How come wine company’s never offer a contest where you could win something on the bottom of a cork?  Ok, you’re right, people who buy $50-$100 bottles of wine do not care about whatever it is under the cork, as long as it smells like fine wine.  I’m talking about the cheap inexpensive wine, you know the bottles that no one is aging in the cellar, the ones that you buy for the weekend and if they last till Monday you’re having wine with supper.

I see an opportunity here.  You could develop a classy contest, partner with the New Yorker or Napa Valley and offer a prize people will talk about around the water cooler.

Creating an incentive for customers to look for your wine at the store can be a powerful tactic.  With whatever excuse you come up with as to the reason why wine company’s don’t do this, ask yourself, why?  And why couldn’t they?  I am open for a discussion.

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Many company’s have an e-newsletter and I believe the majority of those company’s should not or need to take a lesson from the masters.  Here’s why.

How many e-mail newsletters do you subscribe to?  Out of those, how many, when you see it hit your inbox are “drop everything you’re doing to read the newsletter”?  Very few I bet.  On the flip side, how many were you subscribed to that when you received it, there was nothing of value to you whatsoever?  Probably a lot more.

The best example of how to do an e-mail newsletter is from Chip and Dan Heath.  They do not have a schedule they publish on, they only send it when they have enough content that they are satisfied that the newsletter provides exceptional value to the reader.  It delivers value.

Granted, they are authors of two best selling books, and write a column in Fast Company magazine but they offer a lot of free content on their site and the newsletter is no different.  The best part about it is that you don’t feel like they are bragging about their work in the newsletter, nor are they trying to sell you something, they genuinely want to fill your appetite of useful knowledge.  Because I get this feeling from them I remain as a subscriber.

If you don’t have enough content that provides value the solution that I would recommend is quite simple; DON’T SEND THE NEWSLETTER!

Now it’s your turn, do you have an example of a great newsletter?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

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When you pour sour milk into a glass, it comes out in globs and chunks, not very consistently.  When you dabble in one medium and then try a different tactic it is not very consistent, that does not help your brand.  People notice consistency.

When your efforts are focused on a certain task over time, by default your competency increases and you create consistency. Your customers or clients have an expectation of your work and you must deliver on that expectation consistently.  People notice consistency.

In a world where products and businesses can be developed over night, it can be difficult at times to differentiate the good ones from the bad.  Whether you own a small business or are developing your next marketing campaign, keep in mind that consistency over a period of time speaks louder than any chunky one-off sour milk promotion.  People don’t like sour milk, but love consistency.

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1.  Mass inviting friends – C’mon I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but inviting a bunch of people from your area to be your friend because it’s going to benefit you at your new job is just lazy.  Once you send them a message about your “new job” that “remove from friends” button just got a lot bigger.

2.

Did you leave caps lock on?  Is it your first time on Facebook?  Yes, you want to get our attention, we can see that, but typing in all caps makes it sound like you’re yelling (go on, try reading a message in all caps with a small voice, it feels weird) Most people upon seeing a message in all caps chuckle to themselves then ignore the message.

3.  Creating a group or a fan page for the sole purpose of creating a group or a fan page. –  If you don’t have a clear idea or goal in mind about why you are starting a Facebook group or fan page then don’t do it (or do it and don’t invite anyone).  Nothing is more mind-numbingly obvious that you have no clue how to market to people then inviting me to your fan page to give me updates about your company that I do not care about.  Before you create a fan page or group please ask yourself, why?

4.  Excessively bothering people who are a part of your group, fan page, attending your event, etc. – If I join your group you’ve obviously peaked my interest in some way.  Don’t ruin it for yourself by bombarding me with messages.  Plan messages out and have a purpose for even the simplest ones.  The best way to get me to leave your group or fan page is to keep bothering me with messages that do not pertain to me.  Update all you want, you’ll end up in my news feed, that is fine, but sometimes all it takes is one meaningless message that loses the trust I once had in you, leaving your group never to return.

Did I forget any?  Please let me know what YOU think people should never do on Facebook in the comments below.

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Word-of-Mouth of course.  If you disagree, please, I’d love to hear why in the comments below.  Word-of-mouth is the most authentic and effective because for it to occur successfully, there must be more than a minimum level of trust established.  Let me explain.

If I don’t trust you I will never take your advice on anything, let alone a product I will be purchasing.  On the contrary, if I trust you a lot (an influencer in my life) I will take your word on what I should buy over any marketing message no matter how clever it is.  

Trust = influence.

As fast as we can share our opinions on Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. I can’t fathom why more businesses haven’t created incentives for customers to share their delightful experiences online for others to see.  EXAMPLE: Foursquare is becoming a very useful tool for me, now that people are sharing their opinions openly when checking in.

Your brand isn’t your website, store, logo or your OWN perception of your company.  Your brand is what other people say about you and the internet makes it much easier to say anything about your company, positive or negative.

This is your warning, it’s only going to increase, how are you encouraging positive word-of-mouth?

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On September 16th the Executing Social Media conference will be held in Regina at the Queensbury Convention Centre.  Now I may be a bit biased but I think they have a great lineup of speakers.  Some locals and some from abroad all taking about our favorite topic, online media.

Besides myself the list of speakers includes:

Kip Simon – President, 22 Fresh

Mike Klein Senior Online Communications Strategy at University of Saskatchewan

Philippe Leclerc, Interactive Communications Manager at the City of Regina

Adam Herstein - Partner, Pitblado LLP

Doug Walker - President, WebWalker

Ryan Lejbak – CEO & Co-Founder, ZU

To see all the speakers and presentation outlines click here.  Let me know if you are attending as we may organize a small Tweet up the night of the conference.

BEXDM5AZVCKN

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When I was a kid I used to hate how bright it got in my room on Summer mornings.  My solution for years was taping garbage bags around the window sill to keep the light out.  It didn’t work that well and in my Mom’s opinion an unnecessary waste of tape and garbage bags.

It wasn’t until years later when I rethought the problem I solved it with a much simpler solution.  A black headband that covered my eyes completely.

Sometimes when you look at a problem the first solution you come up with isn’t always the best.  Keep thinking.

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Have you experienced this yet?  A random number texts you “HUGE SALE ON (Insert product), BEST PRICE IN TOWN, LOOK NO FURTHER FOR YOUR (Insert product) NEEDS!”

It has happened a couple of times now and I don’t like it.  Here’s why if you use text-message advertising we’re both losing.

1.  I have not given you permission to interrupt me on my phone, doing so makes me strongly dislike whatever the message is you want me to read.

2.  You seem lazy and disrespectful, I want to return the favor.  I’ll call you back or MySask411 your number to see who you are and when I find out I’ll realize how elementary your understanding of marketing really is.  I will not forget this.

3.  The more niche focused your text-message deal is, the better your chance of it being completely unrelated to my purchasing patterns.  EXAMPLE: Niche focus, “HUGE SALE ON GRANITE”   Broad focus: “HALF OFF ICE CREAM AT COLD STONE” – The first one you lose all credibility, the second only works if the person receiving the text sees value in what you’re texting.

Moral of the story?  Lay off the Spam sandwiches, you’re hurting your personal brand and wasting my time.

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The other day I filled out a survey from the Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC) asking about what they are currently doing and what they could do better, it got me thinking.  Now I’m not being critical of RROC, I think they’re doing a great job, especially when you see them picking up talent such as Grant Langford who I worked with on the Saskatchewan Pavilion project.  I’m writing this as an idea generator, without knowing the ins and outs of RROC this is how I would go about marketing our beautiful city.

First, I would put packages together making it SO incredibly easy to come to Regina that you would literally need to click your mouse three times on the website, enter a credit card and WHAMMY you have your holiday booked.  Why?  Because humans are lazy and the easier you make it for people to come here, the better your chances are of actually getting them here.  I know there  are some offerings through the Stay and Play promotion but I think they could take it a step further.

Second, put packages together that allow tourists to experience Regina in a different light.  We don’t have World renown attractions but we do have some of the best people ready to put on a show for whomever is in the audience.  There are some very unique things that people would be more than delighted to experience in our fine city.

For example:

• Hotel accommodations, a massage, dinner at La Bodega, then off to a Redsox game?  Or maybe to the symphony?
• A round of golf then off to Globe Theatre for a performance and a catered meal.
• How about a ghost tour of old Regina ending at Cold Stone for ice cream?
• In the different seasons, put packages together surrounding events which would include hotels, some meals, transportation and various activities.
• The “Fire and Ice” or “The New Years Eve” package in the winter.
• The “Summer Invasion” or “Patriotic” package in the Summer.

Plan everything out for our lovely out of town visitors so they don’t have to worry about a thing once they arrive.

Third, enable every visitor who has had a great experience in Regina to share their story somewhere online.  Be it a blog, a video-blog, a picture story on Flickr or on the RROC Facebook wall, somewhere that will allow RROC to amplify the story.  Soon enough that blog, video-blog or Facebook wall will be filled with authentic stories from people who had a wonderful experience in Regina.  Those stories will be available to anyone searching for a vacation in Western Canada and soon become the most powerful marketing tool for potential visitors to our city.

Ok, I’ve shared, now it’s your turn.  How would you market Regina?

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I hate lineups.  For anything really. I’m impatient and I usually want things as fast as they can humanly be delivered to my hands.  I’m pretty sure no one likes lineups so it is a perplexing issue to me that as humans (lineup haters) we don’t do everything in our power to minimize, shrink, or do what every we can to demolish these horrible things that eat up our time.

I don’t believe it is the general public’s or customers fault that there are lineups, it all has to do with the choice of architecture of the lineup.  These companies and organizations that under estimated their own traffic and how long wait times would be now must look to alternate methods of satisfying the demand at a minimal cost.

There is some research being conducted around lineups and how to minimize wait times but this research is mostly for grocery stores and Wal-Mart.  I think the research paid off, the “Express Line” at Safeway, the “12 items or less line” at Superstore and the newly adopted number system at Wal-Mart where they herd everyone into a line and a lovely women over the loud speaker tells you which till to go to once you reach the front of the herd.  All in an attempt to save their customer’s time.

It is very easy to find the organizations that don’t believe in “line reduction research”.  Craven Country Jamboree, Tim Horton’s, and my bank TD Canada Trust.

If I was to conduct my own research within these organizations here is what I would try.

Craven: Offer an express lane for vehicles only, no trailers.  As well, have line marshals that insure the line is constantly moving.  If it begins to bottleneck somewhere the line marshals must keep the vehicles moving.  Seems like a not bad solution to a problem that 25,000 people complain about every year.

Tim Horton’s: Offer an express lane to people who just want coffee.  Tim Horton’s could charge a quarter more in the “caffeine line”, I’d pay more for my coffee if I could have it right now.  Have a thermos?  How about an automatic coffee dispensary for all those who don’t mind serving themselves.

TD Canada Trust:  Again, offer an express lane to people who have no questions, that know exactly what they need to do and won’t take any longer than a minute.  The line gets bottlenecked when those REALLY friendly people come in and need to strike up a conversation about anything but their bank account.  TD knows that they can not compromise customer service so just have two lines, one for questions/conversations and one for banking.

Treating your customers better is a proven strategy to increase customer loyalty.  Caring about your customers time is obviously an undiscovered facet of customer service.  As our world keeps progressing and we get more busy, our time increases in value.  Finding an innovative way to tell your customers you care about their time could have a lasting effect on how they perceive your brand.

What do you think?

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