There are many retailers that are still not online. Many claim they are not ready. Some are dabbling—but even the dabblers are unsure of how to truly leverage the success that can be attained. A few weeks ago I attended a launch at a major retailer. They have done a 360 degree turn in their brand offering and are certainly looking to expand their old reputation for a new contemporary one in order to attract a broader more modern customer. At the launch, they had some laptops sitting out with the idea that people could go and tweet from the event at the computer stations. Great intentions but from my perspective here are some ideas about how they could have kicked it out of the park.
Read the rest of this entry »

I think for many now jumping on the social media bandwagon, one area of measurement is based on the number of fans that one has. In some cases, it’s great to have hundreds of thousands of fans—IF you can lead them to click throughs on your site or directly track them to retweets of products and services or sharing via Facebook (from all of your friends to their friends and so on…). But many are, as in life, “fair-weather friends”: they come, look around, sign up…but don’t really engage or connect. Especially when you don’t have a strategy that is going to ensure that you connect with them for a direct call to action. Yes. You want a call to action. One that includes a mutual passion for the give and take that is going to be SHARED by your business and the friends/customers you are going to friend and follow.
Read the rest of this entry »

A friend called me today and asked me to watch the Oprah show—something that I don’t do during the day. The topic was about an up coming CBS show where Presidents/Owners of companies go undercover to see what it is like to work out in the field.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a new year and I want to know how you plan to do things differently in 2010. As I write this, I am sure many of you are now well educated on the benefits of social media in your marketing efforts and are using some of the tools to further engage, connect or begin to connect with your customer. Have you thought about how you are going to start that conversation?
Read the rest of this entry »

One of the keys to sharing information is telling a story. A story about who you are; a story about a product or brand; a story about a country or a culture. I write in our own blog that in defining a brand—everyone has a story—people use those stories to identify not only with one another but also in reference to the products and services they choose to use. In our “About Us” section of this blog, I ask “is your story being told“?
Read the rest of this entry »

One of the big questions out there for many marketers is—what kind of advertising and marketing could be and should be leveraged from social media sites? How are our customers using these sites and how does it relate to our brand? I have spoken before about the maven circle we all have in our lives. I do believe that social media really allows brands the opportunity to reach those mavens and use them to tout their experiences to their perspective circles. We all have those “go to” people that we seek out for specific things in our lives. Now that circle is beginning to expand with blogs, twitter and Facebook all providing opportunities for people to talk about the products and services they like—or dislike.
Read the rest of this entry »

We want to hear your thoughts on how you feel about customer loyalty.

What are you doing to keep your current customers and let your dedication to customer service shine through when you gain new ones?
Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most spectacular things about the web, mobile technology and social media is the global reach and impact that it has. Right now in Iran, with the recent election uproar, the most precious commodity the Iranian people currently have is information. We take for granted our freedom of speech—the freedom to engage and the freedom to connect. It is ironic that I’m still trying to help customers, current and potential, understand the importance of connecting (something which many still look upon with trepidation). Yet for millions of people around the world, the struggle and difficulty to find a way to be heard makes this most basic right nearly impossible.
Read the rest of this entry »

I have had an interesting discussion with one of my group members from Linkedin. Yesterday, I posted a blog article regarding IBM’s upcoming  social network—as a way to Share what I have to say with a professional audience and provide better exposure for our business bcad Group and our agency Share. For those that do not know Linkedin, it is a social networking community for professionals—where you can connect with business people and through those connections have access to their connections. It is a great way to create exposure for your business and your services. Gain new insights, network for knowledge and learn about other peoples experiences.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share says on it’s home page that women are unique; we have have many voices and we want you to listen to us. Our goal and mission as a business is to engage everyone. And to make others realize the importance of focusing on, and incorporating into their marketing plans and strategy, ways to connect and engage one of the most important and lucrative target markets in this current economy. Women.
Read the rest of this entry »