marketing

When Will Fries King See the Errors of Its Ways?

October 6, 2013 by Pamela 2 Comments

It’s not April 1st, and it’s not even funny, yet Burger King continues to confuse and irritate people with its “Fries King” gimmick. You’d think the company would get the message: “Enough is enough.”

Earlier this month Burger King rolled out its marketing plan to promote Satisfries, which are supposed to be healthier and yummier. The only problem is, half the internet knows it’s a joke, half doesn’t, and the majority of people who aren’t into social media also think it’s totally real. Many websites are chiming in, some calling the “gullible” outright stupid. But, really, who can blame the believers?

The “Fries King” home page looks real enough to plenty of viewers, especially those not active on social media.

Even my husband, who is quite intelligent and often pokes at me for believing the mundane, thought Fries King was real. So did his mother. My husband, who is blind, merely heard the dozen-plus commercials that aired during Football games, and his mother doesn’t even use a computer. The commercial is short, to-the-point, and ends with the line, “New Satisfries from Fries King, formerly known as Burger King”. There’s no chuckle, and nothing visual to hint that it’s fake.

The “rebrand” campaign came from the ad agency Mother New York. And while fellow ad execs also find the campaign silly and misguided, it did help Burger King trend across Twitter and related sites. Unfortunately, many consumers are so irritated the restaurant chain just might have lost some customers.

The fact is, Burger King, like many other chains, is having trouble targeting consumers and connecting with them. As a result, too much attention is placed on the negative—like failed product launches and price increases. This latest tactic seems like a desperate attempt to get people talking about a product without thinking about how people actually react to having felt dumb for believing it was real. I should also note that trending topics don’t necessarily result in a flurry of new customers. I certainly haven’t seen any increase in the number of vehicles parked at my local BKs.

With that, I’ll point out one other mistake by Burger King’s marketing department. The latest post on the company’s Facebook page says that Fries King and Burger King should co-exist, then includes a photo of the two signs and a burger and fries. Those fries, though? They aren’t Satisfries…

This entire campaign was designed to promote Satisfries, but the picture shows Burger King’s regular, less-healthy french fries.

Go figure.

What do you think? Is Burger King’s latest ploy spot-on? Or just a waste of time?

[UPDATE: My husband heard the above commercial only once during Sunday's night game, and it did not include the "formerly" line at the end.]

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: branding, marketing, marketing fails, social media

iOS 7 Home Screen Sharing Tells Us Most Users Still Rely on Email

September 23, 2013 by Pamela Leave a Comment

The majority of iPhone users “dock” the email app icon.

If you’re one of those companies that’s been transitioning from email marketing to social marketing, you may want to rethink that strategy. Granted, millions of smartphone users rely on sites like Twitter and Facebook to learn about new products and find deals on their favorite brands, but the majority of them still rely heavily on email.

How do we know this? By looking at the thousands of home screen pics recent iOS 7 adopters have been sharing around the web. Culling through nearly 300 of them myself, I found only two screen caps that didn’t include the email app icon in the dock (the “locked” bar at the bottom of the screen). Even those two had the email icon somewhere on the home screen (the first page of apps).

This tells us that email is quite important to even the most social of users.

It also reminds us that mobile-friendly emails are important. More and more folk are bypassing connecting via a desktop computer. Some don’t even have one, while others rely on it only for specific tasks, spending the majority of their online time with smartphones and tablets.

The screenshots also show us how socially connected users are. Typically, smartphone users will organize apps in order of importance, with the most regularly used apps on the first page. In the screen caps I studied, the majority had Facebook, Twitter, and at least one other social app on the first page. This was usually Instagram or Vine, but plenty also connected to Pinterest and YouTube. The more “techie” and business users (which was deduced from the content of their tweets) opted instead for Google+ and LinkedIn.

Even when the home screen isn’t social, the email app is still docked.

Then there are those who don’t organize social apps on page one. But, they still dock email!

Business marketing needs a healthy balance between social and email. By finding out which social networks your target audience prefers, you can better strategize. But it doesn’t look like email marketing is going to be replaced by the social world anytime soon.

Filed Under: Ecommerce, iOS7 (Apple), Marketing, Marketing Tagged With: iOS, marketing, mobile

If My Mother Was a Business

October 22, 2011 by Pamela Leave a Comment

A recent trip back home further proves what I’ve known for many years: Personal experiences can (and should) be a driving force behind our business decisions. They also help us better understand how consumers think.

My mother is an avid crocheter and quilter. She’s also a mean knitter, sewer and maker of a killer Mac and Cheese (as a meal). She crocheted me a ’70s-style hat and scarf to take back to Florida, where the needle’s already tipping into the 50s.

My mom has a knack for making stylish gifts that please.

How does my new gift relate to business success? Mom’s actions were similar to any company wanting to reach the goal of supplying something in demand. Here’s how:

She identified the problem: It’s getting chilly.
She identified the need: I will need to stay warm when I walk the dog.
She identified the want: I could get a low-end, non-stylish hat just about anywhere, but I’d prefer something fashionable.
She identified what I was willing to pay: Okay, in this case it was nothing, but only because my mother would never even let me reimburse her for supplies.
She identified what’s popular: Similar handmade cotton hat and scarf sets go for $30 to $60 on Etsy.
She played the scarcity card: She only made a few in this particular color, which is a unique blend of greens and white (variegated).(For those crafty types, she used BERNAT handicrafter cotton.)
She addressed long-term use issues: It’s made of cotton, so I can wash it on a gentle cycle. If I take care of the set, it should last for many years.

There are other accomplishments which weren’t necessarily part of her goals:

She’s built a loyal customer base: Not only do family and friends appreciate her work, fellow crafters and visitors to local craft shows admire her work.
She gets people to talk about her: My sharing photos of her quilts and other crafts across my social media channels (which garners re-posts) proves it!
She’s established a brand: In her neck of the woods people recognize her name.
She’s created demand: Despite the fact she doesn’t take orders (she uses her own discretion), she is often asked to create specific items using specific patterns.

If my mother were a business, she’d set a great example of how to engage consumers, make people talk, and build a loyal customer base.

The most compelling reason she’d be a true success, however, is because she simply loves what she does. And those of us who benefit from her work do, too.

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Marketing, Marketing Tagged With: business, Ecommerce, marketing

PeC: 5 Ways to Promote Multi-Item Orders

October 21, 2011 by Pamela Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving has nearly disappeared at many retail outlets, as companies push customers into holiday shopping even before Halloween candy has had a chance to be cleared from the shelves.

Shoppers are quickly reminded that Christmas is less than 10 weeks away, and they’ll be combing online resources and stores to find the best deals. Key decision-making offers include free or discounted shipping, bonus gifts, per-item specials and return policies.

Your goal, however, shouldn’t solely be focused on selling to the largest number of people. More items per order garners higher profits.

Multi-item purchasing means less time spent processing and shipping orders, providing maximum benefits per transaction.

Read article at Practical eCommerce >>

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Marketing, PeC Articles Tagged With: Ecommerce, marketing, practical ecommerce

Information Wants for Nothing: Free Content is a Killer

May 19, 2011 by Pamela Leave a Comment

Imagine this…

You started your dream job twenty years ago. Over the years you’ve been responsible for key changes and advancements in the company. Management sees you as truly dedicated and you’ve worked your way up to a six figure salary.

You’ve tucked away some money for your kids’ college, but also didn’t pass on the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of your labor. So, this past year, you had that in-ground pool installed, upgraded to a nice, but not too pricey, sports car and picked up annual passes to Disney to put smiles on your childrens’ faces.

You’re living comfortably, even though the bulk of the money you’ve saved is earmarked toward college tuition.

This morning, you wake up, hop in your new car, hitting the local cafe before heading into work. You pull into the company lot, and head for the front door.

But… it’s locked.

There are no lights on, and few cars parked. You and a handful of your coworkers stand outside, wondering what’s going on. Then, your boss pulls up, and gives you the bad news. The company is now closed. Not due to the economy or failing product line, but rather, because he was so intrigued by what the Internet had to offer he decided to take all that hard work you and everyone else has done and offer up the product plans online… for free. After all, information wants to be free, no?

Sound absurd? Perhaps, but those downloading illegal music, movies, books and software are creating a very similar impact. You know who else is? The rest of us.

When did we become a society that thinks others should be offering up their hard work for free outside of charitable contributions? When did it become okay for someone to give up their dream job to put food on the table when that dream job, within all legal limits, would pay the bills?

More importantly, when did we become so expectant and accepting of others’ notion of getting things for free that we made “freemium” a primary focus of our own business models?

It doesn’t matter how (or exactly when) this all started. What matters is what we do with the information we’ve amassed, often at great costs.

How much money does someone who provides a wealth of free content really make selling premium goods? The answer: Not nearly as much as he could.

We’ve taken the traditional “sample taste” and “try before you buy” and turned it into “sample how easy it is to tie all the pieces together and learn my entire business model.” Think that’s an overstatement? For some, maybe, but for most, there’s so much time spent giving “tidbits” away that it’s difficult to keep track of what you actually gave. And if you are holding back (likely not nearly enough), someone else is there to fill the void.

The worst thing about “free” is it totally devalues everything we’ve done thus far. I don’t know about you, but my education was not free. The time I’ve spent researching, analyzing and strategizing came at great cost.

John Jantsch made some pretty bold statements about “information wants to be free” at the AmEx Open Forums. (Read: 5 Reasons Free is Hurting Us All)

When content is consistently given away it loses its value–not only for the producer, but also in the eyes of the content consumer.

- John Jantsch

John’s right. It’s time we step back and rethink things. If that means experiencing a slow season while we re-educate users, we can only benefit in the long run.

I’ve read many articles on this topic, along with comments by those who say we must provide valuable goods, services or knowledge for free in order to attract a bigger clientele or new customers. I’ve heard the arguments that say we need to give and give and give in order to build our lists. And I call foul.

To those who really think all this free content is necessary to bring real people through the door, I can only ask, “Whatever happened to the testimonial?”

With all the advances in technology, one element of business hasn’t changed: the power of “word of mouth” advertising. Therein lies the possibilities of real success. After all, if people aren’t talking about you, even the free content you’re offering is worth just that: zilch.

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Marketing, Mistakes That Kill, Social Media Tagged With: conversion, freemium, marketing, Mistakes That Kill, social media

10 Reasons I’m Not Retweeting You

May 7, 2011 by Pamela 4 Comments

The key to succeeding on Twitter is influencing people. Your influence can be gaged in many ways. Inspiring retweets is one.

Sounds easy, right?

Actually, garnering retweets can be a daunting task, and those who accomplish this goal have one thing in common: they tweet with retweeting in mind.

Here’s 10 reasons you’re not being retweeted:

You don’t follow the 140 character rule. Traditional retweeting (RT @username) has to follow the 140 – (username + 6) rule. Savvy users don’t use Twitter’s auto-retweet function, especially if they want to include their own comments.
You don’t read what you’re sharing. Remember, you are the last line of defense for what you post. If you don’t click others’ links to ensure you’re not retweeting a scam or virus, why should people trust you enough to retweet you?
The site you link to includes an auto-popup or overlay, begging me to take action. This appears before I’ve even read a single line of the page; in fact, it usually covers the page so I’ve no choice but to take some action. My action, of course, is to close the window and move on—without sharing your tweet with my followers.
You cuss. I’m no prude, but I find no reason to cuss in a professional, social media environment. Even when quoting someone you should substitute characters (like ***).
You are too political. Tweeting for sales, business, and influence should be void of an overly-political voice, unless your target audience warrants such discussion. In fact, I never retweet political statements on principle—I know that a portion of my followers would be offended no matter what the statement.
The page to which you link is loaded with grammatical errors. I’m a professional, and my followers trust that I’m sharing information for a good reason. Broken English, spelling errors (sure, they happen, but there’s a limit to what’s acceptable on a per-post basis), and lack of punctuation doesn’t represent “me”. If you’re retweeting sub-par content, it reflects poorly on you.
You abuse the term “Please RT!”. Unless the issue is urgent, you shouldn’t be begging. Accept the fact that people can decide on their own if your comment warrants a retweet.
The content of your tweet doesn’t interest me. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One cannot expect everyone they follow to only tweet topics of interest. Understand this and it will be easier to accept not being retweeted.
The page to which you link requires registration. Even if it’s free, we simply don’t have the time to register at every site we visit. Find another source, or write your own post (avoiding plagiarism, of course).
You don’t use the appropriate hashtag. Even though I’m following you, I might not be interested in everything you have to say, or, I might not be on Twitter when you tweet something interesting. The chances of me seeing your tweet increase if you’ve used a hashtag on which I search.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking Twitter is just a “free-for-all” and “if you tweet it, they will come”. There’s a reason key tweeters are recognized and respected, and they didn’t build their reputations overnight. They did this, in part, by tweeting with retweeting in mind.

Have any “I won’t retweet…” stories of your own? Post a comment!

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: communication, marketing, social media, twitter

It’s Okay to Ask for Testimonials

April 21, 2011 by Pamela 1 Comment

Testimonials can help drive business. But what if your site is lacking passionate comments by customers?

It’s okay to ask for them…

For every complaint you hear, there are at least ten consumers who walked away silently. Later, perhaps, they’ll complain about you to their friends or on Facebook, but the majority of customers who feel they’ve been done wrong will never take the time to tell you.

The same can be said for enjoyable experiences. It’s a small percentage of happy customers who will invest the effort to write you (or post directly to your social media account). A thrilling experience doesn’t always trigger a promotional response. Still, that doesn’t mean people aren’t willing to oblige when asked.

How to Ask for a Testimonial

First and foremost, don’t follow the example of what I call “eBay stuck-ups”. These sellers – often using bold, large type – explain that they will only give positive feedback if it’s first received. In their minds, the two-way street starts with the consumer taking first action. Note: These sellers never get feedback from me at all, because my testimonials are not for sale.

Instead, initiate contact by first thanking the customer, and ensuring him/her that you’re available should there be any questions. Use positive verbiage without drawing too much attention to yourself.

Try this:

Thanks again for shopping with XYZ-Store! We truly appreciate your business. We’re available to answer any questions you may have (you can reply to this email or visit our contact page).

We rely on our customers for our continued success. We hope you’ll consider posting a testimonial about your experience so others may understand what to expect when shopping with us.

Simple and to the point. Notice there’s no incentive other than them helping you succeed. Companies shouldn’t buy testimonials. It makes them worthless. And, yes, businesses found to have jimmied, faked or otherwise offered goods in return for a great rating risk losing more than just their credibility. Because, as luck would have it, shady business tactics gain the most attention in our social world.

When should you ask for this all-important feedback? Ten to 14 days after the shipment has been received. Be sure to consider order processing and shipping times. So, if an order typically takes one day to process and three days to reach the customer, your default follow-up time would be 14-18 days. You want to give the customer time to open the package (hey, people get busy; I’ve been known to wait a week before opening a box) and use the product.

Remember these important tips as well:

Post a Disclaimer–be sure to tell the customer you may use their comments in any and all promotional materials for the business. Also state that it’s possible that their testimonial may not be used.
Edit Carefully–The only time you should modify a testimonial is to correct spelling, glaring grammatical errors (you don’t want the customer to feel stupid) and to hyperlink to any specifically named products. Anything beyond that and you need to ask the customer (or ditch the comment altogether).
Avoid Posting Overly Gratuitous Prose–A testimonial should convey a customer’s satisfaction, trust and likelihood of using your services again. However, some customers think it’s better to go way over-the-top. These types of statements can appear made-up. If you know the customer well, you may want to ask him or her to tone it down. Otherwise, file it away for private ego-boosting.

One last thing. Be careful with automation tools. You definitely want a way to remove a message out of the send queue to avoid contacting customers whose orders were canceled or those who expressed they had a bad experience. You don’t want to initiate a negative response due to carelessness or an automated feedback query.

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Marketing Tagged With: communication, conversion, Ecommerce, marketing

Want to Understand Your Target Audience?

April 20, 2011 by Pamela Leave a Comment

Whenever I ask business owners about their target audience, I often receive one of two responses: 1) They describe themselves; 2) They provide me with marketplace stats they grabbed from some publication. Few can tell me exactly who they want to target and why, because they don’t understand how certain interests correlate with others.

Target practice In an age where advertisers are spending more money to target potential customers based on their submitted demographics, more existing customers are waving their hands, yelling, “Hey, what about me?” This is because many businesses take their existing users for granted as they seek domination in the marketplace.

Getting people to read about your product is one thing. Giving them reason to buy it is an entirely different challenge. Demographics should be used primarily for getting people in the door. Its focus groups (consisting of both new and seasoned users) that give you a head-start on getting to know how your target audience “thinks.” I know, Apple doesn’t do focus groups. Face it: you’re not Apple.

There needs to be a balance of attracting new customers, providing a service (or products) and maintaining existing customers. Lend too much weight to any of these tasks and your bottom line is affected.

Fortunately, one hand does wash the other. If you want to understand your target audience, just ask your existing customers. They can tell you why they buy/use your products, as well as what they don’t like about your company. The best part about doing this target-market research? Plenty of them will be happy to tell you this without even charging you.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: business, marketing

When content is consistently given away it loses its value–not only for the producer, but also in the eyes of the content consumer.

- John Jantsch

How to Ask for a Testimonial

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