Is “Like” a measure of engagement?

Observation:  Today’s Research Brief inspires us to ask a worthwhile question.  Just because you have lots of “Likes,” is your Facebook page successful?  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   I don’t know about you, but I’ve looked over the shoulder at several folks surfing Facebook and I’ve asked the same question.  And I confess to some of the behaviors myself.  Maybe someone sees a page because on of their friends has liked it, so they land on the page, are amused for a moment, and then click “Like” on the way out.  Was the campaign that elicited this response viral?  Absolutely.  But so is a quickly passing cold sore.  That doesn’t mean it will have a long-term effect on the user’s life, nor on the company involved.

It’s just as important with social and other forms of digital that you measure the right things.  Are you customers truly engaged?  How do you know? Are sales (or other desired responses) increasing in response to your messaging effort?  How do you know?  Where have you placed the thermostat?  You can get “re-pins” on Pinterest or “likes” on Facebook simply by sharing a picture of a horse with a hoof coming out of its head that you created with Photoshop.  That doesn’t make it effective social marketing.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

A primer on harnessing social media

Observation:  Today’s McKinsey newsletter focuses on social media and marketing, and specifically, taking the mystery out of the medium.  It is a long but worthwhile read, and you can click here to get started.

Implications:   The most important aspect of this article is offered early... That social media might still seem ambiguous to many company owners or CEOs, but it has become too big to ignore.  (As the newsletter puts it, if the population of Facebook were a country unto itself, it would be the third largest country on the planet behind China and India.)

Just as important, McKinsey is working to link the consumer’s behaviors and buying process to illustrate which touch-points might be influenced by social media.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

UPDATE: Tips on Pinterest

Observation:   I’ve written some posts involving Pinterest before (see “Very Pinteresting” from 4/2/12), but this morning’s Marketing Daily features a story with some tips about how newcomers (including businesses) can become acquainted with it quickly, and share their business via the site.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   Again, Word-of-Mouth can be an important aspect of your overall messaging.  Marketers need to consider the distinctions between the media resources that are paid, owned and earned.  Your paid media might include television, radio, newspaper, outdoor, digital display, and SEO/SEM.  The media you own might include your corporate report, brochures, point-of-purchase, a direct mail, SMS or email list—and of course, the new granddaddy of them all—your website. 

The media you earn includes the things people say about you, your company, your product or your service.  If you are invited to be a guest on a talk show as an expert in your field, that’s earned media exposure.  If someone talks you up on Facebook, that’s earned media.  If someone “Pins” an image and/or recipe they found on your website, that’s earned media.

A marketing budget should include consideration to each of the three messaging weapons:  Media that is paid, owned, and earned.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

From mild distraction to “very Pinteresting”

Observation:   A story from yesterday’s Marketing Daily newsletter explains that Pinterest—a relative newcomer to social sharing—is beginning to play a serious role in the way that consumers are influencing each other… and companies are starting to take notice.  Click here to see the MD story.

Implications:   Word-of-mouth has long been the omnipotent form of endorsement advertising, as one friend tells another about the positive attributes of a product, service or experience.  Through testimonials, many companies have used word-of-mouth even in their paid mass media.  At its root, whether you’re talking about Pinterest, Facebook or any other social site, social marketing is about giving customers something to talk about… in a favorable way.

Also interesting to note:  Pinterest seems to be the most fun when participants are sharing “person-to-person,” rather than when someone pins a business entity to one of their boards.

Pinterest facilitates word-of-mouth.  Have you done the same?  Before you launch a social marketing campaign… ask yourself whether you’ve launched an experience or product that’s worth talking about.  Someone once shared this simple bit of advice on the topic of successful social marketing:  Before it can be marketing, it must be social. 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

UPDATE: Never anger a reporter. (And we’re all reporters.)

Observation:   Here in the Twin Cities, one of the biggest business news stories of the day is the announcement that Best Buy is closing fifty stores and cutting jobs at its corporate headquarters (see the Star Tribune story by clicking here).

The coverage inspired me to review some of the material I’ve posted about the retailer, including a post about a nasty review in Forbes (see “Never anger a reporter,” 1/5/12).  But when looking for that original Forbes story, I stumbled across a follow-up that I had not seen until now, published by Forbes on January 9 (see “The People vs Best Buy, round two” by clicking here). 

Implications:  Let me start by saying that my heart goes out to anyone who is losing a job in this restructuring… may you swiftly find a new, fulfilling place to apply your trade and prosper.  Nobody likes to see job loss.

But there are two reasons I revisited this story and feature it again here.  First, in reading the follow-up story in Forbes—“The People vs Best Buy, round 2”—one discovers just how powerful the fallout can be from negative publicity.  In the digital age, consumers have infinite ways to pile on, and add their own two-cents about a shopping experience.  The original Forbes article was forwarded via email, LinkedIn and other means with stunning frequency.  That speaks to the viral nature of the consumer community.

Secondly, the Star Tribune story explains that Best Buy lost $1.7 billion in their fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $651 million for the same period in the prior year.  In other words, the further we moved away from the recession, the worse things got for Best Buy’s bottom line.   That issue dramatizes just how selective an economic downturn or upswing can be:  Like the recession, the ongoing economic recovery will not be an equal-opportunity event.

How is your recovery progressing?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Showrooming: A name for the consumer’s practice of shopping in-store and then buying online

Observation:   A study from NPD was summarized in today’s Marketing Daily, and focuses on the consumer’s new tendency to shop in a variety of channels (small retail, big-box, department and warehouse stores), and then buy the item online.   Click here to see the story.

Implications:   This is a genie that’s going to be hard to put back in the bottle.  So the question becomes, what can you do about it?

Is there any incentive you can offer that encourages the consumer to buy “right then and there?”  Why not offer little notecards or notepads and pencils to consumers who might want to write down details of the product on your shelf… and make sure those note-taking tools have an incentive to check your site first?  (And your URL, of course.)

This all sounds very simple, doesn’t it?  And yet, not too long ago, my wife and I were shopping for a new set of appliances.  I wanted to get the dimensions for the microwave we were planning to install (I was working on the cabinetry), so I ran to our nearest Best Buy to check it out.  When I was going to shoot the price/information tag with my cell phone camera, the department manager came and ripped it out of the display and scolded, “You can’t do that!  It’s not allowed.”  So I went home, got online and checked the details at a competitor’s website (which I should thought to do in the first place).  We ended up buying at the competitor’s store (not just the microwave, but the whole kitchen suite).   Instead of preventing me from getting product and price information, the behavior of the Best Buy associate had the effect of sending me directly into the arms of a competitor.

People will go online for product and price information.  Instead of trying to block it, why not harness that power, and make sure they hit your site first?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Are consumers talking about you behind your back (but in clear view, online)?

Observation:   Over the past few years, I’ve had dozens of conversations about the increasing influence of consumers in a transaction… before, during and after the purchase.  Today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune features a story about the extent to which consumers are using their technology tools to manage their consumer relationships.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   Never has the consumer’s Word of Mouth been so loudly and immediately amplified into the marketing message as it is today.  It might be impossible to control what people are saying about your company, product or service on Facebook or Twitter… you still have tremendous control over the experience someone enjoys when they do business with you.

When a customers walks into your business (whether on foot, online or over the phone), assume they have the power to broadcast their experience to the world.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Google/IPSOS study: Mobile devices gaining strength as purchasing influence

Observation:  This morning, I had the privilege of speaking to members of the Chamber of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida.  The essence of our conversation was that it is increasingly difficult to keep up with all the changes in technology and digital media… but that life becomes easier when you focus instead on how your consumers are using those tools, and why.

A recent article from Online Media Daily supports this premise and cites research from Google and IPSOS suggesting that people use their different devices for different kinds of shopping research.  Click here to see the story.

UPDATE:  Today's Marketing Daily also had a story about the retailers are flocking to e-commerce as a revenue stream.  Click here to read that article.

Implications:   In the room of 200+ participants this morning, I almost sensed a collective sigh of relief; focus on your consumer and how they’re using technology, rather than trying to know everything about everything. 

Do you have a way of gaining insight or feedback from your most important customers, with regard to what they want from your business in the digital space?  If you don’t know what customers like, it will be a challenge getting those folks to “Like” you on Facebook, or anywhere else.


[Personal note:  My thanks to the Chamber of the Palm Beaches and the Palm Beach Post... it's always fun to brainstorm with people who are eager to explore and embrace what's next.]

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Twitter reports Social activity related to the Super Bowl

Observation:  A story from today’s Washington Post features the final score from yesterday’s Super Bowl… not in terms of the game, but the chatter.   According to Twitter data, there were an average of 10,000 Tweets per second during the final three minutes of the game.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   What were the conversations about?  I bet a few were something like, “Great catch!” or “Bad call!”  Perhaps there were even some, “Hey, did you see that Doritos ad with the dog!?”  But it doesn’t matter whether people were commiserating, congratulating, or ad-watching… they were sharing the biggest game of the year with friends who were not necessarily in the room. 

Have you given your customers something to chat about?

[Interesting note:  If each of those Twitter comments represented one person, you could have filled the Super Bowl venue (Lucas Oil Stadium) more than twenty-six times in just the final 180 seconds of the game.]

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Never anger a reporter (and we are all reporters)

Observation:   Yesterday, I engaged one of my colleagues in an email conversation about the recent negative press surrounding Best Buy.  The conversation was sparked by this story from Forbes (click to link), which focused not only on Best Buy’s reported failure to deliver some online purchases on time during the holiday season… but also the experience of the article’s author during a recent visit to a bricks-and-mortar store.

This morning’s edition of the Research Brief newsletter offers a more widely-researched set of issues that can cause customers to become disenchanted with a service provider, whether that provider is an online entity or a physical store.  Click here to see the online version of that brief.

Implications:   These articles inspire thought about what to do when a customer service mechanism breaks down.  First, have a team of folks fix it as immediately as possible.  At the same time, take immediate ownership of the problem, and acknowledge it to those customers who are affected… in a manner that demonstrates transparency and accountability, rather than simply appropriating blame or making excuses.

If you take nothing else away from the Forbes piece, let it inspire these two pieces of cautionary advice:

1)    Make sure your site includes inventory controls that help you avoid failing to deliver online purchases within a reasonable time, and

2)   Never offend a reporter during his or her shopping experience.  (And by the way, in an age of blogging, Facebook and Twitter, we are all reporters.)

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Deals and free shipping spark online spending for holidays

Observation:  USA Today recently published a story that explores why e-commerce has gained traction this year.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   There are two things consumers really like to save:  Time and Money.  If your company, product or service can satisfy those wishes, great.  If not, then instead of placing focus on what they like to save… focus on what they like to savor. 

What parts of your purchase experience would be difficult to replicate online?  Is it the atmosphere or ambience of your store?  Is it immediate gratification or your convenient, face-to-face return policy?  Could it be the friendliness or helpfulness of your staff?  Or is it the simple service that makes a purchase more fun than clicking on, “Add to cart?”

If you don’t offer one or more of these kinds of value propositions to help distinguish your business from the typical online store, I really hope you have a fantastic website!

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Shopping for apparel online gets one step closer to providing in-store service

Observation:  This morning’s newsletter from Springwise explains that up to 40% of online clothing purchases are returned… and the culprit is often a size issue.  However, one online company is helping clothes buyers obtain a size and shape profile, using only their webcam and a compact disk.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   It is both scary and exciting to see innovations like this happening all around us, and around the clock.  But the best innovations aren’t as sophisticated as they are consumer-focused, and sometimes very simple.

Is your company innovating its products and services… or finding new ways to satisfy customers?  Sometimes, there is a difference between the two.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Mobile optimization is not enough… functionality matters, too

Observation:  Today’s Research Brief features research from Coremetrics suggesting that consumers increasingly expect desktop-computer-style functionality from their smartphone.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   Oh how many businesses wish they could build a website or mobile strategy and call it, “done.”  But the now that so many consumers have upgraded their phone to an Android or iPhone, they expect an upgraded experience on the other end of the line, too.

Granted, the share of overall sales that can be attributed to shopping on mobile devices is relatively small.  But it wasn’t that long ago that one could have said the same thing about the Internet, 1.0. 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Teens practice and appreciate good digital citizenship

Observation:  Absent dramatic regulation or oversight, teens still report a self-disciplined use of the web—and good manners, in general—among users of the Internet, mobile devices and social sites.  That’s according to this recent Research Brief (click to link).

Implications:   I wish that kind of discipline could be seen among grown-ups on the highways at drive time!

Young consumers are never really known a world where there wasn’t an Internet.  They’ve grown up with it… and expect people who use it to do so responsibly.  Does your company website violate any common-sense “good manners?”  If it does, these young folks (and almost any consumer) are likely to call you out on it… or worse yet, just go away.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Cyber Monday sales increase

Observation:  As if trying to out-perform the record in-store retail sales of Black Friday (see immediately below), Cyber Monday followed with even more remarkable sales increases.  By some accounts—like this one from USA Today—sales were up as much as a projected 18%.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   Some analysts are pointing to this year’s holiday sales as evidence that the economy has stabilized and consumers have grown wildly more confident.  Others are suggesting that sales might taper-off now that consumers have taken advantage of the most advertised discounts of the year.  Only time will tell which group is closer to reality.

If you’re a business owner, marketer or manager, the best bet is to not wait for the analysts results... but work to improve your own.  How can you add value to the gift giving (or receiving) experience?  Which distinctions have been most important to your holiday buyers so far?  Are you emphasizing those unique value propositions in your messaging to other buyers?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

In a more connected world, we are no longer separated by six degrees

Observation:  The number is closer to 4.74 degrees, according to a study from the University of Milan and scientists at Facebook.  The report was covered in today’s New York Times (click to link). 

Implications:   The power of a referral may be stronger than any of us had realized.  Are your customers so thrilled that they’re telling people about their experience with your company, product or service?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Online shopping impacts on-lot test drives

Observation:  A story from the Detroit News suggests that online buyers are taking fewer test drives before buying a car.  See the piece by clicking here.

Implications:    We’ve been long studying how, when consumers conduct extensive Internet research, it can have the affect of compressing the face time a dealership or retailer might get with that consumer.  This article seems to suggest that web research could even eliminate their opportunity to sell… or up-sell.

How is online buying—or research—impacting the face time you used to get with your customers?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

The voice of mom bloggers

Observation:  Today’s Research Brief explains how moms who blog are talking about much more than the playground or daycare.  The piece provides insights on political persuasion,  charitable giving and comparative financial power.  Click here to see the briefing.

Implications:    When you’re designing a marketing message these days, it’s critical to remember that you’re not just reaching YOUR audience… you could also be reaching your CUSTOMER’S audience.  The echo effect can be very beneficial after a great customer experience… or a loud indictment after a bad one.

What are your customers blogging (or micro-blogging on Facebook) about your company, product or service?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

The three styles of Search

Today’s Research Brief has a worthwhile story about the different ways people approach an online search:  For answers, education or inspiration.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   It’s worthy to note that the different search preferences might not just belong to three different types of people; they could all apply to any one person depending on whether they are looking for a solution at work, entertainment at home, or a price quote at some store in between.

Likewise, when thinking about your target consumer, you might interact with a wide variety of needs, depending on the purchasing circumstance.  For example, a restaurant patron wants an entirely different ambiance for a business lunch than they might want later in the week during “date night.”  Someone might shop for a personal-use commuter car using different criteria than when that same consumer is shopping for a first vehicle for their teenage son or daughter.

That’s why knowing your customer is not enough.  It’s important to break your target consumers into sub-targets and target segments, and then understand the different benefits being sought, depending on either what they’re shopping for, when they’re shopping, or both.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

UPDATE: Occupy Wall Street

This week’s Iconowatch, the newsletter from Iconoculture, builds on a topic we mentioned earlier this week about the recent Occupy Wall Street demonstrations [see "Preoccupied with Wall Street"].  This article notes that Millennials make up a large percentage of the Occupy movement.  Click here to see it.

Implications:   Another particularly thought-provoking observation from this article was the idea that many commentators are referring to the Occupy movement as (I paraphrase) “more of a street party than an meaningful demonstration.” 

Didn’t they say something like that about many of the demonstrations that happened in the 60s and 70s?  It will be interesting to see if the movement fades into autumn, or whether it will grow into a voice that influences the outcome of next year’s election.


[Editor's note:  Another worthwhile story about Occupy Wall street was published the following day (10/13/11) in the New York Times, explaining the "share of voice" these protests have begun to receive in various news media, as the movement fans-out across the U.S.  Click here to see that story.]

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.