Email Yogi

Post too Much!

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

Ever worry about posting too much on your Twitter account or Facebook status? While these social networking tools are great ways to keep in touch there is a downside to them as well, a recent MSN Travel article details how one man’s out of town/ vacation status may had led to a burglary.

Israel Hyman of Arizona owns an online video business, he uses Twitter to connect and generate buzz and has earned over 2K followers… he now believes that his Twitter updates tipped the burglars off when he updated his account with his vacation status. According to the article, only very specific video editing equipment was taken from his home.

Don’t fit the same fate, keep the social networking sites dedicated to your business business-focused; keep close tabs on contacts that you allow in your personal social networking sites and when in doubt, post after the fact!

Outlook 2010

2009-07-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

Various industry blogs have been commenting on the upcoming release of MS Outlook; although still in beta testing, the word on the street is that Outlook 2010 will continue to use MS Word as the rendering engine (same as the current 2007 version.) This decision will continue to impact your email rendering; specifically your emails delivered to Outlook, users will NOT have support for:
- Background images (HTML or CSS)
- Animated GIFs
- Forms
- CSS floats or positioning
- Flash or other plug-ins

One of the best detailed write ups is posted on the Email Standards Project by Dave Greiner (Email Client News.) This post details more about the issues at hand and shows how these decisions will render emails going forward. The part that I find most interesting is the social media response (via Twitter.) Tons of interested parties have gone out to voice their opinion on http://fixoutlook.org/, you too can weigh in and possibly influence the release of Outlook 2010 (approximately a year away.)

This is yet another use of social media to group and influence change in our industry.

Fiskateers

2009-07-08T08:00:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago we posted about the success Liz Claiborne New York saw through the creation of an online community. Their story is a great example of how to boost brand awareness and loyalty while simultaneously getting insight from their target market.

Cut to a related story on Fiskars Brands, 350+ year old Finland-based Company, they were seeing low brand loyalty following the introduction of a knock-off version of their products… in response they launched a huge R&D push which showed that despite recognition, they weren’t making an emotional connection. With the goal of increasing brand name mentions and sales in specific geographic regions, Fiskars sent out a national call for part-time (paid) Fiskars Ambassadors, after selections and an intense few days of training the five selected Ambassadors began spreading the word about the true Fiskars products.

These Ambassadors regularly post to a blog about their work – attending tradeshows, lead classes, chat online and interact with stores/ owners to build brand but never sell. In 24 hours they had 200 Ambassadors. There was an increase of conversations online – some 600%. They saw a near 60% increase in hits online, increased sales in stores that hosted a Fiskateer and most importantly saw the creation of marketing tools, events (online and offline) as well as valuable feedback to marketing and product development while strengthening the company's connection to customers.

Just more proof that social media is a great way to connect with existing and emerging consumers… will you have the next big idea?

Capturing IDs Correctly

2009-07-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine runs marketing for a major sports team, during each game he has interns walking through the aisles handing out paper to get fans to enter a contest – a single entry collects the fan’s email and other contact information and gives them the chance to win a season ticket package and other prizes. They have tons of entries but it’s a logistical nightmare… his team is really behind with entering the information into their database he even has to throw out some of the cards because the info is illegible

Another friend runs a major charity; she tries her best to have volunteers collect money at public places. People are kind to her but she struggles to get enough volunteers to stand out in the weather during the holidays and solicit donations. Her bigger challenge is how to collect personal contact information from the donors – after all, these are people who have donated something and are likely to give in the future. Obviously adding this to the volunteer’s responsibilities will be a pain, and will likely reduce their success rate… plus she’ll have the challenge of inputting all the information in a timely manner.

A third friend works for a major financial institution, he has great signage to collect email IDs but only has about a 30% capture rate in his bank branches… what’s worse is that people don't pay as much attention to the campaigns after they’ve signed up.

All three of them seek your input; give us your ideas and suggestions to better capture information and improve readership! Your comments will help all blog readers!

Email & Sleep Deprivation

2009-07-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

We took an informal poll of eMarketers to find out what elements of their email program keep them up at night. We wanted to know their challenges and hope to incorporate these in future Service In Action call topics and Panel of Peers sessions. Here are 15 from some of the best in the industry:

1) How do I get higher conversions/ clicks from the people who’ve opened? How to boost sales?
2) How do I make sure the data is segmented correctly?
3) How do I improve my deliverability?
4) How do I truly integrate different channels; where should I start? How should I combine the cross-channel data collected?
5) How do I deal with unsubscribes – reduce the number and deal with those who want to drop off?
6) How do I best explain our eMarketing program to management?
7) How do I really get started with social media?
8) How do I integrate social media marketing in my overall marketing efforts (print)?
9) How do I reduce the time spent on executing email marketing campaigns?
10) While analyzing results, what should I look at first? Who else should analyze results?
11) How do I reduce marketing spend without leaving out impressions?
12) How do I deal with email being perceived as SPAM?
13) How do I make sure the recipient is not receiving too much email? How often should he/ she be targeted?
14) How do I survey the recipient? How do I ask questions? What should I ask?
15) How to grow the list (effectively)?

Be sure to share yours with us, a quick email or comment can get your idea on the radar for a future Learning Network event.

Ask Them (Part III)

2009-07-02T08:00:00.003-04:00

So you have their information (tips from yesterday and Tuesday) in your database, including their email ID… now the challenge is making sure you get them to pay attention to your campaigns. We all know that an email capture is not just about getting their ID; it’s about ensuring that your recipient is interested in what you’re sending.

Start by getting your team to be proficient users of your email program, your goal should be 100% opens and clicks by your own people. If your team is paying attention to your program – they’ll be in a better position to describe the emails to your customers/ prospects. Don't forget to have signs in your store/ branch and posted on your other channels listing the benefits of your email program – really crisp messages to 1) entice the user to sign up; and 2) stress to the recipient that you have a program worth their attention.

Try to keep your solicitation messaging consistent across channels, run internal contests to reward your own people – on email collection and email capture effectiveness. Define email capture effectiveness as a scoring system for a customer to both open and click your campaigns. It is not just about collecting names, it’s about getting people to pay attention.

Share your ideas with us and look for future posts on effective ideas to get your customers engaged.

Ask Them (Part II)

2009-07-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

My friend (yesterday's post) has learned a lot about her program over the past year and offers a fresh perspective based on lessons learned, here are some tips I’ve offered to enhance her outreach:

1) Spend a little more time engaging the customer in relevant dialogue; talk to them about the product they’ve purchased, solicit their input and point out your digital assets – sell them on visiting these portions of your site and sharing information.

2) As you sell them on these digital assets and associated benefits, be crisp and precise – make sure you have this scripted so there is no confusion by the reps. A consistent branded message across channels goes a long way in keeping things clear.

3) Take a little extra time to get their email ID, get them to notice your Facebook page, let them follow you on Twitter. Don't just ask for their email first, describe the benefits of your program and only then ask… this increases your chances of collecting the information.

This intelligent conversation gives your brand credibility, makes your reps look real and helps to engage your customers.

Ask Them (Part I)

2009-06-30T08:00:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine runs marketing for a retail store chain and does a great job collecting customer information; at check out, the store reps ask customers for additional information with the following offers:

1) If we add you to our database, you’ll be able to look at your purchase history online
2) You’ll be able to return/ exchange items without a receipt
3) You’ll get advanced notice of sales and special events – before the public

Her capture rate is high, both in-store and across channels – web and catalog – with the majority of customers including their email addresses (regardless of channel.) Apply her model to your marketing program – tie your customer contact info with purchase history, you’ll be able to segment and target with 1:1 personalized offers. You can also do follow up on returns/ exchanges with targeted messages that can inquire about the reasoning, experience and/ or prescribe an alternate. The pre-sale events are always good, this could be in the form of additional days notice or through a special event after (before) store hours and could be the pre-cursor to a first responders club.

Talk to your ESP about extending their data storage for you so that you can capture additional data fields on your customer base and their purchases. Your site, email and their transaction could be used as a contactless loyalty program system.

SIA Recap: Three Must Haves for Social Media

2009-06-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

If you missed Friday’s Service In Action call… you missed out! We used our time to talk about the use of Social Media and offered a few musts to get everything in line for your social networking outreach. The call is available as a podcast on the SIA site, but we also have a few supporting points to add:

First, here are the links that we shared on the Facebook topic – Facebook for Marketers, Facebook for Influencers (celebrities, through leaders etc.) and Facebook for Non-Profits. Check these out for news from the source; you’ll also get insight on their features as well as updates they have planned for the channel.

There are also tons of articles on Twitter, one such article is from the Internet Marketing Toolbox, their recent post, Best use of Twitter, offers some dos and don’ts to consider as you are sending your tweets out into the Twittersphere! Bear these points in mind and be creative with this medium, as mentioned on the call some conferences are using Twitter to stream live feeds during events (including last week’s Windy City Social.)

Blogs are your tried and true medium… one of the firsts in the social media genera and serve as more of a record than any of the other due likely to their search-ability, website feel and general acceptance.

Finally, be sure that your adventures in social media are anchored in your established communications (i.e. your emails and on your home page.)

P.S. Be sure to mark your calendar for the July Service In Action on Mobile Marketing on July 30!

Socialthing!

2009-06-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

Are your social networking efforts spreading you too thin? Well consolidate… I recently read about a service called Socialthing! a repository for all of your social sites. This service brings together news from 14 different sites including Facebook, Twitter and Flikr so you only have to visit one place to see what your friends are up to… it’s the single source for your digital life. Socialthing! consolidates all the social sites you use into one single interface and allows you to interact with multiple sites at once.

Still trying to enhance your digital life? Then make plans to join us for today’s Service In Action call… we’re reviewing the Three Social Media musts – we’ll give you insight on the top three social media initiatives, insider tips and ways to get into the game.

SIA: Three Must Haves for Social Media

2009-06-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

We have talked about the importance of engagement and the absolute importance of social media. Many are jumping on the social media bandwagon, but aren’t making the most of their efforts. Join tomorrow's Service In Action call, as we talk about the must dos for social media – we’ll cover the top three channels, show you some best practices and prescribe the best way to leverage them into your marketing mix.

Brush up on this week’s posts, they’re full of social media examples and tips for your eMarketing efforts!

Word-of-Mouth still Powerful

2009-06-24T08:00:00.002-04:00

Seems everyone is going social, we’ve even blogged about three success stories this week and there are tons more… but as a marketer, you can’t ignore the old-fashioned word of mouth and the value that it brings to the consumer.

A couple recent eMarketer articles have talked about the importance of the world’s first marketing medium, their Trust Word-of-Mouth article highlights three recent studies – all showing that advertisers aren’t highly trusted by consumers and that those who could influence were family and friends. Also included were statistics on the type of purchase – i.e. restaurant recommendations were near the top of the list, electronics and groceries were also part of the scope. A related article, Whose Word-of-Mouth Matters?, adds to the first – essentially showing that Word-of-Blog is less persuasive as compared to the advice of friends.

So as a marketer it’s important to play toward the social side of marketing – make it easy for your recipients to post content on their social media profile, recommend purchases to their friends and family. Consider the same for your product review, a simple forward feature to pass along what you wrote to your closest contacts. This strategy combines current trends while helping you reach to the recipient’s immediate contacts. Also consider a friends/ family viral campaign to help your recipients get use to the idea of sharing your content with others and never forget great customer service… that’s the best way to get the endorsement.

Claiborne Community

2009-06-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

In yesterday’s post we talked about the way Social Media can play an important role in customer service – Comcast and TurboTax are some of the front runners in their use of Twitter.

Similarly, Liz Claiborne has had success with a virtual focus group; their EVP for Partnered Brands, Dave McTague, was recently interviewed by BrandWeek’s Todd Wasserman. His interview details how social media continues to be the darling of the marketing world… in this case, Liz Claiborne used a community to get gather focus group research and help relaunch their entire brand.

For this initiative, Liz Claiborne New York (LCNY) established a private community of 300. Through the community, members were able to interact with LCNY Creative Director, Isaac Mizrahi, and had the opportunity to be incentivized for their participation. LCNY had the chance to gain insight on their demographic, their needs, wants and essentially their closets to help gear the future brand direction. Additionally LCNY also had the chance to test out a new medium, how their client base would accept it and target real consumers in a meaningful way.

The wonderful part about eMarketing and Social Media is that you can quickly and cost-efficiently establish a focus group to gain interaction on every campaign, interaction and project. Simply including a “Tell us what you Think” link at the bottom of your emails, including an invitation for feedback on your social sites and surveying your recipients.

Here to Stay

2009-06-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Social Media is the way of the future, sure the most popular sites will change, but as a whole this is where the people are… naturally that’s where many companies are trying to play. The trick is determining how to interact and make it valuable for the brand and the recipient.

Some of the most popular approaches are contests, discounts, promotions etc. the traditional viral spread, but others have taken a different, more service-oriented route. We’ve mentioned the work Comcast has done with Twitter to form an online help desk, where CSRs and other users tweet about concerns and common fixes. Another similar use is the work done by TurboTax; they’ve seen similar success with the forum.

This popularity is likely a cause for the recent Datamonitor study. Ian Jacobs, a Senior Analyst for Datamonitor, was recently interviewed by InfoWorld about the trends they’ve seen with call centers adopting the social interaction. In the article, Jacobs touches on how social sites can strengthen the bonds between a consumer and brand… maybe a tweet taking place of a customer service call, or a comment on a fan page serving as a testimonial or part of focus group research.

With social media, the trick for marketers is finding that balance that is natural, Jacobs mentions the example of a consumer complaint – as a brand ambassador it could work for you to proactively reach out in an attempt to solve the issue. If done correctly; you’ve just strengthened your brand.

As a marketer, you have to go where your consumers are; companies avoiding the social scene all together are likely to lose touch with emerging demographics as well as substantial ground in the realm of eMarketing.

Reduce, Re-Tweet

2009-06-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

Twitter’s popularity is undeniable… Oprah’s there, CNN and Ashton have over two million followers each. But there’s more to this micro-blogging site than coordinating simple status updates – it can actually help you with your subject lines.

Andy Sernovitz recently posted How to write a Twitter-worthy headline in his Andy’s Answers column 8on the SmartBlog on Social Media. Andy talks about the re-Tweet effect, ways to keep your headlines short, telling and informative.

Andy’s tips can also translate to email subject line success – mainly because there are tons of eMarketers with too long subject lines. As a best practice 30-45 characters are your optimum subject line length, fitting in most inbox/ preview panes (20 characters or less for mobile.)

Play with the words, order and the story your subject line tells. Follow Andy’s tips and make sure you’re getting the most out of the limited number of words you have to convince re-Tweeting, an open or conversion.

Inbox Filtering

2009-06-18T08:00:00.003-04:00

Yahoo Mail recently deployed a new inbox sorting feature that allows users to streamline their inbox, now users can narrow their “View From” and display messages only from their contacts or connections – a new social networking tie in.

This new feature impacts the eMarketing Community in a couple ways; first, your Yahoo subscribers may inadvertently sort out your messages. If you’re not on their safe sender/ contacts list then they will need to select the “All” feature in their inbox to view your emails. Please note this feature doesn’t impact your deliverability… SPAM Sirens won’t sound, but you may be filtered out unbeknownst to the recipient which could impact your engagement.

To insure you make the cut, assess the number of recipients on your list with a Yahoo! address (remember that there are three – yahoo.com, ymail.com and rocketmail.com.) Create a special campaign for those recipients – be clever and timely. Make reference to the recent Yahoo! updates and let them know you want to be on their friend list so that they’ll receive your best offers. From there, watch your activity among the group – are you seeing a decline in opens/ clicks for this segment versus past campaigns?

Regardless of the domain, make sure your recipients are receiving your message. Some great ways to make this happen are to 1) make sure you ask for the safe sender/ contact add from the start; 2) include instructions on how to add with each message (something simple, at the bottom) and 3) periodically send a “stay connected” invitation when new features/ updates are made available. A great approach for your top domains is a Dynamic Whitelisting push – here’s a past post with the how to information to coordinate the outreach for your top domains. You can also read more about the new Yahoo features on their blog.

Join the Club

2009-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

We recently visited with one of our retail customers; their multi-channel approach includes paper, brick and email. They email quite frequently and are very motivated by their open rate… because this is one of the three ways they generate revenue.

The first way is through Memberships – The retailer allows members exclusive concierge and pricing privileges to discounts, members can purchase products before others and are allowed to shop while the store is not busy.

The general sale of Merchandise is the second way, the basic commerce aspect – more product/ services generate more revenue, this is often driven by the email campaigns.

Finally they generate revenue through Email Sponsorships, their campaigns feature certain products and the cost of that campaign is covered by the vendor whose item has the hero spot. The open rate, click and conversion information is shared with the sponsor – along with the opportunity to sponsor a future campaign.

Your marketing strategy may be different, but you can apply their approach to your campaigns, create an email club with your top responders. Give these recipients the privilege of receiving your email campaigns first, offer special events or offers... make them special. Email us if you need a whitepaper to help get you started.

Three Seconds

2009-06-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

Three to five seconds – that’s the amount of time the average reader of your email campaign spends looking at your message. Notice we said reader, not recipient… for these precious seconds you’ve had to have made it to their inbox and earned an open. Seems pretty daunting doesn’t it? Imagine what has to be done to get a conversion…

To make the most of your brief time on stage, make sure your message is clear. Make sure that the recipient knows what is expected of them so that your message isn’t simply being deleted and your chances aren’t ruined the next time.

The Art of Mono-Tasking
The multi-tasking, multi-channel world is the reason for these brief seconds of glory… don’t fall victim yourself, practice the art of mono-tasking, The Dumb Little Man Blog tells you how.

You can apply this practice to your campaigns, review each critically – switch of all distractions, minimize interruptions and set a timer (maybe 15 minutes.) Evaluate the engagement earned – how many opens, clicks and conversions were earned? Focus as narrowly as possible, measure over similar campaigns sent last week, month etc. What made one campaign more successful than another?

Make notes how you can improve your future campaigns, prioritize these changes and use the metrics you’ve earned to strengthen engagement. Gather feedback from others – each week print out a couple copies of your campaigns and randomly ask people in your group/ company to give feedback on ways to improve. Select people at random, choosing new guinea pigs each week; acknowledge their feedback and incorporate the ideas you can – your campaigns will strengthen and your ideas for new campaigns will grow.

Buyer and Marketer

2009-06-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

As an online marketer, you’re probably well versed in the way your web store works and how your products/ services differ from competitors. But do you understand the mentality of your customers – do you know why people buy from your web store? Do you know the process from the buyer’s perspective?
Like an email audit, your web store process could benefit from a quarterly check-up. Here are some best practices we’ve gleaned from consumer surveys, industry research and interviews with eMarketers from around the globe:
1) Thou shall Scale – Your images can't be broken, landing pages must work, emails have to be delivered on time.
2) Navigation & Clarity – The front end should be clean, easy to navigate and have enough detail. This includes the usability on landing pages.
3) Solicit and Share Feedback – Make the most of your feedback mechanisms – comments, praises and issue/ resolution. Capitalize on social media options; these are excellent ways to expand your reach.
4) Audit – Remove any obstacles to the conversion process. Test for simplicity, view emails, browse offers, click, choose and checkout.
5) Emphasize Security and Trust – Are your emails, personal and secure? Work toward these goals, then publicize that they are. Become an informative, trusted source for your consumer. Be aware of PCI and FFIEC compliance, we can help. Email us if you’d like more information on these two terms or would like help constructing a quarterly review.

Standing Out

2009-06-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

The next time you go to a mall, shopping plaza or superstore, look around, you’re sure to find smaller stores with niche offerings as well as discount stores too. If you walk through each of these stores you’ll quickly realize their purpose – the niche stores have a finite quantity of unique, often one-of-a-kind items. Discount stores have their fixed, staple products that are always present and maybe a few items that change seasonally.

If you apply this thinking to your email program, you’re sure to have companies that compete with you – same products, similar offers. How do you stand out? Here are a few points to consider:

Vary offers, even within segments.

Staple Products are your core, make it easy to locate these items and be sure to pay attention to the consumer’s price/ frequency thresholds.

Incorporate a search function that can be launched from your emails.

Offer superb service, keep your other channels link prominent – call us, ask us, online chat etc.

Ask/ Answer – Include a link to the FAQ section, this helps create expectations for the consumer. Take it a step further by recognizing people for asking questions – reward them, if possible.

Be consist with your layout, but mix things up within the space to keep things interesting.

Solicit feedback all the time, but don't forget that you have to respond to the feedback – acknowledge and adjust.

Lost in Transmission

2009-06-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

SPAM… we’ve all got, no one wants it, but what do you do with it?

According to a recent article in eMarketer, there’s been a SPAM spike, a 5.1% increase last month. The study cited goes on to say that 90.4% of May’s worldwide email traffic was SPAM, with hard hit areas in Hong Kong, the UK, Australia and Japan… the US faired slightly better with an estimated 87% of May’s total email volume being SPAM related.

Where does it come From?
Geographically speaking, nearly a third of SPAM originates in Europe per the eMarketing article; followed closely by Asia, South America and then North America. This breakout also corresponds to when recipients receive their SPAM – US residents see increases during the work day, starting at 9AM local time. Asia receives theirs in the evening and Europe throughout the day. Worldwide, we see more activity on Mondays and Fridays with the least on Sundays.

The article goes on to state that over half of the SPAM volume (some 57.6%) is sent through botnets – a collection of computers (sometimes thousands) that send messages without the owner’s knowledge. Much of the US SPAM originates from smaller, unclassified botnets or free Webmail solutions like Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail.

Even if you’re running a clean email marketing program, odds are you’re just a drop in the ocean of SPAM. Our friends at Return Path published a Benchmark Report in 2008 that showed less than 20% of mail (world-wide) were sent from legitimate servers… of that 0.63% was classified as commercial email – proof that email deliverability is an up-hill battle for all eMarketers.

Available Resources
In addition to the items cited in this article, our most recent Service In Action call focused on Deliverability. This call is available as a podcast on the site and we can send you a copy of the corresponding presentation.

There are also tons of research and whitepapers on the Return Path site. There are also services including Goodmail available – Goodmail recently participated in a webcast intensive for Financial Solutions, feel free to access this webcast on the Service In Action site.

Finally, remember to keep your virus protection software up to date so that you don’t accidentally become a Spammer against your will.

Nasty Hidden Fees

2009-06-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

I enjoy watching marketing messages and low fare updates from a particular air carrier, they have a great sense of humor in their campaigns and commercials which helps them to be extremely engaging. Unfortunately, they don’t operate out of my local airport so it’s not too often when I can take one of their flights.

That changed recently when I got a great deal from San Francisco to Las Vegas; I had arrived three hours early for my flight to Vegas so I walked up to the counter to try for the flight scheduled to leave in the next 30 minutes. To my surprise, I was told that I had purchased a cheap fare and could only change my flight for the difference in the tickets. I asked if the flight was full… it wasn’t, nearly half empty, which kinda hurt.

I sat at the terminal and reached out to their call center, via online and phone. The phone rep put me on hold after learning the nature of my issue, and then politely declined access to the flight (it had already taken off by this point.) The online channel got back to me five days later with a long explanation of how they are able to offer great deals and service. The message also included a link to a press mention of their customer service ranking. The last line of the email stated their policy and said they looked forward to my next flight with them. The email was so long, so boring and the ending so expectedly, it has cast a shadow over their marketing messages – completely counter to the messages they send.

Meanwhile back at the gate…
So I waited the three long hours for my ticketed flight, which gave me plenty of time to speak to the crew from my flight. They told me that the decision to put me on the flight was entirely up to the gate agent and that they were really surprised that they didn’t accommodate me. The captain and I chatted for a while, he even acknowledged how poorly they handled the situation – I remember his comment so clearly, he said, “What happened to you is the easiest way to lose customers. We had could have gotten you on the previous flight which had plenty of seats… if we had, you would have raved about us. Instead we pissed you off.”

As a marketer, all outreach should be taken into consideration… this includes those canned Customer Service messages. My experience is a great example; the customer service response I received was irrelevant, unfocused and included mostly fluff. Are your policies and practices undermining the work your marketing is building? Consider this recent post, it’s a similar situation but much better outcome for the person impacted… I’m sure he’s a fan.

No Phone… Just Email and Facebook

2009-06-09T08:00:00.004-04:00

I was at an airline baggage office last week because my bag hadn't showed up yet. I was complaining about my rerouting… I was supposed to fly back from San Jose but instead had been rerouted from San Francisco to Las Vegas then to Atlanta and finally back home. While there I commiserated with a young soldier who was trying to locate a lost bag, he had flown from Burlington, Vermont, to New York, then to Atlanta and finally with me to Columbia, SC. He too was missing his bag – which we learned had been shipped with another person to Pasco, Washington. I was at home, but the soldier was only in Columbia for a day. The next day he was bound back to Atlanta to go to Zhou Shan, China, from there to Misawa, Japan. From Misawa he was going to be shipped to an undisclosed location – he was carrying his sealed orders with him.

The airline rep arranged to have his bag shipped to him in Misawa, except she needed to connect with him once there. He wasn't sure if his cell phone was going to work, and he wasn't going to break the seal to tell her where he was being sent once he landed. All of a sudden the young soldier said he would have access to email and Facebook, so he volunteered those IDs. He was certain he would check his Facebook page at every destination... unfortunately the representative wasn't allowed to access Facebook. She asked for an exception, called her company and got permission to communicate with him via email and Facebook.

A week later I was bound for another city but checked in the terminal to see what had happened, thankfully, the soldier had received his bag because he was able to share his final destination via Facebook, proof that Facebook is more than a social site – you can use it for communication, customer service, sales, loyalty – the potential abounds.

Make plans to join us on June 26 for our Service In Action call focused on the Three Social Media Absolutes.

Cut Costs, Improve Experiences & Retain Customers

2009-06-08T08:00:00.002-04:00

We just wrapped an interesting case study with a financial institution, our goal is three fold – reduce expenses, improve customer experiences and customer retention. Our first step was to define customer retention – we realized that retaining the customer was not just having them keep their money in the bank, retaining the customer required interaction, up-sells and insuring that the customer came to us for all their financial transactions.

Next we listed all the paper mailed to the customer, to that we added the cost of preparing/ sending paper statements – needless to say we were more than a little surprised to see how much money was being spent. We engaged a few members of the call center to proactively reach out to customers in hopes of converting customers to the email program, all with the goal of reducing expenses.

Next we tried to maximize every contact opportunity with the client. We realized that the customer spent time online; we tracked what they did and captured reverse preferences in a contact management database available to the CSRs – now, every time the customer contacted the bank, we had a frame of reference. Rather than selling the customer directly, we provided up-sells to the CSR to present to the customer.

We next came up with the plan of being extremely prompt in our follow up, every inquiry was quickly acted upon and every transaction was acknowledged (across all channels.) The customer’s questions were answered expeditiously and we introduced a transactional survey to help them keep score on us. Additionally, we shared the report card back with the customer – an effective strategy to help retention.

As an FI, use this three-pronged approach to draft an effective plan to retain customers and engage new prospects, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can influence the relationships with your customers/ members.

Unthought-of Social Media Uses

2009-06-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

Social media has become our norm and not just for entertainment value – police, doctors and even astronauts are Tweeting, using Video and opening up for their various uses.

Police Video – Officers in Cornwall & Devon, UK, are using YouTube to help find an attacker, the officers have posted closed circuit television images of a suspect on YouTube in hopes that the video will bring forward witnesses to help identify a man accused of assault.

120 CCs in 140 Characters – According to a NY Times article, more than 250 hospitals use YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or blogs to market their services and create awareness. The article details live Twitter feeds from the OR, YouTube video of a craniotomy and even the use of Facebook to locate participants for hard-to-fill clinical trials.

Long Distance – Astronaut Mike Massimino may be the first to Tweet from outer space, writing from orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard and enjoying the magnificent views; the adventure of lifetime has begun! Okay, maybe he’s not the first with the title… he actually sent an email to NASA who updated the Twitter page – a small step for man, large leap for Twitter popularity.