The Achilles Heel of Your Super Awesome Social Media Idea
Submitted by siteadmin on Wed, 09/08/2010 - 17:37
I have one word for you. Operations. The coolest, shiniest, most innovative "look at me!" social media idea ever can easily be tripped up by this one word. Foursquare specials, Groupons, Twitter deals, Facebook coupons are all methods used by major brands to get customers off their computers and into the store. They spend months planning, measuring, strategizing and partnering, yet so many forget this one key word: Operations.
Before rolling out a campaign, there are countless operations things to check:
- Are all of your local managers on board?
- Do they have the right materials to train their staff? (Or as we called them at Aeropostale, "associates")
- If something goes wrong, what's your chain of command?
- How can you prepare now to avoid headaches later?
It doesn't matter if you're the first brand ever to do a Foursquare special. If your customers are getting a blank stare when they present their phone for a discount, your campaign's success is limited and its days are numbered.
Starbucks
The story: In May, Starbucks took the leap into a new kind of loyalty program, offering $1 off Frappucinos for mayors. Unfortunately for Starbucks, many of the mayors (users who have checked in most frequently in the past 60 days), were actually Starbucks employees. In addition, many baristas weren't aware of what Foursquare was, much less that there was a special offer. Plus, Foursquare is, well, a game, and people can game the system.
How it could have gone better:
- Identifying the mayor issue months before the campaign launched, and creating separate locations for employees to use (e.g. Starbucks Northwest Highway - Staff)
- Rolling out a policy for Foursquare check-ins a minimum of 90 days before launch
- Specific training for baristas, and leave behind instructions at the cash register
The Gap
The story: Groupon, an online group-buying service, has experienced explosive growth. Small businesses and large corporations have noticed its value, and taken advantage with offers of 50-70% off services. In late August, they offered their first nationwide deal, a coupon to the Gap for $50 worth of merch for $25. All told, they sold over $11 million in coupons in one day, crashing Groupon's servers and creating quite a buzz online.
And now? Operations. That one little word that throws a wrench in the otherwise awesome plan. There are stories of Groupon redemptions gone wrong and, having spent many a year working in retail, I can see how:
- Is the Groupon good on sale merchandise?
- What if the customer wants to redeem it for a total less than $50?
- Is this valid at my store?
- How do I ring it up?
It looks like most of these questions were answered with training, but with 3000 stores in the US, communications breakdowns were sure to occur.
Launching a social media initiative always carries risks - increased transparency, dedication of time, questions about measurement - and these special offers are no different. Brands are already improving communications at an operations level, but it's always something to consider - we know this will work online, but how will it work offline?
