Times can get very tense... All around you, greed is taking place... You're simply trying to pay the mortgage, make the tax payments, and hope to receive enough income from your investments and rental property.
Life in America in the 21st century?
I'm actually talking about the board game, Monopoly.
With Santa and his bag of toys coming soon, I thought I'd share a relevant story from Susan Waggoner's book, Under The Tree: The Toys And Treats That Made Christmas Special. One of the many toy stories Susan shares, is the history of the game of Monopoly. During the Depression board games became very popular as a cheap way for family and friends to enjoy an evening's fun. (I wonder if home-based games will receive a boost in sales during our challenged financial time?)
"Monopoly" was created in 1906 by Elizabeth Maggie, but was called The Landlord's Game. The game was designed by Maggie to "demonstrate the ills caused by unequal distribution of wealth." Instead of learning compassion for the poor, however, players reveled in amassing wealth and bankrupting fellow players. Maggie refused to modify the game to match aspect of the game greedy players enjoyed, and her version of the game was never mass manufactured.
Over the years, local variations of the Landlord's Game were created, but nothing on a broad scale. The game didn't become popular until thirty years later, when Charles Darrow created a further variation, eliminating Maggie's message and renaming it Monopoly. He sold it to Parker Brother's (which at first rejected it) and it became the most successful board game of the century. (It is now manufactured by Hasbro).
According to the The Kansas City Historical Society, ...the changes Darrow made to what is now Monopoly secreted away Maggie's Georgist message. Although the rules were altered and the spaces were changed, some elements of Maggie's anti-monopoly message can still be found. The community chest is mostly beneficial, railroads remain a prominent feature, class differences in the properties are still evident, and (most significantly) the game has only two outcomes for its players: poverty or wealth. The Monopoly game also saw some changes through the years. Metal was scarce during World War II. As a result, Monopoly games were made with wooden game pieces instead of metal ones.
One more thing...
I've enjoyed sharing marketing thoughts with you over the year. I look forward to more discussion in 2009. I wish you and your family health and happiness in the New Year!
Remember when store grocery brands used to come in generic packaging? You know: plain white packages with black stenciled lettering, no brand names and just a one word descriptor as to the products inside: CAKE MIX, CEREAL, DOG FOOD...
Those days are gone forever. And so is the supermarket practice of merchandising their own brands on bottom shelves covered in dust. Private label brands have steadily grown in volume, sophistication--and respectability.
In tough times, more and more consumers pick up grocery store brands to save money. As long as the quality and packaging speak to them, that is. A recent article in the Houston Chronicle, “House-label groceries are a new brand of thrifty,” points to this growing consumer trend.
How prevalent are store labels now?
• The Private Label Manufacturers Association reported sales of retailer branded products rose to $80 billion in the year that ended in September, up from $73 billion in the preceding year.
• Kroger’s private label brands represented 26% of the chain’s total volume as of this past June. The retailer stocks 14,400 PL products, up from 7,800 in 2003.
• H-E-B, the San Antonio based supermarket chain, reported that store brands continue to outsell national brands in its stores.
• Trader Joe’s has carved a unique niche for its retail operation by making private label offerings a staggering 80%+ of its total merchandise mix. More than 2,000 private label products account for approximately 70% of Trader Joe’s volume, according to Hoover’s.
As the article points out, when consumers feel financially squeezed or unsure of job security, they’re bound to pinch pennies. Still, consumers aren’t just buying store brands to save money. Private label foods have to do more than cost less. According to the article, and corroborated by my own firm’s research, consumers are turned on by:
• A perception of quality and great taste.
• Sophisticated, in-demand new offerings.
• Great packaging that rivals that of national brands.
• The association of PL brands with a particular retailer and the establishment of a preference for that retailer because of its store brands.
If these conditions are met, store brands can ensure increased volume and profit margins, and retailer loyalty. At a time when retail stores are coming under more pressure due to falling consumer spending, doesn’t it make sense for them to invest in their own store brands?
Questions:
• Are you more likely to purchase store brands when your budget is tight, or do you buy private label brands regardless?
• Which store brands do you prefer and why?
• Are there some categories where you prefer to purchase national brands? Which brands, and why?
Over at Communication Overtones, Kami Huyse shared a beautiful sentiment: "The blog content should feel like a gift to the reader." She went on to share her ideas for 10 types of corporate blogs with a sense of purpose and mission to their reason for being.
The Insider. Give an insider's look at your company or one of its well-known employees, some people love to feel as if you are letting them in on a little-known secret
The Culture. Highlight your employees and their day-to-day experiences, share your culture outside of your firewall
The Customer. Highlight your customers experiences, link to their blog posts or let them write for the blog.
The Link. Cross link to other blogs that write about the things that matter to your organization to build goodwill and relationships with influencers
The Comment. Comment on other people's posts, even when they have nothing to do with you
The Trend. Write about interesting trends in your industry
The Crisis. Address "hot button" issues head on. If you can't talk about something say that, and explain why
The Practical Use. Cover the innovative and practical ways that real people are using your products
The Solution. Find out what keeps your customers up at night and help them address these problems and/or interests
The Community. Participate in social networks where you customers gather, add value beyond your product or service.
One of the great things about social media is that it lets you so quickly and easily connect with others and communicate with them. But we need to keep in mind that online conversations are really public conversations. And they aren't one-to-one, they have three sides.
We've all heard that there's two sides to every story. But when it comes to social media, I think we can add a third side to the story. For example, companies that blog are often worried about how to handle a negative or abrasive comment from a reader.
But while the blogger has to consider how to respond to negative or attacking comment, they also have to consider that the blog's other readers are watching to see how they handle the situation. When the smoke clears, the blogger might have their version of the exchange, the commenter has their version, and the readers see how both parties reacted, and come up with their own account of the exchange. This is why it's so important for companies (and individuals) to keep their cool and respond sensibly to potential disagreements.
A more obvious example is Twitter. I will often see someone I am following arguing with someone else. But if I'm not following the person they are arguing with, I can only see one side of the conversation. So my opinion of the exchange is only based on seeing one-half of a conversation. Companies, as well as individuals need to keep in mind how others are viewing their interactions online.
Remember that when you are online, you may be directly communicating with one person, but you are indirectly communicating with everyone else.
Leave it to the Brits to come up with a really effective (and provocative) social marketing campaign that promotes safe condom use. Set to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas, this new version is not only funny and entertaining, it even has little animations to go with it.
With a tagline that says, "Don't Play the Sex Lottery. Use a Condom," the viral social marketing video should be making its way around the globe easily, especially with the younger demographic. I know, I know, how did a Boomer like me receive it? My daughter's girlfriend, a med school student, sent it to her.
Nonprofit marketing is tough enough in good times. But, in tough economic times, it grows even more difficult. You really need to stand out to get noticed, and that's a challenge with budget cutbacks or little budget. This video is a great example of using few funds to create widespread awareness for a social cause. It'll be interesting to see how many page views this group gets and how many Brits actually call the Sexual Health Hotline.
Take a look for yourself. What do you think? Do you think something like this could work in North America?
The campaign seems to be funded in part by NHS Choices, a coalition of government and healthcare agencies. Check out the other resources and videos on their site, too.
Getting people to do anything they don’t want to do has always been hard. These days, customers and prospects seem to be made of Teflon, nothing you send out seems to stick very much. Direct response is running out of juice in its current incarnation. If we step back for a moment and think about lead generation more broadly, we may see why.
Start a conversation
This is probably one of tactics that has not been drastically reduced within your marketing mix, I venture to guess it’s also because it’s tied directly into sales - at least in intent. Lead generation is one of the mechanisms that was used to start a conversation with people who might be interested in your product or service. B2B, B2C same difference, they are all made of people.
Solve a problem
How we talk with one another and with customers needs to take into account what they are interested in and are receptive to. Solve a problem and you have the customer’s attention. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything new here. However, where people go to solve their problem has changed a lot.
See what people look for
That is why listening is so important. Where people go for answers today has changed. Communities of practice, online groups and discussions are the new peer conversations and recommendations. We trust more a peer stranger than a company - that’s because we perceive no agenda from the peer.
Be seen
How do distinguish yourself in this environment? By being distinguishable. If we are indeed to think about lead generation as a conversation starter, the first step is to share information that is educational and useful because it solves a problem. For example, if you are calling me, don’t push your product du jour before learning what I might need. How do you know?
Be in the conversation
Do you ever listen in on telemarketing calls? If you have a robust lead generation program, you should. More often than not, when there is a connection, it’s not based upon a script. The connection happens when the two parties get off the script and just talk. You listen and the customer or prospects tells you more than they planned to in the beginning.
Be human
That is what makes us all identify with each other. Those who call me could start by asking “would you be interested in X service/product?” Do it politely, after you determined I have a moment to be on the phone with you. Maybe I do not have time right now, but if I am interested, I will ask you for a link to your content. Make it count!
Gen-Next is a thread
Not a cycle. As an example, I received an inquiry from someone at a company that is involved in social media listening and analysis. When they reached out by email, I was juggling multiple projects and could not pay attention. The email however was well crafted so I responded briefly asking the rep to check me out at my blog, Conversation Agent, so he could know more about me quickly (aren’t we all in a hurry?).
Not a threat
To his credit he did so and came back with a fleshed out suggestion. I may not need his services right away, but I have made a note of him, his company and what they provide to share with colleagues and peers who might need the services. His initial willingness to be part of a conversation made him available to the thread within my network.
What can you do?
* Find opportunities to allow your prospects to tell you what they need/want. Build those into your process, no matter the media you are using. A note about telemarketing - people are getting tired of unsolicited calls. Are you building alternative ways to listen to what your customers want?
* Be where customers are. If you shed that “closing the sale” mindset in favor of building a trusted relationship, you will probably make more headway. Do you have user groups? Do you engage in discussions and learning sessions with them? How often do you do that? This is just an example of thinking participation even in the one-to-one or physical world.
* Empower your users so they can tell their friends. One on one is well and good, but you might be concerned with scale. Building a trusted network deals with scale. How do you build trust? Behave like a person who can be trusted - do not spam, do not scream/yell at customers, share knowledge freely.
These are just some ideas, I’m sure you have more. It amounts to putting skin in the game, being real, being interested, using the tools and processes to serve the people, not the other way around.
Let’s stop hiding behind excuses and best practices and start practicing what is best for our customers and companies. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know that the way things were is not working so well today - it probably never did beyond the novelty of it.
What are your thoughts? Is gen-next possible? Who is already doing this well by you?
New York Times' Randall Stross wrote a piece Sunday, outlining some of the "difficulties in making brand advertising work on social networking sites. Members of social networks want to spend time with friends, not brands."
That's a theme I've stressed on in posts as far back as in August, when I compared it to a Pyramid scheme. Call it what you will, but this idea of becoming pitch-men to your close friends could damage your social brand. As Randall writes:
And when they try to take advantage of new “social advertising,” extending their commercial message to a member’s friends, their ads will be noticed, all right, but not necessarily favorably. Members are understandably reluctant to become shills.
Why is Twitter different
However, in my estimation, Twitter may be immune to such ad targeting hardships primarily because of the inherent promiscuity in following and lack of intimacy that Twitterers exhibit with their connections in the network. This strangely enough, leads to your sharing an incredible amount of information about yourself as candidly as possible!
So, while I carefully prune and maintain my true social network (~230 friends), I'm followed by nearly 2000 folks on Twitter. While I've shared ~600 Posted Items on my social networking site of choice, I've shared ~4000 tweets on stuff I love and hate in half that time. Here's a sampling of thoughts/tweets, which is less than a week old, preceded by potential ads/deals that I'd have appreciated:
Subscriptions to GQ & Esquire, Ads for Gap, Banana Republic?
What's your favorite scarf wrap? http://tinyurl.com/6rmjmf I prefer the Loophole. 4:17 PM Dec 13th
Targeted Fandango ads, please...
Such a flattering review of "The Wrestler" and Rourke's performance by the New Yorker - http://tinyurl.com/6djqa5 3:43 PM Dec 13th
Benjamin Button LA Premiere - Variety Photo Gallery http://tinyurl.com/5mocyf 12:04 AM Dec 10th
Targeted Netflix/Blockbuster DVD ads for either "Man on the Moon" or Nolan's "Dark Knight":
The Existential Clown, Jim Carrey - The Atlantic (December 2008) http://tinyurl.com/5k6shb
Christopher Nolan analyzes his favorite scene in 'Dark Knight' | PopWatch Blog | EW.com http://tinyurl.com/5566oy 11:04 PM Dec 9th
Guess what? I actually bought the Dark Knight DVD yesterday. I don't mind if I'd received ads for a Dark Knight DVD. So, while in Google (you search for stuff and advertisers find you), on Twitter (you say it out loud and advertisers could find you). Either way, there is massive benefit for the user if implemented effectively.
In conclusion, Twitter would be a terrific buy for a search engine, where much of this valuable information is already being indexed. And, Given Ev's (Twitter co-founder) history with Google (he sold "Blogger" to Google in 2004), the possibility seems all the more intriguing.
What do you think is Twitter's easiest path to monetization?
One of our clients sent an overwhelmingly passionate plea the other day. We're helping her develop and sharpen her blogging and social networking strategy and she wrote, "Can't I do just a little selling on my blog? Maybe some product images in the margin? A little. Plleeaaasee?"
I thought this was a bit humorous, but I knew exactly how she was feeling. The minute someone tells you NOT to do something, it's flipmode style. You then become hell-bent on doing the very thing you think you're not supposed to do. It's like a tick or something. Adam and Eve had the same deal.
My response to our client was, I believe, appropriate:
"Of course you can have ads for your products on your blog! Put two or three. The whole idea is not to be a sales eunuch, but rather shift to understanding and appreciating a more conversational sale." (Well, that's not the WHOLE idea, but baby steps with the clients, eh?)
I'm of the mindset that it's OK to put links to products in your blog posts every now and again, obviously as long as it makes sense contextually. I suggest that our clients ask themselves: "If I mention this product, is it supremely helpful, or am I just advertising?"
And then, shazam, I made the connection...THIS is why so many people are scared to death of social media. THIS. THIS. THIS.
Pixel by pixel, social media is separating true thought leaders - people with something truly genuine and insightful to say - from the phony vacuous parrots because part of the social media "success formula" is being comfortable enough to let your thought leadership (read: your ideas) sell FOR you. (Thankfully, our client can run circles around everyone in her industry with her ideas - she just needs the right encouragement, like anyone else.)
This is why most brands would rather buy ads on Facebook. They're scared to death of the eerie glow of an empty creativity container and they're slowly realizing that, all this time...all this time of the 50's, 60's, 70' 80's and 90's...they've been relying HEAVILY on ads. And, now that ads are no longer good enough, the two questions that's got them keepin' the lights on like Motel 6 is:
Can we stand on our ideas? Do we even HAVE ideas worth sharing? Help. Does anyone see us?
I've been meaning to post about this since last week, but here you go: Tomorrow, December 16th, Jeremiah Owyang, Senior Analyst for Forrester Research, and I will collectively present on "Content and Conversations: Engaging Your Customers Online" in an online seminar scheduled for 2 PM ET/11 AM PT. The webinar is sponsored by Powered, and my good friend Aaron Strout convinced me to do it.
You might not know this -- but I don't speak much. The truth is: I've always considered myself more of an editor and a writer than a marketer. Certainly -- I play a marketer on the internet (ha!)... but in truth I'm not totally comfortable passing myself off as one, at least when it comes to teaching or lecturing or speaking about marketing topics.
I do, however, know content. For 11-plus years (-ish), I've been developing and managing digital content to build relationships for organizations and individuals, and I have a demonstrated ability to develop content strategy and to fully execute on it -- often, in the marketing space. I know what resonates with audiences, and know the steps necessary to create compelling stuff. Aaron -- that sneaky dog -- clued right in on my expertise.
"But Ann," he said a month or so ago, on the phone from Austin to Boston, "you know content. You have a unique perspective. You understand how content serves as the foundation of any good online engagement strategy like no one else does."
Or something like that. The bottom line: He convinced me. I'm in. And so tomorrow, come hear Jeremiah and me. I'll be giving you my approach to developing good content ("Creating Content People Care About"), which in truth has all kinds of lessons for marketers who want to reach customers in this "new marketing" environment, where it's more important to act as a "trusted resource" for your customers and prospects than it is for you to chat up your own products and services.
In my mind, when companies create content and execute on it well, it can significantly help their businesses build brand, increase retention and deepen loyalty. (Am I sounding like a marketer yet?)
For his part, Jeremiah will parlay my bit into the next step: Conversation, or creating an environment where social tools and strategies allow customers to have meaningful conversations with representatives from your company AND with each other.
This not only makes your customers feel like your brand is more approachable, it can also help your business gain valuable insight about your customers with the potential to turn them into brand ambassadors. At least, that's the idea.
So -- see you online at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT tomorrow? If you're planning on it, you have to sign up: Here’s the link to the registration page.
It's that time of year again: the holidays are upon us, a new year looms, and the pundits polish their crystal balls and make their predictions for what's in the offing. This year, Daily Fix contributorPeter Kim assembled some 13 of us to answer the question, "What will 2009 hold for Social Media and Marketing?" Herein is Peter's compilation, as well as a PDF of the results. Read it, print it, save it... and see how close we came when 2010 rolls around.
* * * * *
Community and collaboration are wonderful things.
A baker's dozen of social media minds have shared thoughts on what 2009 may have in store for us. Here's some of what they had to say:
"Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology - it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful." - David Armano
"You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way." - Rohit Bhargava
"Intimacy touches emotion; emotion powers conversation." - Pete Blackshaw
"The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media." - Todd Defren
"There's a lot of fixing that needs to be done." - Jason Falls
"Dwindling budgets suddenly make low-cost social media look like the pretty girl at the ball." - Ann Handley
"We're going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate 'commitment'." - Joseph Jaffe
"The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity, as people cocoon in the face of the economic crisis." - Charlene Li
"After a pre-qualifying wrestling match..." - Ben McConnell
"These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them." - Scott Monty
"The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies." - Jeremiah Owyang
"Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return." - Andy Sernovitz
"Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter." - Greg Verdino
Everyone's thoughts have been assembled in this PDF. You can also read the document in-line below.
Your feedback is appreciated and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Original Landlord Game Board