Flooring The Consumer

Listening To Women Customers

2009-11-18T08:44:00.001-05:00

How do you go about listening to your customers, particularly your women consumers?

I'm focusing on women because women make or influence over 80% of the purchase decisions in the United States. That means that they - and what they say - really matter to retailers and to flooring retailers in particular.

Listening is one thing, though. The more challenging task is interpreting what you hear, making sense of it so that you can truly deliver a memorable experience for your customers.

Thanks to a Tweet from Learned On Women's Andrea Learned, I came across this article by Mary Lou Quinlan titled Listen Up, Marketers: Women Aren't Telling You The Whole Truth.

I've heard Mary Lou speak several times and love how insightful her whole truths and half truths are. Check out these two previous posts: Mary Lou Quinlan, Whole Truths, Half Truths and Marketing With Women and Marketing To Women... Online. I wasn't disappointed with her article.

What I particularly appreciated are her ideas for listening more carefully to and better interpreting what woman customers say:

+ Spend more quality time with your women consumers.
+ Challenge any of your assumptions about your women customers.
+ Immerse yourself in the world of your customers [i.e., Walk In Her Shoes or try in-home ethnography - as Grant McCracken describes].
+ Pay attention not only to words, but also to body language and to what you're not being told!

How do you go about listening to and interpreting the words, actions and body language of your core women customers?

Image source:
Woman aircraft worker, Vega Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, Calif. Shown checking electrical assemblies (LOC) originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

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Higher Calling For Retail Brick-and-Mortar Stores

2009-11-16T08:03:00.003-05:00

Did you catch the 9/28/09 article from AdAge titled Boost, Microsoft market via bricks, mortar [registration required, but here is link to pdf of the full article]? It's mostly about cell phone providers, with a dash of banking thrown in, but it includes significant insights for flooring and non-flooring retailers alike. Particularly those with brick & mortar stores!

More specifically, according to Wachovia Bank research, "brick-and-mortar investment was the single biggest contributor to customer acquisition, outpacing advertising..."

Now, that does that capture your attention? It did mine.

Why brick-and-mortar stores are so important.

They represent an effective means for communicating with customers. Particularly for complicated categories, a store represents an opportunity for a customer to get one-on-one time with a sales representative for guidance and to help make sense of the plethora of choices.

Stores are where the brand comes alive, where you can demonstrate your commitment to customer service and truly humanize your brand, where you deliver your customer retail experience and demonstrate marketing value. Stores are much more than just distribution points .

Note the five recommendations for enhancing the retail brand experience in-store:
1. "Present your merchandise in a way that helps shoppers navigate through the sea of products."
2. "Help customers feel comfortable with their choices and decisions."
3. "Train store reps to be knowledgeable."
4. "Define what customer enjoyment is for your brand and express that in your physical environment."
5. "Provide great customer service."

The Apple retail experience

One of the best retail experience stories is Apple, and one of the most disappointing - considering its entertainment heritage and its strong commitment to storytelling - Disney. What a delight, then, to learn that the two have teamed up to deliver a reinvented retail experience. Per Disney's Retail Plan Is a Theme Park in Its Stores from the New York Times, "it's time to take risks" and deliver experiences! These may include scent elements [something done in the theme parks], technology and new recreational activities. Some of the Apple touches that will be adopted include "mobile checkout, ... emphasis on community, ... focus on interactivity." The goal, "dream bigger" and turn these brick-and-mortar stores into true destinations.

Retail Customer Experience's Five things any retailer can learn from Apple lists the following to remember:

1. "Product knowledge isn't everything... and the world needs new and exciting retail experiences."
2. To get unstuck, "call in people you respect from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds and keep an open mind."
3. Experiences represent a competitive advantage - so create a memorable one.
4. "We need to bring the joy back to shopping."
5. "Innovate in downturns."

To those, I add:
+ Don't dumb down your merchandising. Instead, create magic and stories.
+ Figure out how to simplify your processes to benefit your customers.

And, then, make sure you have people in your organization with strong passion for wanting to "make people look good, feel good" as described in Women trust Gamble's fashion tastes from the Poughkeepsie Journal. Gamble strikes me as having a higher calling. "...He connects with his clients by listening carefully to learn who they are and what they want." He's not just selling stuff, he's solving problems.

Would you like more ideas? Then read through this article Mixing It Up from Metropolis Magazine. In it, you'll learn about L.A. based firm Commune and how it combines inspiration and authenticity to create unique brick-and-mortar retail experiences with fabulous photos of three projects: the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, Juicy Couture in London and Heath Ceramics in Los Angeles.

By the way, Commune equates being a designer to being a therapist.

Sounds like another higher calling...

So, what is your higher calling for your retail brick-and-mortar experience?

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Meet Bethany Richmond, CRI Communications Manager

2009-11-12T07:58:00.002-05:00

I met Bethany Richmond, Carpet and Rug Institute [CRI] Communications Manager, at Surfaces 2009 when we got to talking about writing and communicating stories, particularly as they related to flooring and carpet.

In the back on my mind, I thought I might convince Bethany to get involved in the Carpetology Blog... as a break from the technical writing she was doing. I never imagined that she would become my client.

I'm not surprised, though, that she is as critical a content creator for the Carpet and Rug Institute Blog - which just celebrated its 6 month anniversary [see The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog: 6 Month Case Study]. She has a knack for story telling, certainly in writing and also on video. I'm delighted, then, to introduce you to Bethany Richmond, who truly is a Woman In Flooring!

C.B.: Bethany, tell me about yourself.

BR: I am a Southern girl from a family with deep Southern roots. I love the South, and it saddens me to see the region become paved-over and homogenized. I went to high school in Richmond, Virginia and college at the University of Virginia. After graduating, I worked as a TV news reporter, producer, and scriptwriter for a small market network affiliate. I’ve written for a newspaper, trade journal, and at an advertising agency as a copywriter. Besides my work at the Carpet and Rug Institute, I still do occasional TV and radio voice-overs. I have two sons in college – one about to graduate. I love to cook, read good books, and go to movies. You can read my complete profile on the CRI Blog.

C.B.: How did you get started in the flooring business?

BR: I’ve lived in Dalton since 1984, but my first involvement with the carpet industry wasn’t until ten years later when I started writing stories for Floor Covering News. When my kids got older I started writing for Shaw Industries’ employee newspaper, In the Loop. That’s when I really started to learn about the carpet industry - writing everything from profiles of retiring executives to a feature about an employee who hadn’t been absent or even late for work in almost forty years with Shaw. As the copywriter for an advertising agency, I learned about product marketing and promotion on both the residential and commercial sides of the business. Now, at the Carpet and Rug Institute, I deal with more technical issues, like Indoor Air Quality, Cleaning and Maintenance, and sustainability. I’m lucky in that I’ve been able to gain experience in so many aspects of the business.

C.B.: What do you like most about the flooring industry?

BR: I like living in “The Carpet Capital of the World”. This little town has a fascinating history of innovation and entrepreneurship, and the people who built the carpet industry are, to a large extent, still here. I love the stories of boom and bust, and the adventures of some of the early industry’s more colorful characters [like Said Shaheen, Bud Seretean, Mose Painter, and others]. You can drive through the older parts of Dalton and still see the remnants of the Crown Mill village – the company-built houses and store where Dalton’s original cotton mill workers lived and did their shopping. There’s a lot of history here – of an important American industry that is still made in America.

C.B.: What do you like least about the flooring industry?

BR: What I like least about the carpet industry right now is how much it has been affected by the current economy. It also bothers me that carpet gets a bad rap on issues like sustainability, Indoor Air Quality, and carpet’s alleged connection to increased asthma and allergy symptoms. Some people just aren’t listening to reason.

C.B.: What five things would you do to improve the flooring retail experience?

BR: I’d like to see consumers get the correct information about cleaning and maintenance right at the point of purchase. I think addressing proper cleaning before the carpet leaves the store is a proactive step that consumers will regard as good customer service. To use one of CRI President Werner Braun’s analogies, you know about your service plan before you drive your new car off the lot, so why should carpet be any different?

The Carpet and Rug Institute has a booklet called Carpet Cleaning Tips for Dummies that was published for us by Wiley, the company that puts out all the other “Dummies” titles. It was written by Elizabeth Goldsmith, a professor of family resource management for Florida State University, with input from CRI, The Housekeeping Channel, and the IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification). The thing I like about it is that it’s everything consumers need to know in one handy-dandy little reference. And it’s easy to use – like all the other Dummies products.

CRI sells the CCTfD books on our website, but CRI also has a series of downloadable fact sheets on our website that are free to anyone who has a use for them.

C.B.: What carpet trends and concerns are strongest? Does it vary much across the country?

BR: Without a doubt, I think one of the most important trends in the next few years is going to be an increase in demand for carpet recycling. For a very small annual fee, retailers can join CARE [Carpet America Recovery Effort], and participate in the dramatic growth of consumer interest in environmental issues and recycling. CARE represents, among other things, a network of 65 entrepreneur/collectors who are spread out across the country. Largely through their efforts, approximately 300 million pounds of carpet were recycled or diverted from landfills just last year. Wouldn’t it be great to offer consumers the option of diverting their old carpet from the waste stream at the same time they bought new carpet?

Some parts of the country, like the Pacific Northwest and California, are more enviro-conscious than others, but the trend is growing everywhere.

C.B.: What about blogs, social media, etc.? How do you see them affecting the flooring industry and consumers?

BR: Obviously, I’m a fan of blogs. Consumers are forsaking advertising and conventional marketing channels and getting more and more of their information from their social network – blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

The CRI blog is a valuable resource for all the audiences we address – consumers, retailers, the professional cleaning industry, and the carpet industry itself. The most remarkable thing about a blog is that is a two-way conversation. Anyone who reads one of our blog posts can leave a comment, ask a question, or engage CRI in conversation.

And the CRI blog is one of the only places where consumers can read information that balances the often horribly incorrect and sensationalized information that is out there about carpet and indoor air quality. I recently discovered a slew of websites that all “quoted” the same made-up statistic about how a baby crawling on carpet was exposed to pollutants equal to that baby smoking four cigarettes a day. The mud is being flung largely online, and I think that’s where CRI needs to address it – and what better way than by using social media?

Thank you, Bethany!

Follow this link to other Women In Flooring interviews.

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Arthur Corbin's Retail Wisdom

2009-11-09T08:02:00.001-05:00

The following post comes from Arthur Corbin, talented retail & lighting wizard and faithful subscriber. He wrote it in response to Behind The Retail Scenes & Anticipating The Holidays and graciously agreed to share it here. In this article, Arthur addresses inventory, story telling, value at retail, social media, the retail experience, lighting, online and why local retailers will thrive. In other words: retail wisdom!

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Retailers (ideally) complete their Christmas planning and buying by late June. Many finalize their Christmas plans in January. Retailers use art and science to plan this far ahead in an uncertain market. Retailers are hedging their bets by ordering less and buying items that suppliers expect to have in stock through mid-November. Retailers may reorder several times as they see what is selling. Great retailers are good with numbers and sell-through is a key indicator of how well holiday buying meets customer expectations and desires.

The growing difficulty with inventory is the preponderance of last minute gift buying. This last minute purchasing increases every year. One reason for this is consumers now wait for retailers to announce sales sometime in December. This reliance on sales threatens the profitability and health of retailers. Many independent retailers depend on holiday sales for 50% (or more) of their yearly profits and cannot stay in business with reduced margins, particularly if operating costs increase during the holiday season (more labor costs in order to open for longer hours, more utility costs, more promotional costs, and more wear and tear on stores).

It is better to have a well thought out gift with purchase to reward and thank customers than to rely on discounting; there is no limit once prices are lowered.

Retailers talk about creating stories and realizing those stories in displays either on-line or in store. Example, The Night Before Christmas might feature a fireplace, a tree, ornaments, decor, music, and food. There are at least 30 items that can be sold in this aggregation of goods, chocolate drink mix, cookies, hard candies (peppermint is identified with holiday), chocolates (many types including assortments), fruit cake, gingerbread, egg nog, and custom baking are some of the food choices available.

The essential retail skill is in deciding what to buy, what quantities to buy and how to merchandise and sell what you have bought.

Highlighting value greatly simplifies the complexity of how a consumer makes a buying decision. Buying is highly emotional with all sorts of triggers, nostalgia (cards, and images of holidays past), scent (candles, and food), touch (blankets and nightgowns), vision (a predominance of green and red signals Christmas), and sound (those annoying holiday songs do get you to buy).

Value is market specific and beyond price, a fur coat has value during a Wyoming Winter but no value in Hawaii.

Retailers that focus only on price will fail. There needs to be something additional to create interest and, hopefully, some excitement.

Social media is a fancy title for knowing your customers and developing a relationship with them. Successful stores develop a look and feel that connects with their customers. This requires many elements working together to create a unique and compelling ambiance, Anthropologie is a great example of this nationally, The Gardener in Berkeley, California is a great example locally. Great stores reflect and reinforce customers' own aspirations and success stories. Great stores often have a unique and skilled entrepreneur creating the story and the execution; Alta Tingle at The Gardener is one such person. A visit to these stores will tell you more about ambiance and telling a story than any amount of writing can.

Retail is a verb and not for the faint of heart. 80% or more of retail purchases are made by women. Women have high expectations for the stores they choose to spend time and money in. Stores must have a clear identity and a consistent assortment of goods. Stores must be clean and easy to navigate. Stores must have clean bathrooms and comfortable dressing rooms. Stores must be safe and inviting. Stores must be welcoming and fun. Stores must provide an affirming environment and a heightened reality. Do all this and you have a success.

Lighting is a key tool that is greatly under utilized by retailers. Sales can be increased or decreased by the lighting of the store and the exterior of the building. Lighting invites people in when they look in your windows. Lighting directs people where to look and walk by the use of contrast and pools of light. Lighting creates comfort and safety.

Dressing room lighting is the bane of women shoppers and a few retailers have begun to take notice and have begun to upgrade their dressing rooms, but are those same retailers maintaining the cleanliness and lighting in these new dressing rooms?

There are exciting new choices available for lighting that lower energy use (up to 70%), and extend lamp life (reducing maintenance cost and time) while providing greater control over the look and feel of a store.

[Note: Arthur contributed lighting wisdom to Green Profit - Smarter Selling: Time To See The (Retail) Light by Meghan Boyer.]

Products and stores often have connections. REI connects with the outdoors. Marshall Field’s (now Macy's) connects with Frango Mints, and The Gardener connects with an assortment of carefully selected goods for the home that are timeless, pleasurable, and a joy to see and touch.

On-line is an extension of the store or a unique experience without a store. Amazon, and Zappos upended the wisdom that you must have a retail store to support on-line sales. Amazon has managed to put bookstores on the endangered list and has made the surviving bookstores much more nimble and more in tune with their customers. I see more retail products being sold online and more independent retailers closing. Retailers without a compelling identity and experience cannot expect to survive.

The personal touch and local connections are the reasons local, independent retailers will continue to thrive. Customers respond to personal warmth and concern. We all have favorite sales professionals that we depend on to make shopping easier and more enjoyable. Retailers that invest in the training and reward of exceptional sales professionals understand how important this person is to their continued success.

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Photo courtesy of Arthur Corbin.

Arthur Corbin is a retail and lighting wizard working in the San Francisco Bay Area. Arthur also teaches classes on retail success, lighting, materials, and customer service. You can reach him at arthurcorbin@gmail.com. Arthur wishes everyone a successful holiday season.

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Thank you, Arthur!

Comments, questions, observations? What wisdom would you like to share?

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Simple Marketing Now - October 2009 Update

2009-11-06T08:03:00.005-05:00

I'm late issuing the October 2009 Update for goings on at Simple Marketing Now...

Blame it on getting ready for my very exciting User Friendly Thinking Radio interview taking place tomorrow, Friday, November 6, 2009 at 1pm EST with Paul Chaney and John Munsell from Bizzuka. I hope you understand... It's going to be great fun and I'd love it if you would tune in.

Back to the October Update...

If you are new to Flooring The Consumer, I also write the Simple Marketing Blog where I discuss marketing strategy and creative, practical, simple marketing approaches and best practices - many of which may be relevant to you and your business as you consider what's possible. The blog also acts as newsroom for Simple Marketing Now.

Here, too, Bathroom Blogfest 09 was a big deal. Starting with the press release: Press Release: Bathroom Blogfest 2009 Draws 20 Bloggers & First Sponsor.

Of the Bathroom Blogfest posts I wrote, two relate to MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer 2009: Will You Be There? Those are:

+ Liane Evans Blends Social Media & Search For Greater Marketing Impact
+ BJ Fogg's Persuasive Bathroom Epiphany: MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer 09

The rest consist of:
Flush The Recession Simply & Ecologically
Making Things Simple Is Not Simple - Simplicity In Design Solutions
Listening to Customers & Bathroom Blogfest 09
Bathroom Blogfest 2009: Ready To Flush Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces

I mentioned my lastest MarketingProfs Daily Fix post in Integrating Social Into Traditional: 10 Daily Fix Tips.

Big thanks to Dave Foster at TalkFloor for featuring me on Four On The Floor About Social Media Marketing.

Here, too, I participated in Blog Action Day: Climate Change Simplified.

I added two posts to my "How Do I?" series:
+ How Do I Create Content?
+ How Do I Make Social Media Relevant To Categories Like Flooring?

And, I shared some Links of Note: Social Media Marketing Wisdom that you might enjoy exploring.

Many thanks for reading and for being so encouraging!

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Bathroom Blogfest 09 - Recap

2009-11-02T22:06:00.003-05:00

Bathroom Blogfest 09 is over. And, what a wild week it was. Did you enjoy the variety of perspectives? Here's a recap of the action I took part in here, at the Simple Marketing Blog, and also on the Carpetology Blog.

On The Carpetology Blog:
Design Your Bathroom Around Your Rug!

On The Simple Marketing Blog:
+ Bathroom Blogfest 09: Ready to Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces
+ Liane Evans Blends Social Media & Search For Greater Marketing Impact
+ Listening to Customers & Bathroom Blogfest 09
+ Making Things Simple is Not Simple - Simplicity In Design Solutions
+ BJ Fogg's Persuasive Bathroom Epiphany: Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer 09
+ Flush The Recession Simply & Ecologically

On Flooring The Consumer:
+ Bathroom Blogfest 09: Off and Running
+ Retail Experience Kaboom Contest: Bathroom Blogfest 09
+ Bathrooms & The Retail Experience
+ Charmin & Bathroom Blogfest 09
+ Hotel Bathtubs Going The Way of the Fingerbowl - Bathroom Blogfest 09
+ The Best Bathrooms Remind You Of Home
+ Bathrooms & The Hospitality Experience: How Much Is Too Much?

If you have a chance, do check out the Entire Bathroom Blogfest 09 Lineup that I just completed on BathroomBlogfest.com. It includes links to everyone who participated and their posts and a transcript of the Twitter conversation.

There you go.

Now, about this year's Bathroom Blogfest - which story was your favorite?

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2009 Bathroom Blogfest participants include:

• Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
• Reshma Anand at Qualitative Research Blog
• Shannon Bilby at From the Floors Up
• Shannon Bilby and Brad Millner at My Big Bob’s Blog
• Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop
• Jeanne Byington at The Importance of Earnest Service
• Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
• Leslie Clagett at KB Culture
• Katie Clark at Practical Katie
• Iris Shreve Garrott at Checking In and Checking Out
• Julie at Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog
• Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
• Maria Palma at People To People Service
• Professor Toilet at Professor Toilet’s Blog
• David Reich at My 2 Cents
• Bethany Richmond at The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog
• Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose
• Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
• C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer and Simple Marketing Blog
• Linda Wright at Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms

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Bathrooms & The Hospitality Experience: How Much Is Too Much?

2009-10-30T14:00:00.002-04:00

I have a question for you. As it relates to your Hospitality Experience - think hotels - how much bathroom is too much bathroom?

Read through this fascinating New York Times article from 4/5/09 titled "Bathrooms That Are Part of the View." What do you think?

According to the article, open bathrooms are a new trend in hotels, particularly swanky ones or ones eager to communicate in a bold way that these aren't your grandmothers' tubs.

Imagine, having a tub in the middle of the bedroom, or simply a glass partition to separate [and probably contain humidity] the bed from the bath rooms...

Some of it highlights the luxuriousness of the bathroom, which often takes up to 50% of the allocated hospitality space.

Some of it is to disguise space constraints - open, after all, seems bigger.

The article lists benefits associated with such transparency: "Transparency allows travelers to multitask in the tub... watch television, chat with a companion or simply gaze out the window."

Although it really doesn't allow you to shut the world, and others, out physically and figuratively.

Another point: coldness - both visual and physical. All of that glass and openness doesn't do much for keeping a body or a bathtub warm....

So, I ask you, "How much is too much for your hospitality experience?" Are you in the warm, cozy and private bathroom camp or the open, transparent and possibly glass enclosed camp?

Interestingly, the photo above is of the bathroom from the Philip Johnson Glass House, the only non-transparent room in the house... Image Credit: Apartment Therapy, The Bathroom At The Glass House

Happy Bathroom Blogfest '09!

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The Best Bathrooms Remind You Of Home

2009-10-30T10:11:00.002-04:00

Today's Bathroom Blogfest 09 post comes from my friend and former partner in Carpetology and Bathroom Blogfest crime, Elizabeth Hise.

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There’s No Place Like Home

When Christine asked if I wanted to take part in the 2009 Bathroom Blogfest as a guest blogger, I jumped at the opportunity. As I mentioned in my very first 2008 post, I’m practically an expert on bathrooms. The bathroom can make or break an experience, retail or otherwise. Plus, I’d get to work with Christine again — always a bonus.

So I started thinking about the bathrooms I’ve enjoyed (or didn’t) in the past year. I was all set to tell you about an amazing bathroom experience I had just a few weeks ago in San Antonio, Tx. It was at the Watermark Hotel on the Riverwalk and involved a bathroom the size of my living room, spa products on-demand, and a big, fluffy white robe.

But as good (fantastic!) as that experience was, I started thinking about the hands-down very best bathroom experience I’ve ever had. This bathroom is eternally clean, it smells like vanilla and lavender, and it always has a fresh supply of thick towels on hand. I could happily spend days in this bathroom. It is the product of my mom’s industrious hands.

My parents moved about five years ago. Although this new house isn’t the one that I grew up in, I still consider it home. And just like the home I’ve always known, my mom puts a ton of elbow grease — and love — into making it a clean, welcoming and warm environment. The bathroom is no exception. It’s painted a cozy oatmeal with sage and cream accents. Natural sunlight streams through a huge window with a gauzy shade, and there’s enough space for a person to do a little happy dance while waiting for the bathtub to fill.

When you’re designing a bathroom, whether it’s in a retail store, a restaurant, a hotel or at home, take a tip from Mom. Your space — including your bathroom — is an extension of who you are. When you care for your space, you care for your guests — and they can feel the love, down to the very last vanilla-scented detail.

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Thank you, Elizabeth! I can smell the vanilla...

Happy Bathroom Blogfest 09!

Photo credit: the Watermark Hotel spa.

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Hotel Bathtubs Going the Way of the Fingerbowl - Bathroom Blogfest '09

2009-10-29T11:35:00.000-04:00

This post about Hotel Bathtubs Going the Way of the Fingerbowl comes from my friend and fellow Bathroom Blogfest 09 contributor, Bethany Richmond. I think you'll enjoy her Reflections on a Life Immersed.

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I read something recently that I was sorry to hear. It seems that hotels are doing away with bathtubs. Evidently business travelers are too busy for baths, preferring “a gutsy shower” to a lazy soak. Bathtubs tend to be lawsuit magnets, and females report that there’s something “icky” about hotel tubs. Only 2% of hotel guests say they use the bathtub in a hotel, and even people who normally prefer a bath to a shower won’t sit down in a hotel tub.

I’ve had a lifelong love affair with bathtubs. I was born with a birth defect called club feet, which means I spent the first two years of my life with my legs encased in a series of plaster casts designed to mold my young little bones into more normal shape.

Because I couldn’t get my casts wet, I never got to take a bath. Babies love to play in water, but I could only have sponge baths. Sometime around my second birthday my mother talked the doctor into leaving my casts off for a few weeks. The first thing my parents did was put me in the tub and take home movies of me kicking and splashing.

By the time I turned three, my mother started making me bathe with my 7 year-old brother. One day she rushed into the bathroom to find me screaming and cowering in the back of the tub because my brother had hocked a loogie in the bathwater and was making it float my way. The images of that afternoon still haunt me, but at least I got to start bathing by myself.

I graduated to my parents’ bathroom that had a square bathtub with pink marble countertops and faucets that looked like golden swans. Mom tossed in handfuls of Mr. Bubble and stirred up towering mounds of froth.

In high school I had a bedroom with an attached bath that was small and inelegant, but wonderful because it was all mine. College was a rude awakening with the questionable hygiene of dorm showers. My decrepit but cozy upperclassman apartment had a large, cast-iron claw-footed tub had been painted Day-Glo green by the previous tenants.

Through the swirling vortex of my life, I have remained a devoted soaker. My current bathroom has a commodious tub with jets I don’t use because I don’t like the noise, and I take a bath almost every night. I bathe sometimes in the morning, too, rinsing my hair under the faucet. I read novels, work on crosswords, and sometimes take naps in the bath.

I travel fairly often to conferences and trade shows for my job with the Carpet and Rug Institute. I enjoy meeting new people, but standing for hours on concrete floors makes my back ache. On a recent trip to Chicago I stayed at the Palmer House, the historic hotel built in 1871. The elegant old bathtub was long and deep, (and sparkling clean) and I took to it every chance I could for relief.

I know sometimes I use my tub as a place to hide from the world and my responsibilities in it. But mostly I’m just trying to find a little transcendence that’s affordable and close to hand.

Because, at home or away, there will always be loogies floating in the bathtub of life. Just give me plenty of hot water. And maybe a little Mr. B.

My favorite movie bathtub scene – Joan Crawford in The Women.

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Thank you, Bethany!

Happy Bathroom Blogfest 09!

Note: the image above of Madeleine Aubry In Her Bathtub comes from The Blue Lantern, and more specifically a post titled Maxim's of Paris.

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Charmin & Bathroom Blogfest 09

2009-10-28T13:55:00.002-04:00

What would a Bathroom Blogfest be without Charmin? I, for one, can't imagine it...

Since first discovering Charmin's Times Square Pottypalooza - unfortunately too late for the first Bathroom Blogfest in 2006, I've enjoyed monitoring their enthusiastic activities.

I referred to them in Pounding Las Vegas Pavements [here is the link to David Polinchock's article Charmin Bathrooms in Times Square on FutureLab].

And in Brand Manifestations In The Bathroom: Advertising...

And Bathroom Blogfest '08 - Advertising.

I continue the Charmin tale here for Bathroom Blogfest '09.

Interestingly, it starts back in May 2009 when I met Damien Patton for lunch at The Garden State Mall in Paramus, NJ.

I decided to use the ladiesrooms there and had the ultimate Bathroom Blogfest retail experience moment!

Essentially, it was a Pottypalooza moment.

I couldn't get enough of the amazing creativity, delicious humor and marvelous playfulness of the Charmin redefinition of what is typically a blandly utilitarian experience.

I snapped photos.

I wandered from stall to stall.

Each had a different theme.

Each had different details.

Even the stall doors contributed to the experience.

Now, step back. To create this delicious effect, Charmin used wallpaper.

Yes, wallpaper of high resolution photos of marvelous bathrooms.

Definitely clever, but not super high-tech.

What a terrific solution for transforming an otherwise bland space.

Is this an idea you might be able to implement in your retail space?

I bet it would generate conversation...

In other conversation-generating news, P&G is looking for Bathroom Bloggers. More specifically, the company is searching for five dedicated and enthusiastic "Charmin Ambassadors" to "work in the Charmin Restrooms in Times Square from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31. Job requirements include interacting with hundreds of thousands of bathroom guests, maintaining their own blogs and content on Charmin-branded Web sites and popular social media sites, and sharing family-friendly video from the restroom space and surrounding areas."

The Charmin 2009 campaign is called Enjoy the go.

Learn more by visiting the EnjoyTheGo website.

If you apply, would you let me know? I'd love to hear about your experience.

Particularly if you're chosen...

But, even if you aren't.

I'm so pleased to share Charmin news with you during Bathroom Blogfest 09!

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Bathrooms & The Retail Experience

2009-10-27T15:03:00.007-04:00

In case it isn't obvious, my delight for the Bathroom Blogfest starting with the first one in 2006 has a lot to do with my passion for the customer experience, for marketing to women and to improving the retail experience for her.

Women, who make or influence the majority of purchase decisions, notice details. Those details communicate to her how well she can expect to be treated. Which means that how well a retailer or any establishment owner handles the bathroom experience says something to customers.

The opportunity is in managing those communications so they reinforce what your organization is all about. Right? In a positive way...

The long and the short of it is that bathrooms matter to the retail experience and that bathrooms represent opportunities, too.

These two posts help illustrate my point: from Stephanie Weaver, look at these two examples and how they reinforce a brand to visitors and from Linda Wright, this amazing facility facelift.

One of the latest marketing to women books - this one from Bridget Brennan titled Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World's Most Powerful Consumers - even includes several references to the importance of bathrooms - particularly clean ones - to women consumers.

The author's recommendations include sweat the details and ask for feedback.

That's right. Put your heart and soul into making sure details are taken care of and invite your customers to share their views on what you are doing.

As Andrea Learned often reminds us, and recently in this post about the revamping of the Blue Nile website:

"...the goal should be to serve the high expectations of your female customers transparently. Your core male customer, who has been there forever and is your biggest fan, will also notice and positively respond to those changes..."

If you address your women customers' higher expectations, you will also delight you men customers, too! Talk about win-win all around!

To illustrate my point, I include here pictures from the Green Depot in Manhattan.

The store itself is filled with delightful details and products, and all reinforce the notion of environmental living and building. For example, there's the green filter that Green Depot applies to what it carries and the Green Depot icon system.

In anticipation of this year's Bathroom Blogfest, I was interested [and prepared with a camera] in how the bathroom would reinforce Green Depot.

Other than not being painted green [the blue is very soothing!], I thought the bathroom was effective in reinforcing the Green Depot messages and communicating how seriously Green Depot took environmental stewardship.

Clean, sparse, yet hip.

Low water consumption toilet.

No paper towels. Instead an efficient, high air flow hand dryer.

I also felt recharged by the cool blue colors and ready to go back to exploring and educating myself with the store and its products.

So, what about the messages you communicate? Are they the ones you care about communicating? Do all of the details within your store and especially your bathroom reinforce your messages and create the kind of retail experience that not only appeals to women consumers, but also forms the basis for fervent word-of-mouth referrals? I hope so!

Happy Bathroom Blogfest 09! And, don't forget about the retail experience Kaboom contest...

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Retail Experience Kaboom Contest: Bathroom Blogfest 09

2009-10-26T11:24:00.004-04:00

Per my post yesterday - Bathroom Blogfest 09: Off & Running - I have in store a Kaboom contest to celebrate the 4th annual Bathroom Blogfest.

Kaboom, you see, is the Official Bathroom Blogfest 2009 Sponsor - a first in the history of our event.

What it means is that some of us participating in the 2009 Bathroom Blogfest expressed interest in learning more about Kaboom [from Church & Dwight, the makers of Arm & Hammer, OxiClean and others] and in conducting a giveaway with our readers. [Note: I've never done a giveaway before... so I'm excited!]

First, details about the products.

We received a free sample Kaboom cleaning kit to experiment with for ourselves. In the photo, you see what I received:

Kaboom Bowl Blaster
Kaboom Foam-Tastic
Kaboom Scrub Free!

I, for one, had never used Kaboom products although my nephew swears by OxiClean [a product I have seen in action]. I was intrigued.

The product looked fun [love the purple and green].

I really don't look forward to toilet-cleaning. We have very hard water and I've been at wit's end trying to come up with a successful solution that doesn't wreak havoc on the septic system or accelerate the deterioration of the toilet mechanism rubber gaskets, and smells clean.

I wasn't sure, though, what to expect from the foaming and color-changing effects.

This next photo shows you the 'guts' of the Kaboom Scrub Free system. Of the three items, this is the least 'showy.' It's easy to install and I can smell that it is working. But, it's a quiet participant in the cleaning action...

The other two items are just pure fun. They smell absolutely marvelous [yes, I do believe that a delightful smell is an important element that communicates cleanliness in a bathroom experience] and the toilet action is memorable. Bowl Blaster in particular brings to life "Flush The Recession!"

See for yourselves in the short videos on the Kaboom Bathroom Blogfest Deal site.

I'd love to share with one of you a similar Kaboom experience. Which brings me to my contest.

Now, the contest details.

Between today Monday, October 26 and through Friday, October 30, 2009 I will select a winner.

To be a winner, you must post a comment on Flooring The Consumer describing an amazing, memorable, game-changing retail experience that involves a bathroom. In your comment, you must include "#ladiesrooms09" [at the end is fine].

If your story is too long to fit in the comments, feel free to email me your story [cbwhittemore [at] gmail [dot] com] and indicate in your comment that an email is coming. Don't keep me waiting too long for your email, though.

Please keep your comments 'clean.'

Note that I intend to republish some or all of those comments, so if you aren't comfortable with that, don't comment.

However, I hope you will want to share with us your story of a retail buying experience positively affected by a bathroom, one that brings to life "Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces."

Please let me know if you have questions.

Happy Bathroom Blogfest 09!

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Bathroom Blogfest 09: Off & Running

2009-10-25T20:37:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned to you last week in Annual Bathroom Blogfest Returns & Welcomes Sponsor and announced in the Bathroom Blogfest 09 Press Release, it's time! The 4th annual Bathroom Blogfest is now officially off and running!

Here's what you can look forward to this week here at Flooring The Consumer....

Monday: I'll detail my Kaboom contest.

Tuesday: I'll address bathrooms and the retail experience.

Wednesday: What would a Bathroom Blogfest be without Charmin?

Thursday: I'll share with you a guest post from Bethany Richmond.

Friday: Bathrooms and the hospitality experience

Please look for my posts on The Simple Marketing Blog. Also, I came up -last minute- with a wonderful Bathroom related story that I'll post on the Carpetology Blog.

Don't forget to check out the special Bathroom Blogfest Kaboom Deal. And, do visit the participating bloggers for Bathroom Blogfest ’09:

• Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads http://www.customercrossroads.com
• Reshma Anand at Qualitative Research Blog http://onqualitativeresearch.blogspot.com/
• Shannon Bilby at From the Floors Up http://fromthefloorsup.com/
• Shannon Bilby and Brad Millner at My Big Bob’s Blog http://blog.mybigbobs.com/
• Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop http://www.laurenceborel.com/
• Jeanne Byington at The Importance of Earnest Service http://blog.jmbyington.com/
• Becky Carroll at Customers Rock! http://www.customersrock.net
• Leslie Clagett at KB Culture www.kbculture.blogspot.com
• Katie Clark at Practical Katie http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/
• Iris Shreve Garrott at Checking In and Checking Out http://circulating.wordpress.com/
• Julie at Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog http://cleaningsecrets.greatcleaners.com/
• Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution http://www.resultsrevolution.com
• Maria Palma at People To People Service http://www.people2peopleservice.com/
• Professor Toilet at Professor Toilet’s Blog http://www.professortoilet.com/
• David Reich at My 2 Cents http://reichcomm.typepad.com/
• Bethany Richmond at The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com
• Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose http://spiritwomen.blogspot.com
• Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology http://experienceology.blogspot.com
• C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com and Simple Marketing Blog http://www.SimpleMarketingBlog.com
• Linda Wright at Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms http://lindaloo.com/

Thank you to Lolly Borel for Announcing Bathroom Blogfest 09!

Wishing you all kinds of inspiration as we "Flush The Recession and Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces!"

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Annual Bathroom Blogfest Returns & Welcomes Sponsor

2009-10-21T08:01:00.001-04:00

Next week, the fourth annual Bathroom Blogfest returns to celebrate and elevate the customer experience. Are you ready?

Our theme for this year is Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces.

We have 20 bloggers participating via 21 blogs [yes, I'll be posting here and at Simple Marketing Blog]. You may recognize some of them. Others are new - including Bethany Richmond from The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog!

We also welcome an official sponsor of the 2009 Bathroom Blogfest: Kaboom.

I encourage you to be thinking about your most amazing and memorable bathroom experiences - ideally in a retail environment - because I may very well have a Kaboom giveaway contest....

Check out the Bathroom Blogfest Facebook Fan Page. Consider becoming a Fan!

Follow us on Twitter @BathroomBlogfes.

And search for #ladiesrooms09 to keep up with the Bathroom Blogfest.

Here is a link to the Bathroom Blogfest 09 press release with more details including the names and blogs of all of the participants.

Thank you to Maria Palma for getting the word out in Bathroom Blogfest 2009 Next Week and Iris Shreve Garrott for promoting the Bathroom Blogfest in Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces.

So, while you're waiting for the 2009 Bathroom Blogfest to get started, start telling everyone you know about it and be thinking about your amazing and memorable bathroom experiences. I'll invite you to share them here in the comments, post them on the Bathroom Blogfest Facebook Page or email them to me at cbwhittemore [at] gmail [dot] com so I can publish it here.

Many thanks and Happy Bathroom Blogfesting!

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Behind The Retail Scenes & Anticipating The Holidays

2009-10-19T08:04:00.002-04:00

Behind the Scenes -- PDX Strobist originally uploaded by Mr. Monroe.
Continuing on the subject of Christmas Creep and Retail Trends, I'm intrigued with how retailers are preparing for the holidays - working behind the scenes and anticipating what's to come.

Here's the article that got me thinking: 10 ways to prepare your website for Christmas.

Although it is indeed focused on websites, it holds equally true for the brick and mortar expression of your retail experience, and for integrating your overall experience.

It also holds regardless of how critical the Christmas holiday season is to your retail business.

The article recommends these 9 approaches [yes, the title says 10, but I can only find 9]:

1. Get customers' attention with a freebie
2. Give your SEO a seasonal tweak
3. Have a social media strategy
4. Make sure Santa's cave is full
5. Ramp up your email marketing efforts
6. Can you handle the traffic?
7. Test it out
8. Get a gift certificates program
9. Prepare for the New Year

The first recommendation draws attention to an opportunity all retailers have and that is highlighting value that goes beyond the merchandise. Although customers come into a retail environment [online or in a store] to purchase a product, more often than not that product is part of a bigger picture solution in the buyer's mind. By recognizing that, you are able to offer additional value to a customer. The more value you can create around that product, the more you separate yourself from a commodity and price-based retail experience. Think value in terms of information you can provide around how best to use the product, how to care for it, how to accessorize it...

The second refers to Search Engine Optimization: assuming your retail business relates to the holiday shopping season, do you reflect that seasonality in your website content as well as the website itself? For that matter, are your preparing your store so it reflects holiday appropriate cheer, too? The article recommends searching for yourself to gauge how prepared you are. I recommend looking at your store with a fresh set of customer eyes to ensure that your store is prepared!

This article - Generate Extra Revenue this Holiday Season with These 5 PPC Tips - offers valuable PPC suggestions. The third one "Create a holiday gift finder landing page" struck me as a way to get customer attention and offer value. And, although specific to a website, imagine creating an analog version of a gift finder in your store: showing how products coordinate together, suggesting accessories, or a gift card?

Having a social media strategy should not be limited to the holidays. Quite the opposite! Your social media strategy should be fully integrated into your overall marketing strategy and support customer engagement and relationship building all year round. Did you know that Best Buy launched a Twitter based customer support group called Twelpforce? Per this 10/1/09 AdAge article, Optimistic Best Buy Preps Holiday Marketing Push, Twelpforce has answered 20,000 questions since its launch. Best Buy will be featuring Twelpforce in several brand focused TV spots for the holidays, but you can well imagine that Twelpforce will extend far beyond the holidays.

Inventory seems to be an even greater Bogeyman than usual this holiday season. The Hard Sell lists several approaches that retailers are taking to deal with the combination of troubled economy and increasingly frugal customer. JC Penney is holding back 60% of finished product and fabric inventory in warehouses to better respond to customer demand. Gap identified dye-able fabric for a complex multi-shade denim collection to increase flexibility.

The Hard Sell discusses creative ways that retailers like Container Store, Saks and Neiman Marcus have embraced for 'kicking the discount habit.' Some stores like Sears and Best Buy are expanding into new product categories under the assumption that shoppers want to simplify their shopping and find what they need in fewer stores...

How committed are you to email marketing? Are you gathering email addresses from your customers? And not just online, but also in-store. Definitely capture that information and get into the habit of sending out communications on a regular basis.

Handling traffic: not just online, but also in your store. How's your parking lot situation? Is your store tidy? Laid out in a logical manner? Can customers get through the displays? How clean and welcoming are your bathrooms? Spend time preparing.

How much testing do you do? An amazing aspect of the online world is the ability to do side by side testing [A/B testing] to determine which layout or offer connects with buyers. Have you tried doing the same in-store? What else can you do to prepare and anticipate? Definitely go behind the scenes and make sure you are ready.

Do you have gift card programs in place? How do you promote them? How successful have they been for you?

Finally, are you ready for after the holidays? For the New Year? For Valentine's Day? Do you keep a calendar listing regular upcoming seasonal events and do you plan ahead for them?

Both website and retail store must look fresh and updated to create the best retail experience. How do you go about preparing behind the scenes and anticipating holidays?

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Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change & Retail Experience

2009-10-15T08:01:00.002-04:00

It's Blog Action Day 2009. The topic: Climate Change. One that seems so much bigger than any one person that an immediate reaction is to simply ignore it.

Imagine, though, if you could make a difference today and into the future starting with small steps within your control.

Perhaps by making your children aware of Climate Change and helping them figure out how to be part of the solution. That I discuss today on the Smoke Rise & Kinnelon Blog where I share some of what our local school does to raise awareness and develop leaders [see Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change & Kiel School].

Another is to Simplify and encourage creativity around Climate Change. That's what I explore today on The Simple Marketing Blog in Blog Action Day: Climate Change Simplified.

But, there's another angle that is particularly relevant to the consumer retail experience.

That is creating conversation around the topic of Climate Change with customers and employees, generating discussing about what practices work and don't work within your organization and for your customers, and then jointly brainstorming for solutions. Crowdsourcing, if you like, or even co-creating solutions.

For example:

1. What about recycling? How active are you personally, your business offices and your store in recycling paper, cans and bottles?

2. Can you eliminate instances of styrofoam? And bottled water? Can you use mugs and glasses instead? Give out reusable bottles for drinking water out of? Brand them with your name.

3. What about the packaging around your products? Can it be minimized? Eliminated? Reduced? Reused? Recycled?

4. Can you encourage carpooling? Walking to work? Bicycling?

5. What about how you schedule visits to customers? Can you do that more efficiently?

6. From a product offering perspective, have you considered that better quality products tend to be more durable which means that customers won't be replacing [and sending to a landfill] products as frequently? Which gives you the opportunity to establish a longer term relationship around product care and maintenance...

What other ways can you think of for supporting climate change, becoming part of the solution and making it part of your retail experience?

My previous Blog Action Day posts:
+ 2007: Blog Action Day for the Environment
+ 2008: Blog Action Day for Poverty

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Terry Starbucker on Bridging New & Old: Social Media Series

2009-10-14T08:03:00.005-04:00

This week's guest for Flooring The Consumer's social media series: Bridging New & Old is Terry Starbucker.

Terry Starbucker, author of Ramblings from A Glass Half Full, redefines the notion of 'glass half full' and of seeing the positive in every situation. He refers to it as “Half-Fullism” or 'realistic optimism' and is it ever engaging, inspiring and liberating. Take a recent post titled Supertramp Talks Social Media - 30 Years Before It Exists. It stopped me in my tracks and had me re-appreciating songs, lyrics and bands that I hadn't thought of in a long time. He does the same with subjects like The Secret(s) of Work, Personal Development and Leadership.

Talk about finding connections that most neither notice nor celebrate and bridging from the tried and true to create new meaning and possibilities.

Terry also contributes Half-Fullism to Joyful Jubilant Learning.

And, then, there's this marvelous event that he and Successful and Outstanding Blogger Liz Strauss imagined - SOBCon - and made happen three times. The next one, SOBCon 2010, takes place April 30 through May 2, 2010 and you can register for it now. Here's Liz's account of her first conversation with Terry.

Ever since taking part in the Starbucker Meme, I've developed a strong visual reminder for dealing "with the literal world in a positive way": my glass is definitely full. I love Terry's practical positivism for what social media enables and that Terry is a fellow WFUV enthusiast.

C.B.: Terry, How/why did you get involved in social media?

Terry: It was really by accident, CB – back in 2005 I had heard about this “blogging thing” from a friend and as a lark set up a blog of my own on Blogger. A few months later I started to see the huge potential of the medium and spent a lot of time on other blogs – and then I left my first comment on Liz Strauss’ site, Successful Blog. We quickly struck up a friendship and a year later my biggest Social Media activity, our annual SOBCon conference in Chicago, was born. That event allowed me to learn even more from the best practitioners, and meet many, many great people (and eventually led me to you!). I’m now quite immersed in Social Media primarily through my blog and my Twitter account [@Starbucker].

C.B.: What do you like most about social media?

Terry: The people like yourself that I’ve met and become friends with – these are folks I never would have known if it wasn’t for Social Media. It’s really just an advanced form of communication that shrinks our world tremendously. It opens up so many possibilities – and I’m living proof that your life can change (for the good, of course).

C.B.: What do you like least about social media?

Terry: The use of it for a “quick buck” –particularly the spammers. They are not there to read my blog or laugh at my Tweets – they want my money. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not at all against using Social Media to aid in selling or promoting a business. Just get to know me first – why else do they call it “social”?

C.B.: How has social media changed how you interact with the marketplace as a consumer or customer?

Terry: This is funny, CB - I am quite the conspicuous consumer, but I have yet to really interact with a service or product provider using Social Media. I guess I’m from the old school of actually talking to a human. At the same time, I know that interacting virtually also has its advantages, since I see it every day as an active SM user, and the company I work for just set up a Twitter account. I surmise it’s really hard to change old habits, since I’ve been a consumer much longer than I’ve been a blogger. Much longer. :)

C.B.: Terry, what 5 suggestions do you have for companies to implement so they can more effectively bridge old media with new media and connect with end users?

Terry:
1. Get the analog part of the business right first – that is, all human interaction must be optimized so Social Media doesn’t become a battlefield.

2. Put on your Social Media training wheels and learn how to communicate on the medium before you try to use it as a way to improve your business.

3. Check to see how many of your customers are actually using Social Media- you could be jumping into an empty pool.

4. Make sure you know how to handle “negative” – are you ready to absorb and respond to essentially public critique?

5. When you do actively use Social Media, speak like a human, and put on a human face – logos and “corporate speak” don’t cut it out there.

C.B.: Any other thoughts to share about the effectiveness of social media in forging stronger relations with customers and how best to do so.

Terry: Go make some friends out there, by being honest, open, and helpful. Don’t be afraid to cultivate evangelists by inviting them under the tent. Those friends and evangelists will pay you great dividends down the road.

Thank you, Terry!

Comments? Questions? Feedback?

What are your reactions to these suggestions:
+ have you optimized your human interactions
+ are you ready to experiment with social media before using it for business?
+ have you thought through worse case scenarios and developed policies?
+ are you comfortable getting away from 'corporate speak'?

For additional insights from other participants in the Social Media Series: Bridging New & Old, please visit The Entire Bridging New & Old series, which includes a link to the e-book based on the first 26 interviews in the series.

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Christmas Creep & Retail Trends

2009-10-12T08:03:00.002-04:00

Halloween preparations are in full swing by us: the leaves are turning, my daughter has her costume figured out and we've started plotting out the trick or treat route. Although I've noticed a few Thanksgiving reminders, I'm pleased to report that - so far - Christmas creep [aka onslaught as noted in Elmo Saves Christmas, But Not From Retailers] seems discrete. Might this be a sign of retail trends to come?

If there's willingness from Retailers [to] Shift Strategy, Sync With Seasons & Other Novel Approaches, don't you think that highlighting and showcasing holiday products closer to the actual holiday makes sense? Especially for a consumer who's been battered by unprecedented economic forces?

I have to admit, I got worried in July when I came across these articles: Stores Take Christmas In July More seriously [hat tip to Aneta Hall] and 'Twas 147 Shopping Days Before Christmas... and then It's beginning to look like Christmas - in September.

Sears, Kmart and Toys R Us are mentioned in the first two articles.

The first also refers to Hallmark's 20 year tradition of unveiling half of its holiday collection in July. I like traditions and that kind of a consistent approach strikes me as authentic. As does QVC's annual Christmas in July event, mentioned in the second article.

The third describes Macy's Holiday Lane shop rolled out in September to 'prime the consumer spending pump' given how critical the Christmas Holiday shopping period is to many retailers [~ up to 35% of annual sales] and how poor retail sales have been.

Seems to me that's a sure what to exhaust shoppers prematurely.

What do you think? How critical is Christmas to your business and how do you handle Holiday sales, promotions, communications and decorations?

These two articles by Anne D'Innocenzio highlight retail trends more in keeping with what I observe going on. In Stores think old-style, Anne refers to a return to traditional holiday themes with the goal of offering comfort, support and relevance to shoppers. An example is Neiman Marcus holiday catalog nods to recession. The retailer has rethought its famous holiday catalog for 2009 and close to half of products are now less than $250! The Christmas book's introduction reads: "Tokens of affection don't have to be extravagant to be brilliantly received."

Fascinating, no?

Although an extreme example, it does reinforce some of the retail trends in the works, which according to Retail Customer Experience's Top 10 brand and marketing trends for 2010 include:

1. Value is the new black
2. Brands are increasingly a surrogate for 'value'
3. Brand differentiation is brand value
4. 'Because I said so' is so over
5. Consumer expectations are growing
6. Old tricks don't/won't work anymore
7. They won't need to know you to love you
8. It's not just buzz
9. They're talking to each other before talking to the brand
10. Engagement is not a fad. It's the way today's consumers do business

Does these trends coincide with what you've observed? What would you add to the list? And, what are your thoughts on the Holidays and the retail experience?

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Integrating Social Into Traditional: MProfs Daily Fix article

2009-10-09T08:08:00.000-04:00

Have you wondered how you might integrate social into some of your traditional marketing activities and possibly even organize a blogger event? Look no further than my most recent MProfs Daily Fix article titled "Integrating Social Into Traditional: 10 Tips For A Remarkable Blogger Event."

Although I focus on a Blogger Event, these tips hold for any kind of event you might organize - be it a consumer in-store trunk show type event, to a customer brainstorming session, to an employee appreciation event, with or without bloggers...

So, please check it out and add your ideas and success stories to the discussion taking place in the comments.

Thank you!

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Tish Grier on Bridging New & Old: Social Media Series

2009-10-07T08:58:00.001-04:00

This week's guest for Flooring The Consumer's social media series: Bridging New & Old is Tish Grier.

Tish Grier blends passion for journalism, community and social media. Combine that with extensive experience in retail, a thorough understanding of the tools of social media, firsthand and intense exposure to online communities, and a keen eye for observing the world around her, and you not only have someone adept at Bridging New & Old, but also one who thinks constantly about innovation. Think citizen and hyperlocal journalism, and crowdsourcing type innovation and how to improve communications and communities.

Tish is the author of The Constant Observer, about better living through technology and popular culture. She is also a social media strategist - with a deep understanding of how best to analyze data relating to weblog/site traffic and participation rates - and community manager for Placeblogger.com, a site for "citizen journalists" or others passionate about place and what makes their place unique.

Tish is the first blogger I met at the June 2006 event Corante Marketing Innovation Event that took place at Columbia Business School. I sat next to her, and, as we spoke and I learned more about her, I discovered that she and I had both attended Smith College and that she was the author of the Spring 2006 Smith Alumni Quarterly article titled "Reach Out and Blog Someone" that I had been carrying around for several months.

C.B.: Tish, how and why did you get involved in social media?

Tish: Well, first let me address the how: the first time I ever saw anything that looked like social media was back in the early 90s. I had friends who were working for Hewlett Packard at the time, and were on these email lists. One was for something called NE Raves. This was how a whole bunch of geeky young people used the Internet to gather together and form communities. This is what 'social media’ is about—gathering together, making things happen. And this was 1992! Truly social media’s infancy. (BTW, I knew some folks who, around ’93 were testing something called ‘node to node communication.’ One of these was the guy who developed Apache. This was a prototype instant message system.)

I got my first real computer, and my first taste of the Internet, and the next phase of social media when I attended Smith College on the Ada Comstock Program. Full scholarship. Pretty amazing for a working-class girl from NJ. This was 1998 and we were required to have computers for our personal use. We also had unlimited Internet access in our dorm rooms. So, lots of people got into the whole chat room thing, and ICQ was huge. I ended up on the New York Times Film Forums—a discussion board.

My college days were really dark for me—trying to make the best of my scholarship, plus going thru a divorce. One would have been enough, but to go through both was horrific. I had a very difficult time making friends on campus, and retreated nightly into the Forums. This is where I learned the power of communities of affinity, as well as learned the ways and mores of online communities. As I participated, I also watched and learned a whole lot about people’s behavior online. When I decided to do an honors thesis—on 20th c. biblical epics—the late night crowd on the Forums were a great help and support to me.

This was probably the “toddler stage” of what we now call social media. People were using chats (AOL, ICQ, etc.) and they were posting wildly on bulletin boards and forums. We were making friends online, then transcending the boundaries of online and bringing those friends into our real-world space. Marketers, too, were trying to find a way into this space. I remember hearing about Disney and (I believe) Campbell’s soup trying to infiltrate chat rooms, and many of us saying that they just wouldn’t be able to do it because they didn’t know how to talk to people.

Hmmmm…..the more things change, the more they stay the same :)

In 2004, I got to blogging. When I got to blogging, my head just exploded! The potential for it was amazing! I’d first seen LiveJournal back in ’98, but when I saw the updated Blogger, with its WYSIWYG features, and how easy it was to figure out the template HTML, I went berserk. In the summer of 2005, I quit the multiple jobs I was working (long story on that one, I won’t get into it—suffice to say that a liberal arts degree does indeed well prepare you for a job in retail ;-) ) and decided to pursue “professional blogging” before there was even such a thing!

In the fall of ’05 at the Corante Symposium on Social Architecture, I first heard Stowe Boyd use the term “social media.” Then a light-bulb went off in my head. That’s it! All these chat rooms, and forums, and message boards, and blogs—it’s all something called “social media!”

I knew right then and there that social media was where I wanted to be. I wanted a career in social media—not in marketing or in journalism or anything like that. I didn’t know what exactly I was going to do in social media. There weren’t any social media jobs per se back in 2005.

I got my first social media job writing for Corante in January of 2006. They were one of the first online outlets that were paying a decent wage for online editorial work. I will always be grateful to Francois Gossieaux for giving me that first break (and several others :)).

C.B.: What do you like most about social media?

Tish: It can be an amazingly creative thing, and can be used by so many companies to bring back old-fashioned direct customer relations (both sales and service) while bringing them into 21st century technology. I recently landed my first independent social media client, and one of the main goals is to bring a company that’s stuck in the early days of the web into the new web—into a place where you can’t just slap up a website, walk away, and expect it to generate money for you. The women that I’m working with who handle customer orders/customer service are really excited about using new tools to connect with customers. These are things they’ve used in their own lives, but had no idea exactly how they could be used for their company. That’s what I’m showing them.

The thing I’ve never stopped doing, and have done from the beginning, is what friends have dubbed “amateur anthropology”—that’s when I sit back, watch behaviors, and figure out what it is that people are doing online, who’s saying who, who’s kvetching about civility and the devil of anonymity and the terrors of a culture that doesn’t have gatekeepers. It’s both hysterical and horrific. Kind of like being on a roller coaster.

C.B.: What do you like least about social media?

Tish: There are two things: I like least the folks who think they know it and don’t—the massive numbers of charlatans flooding into the field. You know the kind: the ones who’ve been blogging and tweeting and facebooking for six months or so and then open up shop as social media consultants. Some of these folks think social media consulting is offering to maintain people’s LinkedIn and Facebook profiles . Why would you want to write and maintain someone’s LinkedIn profile for them?? To me, that’s taking advantage of people’s ignorance and laziness, and not social media consulting. And you’re not helping your client to truly understand social media.

The other is the people who believe their local teenagers or kids can do the job of social media experts. Two reasons for a s/m consultant to hear that: clients trying to get rates down and lack of knowledge about social media. I recently explained to a client about weeding thru the hype so that I can help them use the right tools. There’s a boatload of hype, and part of knowing how to advise a client properly is knowing who to trust and who needs some time to develop.

C.B.: How has social media changed how you interact with the marketplace as a consumer or customer?

Tish: For me, I’m far more vigilant about product reviews than I used to be. Ever since PayPerPost, and how I saw the way so many people weren’t bothering to disclose that they’d been paid to write glowing reviews of things, I am less inclined to consider the recommendations of someone I don’t know. And by “don’t know” I mean in the sense of not knowing them one to one, in person. If it’s someone I only know from online, I would have to know them really, really well before I’d take their recommendation. But I’m certainly going to take with a huge grain of salt the reviews that I read on many of the blogs I see.

I’m also going to take with another huge grain any time I see totally glowing reviews for a service or restaurant online. With the growing number of defamation cases going on, IMO people might start shying away from leaving negative reviews or comments for fear of getting sued. Hence, we will be right back where we started—there will be no transparency, businesses will get what they want (to stay in business even if they suck) and social media will be broadcast media once again.

On the plus side—I’m a big fangirl of certain shows and movies, so when a show/movie gives me something cool, I’m going to become more excited about it, and talk more about it. And for some companies, if they can tie some sort of participator or cool thing to their product, I might be more inclined to give them some good WOM. Two examples:

AMC’s “Mad Men Yourself” avatar creator: My friends and I—all marketing and web designers and journalists—are super into Mad Men. I found out about it from a journalist friend of mine in Detroit. Then I spread it all around my friends in Western Mass. We’ve all had so much fun with it, and it got us really psyched for Mad Men’s season premiere. It was a great piece of marketing that spurred on a whole bunch of WOM in social media circles. Too cool! I’m still using my avatar on Facebook and Twitter because I don’t have a good recent pic to put up there.

The other is one I stumbled on today. Was discussing strong coffee, and remembered Café Bustelo (a ground coffee used for espresso—been around for years.) Pre-Internet, my friends and I used to call it Café Bust-a-Move (as in it gives you so much energy you’d want to break out and bust a move) On the shelf, Café Bustelo’s packaging hasn’t changed much, so I had no idea if the company even had a website. Sure enough! They do: http://cafebustelo.com/.

From there, I clicked on the Culture tab, which took me to an ad for a new CD by Mario Grigorov titled “Paris to Cuba.” To hear some music for free, I clicked again and got to their Java Cabana site. I like the music so much, I’m actually thinking of buying the CD. Will this then get me to buy some of their coffee? Maybe. What it did do is get me to talk about Grigorov’s music, which then led me to disclose where and how I found it, which then sent friends over to the Café Bustelo site and Java Cabana. Who knows where it went from there—but I know I just exposed a whole bunch of new people to a new coffee and new music. Nothing’s more fun than that! (well, maybe making Mad Men avatars….)

C.B.: What 5 suggestions do you have for companies to implement so they can more effectively bridge old media with new media and connect with end users?

Tish: Many of the ideas below come from “lessons learned” from social media experiments, from experiences I’ve heard about after my lectures on social media at Marlboro College, and from my experience with my current client.

1. Forget most of what you know about old media and its ideas about conveying the message. Only remember the basic ethics of old media—about disclosure, about libel—as they will help you do social media with integrity.

2. Listen first, talk later. In other words, find out what people are saying about your products by observing a variety of forms of social media related to your product. Find out what people like, what they are saying about your product/service. This will give you a good barometer for how to approach people. (the Internet is, after all, full of people.)

3. When a company decides to do social media, put together a team. Not just your marketing person, not just one customer service rep. One person in your organization isn’t going to know enough nor have enough energy nor hours in the day to be able to effectively do all the social media. Spread around the effort. This will also help when you’re looking for new directions to take your social media. That’s what I’ve found is working great for a client of mine, and it’s lessening the “learning curve” for the whole office.

4. One of the lessons I learned from WOM guru Andy Sernovitz is to give people something to stimulate WOM. This works in social media too. Whether it’s music, or a sample of your products, give people something to remember you by. This will create customer loyalty as well as give them a reason to follow your social media presence.

5. Involve your customers! Crowdsource them for product ideas, to help figure out a new campaign, to add pics to a catalogue or brochure. There are so many ways to crowdsource and the information can tell you so much about not only who uses your products, but who you might be missing. Both are important. Right now, one client is running a crowdsourcing campaign on Facebook for new pictures for their catalogue. So far, it’s going well. People are submitting wonderful pictures using their products. Putting customers pics in the catalogue will not just be cost effective for this small company, but is also going to create a lot of good will and good buzz in a rather competitive beauty product field.

C.B.: Any other thoughts to share about the effectiveness of social media in forging stronger relations with customers and how best to do so?

Tish: Listen don’t pontificate. Don’t manage the conversation inasmuch as stimulate it and participate in it. If customers need help (which is usually what’s behind complaints) help them. And if you can’t help them, go back to your drawing board and figure it out. Just because you’ve got something that sells good already, you can improve your market share by communicating better with all your customers, not just the loyal ones. Learn when to differentiate between someone who really hates your product, and someone who may be providing constructive criticism veiled as a kvetch. Read carefully before responding!

Thank you, Tish!

Comments? Questions? Feedback?

What do you think of these concepts?
+ That social media can be used by so many companies to bring back old-fashioned direct customer relations.
+ The need to do social media with integrity.
+ Finding out what people are saying about your products by observing a variety of forms of social media related to your product.
+ Involving your customers.

I love that Tish recommends spreading around the social media effort within your organization.

For additional insights from other participants in the Social Media Series: Bridging New & Old, please visit The Entire Bridging New & Old series, which includes a link to the e-book based on the first 26 interviews in the series.

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Simple Marketing Now - September 2009 Update

2009-10-05T08:04:00.004-04:00

And, now, what you've been patiently waiting for all month: a Simple Marketing Now update for September 2009!

If you are new to Flooring The Consumer, I also write the Simple Marketing Blog. There, I discuss marketing strategy and creative, practical, simple marketing approaches and best practices - many of which may be relevant to you and your business as you consider what's possible. The blog also acts as newsroom for Simple Marketing Now.

In big news, I've just released the Fall issue of Simple News, my e-Newsletter, where I share highlights of happenings here and with the Simple Marketing Blog. I shared with you news of the inaugural issue in Subscribe To News From Simple Marketing Now! back in July.

You can access a copy of the Fall issue of Simple News via this link, and subscribe via this link.

Two press releases in September:
+ Press Release: Whittemore Publishes “Social Media’s Collective Wisdom"
+ Press Release: DOMOTEX & Simple Marketing Now Launch DOMOTEX Blog

Have you downloaded my e-book? What have you found most beneficial?

You can access the DOMOTEX Blog directly by visiting http://www.DomotexBlog.com/. DOMOTEX takes place in January in Hannover, Germany. It is the largest flooring show in the world and the most global.

Read about the progress being made on my Surfaces 2010 workshop in Marketing In A Recession - September Update. By the way, that discussion inspired Simple Marketing Starts With Listening.

I'm always on the lookout for examples of businesses experimenting with new approaches to marketing. In Small Businesses Marketing With Social Media: WiseGrass, NakedPizza, BerryChill, I came across several gems worth looking into. Then, there's Johnson & Johnson, The New Media Innovator, taking small steps as it explores and experiments.

I've started a new series called "How Do I?" based on questions that have come up in conversation and during presentations. The first is How Do I Evaluate A Blog?... Let me know if you think of other topics that might be useful to you.

Finally, there's Education & Social Media and Simple Gestures That Communicate Strongly. I'd love to hear your reactions to both posts.

Thank you for reading!

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MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer: Be There!

2009-10-02T23:16:00.001-04:00

Would you like to recapture the marketing magic that took place at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum in Boston this past June? Consider attending the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer taking place in Chicago on October 21-22, 2009.

In fact, clicking on the Fire Up image or this link will take you directly to the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer registration page where you can save $200! I will be there and I'd love to see you.

Let me give you a taste for why I consider MarketingProf events so special.

You have the opportunity to sit in on a Mack Collier blog review. Mack is part of the Hot Seat Lab sessions and you will be astounded at what you learn.

You hear high caliber and relevant wisdom from the likes of:

+ Sandy Carter from IBM describing how to integrate social into the marketing mix
+ Barry Schwartz discussing Practical Wisdom
+ Steven Berlin Johnson explaining what makes Twitter a game changer for business
+ and Arianna Huffington.

You get to connect with marvelous and astute marketers like Mack Collier, Ann Handley, Amber Naslund, Jason Baer, Becky Carroll, Aneta Hall, Beth Harte, and many others...

The Digital Marketing Mixer program is action packed and guaranteed to fire up your digital marketing strategy. It's also filled with real people who live and breathe how to make the most out of their marketing decisions in our current digital environment.

• Email – Hear how to make your relationships more profitable with sessions on customer engagement and advanced email analysis.

• Search – Learn to get creative with SEO, grow PPC campaigns and how to get on page one of Google!

• Social Media – Get insights on how to make social media work for you – from integration to analysis. And see what ‘s next in social media: Will it drive sales? And, are you ready to take advantage of it?

And, it's all broken down in terms of "Must Knows," "Integrating Marketing Programs" and "Engaging With Customers." My challenge will be figuring out how to attend all of the sessions...

So, don't deliberate. Don't think about it. Just come. Click on this link to go directly to the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer registration page and save $200!

Learn, absorb, ask questions, interact and be part of the conversation. And, do please let me know that you're coming so we can connect.

By the way, this photo from the June 2009 Marketing Profs B2B Forum captures that magic!

Photo by Steve Woodruff of Beth Harte, Mack Collier and me mystified by a magician's crafty card tricks.

See you there!

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Beth Harte on Bridging New & Old: Social Media Series

2009-09-30T09:15:00.001-04:00

This week's guest for Flooring The Consumer's Social Media Series: Bridging New & Old is Beth Harte.

Beth Harte exudes passion and connection. It's palpable on her blog, The Harte of Marketing, in her posts at Marketing Profs’ Daily Fix and also in her role as Community Manager for MarketingProfs. She connects people and ideas, not just in person or via email, but also via Twitter [@BethHarte], on the MarketingProfs LinkedIn Group and Facebook Fan Page, on blogs - and anywhere else where relevant conversation takes place. Inevitably, she nurtures the conversations and interactions and adds unexpected perspectives.

Beth also bridges conversation with discipline.

Take her recent online seminar for the MarketingProfs Summer Series: Getting Buy-in with Social Media Measurement: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. Yes, it was packed with insight and sound perspective on her social media experiences, but she also brought up the structured and strategic thinking that marketers need to put into practice for success. For that matter, check out her posts on The Search Engine Guide Blog.

Beth Harte is a consummate PR professional who launched the weekly PR 2.0 Chat on Twitter back in May 2009 [ look for #PR20Chat on Wednesday evenings from 8-9+ pm EST.] She and others moderate the discussions that range from the nature of public relations 2.0 to branding to measurement to... Have you checked it out?

In addition to her roles as marketer, blogger, speaker, communicator, thinker, connector (people & dots), Beth is also adjunct professor at Immaculata University. I can imagine how thought-provoking her classes are!

[Oh, and Beth and I share a love of scarves!]

C.B.: Beth, how and why did you get involved in social media?

Beth: I’ve always been a really social person and my claim to fame in school was always the one being caught for passing notes! Not much changed in college, graduate school and my career. Well, except the getting caught part and the fact that now all of those notes are electronic.

In 2004, I joined a couple of online Yahoo! Groups dedicated to one of my favorite brands, Hermès. And yes, believe it or not, there are about three online communities dedicated to the brand. Joining these groups was my first exposure to “social media/networking.” We didn’t call it social media/networking, it was just a group. I got involved in the groups because I wanted to learn more about the brand, the scarves, the artists who designed the scarves, etc. and within the group I could do it freely. As well, at the time brands like Hermès didn’t participate in social media so other people were the source of knowledge about the brand.

Being engaged in social media as a brand enthusiast and consumer versus a marketer gave me a TON of insights that I would have never been able to get as a marketer. That’s why I always suggest to marketers who want to really understand social media that they join a community, group, or forum based on a hobby, brand they like or sport. Doing so forces you to engage as a ‘person’ rather than a corporate or brand talking head. As well, the interesting group dynamics are really visible when you are interacting as a person. You learn who the opinion/thought leaders are, who the trouble makers are, who the fun people are, who the tolerant people are, who the helpful people are, etc. Understanding sociology as well as marketing is a definite plus when it comes to engaging in social media.

We also met as a group offline too for lunches, shopping, etc. It really helped solidify relationships with each other and sales associates in the Hermès boutiques. And no matter where you were in the country/world, there was always someone to meet up with!

I started blogging in 2006 because it was a way for me to share my thoughts, opinions, experiences, etc. It was a non-marketing blog, which was a great precursor to my current blog, The Harte of Marketing.

C.B.: What do you like most about social media?

Beth: Social media (the tools) like Twitter, groups, blogs, forums are my conduits to meeting people, learning, and sharing. I have met so many great marketers from all over the world, it’s really amazing. Social media (the concept) for me is about being free to be me in a way that’s natural to me. Like I said, I’ve always been a social person so, to learn that it’s okay to be professional and personable at that same time is refreshing. I don’t separate “Beth Harte the marketer” from “Beth Harte the person.” They are one in the same and I appreciate being able to speak like a “human” vs. corporate marketing speak.

C.B.: What do you like least about social media?

Beth: What I struggle most with social media is that it gets represented as replacing traditional marketing or that it’s an all or nothing option. I don’t believe either is true. When people talk like that, it really makes me wonder if they understand business or marketing. I am also often frustrated by people who liken social media to just another channel where marketing messages can be dumped. This might work for some brands, but when I hear about brands that ignore people trying to reach out to them, it really makes me wonder what their motives are for engaging in social media in the first place.

C.B.: How has social media changed how you interact with the marketplace as a consumer or customer?

Beth: It hasn’t. I guess I am a marketing purist... But when my very first marketing professor drilled into my head “know thy audience” I took it to heart. And the only way you can know them is to speak with them (and I don’t mean marketing research). I’ve always been a huge proponent of interacting and getting to know customers. I am just happy that social media is finally making customer relationships and conversations the norm versus something taboo. And, of course, I am thankful to have a job where I am expected to engage/interact with members all the time.

C.B.: What 5 suggestions do you have for companies to implement so they can more effectively bridge old media with new media and connect with end users?

Beth: I am one for simplicity and I think folks are making marketing AND social media (the concept) overly complicated, so here’s a short list:

1. Research (Know thy audience)

2. Listen (Where are they congregating? What are they talking about? Who do they talk to? Do they like email and Twitter? Perhaps events and Facebook are the way to go...)

3. Benchmarks and/or KPIs (Where are you? Where have you done? What have you achieved?)

4. Plan (Have a plan that includes a goal, measurable objectives, strategies and tactics laid out before diving in! Then stick to the plan...only making adjustments when/where necessary.)

5. Interact (if your plan includes social media then BE social. It’s okay, really, to be professional and personable at the same time)

6. Rinse, wash, repeat

C.B.: Any other thoughts to share about the effectiveness of social media in forging stronger relations with customers and how best to do so?

Beth: Keeping with the simplicity theme, I think some people want to have relationships with brands they like and spend money with. Other people could care less about engaging brands. I think it’s important for organizations to know the difference so that they know where to spend their time. I think an honest relationship, where you aren’t always seeking something in return, lends itself to customers who want to stick around longer. That said, I also think it’s important to know when to have a line in the sand. While it’s wonderful to have relationships with customers, there will always be customers who take advantage of relationships...sometimes they are right to do so and sometimes they aren’t.

Thank you, Beth!

Comments? Questions? Feedback?

What do you connect with? Some of my takeaways from Beth's comments are:

+ "I always suggest to marketers who want to really understand social media that they join a community, group, or forum based on a hobby, brand they like or sport. Doing so forces you to engage as a ‘person’ rather than a corporate or brand talking head."
+ The only way to 'know thy audience' is to speak with them.
+ It's important for organizations to understand whether their audiences want to have a relationship or not so they know where to spend their time.

It should come as no surprise that I greatly appreciate Beth's focus on 'simplicity!'

For additional insights from other participants in the Social Media Series: Bridging New & Old, please visit The Entire Bridging New & Old series, which includes a link to the e-book based on the first 26 interviews in the series.

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Social Implications of The Retail Experience

2009-09-28T18:01:00.000-04:00

Ci sei dentro originally uploaded by Könrad.
The retail experience is profoundly social by its very nature. Don't you think? After all, it brings people together to interact over products and services. Sometimes it's one-on-one, other times in groups. Conversation ensues as a result of the interaction with the sales assistant and/or with shopping partners. Or, at least, it used to...

When consumers didn't walk into stores with so much information, knowing more than sales associates.

When sales associates were true relationship professionals, rather than order takers, who engaged customers in dialog to uncover needs, who consulted rather than forced a hard sell.

When consumers had more time on their hands and social shopping outings were an ideal means of getting caught up on friendship.

Interestingly, it looks like not all is lost. In fact, technology offers profound social implications for the retail experience - not necessarily as a result of the kind of scenario described in Prototype Store Checkouts Inspired by Internet Shopping Experiences [which I consider more of an efficiency enhancer], but rather because of the tools of social media that allow us to transfer and enhance the social elements of shopping on the consumer's terms. Through blogs, comments, comparisons and other new e-commerce tools.

Take the tools described in Social shopping is poised for growth that "enable two or more consumers in different locations to view the same product on an e-commerce site while trading comments back and forth." Example: Charlotte Russe and DecisionStep's ShopTogether service [definitely check out the demonstration video; I'm in awe over the options available for sharing and the ease of it] which has resulted in shopping not just with friends, but also with parents, siblings and other family members.

Very interesting.

[Here is ShopTogether applied to Area Rugs!]

How Retailers Can Benefit From Social Media offers additional examples of retailers using social media - such as ratings, reviews, recommendations, blogs, forums and photo sharing - to "transform their Web properties into online destinations with vibrant communities" by creating a "compelling content experience" which can lead to long-term trust and loyalty. Check out Whole Foods and its forums, and Comcast's Vehix.com.

Vehix.com is worth exploring. I love how clean the site it; not your typical car buying experience! Notice the ratings and reviews, and the community tab.

[The article also refers to Circuit City leveraging social media tools to help shoppers make decisions via integrated forums, but I couldn't find any signs of it other than references to Twitter and Facebook. Plus, the busy-ness of the website turned me off. If I missed it completely, could you let me know?]

According to a study by Ketchum and the University of Southern California's Annenberg Strategic PR Center, and described in Blogs making a bigger impact at the point of purchase, study finds, "consumers are more frequently basing their buying decisions on information gleaned from shopping Web sites, blogs, and social networking sites." That includes perspectives from peers. I love the article's characterization of Google as the "world's largest publication" because so many consumers [myself included] start their shopping at a search engine's query window.

You can glean more details from the study in Survey Reveals Media Channel Lines Continue to Blur about the 2008 US Media Myths & Realities survey.

Does your own personal online activity parallel any of these observations about online resources?

What's your reaction? How might online and digital social add analog social to your retail experience? What are the implications?

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Michael Benedict Discusses Deluxe & Small Business Marketing

2009-09-25T08:03:00.011-04:00

What comes to mind when I say "Deluxe?" If you think 'checks,' I'm with you. 100%. In fact that was my reaction when I received an inquiry from Deluxe to sponsor an ad on Flooring The Consumer. Next, was 'why?' I accepted the sponsorship on condition that I speak to and interview someone from Deluxe to better understand the 'why?' That's how I met Michael Benedict, who focuses on small business marketing at Deluxe, and discovered that Deluxe is more than the check company and Mike is serious about delivering value to his small business accounts.

C.B.: Mike, tell me about yourself and your role at Deluxe.

Mike: First of all, I really like small, independent businesses. I've been marketing to them for over 12 years, and make a real effort, professionally and personally, to find and visit independent businesses. I'm a Marketing Director for the Deluxe Corporation and focus on identifying and developing new industries. I'm working on two industries where we have a particularly strong presence - Retailing and Construction. One of the things I enjoy most is getting a list of our customers and spending a day visiting them. Recently, I spent most of a Friday in Hoboken, New Jersey on Washington Street speaking with Retailers. It's great to speak with folks directly - hear how business is going, understand how well we're serving them and figuring out how we can help them.

C.B.: Tell me about Deluxe. As I mentioned to you, I think of Deluxe as the check company but it has evolved into much more than that.

Mike: We are the check company. But we're undergoing a transformation to help small businesses with some of their key pain points. We've spent a lot of time listening to our customers to better understand where they need help. What they've communicated back is they need help with their marketing - especially in this economic climate. The challenge is marketing is often perceived by small businesses as complex and costly. Yet, it's so critical. With about 50% of small businesses not surviving past their 3rd year, they really need to get their name out there. They also need to think about how their current and potential customers can find them (more on this below).

Deluxe has (and is continuing) to reinvent itself to help small businesses easily and affordably get and keep customers. For example, we can help them create their business logo, design and host a website, develop email campaigns and even design, print and send direct mail for them. We go further by offering personalized apparel and promotional products. For Retailers in particular, we have an extensive Retail Packaging line under our Bags & Bows brand.

But we're more than just a bunch of products and services. We've taken time to tailor these products and services to help specific types of businesses like jewelers, builders, automotive repair shops, etc. We also have a wonderful, helpful sales organization that will hold a customer's hand through the process - a small business doesn't have to do this all on their own.

We go further by helping small businesses understand how they can get and keep customers, by offering free white papers, educational videos and articles. One of the things I've heard again and again over the years from small businesses is they know their craft, their area of specialization -- e.g., I know how to cook great Indian food, I'm a great electrician, I know my area of consulting, etc. -- but they don't necessarily understand how to promote and manage their business. This is why we're developing content for them, tailoring it to their type of business and putting it on deluxe.com/shop for free.

C.B.: Who are your customers?

Mike: Mostly very small, independent businesses. We work with all kinds of businesses, whether they be an auto mechanic, florist, dentist, manufacturer or builder.

C.B.: What are their biggest issues? How do you help them?

Mike: Their biggest issue is getting more business. And that requires them to market themselves, ongoingly, in addition to all their other responsibilities. But it's especially critical now, and not just because of the economy. The rapid expansion of ecommerce, mcommerce [mobile commerce] and social media means even local businesses need to have an online presence. There are still a number of small businesses that still don't have websites, and that's leaving money on the table.

I'll give you an example. I recently relocated to New Jersey from Massachusetts. I live in a heavily urbanized area, with a large number of small businesses. Like most people, I search for products, services, restaurants, etc. on Google. So, if you don't have a website, much less one that's optimized for organic search [aka SEO], you won't be found. I read a statistic where about 40 million Americans relocate every year. As a small business, ask yourself how people know you exist? If someone new moves into the neighborhood, how can they find you?

C.B.: You’ve sponsored an ad on this blog, why? What are you hoping to achieve?

Mike: I reviewed dozens of blogs and liked your focus on helping the independent retailer. It fits well with our strategy of providing more content for retailers. I also believe retailers, and small businesses in general, need to invest more in social media. Your blog's emphasis on social media is refreshing and needed!

C.B.: Are you doing this with other blogs?

Mike: Yes. I'm linking to the construction blog www.markupandprofit.com. It's a wonderful blog with all kinds of great advice for the independent contractor, from how to promote their business to how to manage the books. Its author, Michael Stone, is an industry veteran who has a strong pulse on independent contractors and how to help them. He just completed several educational videos and white papers for us, and has spoken at our trade booth at the JLC Live Show.

C.B.: What do you like most about social media?

Mike: It's a wonderful venue to ongoingly interact with and listen to our customers and small businesses in general. You hear their pain points. For larger companies like ours that have customers nationwide, it's a critical tool to stay in touch. We have thousands of conversations each week with our small businesses through our Inbound and Outbound call centers, so social media is another point to listen, join the conversation and offer advice. We especially like the real-time feedback social media offers - you can go out to Twitter during the day and see and respond to the latest posts. We also use Twitter @DeluxeCorp to inform small businesses of great articles, tips and events to help them Get and Keep customers. We want to provide thought leadership in this space as well.

C.B.: How has Deluxe’s marketing changed?

Mike: There's a lot going on! We updated our corporate branding, launched marketing campaigns that are focused on specific industry segments and re-launched our website. We're also providing more educational content like I mentioned such as webinars, videos, white papers, articles and blogs that help specific verticals market themselves. We're trying to be as close and relevant to the customer as possible.

I think the biggest change though in our marketing is small businesses will see we're so much more than a check company. We can help them with so many aspects of their marketing, and they have the comfort of knowing what they're purchasing is backed by a company that stands behind its work. When I speak with small businesses, so many of them are trying to do marketing on their own, or relying on a family member or friend to help them. In the same breath they'll also tell you it's taken 6 months to get their website up and running, or that they tried to get a logo designed and we're not happy with the outcome. And they spend a lot of money in the process. It's not uncommon to hear a small business owner say they spent thousands on a logo or website design. We can help them in these arenas (and many others) at an affordable price and back it up with a strong guarantee.

C.B.: What about establishing your own voice online? Do you see that happening?

Mike: Deluxe is definitely expanding its voice online. You can find us on Twitter and we'll be launching on Facebook shortly. We're also in the process of setting up a blog. Stay tuned for more!

Thank you, Mike!

Were you aware that this 90+ year old company offered such a range of services? Deluxe seems to be -- in addition to the checks -- a few parts VistaPrint, several parts GoDaddy [with whom I do most of my web-related transactions], and perhaps some PIP printing & marketing services. But also more.

Do you have questions or reactions for Mike? Ideas for him to consider?

Any surprises relating to marketing and small businesses? I was surprised to hear that 50% of small businesses don't survive past their 3rd year. And that marketing is as much of a challenge. No surprise about the need to be found online [that is the subject of an upcoming FCW article].

I've enjoyed my discussions about small business dynamics with Mike and comparing notes on examples of creativity and success across industry segments. I look forward to more conversations and I'm particularly eager to hear how Deluxe's marketing continues its online evolution!

You can reach Mike via email at michael.benedict@deluxe.com.

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