alyssagardina.com - strategy

The Cost of Doing (Good) Business

agardina — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:30:19 +0000

I took one accounting class in college. And, honestly, I really enjoyed it. Something about the evenness of liabilities, assets and equities appealed to me. So, with that expertise in mind, let’s talk about the cost of doing business.

The cost of doing business, by definition, is overhead. It’s the cost of anything you have or do that doesn’t have to do with actually producing a good or service. These include: insurance, utilities, accounting services, attending networking events.

Every business incurs some sort of overhead, and tries to limit it as much as possible. After all, these costs impact the company’s revenue, and overall financial well-being. However, I think there’s a fundamental difference between the cost of doing business and the cost of doing good business. And great companies see the distinction between the two.

For example, here are two articles posted today on The Consumerist. The first was about a customer’s interaction with OXO. A customer had received an OXO Salad Spinner as a wedding gift, and was disappointed when it broke after a few months of use. Like many customers, he reached out to OXO via their online contact form, but wasn’t hopeful about getting a response. Surprisingly, OXO responded a few days later, saying they would send out a replacement part. No hassle, no cost to the customer.

For an accountant, this is the cost of doing business. For a marketer, I’d file this under the cost of doing good business. The company incurs costs here – the cost to manufacture the part, the cost to ship and the cost of having an effective customer service department. But they also gain value – goodwill from one customer, who by sharing his story with the Consumerist, spread the awareness to a massive audience. And take a look at the comments:

On the flip side, there’s also a cost of doing bad business. Again on the Consumerist, a user tells a story of their interaction with customer service. This time, though, it’s not so positive. From the user’s email: “DirecTV will never have my family's business again and via Facebook, Twitter and obviously email, I plan to tell everyone I know about this horrid experience with a company that evidently wants my business so bad.”

Instead of generating goodwill on a heavily trafficked website, DirecTV brings out feelings from the other side of the spectrum:

In this new, more social, world, is it more important to calculate the cost of doing traditional business, or the cost of whether it’s good or bad?

The Achilles Heel of Your Super Awesome Social Media Idea

siteadmin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:37:18 +0000

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?

Social Media Isn't a Miracle Cure

agardina — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:25:53 +0000

I read a recent post by Alan Wolk, and his conclusion really stood out to me:

"I’ll leave you with this quote from a smart young guy named Matt Daniels 'Marketing has a bell curve–most companies create average marketing and achieve average results.' Why did we think social media was going to be any different?"

Why did we think that social media would be a cure all - a marketing or public relations tool that would make every company that touched it somehow more extraordinary? That it would be a Midas Touch that fixes bad brands, policies and products?

Right now, it might be. Companies are adopting social media slowly, so industry leaders might not be the first to use a tool. Snakeoil salesmen and defenders of inadequate brands can build an online reputation before their competitors even have a chance to sign up for a YouTube account. In the past, social media has given notoriety to the content leaders, not the quality leaders.

And I think that's going to change. Consumers are becoming more knowledgable about the power of social media and the transparency it provides. Companies are finally starting to "get it" and get online, albeit slowly but surely. Users are looking for good content, and it takes a strong brand, product and service to provide that.

Let's face it, there have been good marketing campaigns by bad companies. But they don't stick nearly as well as campaigns for companies that provide something that customers want, need and keep coming back for. Just like all the Super Bowl ads in the world couldn't have saved Cash 4 Gold, all the Twitter followers online won't help your company if you can't meet expectations.

Social media won't be the thing that cures you, but transparency could be the thing that kills you.

Is your company strong enough to make the cut?

"Have the Intern Do It" - Worst Case Scenarios

agardina — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:53:22 +0000

"Have the intern do it" - it's a phrase often uttered in nonprofits, and is perfectly fine in most cases. However, those 5 words should never be associated with your organization's social media campaign, and here's why:

Would you have the intern do a live interview?
Worst case scenario: Your intern might not be familiar enough with your brand, mission or crisis communications strategies. A follower on Twitter says something negative about your organization, maybe a negative comment about an issue you support. Your well-meaning intern responds, maybe using a choice word like "incompetent" or "rude", instead of constructively responding to the comment.
How it could have been prevented: Interns rarely receive the in-depth training that staff do. Developing a social media policy, to be executed by employees familiar with any conflicts your organization has, can prevent this type of negative interaction.

Would your intern serve as your official spokesperson?
Worst case scenario: New to the position, the intern writes a beautiful blog post, advocating for your cause. The problem? Your name isn't Metropolitan Animal Shelter. You're the Animal Shelter of the New York Metropolitan Area. Now you've got hundreds of hits from a new audience, and you're going to fight an uphill battle trying to get that awareness to the right brand. Plus, you're missing out on any search engine bonuses you could have gotten, and anyone sharing that link is passing on that small mistake over and over again.
How it could have been prevented: You could have your intern review the branding guidelines, or take a more proactive approach. Either review your intern's posts before they go live, or have content created within the organization - by someone who is familiar with your cause & message.

Look 6 months ahead.
Worst case scenario: In the case of college interns, they may only be with your organization for a semester. If the social media campaign has solely been in the hands of your intern for the past 4 months, you might not know where it stands, who the intern has connected with, or what to do once he or she leaves.
How it could have been prevented: Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration. If you'd like to involve an intern or temporary employee in your social media strategy, by all means, do! The more ideas, the better, but keep in mind that when they leave, it's all up to you.

Interns are amazing assets to any non-profit organization. But if you wouldn't create an advertising campaign by "letting the intern do it", why would you do the same with social media?

Watching Your Back: Online Reputation Management

agardina — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:42:24 +0000

I recently spoke with some awesome students at Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications who are looking to get jobs or internships in the near future. We discussed the role of social media in their searches, and also covered a topic that’s very prevalent: personal online reputation management.

As these students graduate, employers will not only be looking at their resumes and cover letters, but at their Google search results, Facebook profiles, blogs and Twitter pages. Social media is a great equalizer (where else can you talk to a Creative Director at a major agency about baseball?), which is both a good and bad thing. I gave them some advice about making sure that their online reputation matches the image they want to show to potential employers.

The One-Click Rule
As far as marketing yourself (or your product) is concerned, you want whoever is looking for information to get it via the path of least resistance. I recommended that employers be able to find a portfolio, resume and contact information in one-click whenever possible. This means linking all social networks, so that your YouTube page is listed on your LinkedIn page, your Twitter profile linked to your blog, etc. You don’t want to miss out on an opportunity just because someone couldn’t find your email address.

3 Takeaways for Online Reputation Management

Privacy Understanding the privacy policies of any site where you have personal information is key to ensuring that your online reputation is under control. Industry trends, such as Bing making a deal with Facebook to index status updates, may threaten those who use Facebook for solely personal purposes (Beacon, anyone?) Keep up-to-date on any policy changes and take an active role in keeping whatever you want private, private. Most of all, think twice about anything you put online. Just because you have it set as private, doesn’t mean it will stay that way.
Consistency Your message and image should be consistent across all public networks and sites. I emphasize public because you may or may not have your Facebook or MySpace page made private (see above). Aside from those private, social sites, try to use a consistent image, tagline and focus of information. Tweet about what you blog, have your LinkedIn picture reflected on your Flickr profile – make it easy and obvious that this is you on every network.
Cohesiveness If at all possible, list your other social networks on every profile or site you develop. For your blog, add a widget (depending on your content management system) that lists your other social networks. On sites like Flickr, YouTube and LinkedIn, add links to each site that you’d like employers to see.

And, most importantly: Google yourself. Every couple of months, take a look and see if something’s showing up on there that you don’t want public or if your name has been mentioned on any sites you don’t want it associated with. Knoweldge is power, and knowing what’s out there with your name on it can be the difference between hired and fired.

Technology Terms Translated: Social Media in Plain English

agardina — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:17:50 +0000

I'll never forget the day I told my boss that we should probably be on Twitter. Actually, I may have said, "We should be Twittering!" - this always results in a raised eyebrow and a question as to whether the word "Twittering" is work-appropriate. If you've ever had a conversation like this, you know that social media technologies aren't easy to define. Thus, I present to you a Social Media to English dictionary, so the next time someone tells you that your organization should "do a blog", you can send them here!

Blogging
A blog is anything from an online journal to a series of articles ordered in a chronological fashion. Blog entries or posts are invidiual articles that often include photos, video and links. Popular blog platforms include Blogger and Wordpress.These are free tools, but can be improved for a very low cost. Blog readers will often subscribe to your blog and read it on another website, such as Google Reader.

RSS Feeds
On a related note, a quick definition of RSS Feeds. They're lifesavers. RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and is a way for your readers to add your blog or podcasts to a website that automatically updates when you post.

Twitter
Twitter is completely its own entity. Some describe it as "micro-blogging" (as in, blogging in 140 characters or less), but it's much more collaborative than that. It's a cross between a blog, an away message and a conversation with a random person on the street. You can request a good Twitter how-to guide (free!) here. I'll go into more depth about Twitter in the future, but, in the meantime, try it out! Make a bio with a personal twist and use Twitter search to find people who are talking about your organization or your topic (i.e. Washington D.C. food banks).

Other basic Twitter terms:

Tweet: a message published on Twitter
DM: Direct message, or message that's sent to the user and not visible on Twitter
"@" or "at": A reply that's visible to others on Twitter but specially notifies the user whose name comes after @ (for example: @agardina would be a message that I would see!)
RT: Retweet. Sharing a link or a message that someone has already "tweeted" (see definition 1!)

Facebook
It's way more than college kids. Facebook's average users now include high schoolers, Baby Boomers, and everyone in between. It's a social network where people connect by "friending", or requesting a friendship with someone. Facebook also offers applications, pages and groups - all of which can be used for your organization! Pages share information, photos and events about your organization and allow Facebook members to become Fans and receive updates.

Podcasts
A podcast is an audio or video file that's distributed via the Internet. Similar to blogs, podcasts are shared and people can subscribe online or using a program like iTunes. While the term "podcast" makes it sound like this media is only meant for iPods, don't let that fool you! You can listen to podcasts on your computer, on any MP3 player and on many mobile phones! Podcasts are great for sharing interviews, providing audio tours, or putting together quick video pieces.

Social Bookmarking
I'm sure you've bookmarked something in the past - social bookmarking just shares those links you save with the public. Tools like Delicious, StumbleUpon and Digg help you share your content with a larger audience.

I know I've left something out - leave a comment with what I've missed or fill out the contact form and I'll get back to you with more info!

Trunk and Branches - Social Media Strategy for Rookies

agardina — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:54:31 +0000

Starting a social media campaign is a lot like planting a tree. You have to start somewhere, and it's best to start with your roots. Your mission statement, your current audience, your beliefs - no matter what you do in a non-profit, it should always come back to these fundamentals. Let's take a look at what I call the "trunk and branches" approach to social media:

This is an example of a social media tree that I've been working on for The Women's Museum. When you're just starting off on a social media campaign, it's important to have a hub that you focus on. For us, it's been Twitter, where we've built our audience and found brand evangelists that will share our message as well as our other social media initiatives. From there, we drive traffic to our other initiatives in a useful way. We don't just say "Become a fan on Facebook!" but instead say "We have this program coming up, click here for more information". This also allows us to use Facebook's RSVP tool to keep track of attendees. As another example, the response rate for the message "Check out photos from this recent event" gets a much higher click-through rate than "Here's our Flickr page". When trying to drive traffic to your other sites, always remain conversational and specific.

If you're just starting a social media campaign, take some time to strategize. Think of where your target audience is and what tools you think you can use most effectively. If you have a ton of b-roll footage, maybe your best bet is using YouTube. If you have a more long-form story to tell, try a blog.

Growth & Expansion
With a good strategy, growth via social media is all but guaranteed. After you've dedicated sufficient time to building this tree and its branches, you may be able to create another tree with your strongest components. For example, if you've been using Twitter, but you now have a completely separate audience that's going straight to your blog, that's your second tree. Speak to both of those audiences with your message, but deliver it in a way that's suitable to them. Twitter users may want brief snapshots, but blog readers want more of a story, with photos, videos, quotes, etc.

What do you think of the social media tree? What's your trunk? Have you started "branching out"?