Based on yesterday’s post regarding touchpoint analysis, the following is a compilation of 22 questions that Dave Evans proposes throughout the chapter, which you can utilize in order to improve your marketing:

21 Questions for Sorting Out the Customer Experience & Improving Your Marketing

1. What are the primary promises?
2. How are these promises related to the needs of your customers?
3. How are these promises supported?
4. What is the actual delivery mechanism that validates each promise?
5. What are the actual customer experiences that demonstrate successful delivery?
6. What channel has been used to convey each particular aspect of your promise or brand?
7. How important to your customer are each of the promises and points and delivery?
8. Does your marketing claim “leadership” as a provider of whatever it is that you do?  If so, ask yourself how you measured this.
9. Is your message getting picked up, and is it being reflected on the Social Web?  How effective is it as a conversational element?
10. Are you meeting, exceeding or falling short on the expectations you’ve set?  What is your performance versus expectation?
11. How important is this specific touchpoint and its outcome (satisfaction versus disappointment) from the perspective of your customer or prospect?
12. What is its relative contribution in regards to talk value?  Rate this on a 10-point scale.  For example, is your message getting picked up?  Is it reflected on the Social Web?  If this is a dominant message, its talk value is toward the “10″ end of the scale.
13. Rank your performance or similar selected measure, again on a 10-point scale.  For example, are you meeting, exceeding, or falling short on the expectations set?
14. What are your lowest talk-generating touchpoints?
15. What are your highest talk-generating touchpoints?
16. Which of your high-talk touchpoints are low-performing from your customer’s viewpoint? Make note of these.
17. Which of your high-talk touchpoints are high-performing from your customer’s viewpoint?  Identify and save these.
18. What is the issue?  Is this the wrong audience or a poor customer experience?
19. Did you set the right expectation?  Did you over-promise or under-deliver?
20. Who else is involved? Who are your primary internal constituents when it comes to moving this touchpoint up and to the right or down and to the left on your touchpoint map?
21. Which of the required actions are directly within your control?
22. How are you going to fix the problem?

[source]

Social media is all about being an active participant in a conversation on the web.  By increasing the amount in which you participate in an online discussion whether it be in Twitter or some other forum, you are actually helping to create your very own social reputation.  To take it a step further, when the context involves marketing, your social reputation becomes an expression of the brand you’re trying to sell.  For example, if several people on Twitter become involved in a conversation about how the iced mochas at Starbucks have tasted really bad over the past few weeks and suddenly Starbucks responds with an explanation, then they become a part of that conversation with the consumer.

Because they are measurable, online communities foster participation.  According to Evans, these communities maintain the collective reputation of a brand, based on which an individual may develop or attest personal loyalty.  Increasing numbers of marketers (and rightly so) are getting involved with the Social Web, with particular interest centering on the collective.  You see, by influencing the collective, you can then reach the individual!

Evans points out that traditional forms of media take a “push and tell” approach to marketing whereby the marketer is in control of the message and dictates that message to the consumer (who is in a subservient role).  Social media throws this balance off, making the consumer and the marketer equal partners- both with the opportunity to voice their opinions.

Consumer Generated Media

Over time, the Internet has grown to have a significant impact on how people view their own ability to hunt and gather information on a wide range of products and services.  Consumer generated media is all over the Internet in the form of photos, blogs, videos, comments, ratings and reviews, and guess what?  It is CONTROLLED BY THE CONSUMER.  You may have wanted to buy that brand name blender, but after having spoken to a few other people online prior to your purchase, you realized that it was a piece of junk with a label.  One of the biggest things that marketers can take away from all of this online chatter is that consumers talk about the things that interest them the most.  As Evans stated,

Consumer-generated media is a reflection of the generational norms: as Millenials move into the center of the marketing power brand, their online behaviors become increasingly significant.

So, what does this mean for modern day marketing gurus?  Marketers need to identify what it is they want to look at when it comes to studying consumer behavior.  After that, create a list of the things that you’re doing (or have already done) to generate some sort of awareness about your product and/or service.  Join social networking groups such as Twitter, and find out what people are talking about, and then start talking back.  And don’t downplay the little things such as blog commenting because every little bit counts when it comes to solidifying your online reputation as someone your consumers can trust!

The Main Points According to Dave:

• Social media plays a significant role in marketing:  The conversations that take place on the Social Web determine how easy-or difficult- your task in driving conversion will be.
• The social feedback cycle is built on the post-purchase feedback and conversational loop that augments your traditional purchase funnel activities.
• Consumer-generated media, and in particular photos, audio, and video that supplement text (blogs), are in mainstream use now, even if concentrated in the Millenial and Gen X segments.
• The determined detractor is an individual who plays an important role in the evolution of markets but nonetheless will not (normally) be “won over” and therefore is generally best viewed as a participant with whom you will “respectfully  agree to disagree.”  Your best response is to simply ensure that your story is also being told.
• Your social feedback cycle, developed and maintained over time, is a key planning tool as you develop your social media plan.

Lately, it seems like the world can’t get enough of “social media”. Every time I turn the television on, the news anchors are closing out their day by telling viewers to send them a message on Twitter. Why, just recently, Ashton Kutcher made headlines when he became the first person to surpass 1 million followers on Twitter beating out rival CNN!

Social Media versus Regular Media

Social media has a number of characteristics that make it fundamentally different from traditional media sources such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television. The main difference is that the audience (you) can participate; it’s interactive. If you don’t like what someone has written in a blog post, you can comment on it. If you have something you would like to share with other people in your niche, you can create your own blog to discuss the issue or discuss it on Facebook or in a LinkedIn question.

Social Media and Accuracy

As more businesses are catching on to the social media storm, many wonder whether or not social media is accurate. For instance, when you go to a restaurant, chances are that you look up its ratings on the Internet first. Did other people comment on the service? How accurate are those comments, and how do you know that the comments weren’t all written by one person?

As it turns out, according to Evans, social media use the collective, the wisdom of the crowd. And in more cases than not, it is actually more accurate and therefore constitutes a measurable, trackable feedback point with regard to the acceptance and performance of your product or service. Additionally, social media is used not through command and control; but rather, through participation and influence by the consumer. After all, who best to rate a restaurant or a product than someone who has gone to that restaurant or used a certain product?

Social media, like any other form of expression that takes its roots in word of mouth, cuts both ways. It can boost viewership and purchase by reinforcing the underlying marketing message just as easily as it weakens intent and the likelihhood of successful conversion. -Dave Evans

As marketers, the tools for consumers/everyday people to use social networking and collaborative site building are out there. It seems like everyone has a blog, and everyone has an opinion about something. The job of marketers now is to stay on top of the latest trends and actually pay attention to what the consumers are blogging, tweeting and Digging so that they can find new ways to improve the marketability of their products.

According to Evans:

• Social media is defined as: Participatory online media where news, photos, videos, and podcasts are made public typically accompanied with a voting process to signal items considered “popular”.
• Social media is an effective guidepost. Social media can be used to gather valuable information about how your product, service, and brand are perceived in the marketplace.
• The basic application of social media is as a consideration phase tool that connects post-purchase experiences with potential customers progressing from awareness to purchase.
• Social media is an activity that is based on the notion of influence.
• Planning and implementing channels associated with social media fits well with the concepts of integrated marketing.

Part 4 of 4: Time and Tracking Another common question from web networkers is “How do I know where I or my business are showing up on the web, and when something good or bad is being said about us?” The no-cost answer is to install the simple feature of Google Alerts. For more comprehensive reports there are paid services like Andy Beal’s reputation monitor called Trackur.

If you’re reading this and calculating the amount of time it might take to manage a number of on-line networking profiles, blogs and groups, consider the power and value of three little letters that you may have overlooked on many web pages– RSS– which stands for Real Simple Syndication. RSS has origins in the concept of big news agencies “syndicating” their information so others could pull it and use it. RSS gives all users the power of producing news or changing information that others can pull in, just like they would a national on-line newspaper. When you see RSS on the screen, it means that with something called a blog reader or a news aggregator you get to select the information that you want to keep up with, such as national news or news from your local social media site, and business networking sites like Linkedin, all in one location. With this method you are able at a quick glance to keep up with current news, new blog postings, or new connections your business allies are making on Linkedin at a quick glance. Then, if you want more details, you can “pull” more information as needed from your blog reader. Instead of being buried in email updates from sites, mixed in with news letters that you no longer follow, you can choose what you track and the degree you wish to follow it by only getting what’s new or changed.

You may think, how can I afford the time to use Social Media? If you realize that for many businesses this is where your current and future customers are, you can not afford to not spend time with it. Pick something and start small. You may choose to begin with Linkedin, on of the Inside Area Code sites (like inSide919.com),  Facebook, or Twitter.  Set aside a little time each day or week to “relate on-line”.

The new social media gives businesses the opportunity to be closer to their customers than ever before. Business networking brings us the ability to build alliances both locally and globally. The key is to not forget the value of the in-person connections which complement and enhance on-line relationships. Quality relationships still take time to develop—on and off the web.

Reprinted from Women’s Edge Magazine
by Martin Brossman - www.ProNetworkingOnLine.com
& check out Understanding Linkedin

See Part1, Part2 or Part3 of Professional Networking On (& Off)  the Web

I had been spending some time on Twitter recently when it struck me how many “Internet marketing experts” there were out there.  I couldn’t help but wonder, “Since when did Internet marketing become the new college major?”  With so many people all vying for each other’s attention and business, it is often difficult to tell one marketer from another.  To further prove my thinking, I spent some time going around and visiting some Internet marketing blogs.  The messages all seemed to be the same:

• Brand yourself
• Network with others via Social Media
• Study SEO and know your keywords to get better ratings in Google

What Sets Internet Marketers Apart?

Sometimes Internet marketing can feel like being pushed into a crowded room in which everyone is talking about the same thing in only very slightly different ways.  At the end of the day, everyone’s trying to make a few bucks based on what they know and are able to successfully convey to whoever will buy it.  So, what sets the great marketers apart from the rest of the crowd?  I’ve been able to make a few observations on this subject:

1. Quality; Not Quantity:  There are some people that you will see on every single social networking site available.  They’ll tend to have a fairly decent following, but at the end of the day what does their site look like? Is the quality of what they have to say really worth it?
2. Quality Time: How often do you set aside time to actually read (not skim) other people’s blogs?  What about the few readers or people that you have on  your own blog who leave comments?  Do you write back to them or respond on their blogs?
3. Quality Site: You should think of your website or blog as you would your home.  Would you want to invite people over if it was a mess?  Keeping that in mind, the layout of your site should be friendly, clean and highly navigable.  A lot of people will go crazy with banner ads, etc. and while that may be a source of revenue- you need to keep your readers in mind and know that that might turn some of them off to what you have to say.

What do you think?  In your opinion, what sets Internet marketers apart?

Check Out SEO Podcast Show!

Part 3 of 4:  An experienced sales executive, Christine, became sold on the value of on-line networking when she asked a newly-acquired client worth several million dollars in total sales what the final factor was that influenced them to work with her. The client replied that Christine’s profile on Linkedin that included endorsements was the tipping point. It enabled them to pre-screen her and her business, as well as showing that she was web savvy. This enlightening feedback prompted Christine to have all her key employees develop a profile on-line and she arranged to spend time learning how to fully utilize internet networking resources.

Negative Conversation

One question that arises for everyone who steps into on-line networking is what to do when someone says something unfavorable about you on-line, since it can be an anonymous posting and you may have no idea who made the comment. As Andy Beal, owner of an on-line reputation management company (Trackur) says, “Not all bad press is bad. It can be an opportunity for you to show how well you handle real customer concerns that the world can see.”

Keep in mind that the internet is too big for you to control all the conversations that might arise. What is relevant is being aware of the ones related to you, your business and your industry, and learning which comments and conversations are worth responding to and which are not. A bona fide crazy person attacking you will show up like that to others too. Just as top sales professionals view disagreement and objection as a doorway to new opportunities if they handle them in the right person-to-person way, the same applies to the internet.

How do you handle a negative posting? Imagine a restaurant owner finding a bad comment on a blog where her restaurant was reviewed. It might read: “I had to wait too long for the food and the server had an attitude!” A good responsive post would be, “I regret that you had anything less then an excellent experience. We are committed to providing great food, at a fair price, with friendly service. If you are ever having a problem, just ask for me or my shift manager.” Give a simple apology, state your commitment, and provide a guideline for future problems.

Reprinted from Women’s Edge Magazine
by Martin Brossman - www.ProNetworkingOnLine.com
& check out Understanding Linkedin

Part 1 of 4: Are you puzzled by the variety of new places to represent yourself on the Web? Concerned about finding the time to create and manage your on-line presence? Blogs, podcasts, Linkedin, Twitter…it’s time for another leap in our technology knowledge! Except for the lucky generation that grew up with computer technology, we are all a bit overwhelmed together. The key is to start learning to use at least one of the many internet networking tools, choosing one that has the value for you.

The Global Profile
Linkedin (www.linkedin.com) is a professional networking site with 25 million users who re-connect with business associates and schoolmates, make career connections and pose questions to experts. Networking on Linkedin and similar sites is a way to show you are a whole person, more than just your job. This applies to management and employees equally, giving you a chance to build real credibility by the quality of your employees who are associated to you on-line, and through the endorsements of colleagues and customers.

Interestingly, the word is out that managers are now turning to job candidate’s Linkedin profiles in addition to resumes to compile a more comprehensive picture when choosing who to hire. In fact, there are employers who actually require an applicant to have at least 5 real endorsements from an online group such as Linkedin in order to be considered for the job.

Two easy ways to get started with Linkedin are to give endorsements to people you admire from your past and to use the Answers section to ask and answer questions, which can build positive connections in the process ( see my Linkedin profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/martinbrossman ) .

How It Works

Whitney Hill and I created an in-person networking group called Professional Networking on the Web. It is a team of business professionals sitting around a table with an internet browser projected on a big screen. At a recent meeting our goal was to help Judy in the group connect with someone in a specific company we will call Acme Medical Supplies (changing the actual names here for obvious reasons.) We signed in to her Linkedin account and found she is three hops away from a person she would like to meet in Acme Medical, though she had not realized it. Three hops away means she knows someone (or several people in this example) who knows someone else that she does not know, who is linked to her target person. I asked: “Which one of these people have you invested time in or have a good enough relationship with that they would help you in your pursuit of an introduction?” She said that she knows Debra Jones, the best for this connection, who is directly linked to her Linkedin group. We next look at Debra Jones’ contacts and see who she is connected to. In the process, we find Gary Smith, a better contact into this company and John in the group calls out “I play golf with Gary Smith on a regular basis. Judy, I would be pleased to introduce you to Gary Smith.” Now Judy is closer to this goal with two new opportunities.

To learn more about this group: http://bit.ly/ukPS

Reprinted from Women’s Edge Magazine.
More resources on Linkedin www.UnderstandingLinkedin.com & on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/usinglinkedin

by Martin Brossman - www.ProNetworkingOnLine.com

The following is a guest post from the guys at Logo Inn.

A Logo Design Service Provider

Today, the world is more socially connected; in this regard reputation management has become more and more a concern for any business whether it is small or a large enterprise. Social media marketing in this scenario can help small and medium size businesses to gain reputation and popularity without deploying multiple websites.

One of the best examples of social media marketing could be the presidential campaign of Obama. With his unique logo, he had run the campaign almost on all popular social networking websites included MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube etc. Even now when the campaign has been finished his profile could easily be identified due to his unique logo.

It’s your profile picture that makes you identifiable on social networks, and if you put your logo instead of any other picture, it becomes very easy for visitors to identify and remember your business. Hence, a unique logo can be easily identified by the viewers at a glance and makes your profile to standout from the crowed.

Advertising through web banner can also be done on social networks, which is proved to be very effective and cheaper way of online marketing Thousands of users visit social networking websites daily, subliminal effect could be left on their mind if they don’t even look at the advertisement, but impression of a logo would be saved in their subconscious mind.

One other advantage a small business gets is through creating groups, where you are allowed to setup a main page with a graphic/logo, company’s description, and a wall where users can post comments. Additionally, it provides a discussion board for posting questions that encourage group members to interact and share their opinions. Group creation is free, it is Viral – when people become your fan it is updated on their profile with your logo and shared with all their friends, publicly indexed, and promotable with social network Ads.

It is just not enough; there are many other ways a unique logo can help. Widget marketing is another way to promote your business. Widgets are simple applications that can be made available for your website or blog visitors to copy and paste in their website or blog. Useful widgets can be designed for your visitors, and when they embed this widget to their website or blog, your logo will appear. Therefore, your logo would become the source of bringing qualified traffic to your website and creating brand exposure. Companies like YouTube, Twitter, and Slide are the examples that have taken advantage of widget marketing.

In the last, I would say benefits of social media marketing are never ending, and if you have a unique logo the advantages would be immense. Many other ways are there to utilize unique logo for social media marketing, and it’s your brain how you create innovative ideas to take full advantage out of your logo.

The following is a guest post from the guys at Logo Inn

[continued from Monday's Post]

Color is just as meaningful in marketing as it is in our everyday lives.  For example, to some of us, the color blue isn’t just a color- it’s a feeling.  But for others, it represents tranquility.  Every year, marketing experts for various companies spend a great deal of time and energy trying to figure out what colors will attract buyers to their businesses.  To the unassuming consumer, the hard work put in by marketers goes largely unnoticed.  However, deep in our subconscious, we are drawn to certain colors for reasons that some of us even have trouble explaining.

According to an article by June Campbell entitled Color Psychology in Marketing, the effects of color differ from person to person, culture to culture.  Therefore, it is important that we remember to keep the attitudes and preferences of our target audience in mind when picking out a color scheme and/or planning any sort of promotional design.  Campbell continues to list the following color associations for North American culture:

• Red: excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger
• Blue: *listed as most popular color–trust, reliability, belonging, coolness
• Yellow: warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
• Orange: playfulness, warmth, vibrant
• Green: nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
• Purple: royal, spirituality, dignity
• Pink: soft, sweet, nurture, security
• White: pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild
• Black: sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
• Gold: prestige, expensive
• Silver: prestige, cold, scientific

Finally, Campbell states:

Market researchers have also determined that color affects shopping habits. Impulse shoppers respond best to red-orange, black and royal blue. Shoppers who plan and stick to budgets respond best to pink, teal, light blue and navy. Traditionalists respond to pastels – pink, rose, sky blue.

Why Color Matters in Marketing

According to a site called Color Matters, the importance of color and marketing is laid out quite neatly in the following three points:

1. Research conducted by the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo 2004 documented the following relationships between color and marketing: 92.6 percent said that they put most importance on visual factors when purchasing products. Only 5.6 percent said that the physical feel via the sense of touch was most important. Hearing and smell each drew 0.9 percent. When asked to approximate the importance of color when buying products, 84.7 percent of the total respondents think that color accounts for more than half among the various factors important for choosing products. Source
2. Research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.  Source: CCICOLOR – Institute for Color Research
3. Research by the Henley Centre suggests 73% of purchasing decisions are now made in-store. Consequently, catching the shopper’s eye and conveying information effectively are critical to successful sales.

Are Marketing Experts Being Sneaky?

Some might argue that marketing experts aren’t only being sneaky; they’re manipulating people into buying things that they really don’t want and/or need.  I leave it up to you to decide as to whether or not this is true.  The fact remains, however, that when I recently went to the clothing store and saw that burnt-orange sweater, I wanted it- not because I needed a burnt-orange sweater, but because something about the color appealed to me.  Congratulations, Roxy- you just earned yourself another customer.

Other Sites You Might Like

If you enjoyed this post, here are some other sites you may find interesting:

• What Color is Your Business?
• Psychology of Color
• The Profit of Color
• Sensational Color
• Color Psychology

For more information about Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth today!

Have you ever wondered why walking into a brightly colored room will give you a headache after a short period of time? How about when you’re trying to relax?  Is it no surprise that many people paint their bedrooms in colors that help them to relax such as shades of brown or green?  When it comes to altering our psyche, colors definitely play a significant role.  Therefore, it should be no surprise to find out that many business people are beginning to pay attention to how different colors affect us, and are thus implementing color psychology into their marketing designs.

According to Kendra Van Wagner from About.com:

While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, there are some color effects that have universal meaning. Colors in the red area of the color spectrum are known as warm colors and include red, orange, and yellow. These warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility.

Color versus Marketing

It may seem absurd to think that the colors we like or dislike might affect whether or not we would want to do business with someone or purchase a product; but as crazy as it may seem, it’s true!  What is your favorite color?  How do certain colors make you feel?  If you are walking through a mall, are you going to go into the store with the festive colors on the walls and the bright lights, or are you going to opt for the store that has the subdued lighting and neutral tones?

Marketing experts have been hard at work trying to figure out which colors have which effect on people.  For example, the Color Marketing Group (CMG) is known for its research and information on the effects of color and marketing, which they then dispense to professionals.  According to CMG, “Color Sells, and the ‘Right’ Colors Sell Better”. CMG goes on to share the following facts:

• Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent.
• Color improves readership as much as 40 percent.
• Color accelerates learning from 55 to 78 percent
• Color increases comprehension by 73 percent.
• Color ads are read up to 42 percent more than similar ads in black and white.
• Color can be up to 85 percent of the reason people decide to buy.

Check back in on Wednesday for Part 2 of this post! In the meantime, here are some other sites you may find interesting:

• Color Marketing Group
• Color Symbolism and Psychology
• Color Psychology
• Colors and Moods

For more information about Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth today!