The presentation outlines some tips for treating customers online, real-time marketing and an overview of some trends coming up in the next 12+ months.
13. Ecommerce Message from P&G eStore We’re on a mission to build the ultimate online buying experience. We need your help to get there. Give us your ideas, tell us what you think about other people’s ideas and show us how we can improve.
Don ’t use your fans: Marketing campaigns to spike awareness/sales. Consumers participate because they feel like they are getting something in return. What happens during the rest of the time? You need to work on the relationship. C ultivate it. Be reliable, make your friends proud. By forming relationships it allows you to leverage those during more important issues. Nordstrom Dave Dave is a sales associate in the men’s department at Nordstrom’s. He has a Twitter account and let’s you know he’ll keep you up to date on clothing/trends. He posts pictures of new shipments in the store, but also funny videos such as Conan wearing “ jeggings ” for men Because he also has a personal relationship with customers he direct messages them when pieces come in that he thinks they’ll like. If they want it, he already has their credit card, sizing and ships (for free) the clothes right to their door. Dave initiated this but Nordstrom has given him access to an iPAD at work, allow him to use his phone for photos. What a better way to use sales people ’s time then folding t-shirts.
Be a person not a brand: Why do you hang around with the people that you do? You have the same morals and values. The same thing rings true for brands. Communicate it to them – live them – act on them. You ’ll get more loyal fans that way. Pepsi Refresh: During an economic crisis, Pepsi announced that they would not be creating a Superbowl ad, but instead spending that $20M on initiatives to make our planet a better place. More people have voted for initiatives here than the last U.S. president. Millward Brown's Top 100 Most Valuable Brands Globally 2010 (annual study); Brands have shifted their values (post recession); Sustainability, Social Responsibility, Health, Trust & Personalization Consumers demand responsibility, not just philanthropy
Customer service: Marketing and customer service as two different channels. These things can happen at the same time and even use the same platforms – but the execution of these things are different. Don ’t say you offer customer service until you are actually ready to help. Time Warner they pride themselves on the fact their customers get a response within 5-minutes on Twitter. They acknowledge questions & complaints – but don’t actually follow through on solutions. Customers are contacting you at their greatest point of rage – so unless you have a solution don’t answer it at all, because it just encourages more complaining.
Create a playbook: To stay relevant and keep market share, real time marketing is not an option Playbooks are a predetermined set of “plays” that team members practice. They help players anticipate and understand their roles and responsibilities During the game, they can respond quickly and confidently. Cadbury WISPA In 2003 Cadbury discontinued the Wispa (UK) because of declining sales and production issues. In 2007, through sentiment reports they were hearing rumblings of people wanting the Wispa back. Once a Bring Back Wispa group was created (keeping in mind with only 14,000 fans), they pulled out their “new product launch” play (and money) and announced they would produce 23M bars. They marketed it as Limited Editions – it wasn ’t long before they sold more than 41M in 18 weeks and guess what, the bar is still selling.
Nothing is final: Gone are the days where you invest thousands of $$ in something and that’s that. In digital you have the opportunity to continue to build, optimize, test and upgrade as needs evolve. GapGate Gap launched a new logo because they “were changing”. They got ridiculed around the world, people hated it. Gap said they were standing by the logo, they sent an open letter letting people know that they would be communicating rationale soon, then they announced that they were actually crowd-sourcing, then a contest and then finally that they were going back to the old logo. It wasn’t authentic. Admit your mistakes and grow on them. Starbucks launched their logo, no back-lash. They launched to their community first, got feedback, tweaked prior to the official launch. With the launch they explained why they were changing it, the rationale behind it. This is the 4 th time they have done it and there was no Bucks Gate.
Influencers (good or bad) care: # of fans and followers you have are only part of the equation. What ’s more important is if you have influencers within that group. You want them, good or bad. Good ones use as brand advocates – they are your “best friend”, treat them like one. Bad one ’s – they are your “frenemny” - gain free insights, research. Competitors influencers. Engage them, watch what they are doing. Chris Brogan - He consults with Fortune 100 & 500 companies on business communications and social media. He wrote Trust Agents and writes for Entrepreneur Magazine. He has almost 200,000 followers on Twitter and has sent 83,000 tweets. He has 10,000 + fans on Facebook. You get the picture. He ’s an influencer. When he arrived in Austin for SXSW, he was pissed. Delta had lost his luggage and he tweeted about it. Less than 30minutes after Chris ’ post – he posted a new tweet, “ my fault – I’m a preferred flyer with Delta and part of their service is to deliver my luggage to the hotel for me. Thanks to so and so for reaching out and letting me know”. Delta knows that rectifying someone with 200,000 followers is more important than someone with 2. FYI Airlines was named the most effective domestic airline brand online in 2010. The Palms Hotel and Casino upgrades guests based on their Klout scores
P&G (US) – added shop buttons on several of their Facebook properties. Fulfillment is directly through Facebook Using their own e-store which they launched last year as a “living learning lab”; which they test ideas. Through crowdsourcing Ecoupons built in, loyalty CSR component (every coupon = 1 day of drinking water) $5 flat fee shipping no matter what Using data to serve up relevant info to their customers .6% of revenue comes from online sales total (estore, amazon, walmart) = $500M PFSweb buy’s P&G products and re-sell them using its own warehouses, providing P&G with access to consumer buying data.
Microsoft ’s Media Cart allows customers to scan products ShopRite, initial 9-month test in 2 stores was complete in 2008. Second wave of testing now taking place. Upload grocery list Scan products to check prices, nutritional info and recipes. If there is a competitor that is cheaper it will tell you Tally of $$ is kept to keep you on budget, you can remove items Product locator – voice recognition It uses radio frequency to track person’s shopping patterns, so if you have a Dr. Oekter product on your list, when you turn down that isle it will highlight it, and if available a coupon Still working on coordinate the payment of the groceries through their mobile phone.
Simon Malls in the US were the first to have these vending machines (built with Samsung) in 2009 for Coke Wifi allows owners to know when product was running out Since then Japan has stepped it up a notch with their touch screen vending machines. They are not for a specific product- offer all kinds of beverages A camera is installed that identifies gender and age – serves up more popular choices for that target It also recognizes time of day and climate data, customizing choices based on that To pay, you use your cell phone with an app – all that data is being collected on you and their product But who will own the future here in North America, Pepsi or Coke
We’re using data now, not just collecting it Checkpoints: 500,000 members between October/January with more than 1M check – ins and 600,000 scans. Points can be redeemed for gift cards, air miles, merchandise, and charitable donations. Jan: Less than 4 days – users scanned 10,000 frito lay products. Nestle Dryer & Edy’s summer launch – added a coupon component to it $4.00 off $12.00. first mobile marketing engagement effort for Nestle’s Dreyer’s products
It has been said countless times that because QR Codes bridge the gap between the offline and online worlds, the possibilties are limitless. J&J’s Reach Designer toothbrush campaign In 2010, QR codes were embedded in ads in magazines like Elle, Glamour and People timed for Fashion Week. Consumer was rewarded with a coupon, learn about the toothbrush, pick which one you wanted and find out where to buy it (limited editions) The Reach program also had a SMS text messaging component to involve consumers who don’t have smart phones
Jonathan Kaplan – inventor of Flip Video camera (discontinued) Buy a grilled cheese on your smartphone, and you get a QR code to swipe in store when you arrive. The back-end software ensures that you get a piping hot grilled cheese in your hands within 60 seconds of checking in. Piloting in San Fran in August 2011 with 4 or 5 stores, plan is for 500 within 5 years Electrolux – special grill Chicago bakery- bread with wholes, cheese