including FaceBook page updates!) for re-branding roll-outs
  
• Have a similarly coordinated internal communications plan
• Have a similarly coordinated media launch
• Announce your new logo with pride and conviction!

Gap goes too far with new logo

This is Part 1 of a 2-part blog about Gap and their recent logo redesign. Part 2 will refer to their execution of the logo refresh. This post discusses their new logo choice.

I am a strong believer in the power of branding and the importance of a branding "refresh". I think, though, that Gap may have missed the mark a bit.

I am mostly interested in your opinion! But first, here's mine:

The first step in a logo redesign, as a part of a branding refresh (logo design is but one of many elements of a branding initiative), is to consider the status of the logo and/or company. For most companies on the planet, a creative new logo with a fresh new look can set a company apart, draw new attention to the business, start conversations and cause refreshed interest in the brand.

There is a handful of companies, though, whose logo has reached iconic status. Nike. Apple. Pepsi. Microsoft.

It is my opinion that Gap is... or was... on this list.

Once you have this status with a logo concept, don't mess with it!

It is possible, and even advisable, to delicately modify or update a logo as part of a branding refresh. Apple removed the rainbow colours, but kept the shape intact. Pepsi overhauled their typeface, but maintained the red/blue sphere.

Gap went a bit too far. They maintained (although somewhat diminished) the blue square. But to me, the uniqueness of the typeface is what established their iconic status. They have abandoned that altogether. They even went with boring old Helvetica font!

Refreshing an iconic logo as part of a branding initiative - OK. Abandoning an iconic logo - not OK.

Imagine Nike abandoning the swoosh. Bad idea, right? Why, then, did Gap abandon the key elements of their iconic logo? To me, they went too far and have created a negative brand experience.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

• When was the last time your business went through a branding initiative - an exercise in establishing (or modifying) your reputation in your market? Chances are you're overdue!
• Your logo is not your brand. Your brand is the series of thoughts, impressions and feelings that are associated with your company name and logo. Do you know what they are for your business?
• Execution of a branding initiative is perhaps the most important part - more on that in Part 2!

NOW TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THE GAP LOGO!

Social Media "Experts" and pizza delivery drivers - the similarities

Social Media Expert. Sounds good, doesn't it?

If I had a nickel for every Social Media Expert I came across, this blog post would be about how close I came to an ace back on 16.

"Expert" is a term used very loosely, which intrigues me.

To me, an expert is someone with unique, specialized knowledge that is practically inaccessible to the average person.

Neurosurgeons. Laser Scientists. Nuclear Chemists. Those are experts.

Dominos Pizza, I noticed, is referring to themselves as "Pizza Delivery Experts". Really? Is it especially difficult to acquire the knowledge needed to put a pizza in a car and find an address?

Though not to the same extent, I feel the same way about "Social Media Experts". It is not especially difficult to acquire the knowledge needed to participate in online conversations. The difference between simply doing it and doing it well is noticeable. But the point is, with a little effort and dedication, anyone can do it. Some will be better than others because they possess that charisma and appeal (yes, it's evident even online) that makes them popular and respected. Others will be successful because they engage in the online experience more frequently, and for longer periods of time. But all that being said, there's no reason to think that everyday people can't discover the keys to social networking prominence.

I call myself an Advisor. I have advice that I can offer to people and organizations less inclined to make the effort that I have made. If I do my job well, I will share with them all the techniques I have come to embrace in a manner that inspires them to participate in the movement.

My good friend @HiDavidHicks has a blog called hibasme, which is an acronym for How I Became A Social Media Enthusiast. I like that.

I also like that Subway Restaurants now refers to their minimum-wage, behind-the-counter staff as "Sandwich Artists" rather than "Sandwich Experts".

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

• You will come across many Social Media Experts. Some much better than others. The best you can do is determine for yourself what you want to take from them, then have them convince you they can do that.
• The next best thing you can do is try it for yourself. If you have the inclination and the (ever-elusive) time, set up some profiles/accounts/pages and play around. Listen. Engage. Take notice of what you like and apply that to your business.
• Finally, in your own company, be careful about labeling yourself as something that you aren't. Your customers will notice and you will lose valuable credibility and brand respect.

Always interested in opinion... especially from Experts!

We are never free of SPAM! An ugly example of Twitter spam.

I continue to have mixed emotions about Twitter.

Don't get me wrong - I like Twitter. I think it allows people... and business... to interact, share, learn and grow. Never before in our history have we been able to share thoughts and content so quickly to so many people. There is good in that on its own.

There are just too many examples of Twitter abuse which continue to taint my impression of its value slightly. Mostly, I see through the abuse and place blame on the Tweeter, not on Twitter. But my Twitter experience is still diminished slightly.

Case in point: this example of Twitter spam.

This is further proof that we are NEVER free of unwanted messages, no matter where we are.

This Tweeter follows NO ONE, has 568 Tweets (at time of writing), each about a topic they are hoping will catch someone's attention. The theory is, if the Tweet is interesting, someone will click on the link. Then they have you - they've directed your interest to their site, where they bombard you with whatever message (unwanted, at that) they choose to promote. Spam. What's more, they've included a random Twitter address. This increases the likelihood someone will notice the Tweet and click on the link (since those random addresses will show up in the "Mentions" section of that person's Home page). It's just another obtrusive tactic to insincerely get your attention.

They have no interest in engaging in a conversation, which is the purpose of Twitter (and other social sites). Their only interest is pushing a message out to you (surreptitiously) when you didn't really want it.

That's spam.

Shame on you, Trixa, and the others like you.

You're giving Twitter a bad name, which it does not deserve.

How to steal customers from your competition (or in this case, how NOT to)

If a competitor of yours screwed up and that customer came to you looking for help in fixing the mistake, what would you do?

Today I was getting a haircut and I overheard (not that it was hard - they were NOT being discreet... that's a whole other issue) the staff talking about a person that had their hair dyed at a competitor, but it turned out green by mistake. I gather that the competitor couldn't fix the problem, so the customer - let's call him/her Kermit - called the barber shop I was in looking for help.

Each staff member was quite adamant that they did NOT want to try to fix Kermit's problem, citing the potential damage to their reputation if they were unable to fix the problem.

Come again?!?!?

Let me see if I got this straight: A potential customer has come to your door, asking to give you money and be the hero that your competition couldn't be... and you turn them away?

They were worried that their reputation would be tarnished if it didn't go well, and that it would be a waste of product.

HUH?!?

Tell the customer you will do your best, but there are no guarantees in a case like this, then give it a shot! If it doesn't work, it's not your reputation that's tarnished. It's still the competitor's problem (which they couldn't fix either). Sure, you used some product and some time, but Kermit PAID FOR THAT! You're no worse off then before you started. And in fact, TURNING THEM AWAY IS THE BEST WAY TO RUIN YOUR REPUTATION! That would be admitting to this potential customer that you are just as inept as the first shop.

Imagine if it works and you fix the problem! You can't buy that kind of press!

Now think of what Kermit is saying to his/her friends right now: 1) Barber shop A screwed up. 2) Barber shop B wouldn't help me. Do you think that's doing you any favours? Nope. Now think of what Kermit would say if you were the hero!

In an economy that's so tight, you have to fight for every last customer.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS:

1. Do a better job than your competition.
2. When a potential customer comes to you asking to give you money, say 'yes'. Even if you don't want to. The downside of turning them away is FAR greater.
3. Empower your employees to think up reasons to take on more business, not shoo it away.

Your turn: You know where I stand on the issue. How about you? Do you think the risk is greater than I do?

Getting less than you paid for, courtesy Starbucks

I have written before about the damage that can be done to your brand reputation by failing to meet customer expectations. Well, Starbucks, your turn.

The other day I bought one of their fruit and yogurt parfaits. This is what it looked like, before I took a single bite. No, this is not Photoshopped - it IS more than half EMPTY.

And I paid $3.95 plus tax for about 5 spoonfuls of yogurt and fruit.

Now, I know that they are positioning themselves as a premium brand with quality products and, subsequently, higher prices. I get that. But this is a clear example of the brand's inability to keep the promise they made to the consumer (this isn't the only lame parfait I've had). I expect a quality product. They charge more for their coffee than Tim Hortons does because it's better. This should be a better parfait than Tim Hortons', but it ISN'T.

My belief (created by their branding efforts) that they offer a premium product has been contradicted by the quality of the product itself. That's Damaging Your Brand, 101.

Think of it this way: If every BMW you bought only went as fast as a Kia, would you believe that they are the "ultimate driving machine"? Would you pay three times the price? Didn't think so.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS:

1. If you haven't already, make a clear brand promise to your customers.
2. Deliver on that promise with all that you do.
3. Listen to your customers and respond every time a customer's expectations have not been met.

Your turn: Any examples of the product not meeting the promise it set for itself?

Editor's note: Here's another bad example, this time courtesy Nutrition House.

I really don't know what to make of Twitter, in many cases!

I have written a number of posts now about the peculiarities of Twitter that sometimes make me wonder if Twitter deserves all the credit it is receiving.

Now, I have to admit that Twitter has obviously, with 100 million users, reached a point where it's ingrained in our collective online experience. These peculiarities will not adversely affect its popularity or importance. But, if I can bring some attention to these things that bother me a bit, perhaps I can make a minor contribution to improving the experience for people.

Or at least I might feel better getting some of these things off my chest.

This tweeter has 3 lousy tweets, yet 14,000 followers. There is no chance 14,000 people are interested in what this person has to say. The fact that he follows 14,000 people leads me to believe he's part of the auto-follow community - tweeters who follow auto-followers to build their follower list. They share nothing and gain nothing. They only build their follower list to feel good about themselves.

To me it's an obvious abuse of the application's main feature.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

1. ONLY FOLLOW TWEETERS THAT INTEREST YOU.
2. There's no point in growing a list of auto-followers, because they're not interested in you, so they won't read anything you have to say anyway.
3. Say something interesting!
4. Some people will say that maximizing your following is manageable by creating "lists" of followers and people you follow. OK, but you still need to say something interesting (see #3)!

Customer information is like gold to marketers - handle it with care!

For all businesses, and especially those that classify themselves as small or medium-sized, good customer data is the cornerstone of any decent marketing function.

Email marketing, the second most important marketing tactic according to marketingsherpa.com (next to social network marketing), is quite simply impossible without good email addresses. Direct mail, making a comeback of late, also depends on accurate data.

We all know how hard good data is to collect. Marketers want it, and consumers want to protect it, thus creating the most significant struggle marketers face. So when we have an opportunity to collect it, what can be more important than showing gratitude to the prospect for their willingness to offer it to us, and thanking them afterwards?

Still, I see examples of unappreciative data collection, which to me is quite troubling.

Take this example: This is the online registration process for submitting a classified ad in our local newspaper. As you can see, there is no indication of how my information will be treated by this organization. I am asked to submit my information and move on to the next step without being promised that my information won't be sold to the highest bidder. In this case, because I am the one that wants to place an ad and I'm led to believe that this is the only way to do it, I am forced to submit.

They are saying to me: "we don't really care what privacy concerns you have, if you want a classified ad, this is what you have to do."

Not exactly the treatment I expect as a prospective customer.

And they SHOULD be treating me better than this. This is a newspaper! Newspapers, perhaps more so than any other type of business, are threatened by the prevalence of online news and information. They need my information. They need me to like them. They need to treat me better than that. If I had a better online experience with them, I might be more tempted to subscribe to their paper. Instead, I will rely on local web sites and media sites for my news, thank you.

After some digging, I did discover that they have a decent privacy policy, but I shouldn't have to dig! Make it obvious for me early on in the process and treat me like the valued prospective customer that I am.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

1. You need good customer information. Check the accuracy of the information you have.
2. When you have an opportunity to collect customer information, there should be nothing more obvious than the privacy policy (only a link to it is required) that dictates how delicately you will treat it.
3. Your privacy policy better not be three pages of legalese.
4. Thank the customer for it!
5. Give them something in return! You can sell them something later. Now is the time to thank them.

When this happens, I'm ashamed to call myself a marketer

I choose to believe that most marketers are good.

Most believe in accurately, appropriately and professionally representing their brands in order to generate genuine demand based on valid product value.

Then this happens, and it tarnishes our reputation.

The decent among us step out of our comfort zone and curse them.

This company is assuming, or at least hoping, that consumers are stupid.

This is a scratch-and-win (looking) card which appeared in my mailbox today. You are meant to believe, like with any other scratch-and-win game, that if you uncover a certain result, you win the corresponding prize.

Not so in this case.

In this case, you are CERTAIN to uncover a "winning" pattern. Once you do, you "may" win one of the listed prizes. All you have to do, of course, is call the "prize hotline" to find out what you CAN win.

I'm sure this company (they never reveal themselves, interestingly) is hoping that people say "Sure! Let's call the number to see what I won!" Hoping that the customer does NOT read the fine print.

I read it.

First of all, the prizes listed are "available at the outset of the game; prizes diminish as prizes are awarded" - their way of saying 'we can decide who gets the best prizes'. How are prizes allocated you ask? Well, they are "determined by the company's master list" - their way of saying 'we can assign you whatever prize we wish'. Oh, and if the prize is "unavailable, sponsor may substitute" - their way of saying 'you may not even get one of the prizes you were expecting'. Then, in order to claim this mystery prize, you need to agree to a "product presentation". Ah, yes, of course I do.

OK, so now on to the odds of winning: 1 in 800,000 for the grand prize (but don't forget, it has probably been preferentially "awarded" to someone else, or the prize may have been magically substituted for something else); 875 in 1000 (that means almost 9 out of 10) for the hotel stay. Ah, that's where they get you. You are almost certainly awarded the hotel stay "prize". They lure you with the thought of a free vacation, then force you to endure their "presentation" - the ensuing barrage of pressure sales tactics for whatever it is they're pushing (which is never mentioned, by the way).

Makes me want to puke.

Who is oblivious enough to fall for this?

More importantly (to me), how do the marketers that conjured up this scam sleep at night?

They have no integrity. No morality. No professionalism. No dignity.

Sadly, they can call themselves marketers, as I do.

I am ashamed to be associated with them by any description.


So endeth my rant for the day.

To create a good home page... don't do this.

Every once in a while, a web site home page catches my attention, for the wrong reasons.

In this case, the London Health Sciences Centre.

Newspaper people use the term "above the fold" - the top half of the front page - to describe the most important portion of the paper. That term has carried over into internet vernacular, and appropriately so. The information on your home page that fits into the browser's screen (without scrolling down) is the most important portion of your entire site. LHSC has used that prime real estate for... the colour brown. What do we, the browsers, gain from looking at the colour brown? That's right. Nothing.

I took a screen shot of this home page a week ago or so, so I figured I should revisit the site to see if they had changed it since. Much to my surprise, they made the SAME critical error with their updated home page!

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

• What does your home page say "above the fold"? More importantly, is it useful to the browser? And a photo of your building and the number of years you have been in business is NOT useful to anyone. Nice try.
  
• Use this space to tell the browser why they should spend any time on this site.
  
• Tell them why they should do business with you.
• Tell them how they will benefit from using your product.
• Tell them something!

YOUR TURN:

What are your favourite home pages?