Archive for the year 2010
Time to Embrace New Marketing Methods
Posted on November 26, 2010 by Ching under Coupons, Health, Tips.
This will sound like a Groupon testimonial, but it’s not meant to be. Although, I do love Groupons and am a bona fide Groupon junkie.
Several weeks ago, Ultimate Electronics ran a promotion where they were giving away a limited number of $25 gift cards at the door. They advertised it in their regular insert in the Sunday paper. Now, Brian and I subscribe to the Wichita Eagle, but we actually heard about it first from our friends Cory and April. (April is the goddess of deals. If there’s a deal to be had, she probably knows about it.) Cory said there was barely a line. I think he said there were five people, counting themselves, when the doors opened. I can think of several reasons for the poor turnout: (a) Wichitans like to sleep in on Sundays and don’t read their paper until later in the day, (b) people don’t subscribe to the newspaper anymore because you can get your news online, (c) those who do subscribe and read the news tune out all the junk/inserts, or (d) they only care about the RedPlum and SmartSource coupons and discard everything else. LOL.
The following weekend, Ultimate Electronics ran the same promotion and there was actually a line before the doors opened. We would have made it, but I didn’t want to give up my Sunday morning workout. Brian could have made it, I suppose, but he’s not as enthusiastic about deals as our friends and me. Anyway, I don’t have to survey the people in line that morning to conclude that they didn’t read about the offer from the ad in the Sunday paper, they likely heard about it from a friend. Just as Brian and I did. Word of mouth rocks. That’s a given. You can’t beat word of mouth advertising.
I’m not going to tell you that print advertising is dead because there is a time and place for it. However, if you want to reach people and get them in the door, you have to go where they are… Social media. People aren’t reading newspapers as much. They’re spending more and more of their time on Facebook. Yes, even the older generations. Shoot, my mom probably spends more time on Facebook than anyone I know. And, Facebook and Twitter posts are digital equivalents of word of mouth. (There’s many others, but these are the two big ones.)
With traditional word of mouth, I could probably tell a dozen people about your product/service/promotion before I lose my voice, but with social media I can tell about 600 Twitter followers and 800 Facebook friends how much I love/hate you without much effort. If my message gets re-posted and re-tweeted by a handful of people, the reach grows exponentially. See how powerful that is? (For more on social media, read my previous blog post about the summit I recently attended in Arizona.)
So back to Groupon and why I love, love, love it. You all know how much I love coupons and deals. With Groupon, coupons and deals go social. This is where we are headed people, just accept it. =P
Most of the time I pick up Groupons from companies that I love or already do business with (or at least am familiar with). For instance, some of the Groupons I’ve picked up in the last year are for Lucinda’s, Pink Boa, Pacific Coast Pizza, LaMars, In the Bag etc. etc. As I grew more comfortable with purchasing and using Groupons, it’s actually allowed me to try companies I’ve not heard of or done business with before. For example, I’d never been to the Kellogg Clinic (where I’m going for laser hair removal) or Fresh Spa Market prior to getting their Groupon offers.
I think the best example is probably my most recent Groupon experience, which was the catalyst for us switching dentists. Wichita Family Dental is a dental office located on the East side of Wichita. They’ve been at their current location for about a decade and yet we’d never heard of them or thought to try them. That is, of course, until their Groupon offer: take-home teeth whitening that’s regularly $230 for only $69.
I purchased the Groupon last month, but we’d been so busy that I didn’t get to use it until recently. (I had Veterans Day off so I came in on that day, remember? I’d written about it previously.) I was so impressed and had such a wonderful experience that I told Brian about it (followed by telling the rest of you about it through our blog). I told Brian, “I love, love, love Dr. Mendoza but I think we might consider switching dentists. Come with me to my follow up appointment, and you decide.” Brian went with me to my follow up appointment and was just as impressed. He doesn’t look it in the photo, but he was impressed. Trust me.
It doesn’t always work out this way. I mean, I tried Fresh Spa Market and didn’t switch. I still go to Beau Monde and Skin Essentials for facials and Serenity for massages. Groupon will get you new customers for your business, but you have to offer something that is better than your competitors in order to keep them. So why the switch to Wichita Family Dental? Let me give you our top five reasons.
- Reason #5: One-Stop Shop
They do everything from regular dental work to orthodontics to cosmetic dentistry. We wouldn’t have to be referred to another dental office. This works out great because I’m thinking of getting Invisalign next year.
- Reason #4: Hi-Tech Everything
They have very modern equipment like digital x-rays. Every dental station has a computer work station. There’s computer monitors mounted to the wall/ceiling so you can see your x-rays while you’re laying in your chair. They use really cool mouth cameras so you can see your teeth magnified on the screen. They don’t just tell you that there’s a potential issue with your tooth – they show it to you! The office is well on its way to being completely paperless (e.g. they use iPads instead of paper charts). I could go on and on and on. Of course, most people don’t really care about this stuff. However, for a couple of nerds like Brian and me, we think this stuff is awesome!
- Reason #3: Location, Location, Location
Their office is conveniently located within our little comfort zone. They’re so close to our townhouse that I could actually walk there! I know we won’t live in our townhouse forever, but we really like this part of town and will likely stay in the area when we’re ready to be homeowners again.
- Reason #2: Saturday Hours
They’re open every other Saturday so Brian and I will not have to miss work for dental appointments anymore. This is really a plus for me because I hate missing work for any reason.
- And the #1 Reason for the switch: Dr. Begnoche is Hot!
I saw him the first time that I came in. That’s another thing. Everyone seems really friendly. Dr. Begnoche and Dr. Pierson actually both came by and introduced themselves (not at the same time) while I was sitting in the dental chair. Except, Dr. Pierson said his name quickly (or I wasn’t paying attention because my mind was still on Dr. Begnoche and how young and good looking he is) that all I got was Chuck. When Brian came with me to my follow up visit, Dr. Begnoche was at some training for the Galileo (their neat x-ray machine) so Brian didn’t get to meet him. I introduced Dr. Pierson to Brian as Dr. Chuck because that’s all I could remember.
Anyway, I failed to mention the good looking dentist to Brian in my original sales pitch, but he discovered first hand when he went to his dental appointment yesterday. Brian said, “I had a different dentist.” So I asked, “Which one?” He replied, “I don’t know, but he’s cute.” LOL. Dr. Begnoche doesn’t even look old enough to be out of college. He must be like Dorian Gray or something.
Oh, and it didn’t hurt that they were running an iPad promotion on new patient referrals this month. Basically, if you refer a new patient then your name gets entered in a drawing for an iPad. I figured that I would refer Brian. That’s at least one entry. So anyway, this is my word of mouth way of telling you all you should schedule a dental appointment at Wichita Family Dental and tell them that I, Cherrie Brubaker, referred you. I could use a few more raffle entries because with the kind of luck I have, one raffle entry ain’t gonna cut it.
Until next time,
Ching
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Jenni is Officially a Cougar – JK
Posted on November 25, 2010 by Ching under Family, Health, Shopping.
I’m posting these photos in honor of Jenni’s 30th birthday. She looks like she’s 12 but, as of midnight tonight, she’s really 30. I guess, just like Dr. Begnoche, she is Dorian Gray-ish that way. =P
I normally have several options for working out on Sundays. I can either do Step and Iron at the East Central Genesis at 10:15 AM, Step and Core at the North YMCA at 1:00 PM, or Zumba at the North YMCA at 4:00 PM. Jenni decided to have her birthday lunch at noon, though, which made it difficult to do the 10 AM or 1 PM workouts. I guess I could have done the Zumba, but I was feeling rather unmotivated that day.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from last Sunday:
This is a photo that Brian and I took of our ourselves using Jen Teves’ iPhone 4. We were playing with her front-facing camera. It really makes taking selcas so much easier. I think my next digital camera will need a front display screen.
An awesome photo I took of Jenni and Q. I actually managed to make her look wholesome. =P I think she should make this her new profile picture on Facebook.
The two Jennifers: Jenni and Jen Teves. This was taken before the other Jennifer, Jennifer Cannady, arrived.
Jen and Armando brought the most delicious tiramisu cake. Yum!
Here’s another picture of the cake without the candles.
Gotta post this photo of Jenni and me, just for mom.
We got Jenni a Stoli gift set for her birthday because we’re sick like that.
Logan and Jenni – another possible Facebook profile picture.
Mom and dad showing us that they know how to salsa.
Mom and dad — you guys really need to come out to Suede with us one night! How about next Friday, December 3rd? No Suede for us tomorrow night because we’re going to be in Kansas City this weekend. I’m dragging Brian to Midnight Magic at Legends (Village West). Since he’s being such a good sport about it, I’m rewarding him with a couples massage at his favorite massage place (Serenity) when we return. See, I’m really not the evil wife that you think I am. LOL.
We’re busting out the flannel-lined jeans for the first time this season since Legends and Country Club Plaza are both outdoor malls. We’re also wearing sneakers. I figured since I’m missing my regular Thursday night Zumba class, this can double as my workout. We’re going to be doing a lot of walking after all.
Speaking of working out, I felt really guilty for barely working out last week and then skipping on Sunday that I had to make up for it by working out three days in a row. I did Muscle Pump (45 minutes) and Step (45 minutes) at North YMCA on Monday night, followed by an hour of Zumba at the Downtown YMCA on Tuesday (Thanks for trying it with me, VH!), and then another hour of Zumba at the East Central Genesis yesterday (Gina’s class). I think I really earned my Thanksgiving “pig out” this year!
Anyway, I was hoping that VH would be my workout buddy. Brian doesn’t really like my fitness classes and only reluctantly goes with me because I beg him to… I need an honest to goodness workout buddy like I had in my friend Divina years and years ago. I thought VH could be it, but she already has a set workout schedule. Unfortunately, it includes Yoga (something she loves that I’m not really too fond of). Don’t get me wrong. I like Yoga because it makes me feel like I’ve just gotten a deep tissue massage afterwards. It makes your body feel really good.
Except, I had the misfortune of trying an advanced Yoga class a couple of weeks ago. You know me. I’m not that flexible. Well, I was trying to imitate this old man behind me, while doing one of the Yoga poses (it’s one where you start out on your hands and feet – downward facing dog? – and then you take an arm off the floor and then stick one of your legs up and out; I don’t know what it’s called and I’m pretty sure I was doing it wrong), and I fell over. Brian and I both busted up in quiet laughter. Brian was smart and kept both feet on the ground instead of trying the more advance move so he managed to keep his pose even though he was struggling from laughing at me. I was an idiot and tried to copy the guy behind me, though. I figured, if he could do it then I could too. I was wrong. It was pretty embarrassing, actually.
The worst part is that Brian and I kept cracking up while trying our best not to laugh. It took a good 30 minutes before I was finally able to regain my composure. Needless to say, I’m not going to be doing Yoga for a while. At least, if and when I try it again, it will have to be a beginners class. LOL.
Gosh, I totally got sidetracked on this blog. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Happy 30th birthday, Jenni!
xoxo,
Ching
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Check Out That Biomass!
Posted on November 25, 2010 by Ching under Life.
I got to check out the biomass at the Frito-Lay facility while in Topeka last week. (Thanks for the photo, Stacy!)
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My Take-Aways from the #CRSummit
Posted on November 21, 2010 by Ching under Tips, Travel, Web.
I had the opportunity to attend the Social Media Customer Response Summit held at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale, Arizona a couple of weeks ago. There were several great presenters, namely keynote speaker Robert Lamb (AT&T) who wrote Improving Your Bottom Line Through The Contact Center
Lessons from AT&T’s
Social Media Journey
– be responsive
– be empathetic
– map out processes ahead of time
– know and communicate the necessary commitment
– never rest
– offer a clear means of accessibility
– ask your community for ideas and feedback
– measure twice, cut once (something that Lamb mentioned several times during the presentation)
In his keynote presentation, Robert Lamb shared the potential benefits that businesses stand to gain by engaging in social media: [a] competitive advantage, [b] market with targeted demographics, [c] enhance company image and customer loyalty, and [d] increased customer satisfaction. Lamb also pointed out that only 14% of consumers trust ads, while 78% trust peer recommendations. In today’s society, our peers include our social media connections.
As someone who relies heavily on web reviews and recommendations, I can relate to this. While I wouldn’t consider strangers on a review web site as peers, I will carefully consider web reviews of a product or service I’m buying prior to pulling the trigger. We usually do this as part of our pre-purchase reconnaissance whenever we buy anything, specially electronics items like TVs, cellphones, DVD players, etc. We also did the same thing when we were looking for an apartment earlier this year. We were ready to sign a lease at this new apartment complex in Derby, Kansas (where my parents live) until we read some horrible reviews of the place at Apartmentratings.com. We looked up reviews of two other complexes that made the short list before settling on the place where we currently live. Rent is actually considerably higher here than the two other places we considered, but the rave reviews were the biggest factor in making our final decision. This proved to me how powerful customer recommendations truly are… And now with the increasing ubiquity of social media, the impact of “word of mouth” is significantly amplified. When someone complains on social media, it has a huge impact on the company brand/image — which is exactly why companies can no longer ignore social media.
The second presenter, Marianne Curran, talked about the three main areas of focus: customer service, marketing, and public relations. There is no substitute for real-time human interactions so her advice is to listen and engage, be proactive and timely, and be prompt in your responses. She also shared some of their guidelines at Go Daddy of when not to engage such as when there is nothing actionable, when the comment is simply taunting or baiting, or if legal action is threatened. In these situations, it’s best not to engage in the social media interaction.
Social Media Tools Used by Go Daddy
Social Visibility – for broadcasting messages to multiple social networks
x.co – their URL shortener
CoTweet – for managing tweets
TweetReach – to analyze reach and impact
The interesting part for me is that in visiting with the corporate communications and public affairs rep who handles everything that relates to social media in our organization, I found out that he has established similar guidelines for himself when deciding whether or not to respond to social media mentions. He has actually created a decision tree. This is something that is easy to take for granted, but is important to establish so that there is consistency in how social media interactions are handled.
Curran’s keys to embracing social media are as follows: be open to engaging, respond promptly, know when to listen and when to engage, don’t avoid complaints, and work to turn critics into “super fans.” At Go Daddy they’ve seen an increase in their fans/followers and referred orders and were able to attribute these to their social media endeavors.
Steve Kaay mostly talked about AutoMD, a “comprehensive automotive repair resource designed to empower car owners with the best way to repair their vehicles” that is owned and operated by US Auto Parts. What is brilliant about this do-it-yourself automotive repair portal is that it’s helping to grow the DIY market. Rather than stealing market share from its competitors, US Auto Parts is actually making the pie bigger by educating customers through the AutoMD web site so there’s more than enough for everyone. I think it’s great because their efforts not only benefit consumers, but also their competitors. It reminds me of the “Got Milk?” and “Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner” and “Cotton: The Fabric of Our Lives” campaigns.
Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model
Level 5: Proactive Engagement
– proactive customer care
– proactive sales
– social media business intelligence
Level 4: Social Media Customer Care
– scalable engagement process
– managed process
– work queues
– teams activity reports
Level 3: Social Media Marketing
– social media strategy
– engagement marketing
– brand dashboarding
– minimal customer care involvement
Level 2: Social Media Broadcasting
– facebook page and twitter presence
– broadcast standard marketing via social media
Level 1: Listening (or Ignoring)
– occasional reporting
– reactive/surprised by social media
John Hernandez talked about being able to achieve “proactive engagement,” or what seems to me as the holy grail of social media, where a company is able to provide proactive customer care and harness social media business intelligence. By looking at chatter on your products/services and that of your competitors, you can connect with customers and target real-time opportunities. I think those few companies who have reached Level 5 have considerable strategic advantage over their competitors.
Hernandez also spent some time talking about and demonstrating SocialMiner, Cisco’s robust, scalable social media customer care solution (which you can learn more about by clicking on the link). It looked really cool, but was also a bit pricey. Unless you already use Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise, in which case I think they throw it in for free.
John Belanger talked about the movement toward customer advocacy, which made me think of what US Auto Parts is doing with AutoMD — members of the community answering questions from other members, helping and supporting one another. He shared with us the case of Piper of Love and how Yahoo! handled the situation. Yahoo! has adopted a customer centric view where the value proposition is focused on servicing all of the customers’ (and therefore, the customers’ buy decision dictates who the vendors will collaborate with). They’re using the See : Act : Learn social support models to further their customer advocacy mission.
Keith McArthur showed us this interesting video produced by Rogers Communications. It depicts the human connections empowered by rapid changes in communications technology in Canada and around the world. McArthur shared with us the Rogers social media journey and gave us the ten commandments of engagement:
1. Make it easy for customers to do business with you.
2. Respond to all direct questions within an hour.
3. Don’t replace customer care/support.
4. Try to divert calls from care/support.
5. Take it offline, when possible.
6. Always view the customer profile and recent discussions.
7. Ask yourself, “Will my reply help or make things worse?”
8. Be human — not sales-y or PR/marketing-like.
9. Treat all customers the same, but
10. Don’t feed the trolls!
Besides the ten commandments, McArthur also stressed the importance of transparency.
In talking about social media ROI, Garry Schultz said you have to consider the cost/risk to your organization if you do not take any action. It’s tough to put an exact dollar amount on that. You can talk about system costs, personnel costs, cost per contact of various communications mediums, but in the end fear is the best way to get the attention of company leadership — or so says LinkedInQueen, Eve Mayer Orsburn. We all had a good chuckle about that during the panel discussion, but it’s true.
By the way, Orsburn (author of Social Media for the CEO) recommends the following update frequencies: 7 to 10 times per day for Twitter and 1 to 3 times per day for Facebook. Also, the two largest social networks require different strategies. What works for Twitter won’t necessarily work for Facebook and vice versa.
I could probably go on and on and on about all the little morsels of social media knowledge I picked up at the conference, but I think Brian is ready for bed. Probably the best part of the conference, besides listening to each speaker’s account of their social media journey, is hearing from the other conference attendees and knowing that you’re not alone. Everyone is trying to figure this social media thing out and thinking about how to proceed. Some companies are much further along than others, but we’re all in this together and we can all learn from one another’s experiences and ideas. The sessions were interactive with good participation from the audience. I think that even the speakers learned from the audience and other speakers. It was a great conference and I’m glad that I was able to attend. I think there is another summit planned for spring 2011, though the date and location have not yet been announced. I highly recommend attending.
So sorry about the long blog entry. I promise the next post will have lots of pictures. Good night all!
Until next time,
Ching
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Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce Dinner
Posted on November 20, 2010 by Ching under Leadership.
I had the privilege of attending the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner at Century II on Tuesday night and hearing political analyst Brit Hume speak. It was the first time I’d ever attended the Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner and I rather liked it. I hope my bosses let met attend again next year.
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