We live in a world today that allows companies to talk to each customer individually, and tailor messages related to their individual needs.
More importantly, today's customer now expects this type of relationship more and more. It's what I call the "me economy" or "meconomy." Programmatic or transaction emails are fine as long as they are not emails but memails. Customers want the relationship to feel like it is a one-on-one interaction yet know they are part of a larger tribe too.
It takes energy, effort, and even thinking differently but companies need to understand the meconomy is here, and it is here to stay.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Yes, if . . .
Harrison (Buzz) Price, who led the economic feasibility and site-location studies for Walt Disney that allowed for the development of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, utilized the "Yes, if . . ." approach as a basis for reasoning when he reported his research findings to Walt.
In his book Walt's Revolution! By the Numbers (Ripley Entertainment, Inc., 2003), which I had the pleasure of reading last month, Buzz states, "Walt liked this language. 'No, because' is the language of a deal killer. 'Yes, if . . .' is the approach of a deal maker. Creative people thrive on 'Yes, if . . .'"
Try the 'Yes, if . . .' approach for this month and see what changes occur.
houston@figment-consulting.com
In his book Walt's Revolution! By the Numbers (Ripley Entertainment, Inc., 2003), which I had the pleasure of reading last month, Buzz states, "Walt liked this language. 'No, because' is the language of a deal killer. 'Yes, if . . .' is the approach of a deal maker. Creative people thrive on 'Yes, if . . .'"
Try the 'Yes, if . . .' approach for this month and see what changes occur.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Friday, March 28, 2014
The one thing that will not change.
By the time I finish typing this sentence, technology will have changed yet again.
Growing up, did you ever believe you would spend your day "tweeting"?
People complain that Instagram is not quick enough.
Candy Crush was actually a recent IPO -- an app maker is now a public company. How long ago was it that apps were first introduced?
When was the last time you used your fax machine?
Pay phones are now exhibits in a museum.
So, yes change is occurring rapidly and it is difficult to keep up, especially for companies that tend to move slowly.
However, through it all there is one thing that does not change, and by focusing on it first, it can actually help you navigate through all of the change.
Taking care of your customers.
Technology, social media, and the change that comes with them are only tools to allow you to take care of your customers in delightful and more personal ways.
If your attention is on the ever-changing technology and trying to keep up, then your customers will feel that. But, if your focus is on your customers, it can drive your decisions on which tools to use, and which ones to avoid.
Don't lose sight of what you are building by becoming too enamored with the shiny new tools.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Growing up, did you ever believe you would spend your day "tweeting"?
People complain that Instagram is not quick enough.
Candy Crush was actually a recent IPO -- an app maker is now a public company. How long ago was it that apps were first introduced?
When was the last time you used your fax machine?
Pay phones are now exhibits in a museum.
So, yes change is occurring rapidly and it is difficult to keep up, especially for companies that tend to move slowly.
However, through it all there is one thing that does not change, and by focusing on it first, it can actually help you navigate through all of the change.
Taking care of your customers.
Technology, social media, and the change that comes with them are only tools to allow you to take care of your customers in delightful and more personal ways.
If your attention is on the ever-changing technology and trying to keep up, then your customers will feel that. But, if your focus is on your customers, it can drive your decisions on which tools to use, and which ones to avoid.
Don't lose sight of what you are building by becoming too enamored with the shiny new tools.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Monday, January 13, 2014
Top 7 Most Overused Words in Advertising
Words and word choice are critical elements in advertising campaigns (web sites, press releases, etc.). They can tell your story or turn off your readers/viewers.
With all of the tools at our disposal (online dictionary, thesaurus, word synonyms, etc.) it should be very easy for marketers to avoid the list below. And yet we see these words again and again.
The list was emailed to me recently and taken from a story on About.com -- you can read more about each word there. I simply list them for you here:
1) Amazing
2) Free
3) New (or Improved)
4) Different
5) Incredible
6) Just
7) Guaranteed
It's amazing how many times we offer free or new items as incentives, calling ourselves different from our competitors while not demonstrating just how incredible our products really are. Doing so will cause our customers to become even more cynical of our words -- and, when they do that, they stop listening to the story we want to share with them.
Others will say the reason we see these words so often is because they are effective. Perhaps. As long as you are authentically amazing, incredible, different, or really free.
At some point though customers will desire something that is fresh rather than different, bold rather than incredible. Your challenge, your opportunity, is to determine when that tipping point is due to occur (difficult to do) -- or, you could move it closer to that point yourself by leading the way.
www.figment-consulting.com
With all of the tools at our disposal (online dictionary, thesaurus, word synonyms, etc.) it should be very easy for marketers to avoid the list below. And yet we see these words again and again.
The list was emailed to me recently and taken from a story on About.com -- you can read more about each word there. I simply list them for you here:
1) Amazing
2) Free
3) New (or Improved)
4) Different
5) Incredible
6) Just
7) Guaranteed
It's amazing how many times we offer free or new items as incentives, calling ourselves different from our competitors while not demonstrating just how incredible our products really are. Doing so will cause our customers to become even more cynical of our words -- and, when they do that, they stop listening to the story we want to share with them.
Others will say the reason we see these words so often is because they are effective. Perhaps. As long as you are authentically amazing, incredible, different, or really free.
At some point though customers will desire something that is fresh rather than different, bold rather than incredible. Your challenge, your opportunity, is to determine when that tipping point is due to occur (difficult to do) -- or, you could move it closer to that point yourself by leading the way.
www.figment-consulting.com
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