AMiable Solution #126: Life Beyond Our Laptops

Technology has made us pretty lazy.  We can look up customer stats, research prospects, investigate new markets, and coordinate the buying and selling of any number of products and services without ever getting out of our seats or interacting with another human. 

We’re not alone.  Consumers are pretty machine crazy, too.  According to a study by Synqera and reported by Print in the Mix in February of this year, 81% of U.S. consumers surveyed own a laptop.  Sixty-five percent of them own smartphones.  Forty-eight percent own tablets.  Thirty-seven percent own all three.

But just because we have all of this technology at our fingertips doesn’t mean we should always use it.  Sitting down with the originator of a report after reading the report, meeting regularly with members of customer service, asking clients questions over the phone instead of through email, and interacting with vendors in person not only builds relationships, but also offers greater insight and perspective on the things we read about.

And there are more benefits to putting down the data and pursuing more traditional methods of communication, including print: it seems that customers get a little tired of the technology, too.  This past February Print in the Mix also reported that 75% of consumers said they would prefer to receive promotional content and coupons in print.  More than 80% said they wouldn’t look for promotions and coupons on a company’s mobile app, and 73% said they don’t want to receive promotions or coupons on their mobile devices.

Technology does, of course, make our lives easier and provides us with opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have.  Still, there is truth to the saying about having “too much of a good thing.”  Sometimes, more basic forms of communication are just better. 

AMiable Solution #125: Life Beyond the Party

Holiday season is here.  Whether your office marks the holidays with big, formal affairs or smaller, in-house celebrations, you can enrich the experience for everyone with one simple addition: a collection.

You don’t have to look far to find someone in need, whether it be physical, emotional, or congratulatory.  Students, families, volunteers, even neighborhood businesses and organizations could benefit from the charity of your employees.

Is your office located near a school?  Ask employees to arrive at your holiday celebration with a new pair of gloves or a hat. 

Does your organization employ or support members of the military?  Set up a card station at which guests can write a note of season’s greetings and appreciation to be sent to local veterans or to those serving overseas. 

Want to help others make sure they have a full or festive meal on their tables?  Collect holiday-meal-specific or general-need non-perishable food items to take to your local food bank.

Your office’s efforts are limited only by your imagination.  You could collect books or games for retirement communities or senior centers.  Go old-school and carol for your business and/or residential neighbors.  Raise money for a local family who has experienced a recent trauma.  Organize a blood drive.

Banding together for a unified, non-business goal will not only create a better sense of community within your organization, but it will also make the holidays a little merrier and brighter for everyone.

AMiable Solution #124: Life After Black Friday

It’s Thursday.  One week after Thanksgiving, six days after Black Friday, and three days after Cyber Monday.  Did you organization participate in the most-marketed, most-hyped time of the year?

According to the folks at blackfriday.fm, 73% of people they surveyed planned to do at least some holiday shopping online during the season’s “kickoff,” Black Friday.  That’s a significant increase over last year: 56% of shoppers reported shopping online on Black Friday.  Furthermore, 76% said they would research their purchases online: only 1% said they would rely on television ads.

What does that mean for you?  Whether you “participate” in Black Friday offers or not, if you aren’t emailing your database or highlighting your best service or offer on your website, you’re denying your organization an opportunity to increase exposure and build brand recognition.  

But you don’t have to be a “Black Friday Sale” sort of organization to score big this month.  You can still benefit from the increased interest the internet and email are receiving.  Here’s how.

First, emphasize customer service.  Going online to conduct business gets both you and your clients only so far.  Use email, your website, and even direct mail to remind your customers, donors, and prospects that the answers and the help they need are available over the phone and in person by real, knowledgeable people whenever they need it.

Second, emphasize year-round reliability.  Your market doesn’t need to wait until the end of the year for offers that knock their socks off.  Highlight your organization’s continued commitment to providing the best service and honoring budgets and schedules, despite the chaos caused by the year-end hustle-bustle.

Providing clients with consistent, quality care won’t create the profit spikes of Black Friday, but it does ensure a happy new year.

AMiable Solution #123: The Value of Gratitude

Gratitude, like love, is most genuine and most appreciated when it’s not only said, but also shown.  When it’s expressed not just on the quintessential holiday, but also every day of the year.  When companies not only say “thank you for your business,” but also show their customers or members that they appreciate them. 

In 2010, Return on Behavior Magazine reported, in its “50 Facts About Customer Experience,” that 70% of buying experiences are based on how a customer feels he or she is being treated.  Furthermore, the magazine reported that it takes 12 positive experiences for a customer to overcome one unresolved negative experience.

How can you make customers feel good all year round?  Make gratitude a daily part of your operations.  We’re not just talking about gratitude for your customers, clients, donors, or members, either.  Gratitude for colleagues, partners, and vendors counts, too.  Making respect for one another’s talents and contributions part of your culture creates a natural environment of appreciation that extends to your customers. 

As a result, providing your customers with services or products that solve their problems and resolving customer service issues promptly and to their satisfaction will be something you WANT to do, not something you HAVE to do.   And that’s what builds real relationships.  That’s true gratitude.

AMiable Solution #122: The Value of Preparation

Ahh…the Thanksgiving feast.  It takes hours to prepare but only minutes to consume.  Why do we spend so much time preparing something that lasts such a short amount of time?

Necessity. 

You can’t pop a frozen turkey in the oven and expect it to come out juicy and thoroughly cooked in an hour any more than you can expect to whip up a direct marketing promotion on the fly and expect your audience to respond.  You need to think ahead. 

Thinking ahead means devising a plan.  Who will your “guests” be?  What are their preferences?  What are their needs?  What have they consumed in the past?  Your offer should tailor to their specific tastes and histories.

Thinking ahead also means getting your timing right.  Offering a special discount?  Make sure you build in enough time to allow your audience to receive your offer and respond.  Doing an annual fund drive?  Think about psychological, financial, seasonal, and historical facts that could maximize interest and response.

The end result for any marketer--and any Thanksgiving cook--is to elicit the appropriate “oohs” and “ahhs,” which can be achieved only with the right planning and preparation.  And that’s something everyone will be thankful for.

AMiable Solution #121: The Value of Veterans

Most of us chose safe occupations.  We sit at desks or stand on shop floors or stride through stores.  Our biggest dangers include an angry boss, a traffic backup, or a missed budget.  To us, being a “veteran” of something simply means we’ve been doing it for a long time.  That we’re pretty experienced and, presumably, pretty good at the task or role at hand.

For anyone who is serving or has served in a branch of the military, and for anyone who has loved someone who served, “veteran” has even greater value.

Despite the enormous responsibilities they undertake and the morbidly high stakes they face, the task of protecting our freedoms and our lives is carried out by relatively few.  Veterans make up only 7% of the American population.  Active members of the military make up even less: less than 1% of the U.S. population, according to the 2010 Census, as reported online by ABC News reporters Luis Martinez and Amy Bingham in 2011. 

Although Veteran’s Day is officially over, we hope to always remember the men and women who voluntarily work some of the hardest, most dangerous, most important jobs in America.  To them, we say thank you.

AMiable Solution #120: Getting the Votes

For marketers, getting a customer, prospect, or donor to choose their organizations for a product or service is much like a politician trying to get votes.  There are usually campaigns, marketing, pleas, and personal appeals involved.

But what actually gets the vote?

While the promise of a better way sounds appealing, the vote usually goes to the one with the best track record.  The company or organization that makes and then follows through on a good offer.  The group that not only listens to what its customers have to say, but also acts on what it hears.  An organization that creates solutions to problems, not the other way around.

Have you been getting the votes lately?  If your numbers aren’t as good as they once were, maybe it’s time for a re-examination. 

                                                                            

For starters, meet with your customer service department to discuss any noticeable changes in customer attitudes, questions, or complaints.  Then, study your marketing language.  Are you overselling or over-promising the benefits of your offers?  Do your offers sound attractive or unbelievable? 

Having a larger marketing budget than your competitors may help, but it will only be a short-term win if you don’t have the substance to support your position.

What can politicians learn from marketers?  Be honest.  Work hard.  Earn the votes.