Power Reviews are flying high

Posted on October 12, 2009 by markkolier

Power reviews We have a fairly small company (www.YourCover.com) that has recently signed up for Power Reviews (www.powerreviews.com). The team brought this idea to me and I got very excited thinking that since we receive such positive customer feedback we are bound to benefit from being a part of Power Reviews.

In today’s (10/12/09) Wall Street Journal Geoffrey A. Fowler’s interesting article on the Business Solutions notes (http://bit.ly/3tUjbx) that Drugstore.com and Diapers.com both feel they are better connecting their brand to consumers by using Power Reviews. The article also talked about creating ‘verified buyers’ who would have badges next to their reviews in order to add authenticity to their reports.

Amazon.com was the pioneer here but now product reviews are ubiquitous. Last week I noticed another article citing that reviewers in general are overwhelmingly positive – 4.3 out of 5 ‘stars’ is the average rating. But the article also went on and noted that one particular reviewer was going the other way and not throwing around platitudes of positivity when it came to different products he encountered. And that the trend was that reviewers would become harsher as time goes on. So it could be said that these are the salad days for product reviews.

Are product reviews a component of social networking? I say yes. Is there a risk in having negative reviews posted about your product? Absolutely. But there is even greater risk is an attempt to steer or manipulate the conversation. Not everyone will love your product and while deep down we all know that it is quite another thing to have someone publicly slam your product for all to see.

What we hope to learn from (hopefully) YourCover.com having an active Power Review flow is how we can make the product and service better for our present and future customers. Not every review will be positive – nor should it be if the conversation is truly genuine. Of course we hope and expect that most of the comments will be positive, (hey we’re not masochists here), and that we are able to learn from what people think about their experience with our site and products.

I suspect for companies using Power Reviews that there will be bogus reviews – both on the positive and negative side. This is why there are recommendations to tie reviewer’s comments to their Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn page. Then there would be background on the reviewer such that you will ‘know’ them better. After all then you are getting a recommendation from a known and ‘trusted’ resource.

The question I have is – why should these folks be trusted?

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Facebook fan pages – who are they serving?

Posted on October 6, 2009 by markkolier

I sat through a 3+ hour presentation last week by a noted social media ‘expert’. He had much to offer and kept the presentation moving and also took time to answer questions along the way which I always like to see. However despite the fact that he had spoken to groups like ours a number of times the presentation did not resonate as much as it could have because he did not do his homework on the audience. Our group is a diverse group of executives that run companies of varying sizes and distinctly different focuses.
When the conversation turned to Facebook fan pages it was his opinion that ALL companies should have a Facebook fan page. It was all I could do to not jump and say – WHY? WHAT FOR? For instance my company is a direct and digital marketing agency. Why would somebody ever want to be a fan of my company?

Furthermore the strategy was to contact people in my Facebook friends and ask them to be a ‘fan’ of my company. Since I use Facebook as a place to keep up with friends and family I felt strongly that it was a cheesy notion to ask them to be a ‘fan’ of my company. I don’t think of my Facebook relationships as a platform for business offers.

I do have friends that have retail oriented businesses that have Facebook fan pages. This makes sense to me. If you have a retail business (restaurant, gym, boutique) having a fan page allows the distribution of special offers, sales, and other types of promotions. A FB fan page in retail businesses offers the potential of real added value to those that have decided to become ‘fans’.

Where I don’t see FB fan pages working well is in the business to business sector. Would you want to be a FB fan of your health or car insurance company? GEICO actually has a fan page with more than 6,000 fans. What are these people receiving for their fandom? More offers on additional insurance? My guess is they are not receiving deeper insurance rate discounts than the general population so where would there be value?

How about a DMV FB fan page? (Ok that would never happen anyway).

What I am missing here?

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The good the bad and the ugly in couponing

Posted on October 1, 2009 by markkolier

We have a local restaurant here in town that serves Brazilian food. The food is quite good but it is a bit on the expensive side so I reserve it for more special occasions. In my local paper this morning I saw a ¼ page advertisement for the restaurant – the first time I had ever noticed one of their ads. The restaurant has been around for a little over a year (I think).

The ad offered $ 9.99 all you can eat on Monday and Wednesday nights. Since per person a full meal without beverage can easily cost $ 30.00 that seemed like a good deal – in fact a REALLY good deal. But in the SAME SMALL AD they also had another note saying 5% off with this coupon for orders over $ 20.00. HUH? 5% off of $ 20.00 is $ 1.00. This is supposed to motivate me? Off a $ 50.00 check it’s $ 2.50 – that does not even equal the tax!

This isn’t just bad marketing; it’s plain stupidity. Any positives generated from the interesting offer of $ 9.99 all you can eat (I do wonder what menu items would be available for all you can eat at $ 9.99) is offset by the bizarre $ 5% discount offer. In fact I don’t recall ever seeing a 5% discount for a restaurant ever before.

A different local pizzeria (Planet Pizza) which has several locations in our county does send out coupons upon occasion. But last night when it was duty to pick up the pizza to bring home for dinner I realized I had no coupon around. I recalled that coupons are available on their website. So I went to their website, clicked on the individual location I wanted and was able to download a $ 4.00 off Val-Pak coupon for my order which had to be over $ 15.00 (and was). It was so easy and the store seemed quite content to take the coupon which I told them made me happy. The pizza was great and I got it for less. Win-win.

These were two examples of completely different ways of handling a coupon. The first does not get it, the second does. Make sure if you are offering a value (discount) to your customers you make it clear and easy to understand and redeem. This isn’t that difficult folks.

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Celebrities and hollow apologies

Posted on September 25, 2009 by markkolier

What do Serena Williams, Manny Ramirez, Mark Sanford, and Kanye West have in common? Unless you have been living under a rock you probably guessed (correctly) that all have I one way or the other embarrassed themselves and their fans. All of them also engineered an ‘apology’ of sorts.

Here in the United States we live in the land of second (ok maybe third and fourth) chances. I actually do Serena-William-US-Open-Ki-004[1]feel that second chances are often worthwhile since people make mistakes. Honest ones often.
But is it my imagination or do I sense a strategic shift by those who commit egregious and stupid acts? Almost as if when one makes a terrible decision, or acts rashly and unthinkably, even violently, that all a celebrity needs to do is issue a seemingly heartfelt apology and most people will issue a free pass. After all it seems to me that what Americans like more than a second chance is a good comeback story.

And I have nothing against Serena, Manny, and Kanye and have appreciation and respect for their individual talents. I don’t know enough about Mr. Sanford and that’s actually just fine with me. But I am not buying their apologies. To me they all smack of insincerity and positioning. Ask yourself the following: will their behavior change at all in the future? If not (and that’s my position) then their ‘apologies’ are nothing more than a weak marketing statement to engender some positive reactions from their fans and followers.
But insincere marketing is the absolute worst marketing of all. It does not work in the long run and maybe not even in the short run.

What bothers me the most is that too many people actually buy this garbage? It should take less than the actions of a Bernie Madoff to create public outrage. Nobody seems to be buying his apology. Why should the others get a free pass?

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The Marketing of the United States Marine Corps

Posted on September 21, 2009 by markkolier

CH46 91809It’s often said that it ‘takes one to know one’. As a dedicated marketer I appreciate a good marketing effort as much if not more than the next guy. This past Thursday and Friday I had the experience and honor to attend a forum sponsored by the USMC – the MCBEF (Marine Corps Business Executives Forum).
The MCBEF is an outreach program catering to business CEO’s and company Presidents my fellow Vistage (CEO group – http://www.vistage.com ) members were enticed with the promise of live-fire exercise, a private tour of the Pentagon as well as a ride on a Marine helicopter.

It was an awesome and exhausting day. We had dinner the night before with several Marines in attendance that would be our ‘hosts’ for the following day (meeting at 0700). Getting to know more about both the individuals and their lives in the Marine Corps offered insight and one-to-one interaction that personalized the experience right from the start. An excellent start.

We began the day at the Air Force Memorial (who says the service branches can’t get along?) which offered a view of the Pentagon and was directly in the flight path of Flight 77 which struck the Pentagon where 184 people perished on 9/11. This was followed by a visit to the somber and moving Pentagon 9/11 memorial
adjacent the Pentagon prior to going inside.

Our ‘tour’ of the Pentagon was led by a Marine who could not have been more than 22 years old and could not have been more impressive. We moved swiftly (this was the mode of the day) and the highlight was a nearly one hour briefing by a Brigadier General that included a Q & A. No none of the information was classified (we had access but not that kind of access). But collectively I believe we all left that briefing with even more confidence in the leadership of the Marine Corps as the questions and answers were truly engaging and sometimes revealing.

It got even better. A short bus ride to an airfield had us all hopping on a CH-46 Sea Knight military helicopter for a 25 minute trip down to Quantico AFB. Sitting there with my ear protection on, unable to talk with my fellow members due to the noise I could almost get a feeling of what it might be like to be a 20 year old Marine heading to a remote locations trying to sort out thoughts before being dropped into battle. Almost.

We witnessed a demonstration of martial arts techniques followed by a ride to the firing range. Prior to having the opportunity to shoot 9MM pistols, M-16 rifles and M240 light machine gun we were given the opportunity to experience MRE’s (meals ready to eat) for lunch. Glad I was hungry. We all were happier that we do not have to eat MRE’s again for a long time if ever.

A tour of the Marine Corps Museum (very impressive and worth visiting) finished the day off with a visit to the Tun Tavern replica in the museum.

What did the Marine Corps want from our group? As it was put – ‘nothing and everything’. Nothing in particular but their hope is that with a deeper and more personal relationship our members would have more understanding and consideration of support for Marine Corps needs such as the V22 Osprey, and new aircraft that has lukewarm support in the White House.

What they got from me is a greater sense of appreciation for what Marines are like, what they do and how lucky we Americans are to have this competent and dedicated force protecting our country.

It’s my feeling that we all got what we wanted and then some.

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From the Halls of Montezuma

Posted on September 17, 2009 by markkolier

Through an Executive Group called Vistage we have been invited to take part in a one day MCBEF (Marine Corps Business Executive Forum) program. I leave today. My feeling is that most if not all of us, are quite eager and excited to take part in this educational opportunity.

From the Brigadier General this statement was included in our welcome kit. ‘The intent of MCBEF is to introduce senior business executives and influential community leaders from around the country to U.S. Marine Corps interests. MCBEF has proven to be a successful outreach program that is expanding the Corps’ relationship with America’s business executives and opening doors for the Corps’ future outreach initiatives.’

We will do some really cool things like have dinner with Marine Corps officers, a Pentagon briefing, and even live-fire exercises which should be REALLY interesting since I have never discharged a firearm in my entire life. We will also visit the Quantico Base and possibly may be transported by military helicopter. Yes I had to sign my life away as even the Marine Corps folks have liability concerns.

I know little about the Marine Corps. Aside from the Marine Corps hymn (From the halls..) which highlights U.S. engagements (from the shores of Tripoli which meant a different thing than it does now), I know that Marine’s are tough, principled, Always faithful (‘Semper Fidelis’ or ‘Semper Fi’!), and where there is trouble in the world they go first.

I look forward to learning more and sharing whatever I can in a future post. Of course only what is not classified. There may be things I don’t think you need to know.
Marine Corp
I wonder if any Marines have read my blog posts before our visit? Or after?

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How marketing can be like playing golf

Posted on September 11, 2009 by markkolier

This is a little bit of a stretch but there is what I hope an interesting thread here.

Anyone that has seen me play golf knows that I have to be a much better marketer than I am a golfer. Lately I have been playing better and more consistently so than ever before. Practice always helps but focused practice has made a difference. I thought about the fact that there are some similarities in honing my golf skills that are akin to honing my skills as a marketer. For both I am in a ‘continual improvement’ campaign. Fortunately for my family do not need to depend on my golf skills to help support us. That’s a very good thing.

I love working on marketing projects for clients new and old. New client initiatives and challenges keep me fresh and interested. I also love playing golf as well as a place to clear my head and focus on the task immediately at hand.

There are a number of tools in my personal marketing toolbox that I employ when working on various projects. If I am doing it right I am using the right tools for the right engagements. I like to think that most of the time I get it right. Approaches for both marketing and golf at times have to be tweaked after learning a better method. That’s how we improve such that we can create an even better program or play a winning game. (Yes both marketing and golf are very competitive if you have not noticed).

I carry 14 clubs in my golf bag and there are choices to be made on which club to hit, whether to play a high or low ball flight and how to negotiate getting around the inevitable trees that always seem to get between my ball and the target.

Marketing at times can have obstacles that remind me of trees, bunkers, and water hazards on the golf course. There are times to be bold and take chances and times to be conservative and play it safe. The right partners can be invaluable in marketing as well as on the golf course. In golf a good partnership is often called ‘ham and eggs’. The same should be said for marketing partnerships as well.

I will never be anything like Tiger Woods on the golf course but I do think I and our agency has the chops to be a Tiger Woods to our clients. But on both counts I won’t ever stop trying to achieve that kind of greatness. It inspires me and keeps me thinking that my next marketing project or golf game has the potential to be my best ever. Until I go out and play again.

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The U.S. Open Experience

Posted on September 8, 2009 by markkolier

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First and foremost I am referring to tennis here and not golf. Maybe there is a brand identity problem since people do get confused when I mention the U.S. Open which I ALWAYS mean as tennis?

I have been going to the U.S. Open since 1974 when it was held at Forest Hills. In the 35 years I have attended more than 32 opening day sessions (I missed a couple of years while living out of the area). To say that the experience is different than when I first attended is a major understatement.

This year more than 800,000 people will attend the 26 sessions. More than $ 21 million dollars in prize money will be awarded. Arthur Ashe Stadium was sold in 2008 to a record 99% of capacity. The US Open remains the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world.

Total visits to USOpen.org, the official website of the U.S. Open, topped 39 million visits for the first time, an increase of 33 percent vs. last year. Unique visitors, from more than 200 countries, topped 9 million for the first time in 2007 and total page views exceeded 222 million for the first time.

Moving from the West Side Tennis club in Forest Hills to Flushing Meadow in 1978 afforded fans a venue that could meet the increasing demand for tickets and access. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has more than 40 courts which are only part of the experience.

As you walk in to the grounds you are now met by greeters welcoming you to the Open (ticket prices having risen substantially in the last five years so maybe being greeted will make you feel better about all the coin you dropped to get the tickets). But admittedly I thought the greeters were a great idea. People are generally happy to be there and you can see players walking around carrying their huge tennis bags looking tall (tennis players are MUCH larger than back in 1974). The USTA has done an admirable job in making the total experience better each and every year. This year the USTA had an ‘experience’ type pavilion where you could test your serve speed, play mini-tennis etc. It was free and fun.

But there are some rough edges too. There are many choices for food in the plaza, in restaurants. And contrary to popular belief the food pricing is not as ridiculous as reports might have you believe. Although on opening day this year it took me 35 minutes to get a mediocre Philly Cheese Steak. So on the value proposition it was not a great deal not because it was expensive (it was about $ 9.00 as I recall) but because it took 35 minutes and I was there to watch tennis – not stand on line.

The seats in Arthur Ashe Stadium (the largest stadium for tennis in the world) are not all that comfortable and if you are sitting in the 300 section you literally need binoculars to see the players. Also I did not realize you could buy tickets for Armstrong and not have access to Ashe! But at least you are closer to the court.

The sponsorship and marketing efforts at the US Open are without parallel. Just look at the player clothing – they are at times walking billboards. And you can buy equipment, clothing, jewelry, a Lexus (yes that’s right) all with your American Express Card (well maybe not the Lexus).

The Mets and Yankees inhabit two brand new stadiums and I have posited that they may be catering to a generation of consumers and not baseball fans. I think the U.S. Open set the mold for that years ago – it’s not all about the tennis for many people (I am not including myself here) but it continues to grow and thrive and I see no reason for this trend to change.

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Terrestrial radio continues to hang on

Posted on August 30, 2009 by markkolier

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Even my sixteen year old daughter immediately reaches for the car radio – albeit on short trips with me. I have not discounted that it may be due to a lack of desire or interest in having an actual conversation with me. And on longer trips she’s quick to fire up the I-pod while she sends text messages seemingly at a never ending pace. But on shorter trips she always turns on the radio to hear what might be playing.

Maybe people enjoy the random nature of terrestrial radio – what might be on versus having your choice of all your IPod loaded songs. On terrestrial radio many people enjoy hearing the local feed of your favorite sports team, local news (or sort of local since if you live in the New York City area there is hardly ever any real local news about my small Connecticut town on the radio. Or you have multiple choices of opinion makers telling you what to think. So the choices are limited in quantity and quality, and service is limited geographically (cannot listen to WCBS in Kansas City now can you?)

I’ve previously blogged about satellite radio to which I do not subscribe. I had occasion last week to rent a car that was loaded with XM/Sirius. The interface is not all that great and you have to step through the stations one by one. Strange thing about satellite radio is that sort of like the 100+ channels I get on cable – there was very little I was interested in listening to. And I had a 90 minute ride more than once! And there are ads on satellite radio. Not as many as on terrestrial radio (which can have a constant string of ads) but there are shows like Howard Stern and Mad Dog unleashed that have commercials.

At $ 12.95/month I don’t spend enough time (thankfully) in the car to even consider satellite radio. But even if I did the value proposition has yet to be made evident to me.
Better interface, better user tools, more content (maybe magazines and newspapers could be subscribed to where you could have articles of interest read to you on command?), options for ads and no ads.

Finally – we have a station in the NYC area WINS news 1010 AM. It has been around for almost 45 years with its all-news-all-the-time format. For some reason, WINS continues to use the sound of teletype or typewriters in the background. My guess is they want to give the impression that news is coming in constantly. I don’t believe there are many people using teletype or typewriters at WINS. At least I sure hope not.

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Listen until it hurts

Posted on August 25, 2009 by markkolier

I noted in a previous post that I went to Gettysburg, PA for a Lincoln Leadership conference. The talk began by asking all of us if we thought Americans were good listeners. Most of us said no. Then when asked if we thought we ourselves were good listeners even fewer hands went up.

What Steve Wiley was pointing out was that most people are not really listening when someone else is talking they are simply waiting for the other person to stop so they can make their own point. In fact you can sit there pretending to listen, smiling, nodding your head but inside you can be thinking ‘I wish this guy would finish already because I already knew what he was going to say and really want to get MY point across’.

We all do this and do it all the time. We are often two and three thoughts ahead of the conversation at hand since our minds work so much faster than our mouths. (I have a friend who describes someone we know by saying ‘He thinks orally’ – not good).

So Steve came up with ‘Listen until it hurts’. Listen to the point where you almost cannot take it anymore. Your teeth begin to clench, your jaw tightens and you have had so many thoughts that you have even forgotten some of the really important things you wanted to say before the other person stops talking.

I think he’s right. People want to tell you what’s on their mind. What seems like HOURS might only be three minutes (and believe me it can be interminable). But by listening, REALLY listening, you can learn so much. We all have two ears and one mouth. Ever think about that?

Give it a try and let me know how it works out.

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