Increasing Employee & Client Engagement

No matter the product, service or whatever you are tackling… Take it to the edge. Take a look at the last posts  

Are You Worth Mentioning http://bit.ly/1dJeps   
Are You Memorable http://bit.ly/1fIJRx

Your product or service needs to be an extreme that is so different… that people sit up and go I can’t believe what I just saw.   It was the coolest; it had the sleekest design or whatever it takes to fill that headspace in the mind of the consumer to separate you from your competition.

An important step is to plan on how to market it before you build it…  If you have not already determined if it is going to be on the edge, remarkable and so great that people will talk about it then don’t do it.  Take the extra time to create awesome packaging, create an unbelievable design.   Find a unique way to get people to take notice. 

Seth used the example of a bank that wanted to really bring to light that it had more ATM’s than any other bank.  So he suggested they shuffle a couple of 100 bills in the 20 slot through out the entire ATM system.   It reminded me of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory. Can you imagine the reaction that people would have by getting $100 by surprise?  They will be excited, and they will share with their friends. 

Design, What is it good For?  Design is a much more important element than we give it credit for.   Seth Godin talks about time.  You can buy accurate time for about $5 or so.  So a watch that is $10K is just as accurate as the $5 watch.  So it is not accuracy of time that gets people to buy a watch.  It is the style, design.  The product is the marketing.  It is so cool or different that people take notice and comment about it.

I really noticed this on my wife’s wedding ring…  We had a solitaire that was a very nice size and a band for a long time.  It wasn’t the biggest diamond, but almost colorless princess diamond.    I did months of research finding the perfect diamond for my budget.  It was beautiful in its own right but no one really remarked on it. 

On one of our anniversaries, I wanted to really make her ring stand out.  I went to a custom jewelry maker and had a setting made with Baggett diamonds to surround the original stone.  We took a lot of time in the design (several weeks worth of molding the prefect design before we actually cast it) so that it would maximize the beauty of the diamond I had originally bought.  My wife was so excited when she saw it.  She absolutely was taken back by it.  We cannot go anywhere where someone doesn’t comment on it.    It is not the size or the cost, BUT the design.

So don’t just be different, be extraordinarily monumentally unique…  That is the only way to win.  If you do not, then you are just a commodity.   People do not deserve to take notice.   You have to give them reason and earn it.

Be clear, I used a product example but this is for anything.  Design of a website, design of whatever you want people to notice.

I was watching the launch of Google Wave…  http://wave.google.com/  One of the interesting comments I heard and something I felt worth mentioning and repeating.  If email were built today, what would it look like.  Email has been around a long time and it has remained the same basically.  Well technology has changed so much while email has remained archaic.  Look at Wikis, new collaboration tools, things that would incorporate beautifully into email.  Well Google decided to take the stance of reinventing email in the 21st century programming.

Take a look at your business and if it was created today in the 21st century what would it look like?  What new things would be added?  What wish list would you add?  What would you change?  What would need to make it happen?

The greatest thing is it doesn’t have to be expensive to change…  Cost is not the factor.  It just has to be to the edge better.   It could be the smallest change or a complete reinvention.  Something worth getting excited about. 

What can you do to the design of your website, your packaging, your service that will make people take notice.

Other Related Articles
Are You Worth Mentioning http://bit.ly/1dJeps   
Are You Memorable http://bit.ly/1fIJRx

So if you are actively trying to get people to talk about you and remember you…  then you better make the experience unforgettable (or at least for a short term memorable) so they will tell someone about it.  This requires care and really looking at the overall interaction and dividing it into pieces and make sure every part of it is the best it can be and special enough to share.

Read Last Article - Are You Worth Mentioning - http://bit.ly/1dJeps

There is only so much information you can have in your head…  It is already filled in certain spaces. So just doing things a little bit better is worthless because it will not take enough to move the clutter in your brain. It has to be so different that it opens a whole new area of your brain where it doesn’t compete with anything.

In Dave Balter’s book Word of Mouth he talks about…  how people only have room for 40 products like Casey Kasem’s top 40 list. That list is ever changing. It is either skyrocketing up the charts or spiraling down. That list changes every second.  So your goal has got to be to stay on that list.  It requires sensational, substantial & sustained effort.

Seth Godin used a cool idea about creating a memorable experience…  When a famous person stays at a hotel, that they write their signature on the shower curtain or somewhere like that.  How many people would you tell if you saw your favorite celebrity’s name on the wall and you could tell everybody you had the same room as Tiger Woods.  He would probably be one of the few to really get me excited.  That would be memorable.

Although I know I could never afford a room he was staying in anyway…  I doubt we frequent the same hotels or rooms for that matter.   Although with my name Charles Hudson Rothschild IV, I have had people think I am part of a line I am not.  I remember they told my asst one time that the presidential penthouse was not available and would I be willing to take just an enlarged suite.   I said, what did you tell them… you told them who I really was right?  I can barely afford a closet, more or less a room…

Now the only thing left to do is build it.   How can you better build your company to be memorable?

Other Related Articles
Are You Worth Mentioning http://bit.ly/1dJeps   
Build It And They Will Come http://bit.ly/QDy4t

WOW, thanks so much for all the responses and emails.  I think the Free vs Fee Debate is real. 
In case you didn’t read it - http://chadrothschild.com/social-media/free-or-fee-debate

Of the tons of responses, the number one concern is about if a company gives away all of its content, then how can the company viably make a profit?

First, there is no rule you can not charge for your content.  The dilemna is that the person reading wants it to be free and the person providing wants it to be very expensive.  You just have to make sure that your content is unbelievable, because that will determine the volume of people who are willing to pay for it.  If people feel it is incredible, then it can spread.  The lower barriers you put on your content, the better chance it has of spreading horizontally. 

The real issue and obstacle is that online content is expected to be free and for a most part it is. So it really comes down to quality of content “perceived” by every person in “their world”, their circumstances etc.
Read the rest of this entry »

Application Programming Interface
API – is basically a set of routines, protocols provided by operating system services in order to support the building of applications.  When you open up Adobe Reader on your windows application, that is because Microsoft gave Adobe the API instructions or code to write their programming to open up in Windows. 

Now, I am not a programmer by any stretch of the imagination.   That is powerful stuff.  Social Media also uses this same process.   Facebook and Twitter both freely give out their API to get programmers to come up with clever things to enhance their programs.  Facebook has tons of games, polls, surveys etc in the application.  Twitter has Tweetdeck, Twellow, Sesimec, and other applications.  New ones are created everyday.

What does this mean to you?  Your company has the ability to use that API and have developers write software for your own application, game, poll or survey to enhance your page. Facebook encourages this.   Non profits have used it to raise money.  Pringles used it to upload videos with your Pringles can.  Zynga has created two social games in Mafia Wars & Texas Hold Em, that are the largest on Facebook.  Visa has created a social network for small businesses to share info.

Do not forget about mobile applications.  That is one of the next big waves.  So make sure you keep these in mind when you are programming.

There are numerous ways to take advantage.  Find one that is interactive and engages your audience.  It could spread like a fire in a desert.

Facebook is the number one social media based on time spent on site. It is very easy to get on Facebook (or any social media site) and look up at the clock and hours have gone by.

It can be a time suck if you let it. I suggest to people to have a strategic plan in using Facebook. Set aside a set amount of time and have a plan on exactly what they will do with their time on it.  Set out a set amount for content, set amount out for commenting, set amount for groups, set amount in growing and set amount out for responding.

A huge concern I have heard from businesses is their employees on Facebook during “office” hours. This is very important to set up guidelines for use of Facebook for business. A recent poll & survey showed, that most employees that were on Facebook at work were just keeping tabs with old contacts and not really engaging prospects & clients..

I believe Facebook is a very useful business tool, because it really is one of the most targeted advertising platforms on the web. If used correctly can be extremely powerful because you can reach your company’s message to only consumers within your target market. So before you put on the brakes and restrict use of Facebook by your employees, Really take the time to make employees aware of exactly what the vision and mission of how Facebook is to be used to enhance your company’s brand, what your expectations are in writing and who, where, what & how they should engage. Remember these guidelines

1. Value Added – Make sure all information is relevant to your target market and will benefit audience.

2. Genuine – Make sure it is in a personal voice and authentic. It needs to match & reflect your corporate values & culture.

3. Listen & Engage – Sit back and let conversations happen. There is a fine line in being responsive and obtrusive. Do not dominate the conversation. If you do, it may hinder other people from speaking. This is not one way. Their voice is more important than yours. You never want them to think, no need to answer that because the company will address that (unless it is a direct question to the company, then be quick to respond).. On normal conversations, I would have a set amount of time before the company jumps in. Then after that time expires the company can reengage, but try to be from the perspective that your voice be heard only to spark more conversation.

4. Marathon – This is a journey, a new way to market and engage your customers. This will require sustained effort and dedication.

So until we are able to get 28 hours in a day, make sure you turn off the vacuum and replace it with a timer.

This is FANTASTIC. I saw this yesterday at an American Marketing Association event. This is dead on and everything I have talked about. Marketing is CHANGING. Watch this. If you still do NOT get it, then make sure you get in touch with me.

So watch this and lets talk.

The Iron Man… no not the movie.  The Real Iron Man.  Cal Ripken Jr. was praised just for “showing up” everyday for work.  He surpassed a 56 year old record when he played his 2,131st game on September 6, 1995 and played a total of 2,632 games in a row or 17 total seasons.  That is not a destination, but a journey that was built over extended over time.  A legacy of consistency.

A long term view, not a one hit wonder…   Whether you are writing a special report, articles, monthly newsletter or blog posts they all require consistency.    To feel connected people need consistent intervals of communication.  So today lets look at it from how often.

People are routine by nature…  One of our most popular products we sell is calendars.  If I have one of my clients who give a yearly calendar away and one year they skip, I will get calls from there customers asking where their calendar is from that company. 

I know when my son was very young, we had him on a very set schedule and routine.  Even though he was too young to talk, when we tried to deviate from that routine, he would definitely let us know.  If he ate at noon, he wanted to eat at noon.  His nap was at 2 sharp.

Post on Consistent Schedule…  For a blog at least once a week (would prefer 2-3)  and a newsletter once a month.  So if you plan to post 3 times a week, then you need to try to post at the same days and same time every week.  I don’t think it is good to post one week and 4 the next.   If you are doing a monthly newsletter, than make sure you set a date it goes out and stick to it.

Last thought… Consistent without true insight or value, is worthless.  People would rather have random pure insight than consistent crap.  So make sure you provide consistently HIGH VALUED info. 

It reminds me when I was playing college golf and we heard over and over that practice makes perfect.  This is absolutely not true because you can ingrain bad habits as well as you can good ones.  So just practicing or in our world producing content is not enough.  Only PERFECT practice makes perfect or only high value will produce high value.

It is a journey.  A marathon.  It requires sustained effort.  Don’t be like a stopwatch… this is not something you can just start and stop when you want.  Commit for the long haul.  Til death do us part.

High Velocity Radio Interview - Memorial Day 2009 -  www.highvelocityradio.com

 (Do not have to direct download, just push play on player next to my picture on their website or link On May 25th 2009)

I hope you enjoy this interview with High Velocity’s Stone Payton & Lee Kantor

We discussed The Change In Marketing, Social Media, and other Great Marketing Topics

In Marketing We Always Say Your Message Must Match Your Audience…  What you want to talk about is much easier now that you know your target audience.     You are going to write & share valuable content around their needs, motivations & issues.  You will inform them, guide them & provide solutions to the problems that keep them up at night. 

Speak In Your Audience’s Language and In A Tone They Get…  Don’t speak in your jargon.  Talk in their terms.   Speak in a way you really resonate with your audience.  Connect with them.  This will draw them closer to you and bring them to more of an emotional connection.

Do NOT Speak In A Corporate Voice…  My point is always, you can not start off screaming product.  The conversation has to be about the bigger cooler idea your product is a part of. Your blog needs to teach and inspire around the bigger thing.  A blog is not a product spec sheet.  That is boring.  Commercials will be invisible.  Write about what people want to talk about…NOT WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SELL THEM. 

Corporation’s Billboards Are Always Selling…  The ABC’s of selling have changed.  It is no longer Always Be Closing, it is now Always Be Conversational and Always Be Communicating…   .  It is not about YOU… It is not about the Corporations… It is about PEOPLE…   

You Have to Speak In A Personal Voice…  I always say this is the biggest challenges corporations have.  They are so tied to the old marketing ways.  They don’t know how to speak in a personal voice.  As a branding expert, I think Corporations think their corporate brands & logos are doing business with other corporate brands/ logos.  They forget that it is people who are the ones doing research online about other companies and forming personal opinions about them.   People base decisions on personal thoughts, feelings and attitudes     

Just Remember people buy from people.  So don’t forget the HUMAN element.  It is more powerful than corporations think…

Who Is More Important Than What..  First thing in preparing a blog, is knowing who you will be talking to.  As a marketing & branding expert, to me that is always the most important decision you make with any strategy.  What target market, segmented niche or buying persona are you speaking to.  David Meerman Scott does a great job talking about the buying persona in his book The New Rules of Marketing & PR.  He describes a buying persona as “essentially a representative of a type of buyer that you have identified as having a specific interest in your organization or product.”   It was my favorite part of the book.

It Is More Than Merely Picking a Wish List of People…  You have to be very specific in this targeting approach.  Make sure you research them, understand them.  I don’t mean like a job description.  I mean their personal behaviors.  There is usually more than one persona per product.  So you have to really segment per buyer persona.  So if you are going to educate, you must do it to each group individually.

One size does not fit all…  Do not try to be everything to everybody.  A bank for instance caters to several groups.  They want to lend money to people and get people to sign up for checking & savings accounts.  They cater to personal & corporate accounts.  For personal, they may want to educate students so that when they are ready, they will become a customer of theirs.  First time home buyers maybe another group.   May want to educate small businesses on ways to run their business.  Each group needs to be spoken to differently.  They need different information because they have different needs.  

So do whatever it takes to make sure you know your audience.  Choose wisely.