CUSTOMERicity

In July I went to Lilith Fair. Besides the great music, there was a focus on social ventures. One that particularly impressed me with understanding its customers was Reverb.

They engaged me with a pledge, took a picture, posted it on Facebook for me to tag, entered me into a sweepstakes for taking the pledge — to an ecotrip of course — and then gave me an iTunes card to thank me for my participation. It had selections for Lilith Fair.

I had never heard of Reverb. Now I not only know about them, but they have a bit of my heart and head.  Smart marketing.

Tags: i-tunes, Lilith Fair, marketing, Reverb

I was talking with a client recently who was sitting at a dinner table with a CEO of a major company in India.  A deal was penned and signed on a napkin.  Wow, I didn’t think it happened like that anymore.

And then I started thinking about the deals that I have made recently both as a seller and a purchaser.  At least half of them were done on a handshake.  There was a level of trust there that made us cut through the chase, decide to do business and see how it worked.

My success record with those kinds of deals is actually better than the ones that involve realms of paper and multiple lawyers.   Hmmmm, what does that mean?

I think that as a customer and a person who gets and retains clients, my gut is often right.  I wonder if there is such a thing as “gut marketing?”

As savvy consumers, we know that employees are integral parts of a brand experience.  If we talk on the phone to a bad customer service person, our perception of the brand is tarnished.  If we come into contact with a great salesperson, we feel more affection for a brand.

What really strikes me is how a leader of an organizaton can really affect the way someone feels about the brand.   It happened to me just a few weeks ago.

Ursula Burns, the new CEO of Xerox,  was the keynote speaker at a YWCA fundraiser.  To be honest, I did not have a good or bad view of Xerox. I know the company went through some hard times and turned a corner. I cannot imagine life with copiers. But it’s not a brand I really think about.

That changed when I listened to Ursula Burns. She was authentic, strong and wise.  She was humble, proud and inspirational. She moved me and made me laugh. I wrote down notes all over my program because she captured not only my intellect, but also my heart.

The standing ovation she received was not because she was the head of a major corporation.  Fifteen hundred people stood up because they were in the presence of a leader with a message.

I walked away feeling different about Xerox – positive and curious. I would definitely consider them for products and services. Additionally, I have told dozens of people about her talk so the WOM factor is now in play.

The problem with owning a company that focuses totally on customers is that you can’t get away from your work.  That’s because every single day I AM A CUSTOMER.  And the older I get, the grumpier I’m getting.

I never thought I would start thinking about the good old days in customer terms.  Remember when you could talk to a person on the phone? Remember when the bank teller knew your name? Remember when someone else pumped the gas?

With all the focus on social media and CRM,  sometimes I just don’t really feel like I have the power.  Because if I had the power,  I would not have to be on the phone for 10 minutes before a voice told me the offices were closed.  Or walk into a store and have every single sales person look like I was actually intruding on their working time. Or have to argue that the price in the ad should absolutely be adhered to no matter that it was a “printing mistake.”

Yep.  Sometimes I hate being a customer.  How about you?

This weekend I am going down to Orlando for a Board meeting of Sias International University.  That’s a university we assist in Central China.  In ten years, it has grown from 200 to 20,000 students.  The university seeks to fuse the rigors and discipline of the East with the innovation and entrepreneurship of the West.

It’s a rather remarkable place. But at the heart are the students.  So how does that relate to customers?  The students at Sias and their parents do not consider themselves customers.  They do not make the traditional customer demands and requests that many people in our country are used to.  Instead, they really see themselves as collaborators — for a better life for themselves, their family and their country.

That’s an interesting model. Customers as collaborators.

I’m a writer by trade – been doing it for about 30 plus years now.  I started out as a journalist (you know, those people who used to work on newspapers before they all started going out of business).  Now I run a virtual idea company where I get to connect with amazing people throughout the world to do good and make money.  Not a bad job at all.

I also love social media – the ability to touch people in different ways across space and time.  Very cool.  But at the end of the day, I have to tell you.. I really like hearing the human voice.  So lately I’ve been experimenting at www.blitztime.com. I’ve been making presentations and then having little eight minute conversations with other blitzers.  I guess you could call it a combination of on-line networking and speed dating.

It also has a twitteresque feel about it since there is this clock ticking and you never have enough time to say what you want especially if you are a verbose person like me who talks in run-on sentences and doesn’t often come up for air if you know what I mean. But that limitation – like twitters character count – also is somewhat freeing.  You don’t really need to be a conversationalist – anyone can keep eight minutes going especially on the phone.  So try it and let me know what you think. Is it really a new way to connect? Do you get stuff out of it?  I’m really curious how it appeals to you.

Tags: blitztime, new ways to connect, talking with people

When we started CUSTOMERicity in 2001, we were looking for a name that focused on customers because for us –and all good marketers — that’s where it has to start.  We also couldn’t find a damn url with the word “customer” in it because everything was being bought up at that time in the .com speculation market.

So we put customer and electricity together to come up with CUSTOMERicity — that electric power of customers that can drive a company into growth or the ground.   Besides the fact that it’s a bit of a bear to say and sometimes people think we’re CUSTOMER CITY (apparently a cool store where you actually can buy customers), we’ve got great response to the name because people think its a new noun.

So here’s our definition:

customericity (n) (cus-toe-mer -e-ce- tee) –     the power of customers to have a positive or  negative effect on business growth; a force that can be tapped into to bring better services and products to market.

How to use in a sentence:

Does your company have customericity?

I think social marketing will give me more customericity.

I fired him because he just didn’t get it was all about customericity.

So got any good examples of customericity to share with us?

Tags: customer ideas, new words, power of customers

We completed a media audit of New York State farmers (actually most like to be called growers, we’ve been told). We put together some advice for them that you might find useful about how to increase media opportunities. Let us know what you think.

1. Tell your story. While the public is getting the facts, they are not necessarily becoming emotionally connected to growers or the issues they face. The best way to emotionally engage is to tell your story. How did you become a grower? What appeals to you about being a grower? How is your family engaged? What are you trying to do to make your product the best?
2. Be passionate. The media loves people who have a point of view and a passion for what they do. So do your customers.
3. Make it relevant. Consumers care about healthy food, their community and the environment. And more than ever they care about economics. Pitch stories that are relevant to their interests.
4. Be proactive. People like and respect growers. By being proactive – actively seeking media opportunities with print, radio and TV – you will become even more respected in your community. Share your expertise and views. People want to hear from you.
5. Go visual. The media wants pictures. Give them really interesting pictures of your operation, your product, your family, etc. If you can’t take pictures, hand a camera to a family member and let them have fun.
6. Get a website. There’s lots of cheap or free software that will let you put up a simple website. The media and the public will always check on the Internet to see if you have a website. It is a must-have for ANY business.
7. Use social media. Twitter. Facebook. Linked-in. These are ways to dialogue with the media, your customers and your future customers. You can be up and running in the social media area in less than two days. Then you have to keep up with it. If you don’t have the time, give it to a family member to do for you.
8. YouTube it. Video has become a way of life on the Internet. Phones and cameras – many which are inexpensive – allow you to record video. Talk about an issue, give people growing advice, share a recipe, or let them onto your farm. Post it on YouTube.
9. Blog and respond to blogs. Go to Google and type in blogs for your product and respond with helpful comments or advice. You will gain a following. Or create your own blog with free WordPress www.wordpress.org. You can even use it to create your own website.

Tags: blogging, farmers, increased media, media, telling stories, using YouTube

Actually, we think this is a fun one to help think about ideas.  The acronym – I.D.E.A.S.
Ain’t we clever!?!

I is for Intuition. A great idea often comes from the gut.  You can actually feel it.  After you come up with it, you may figure out all the reasons – the intellectual alibi for the idea.  Intuition exists in the unconscious. It is emotionally driven.  Children have it by the boatloads, but often as we age intuition gets buried under experiences and knowledge.

D is for Desire. Passion drives ideas. Passion for success. Passion to make a difference. Passion to win. Passion to solve a problem. Passion to find answers.  That passion can be seen in the precise process of a scientist who will not stop until he finds a solution. In a marketing or sales leader who pulls out all stops to meet quarterly expectations. In an artist who lives and breathes her creations. In a humanitarian intent on changing her piece of the world. You can’t have ideas without holding on deeply to desire.

E is for Engagement. Big ideas engage.  Whether it is designing a process or bringing a new service to market, you have to engage.  That means knowing and leading your customer. You can’t have ideas without having a strong engagement factor.

A is for Allies. We’ve never seen a big idea come to fruition without allies.  You have to find other people who believe in your idea and make them allies.  Not only will they help sell your idea, but they will give you ideas that make the idea better. We think of them as your Ally Board – just like an advisory board but also with the desire to be advocates.  You can’t have ideas that become real with allies.

And finally, S is for Simplicity. Ideas that win are simple.  Implementation may be complex, but the idea can be stated on one sheet of paper and preferably one sentence. Every idea I mentioned in our Idea Quiz was simple – and the ones I will talk about in a few moments have that same component. You can’t have people embrace a big idea unless it is simple.

These five components of discovering and selling ideas are all grounded on a very important word which unfortunately begins with a C so it doesn’t fit into our lovely acronym – Curiosity. More on that one later…

Tags: creating ideas, emotions in marketing, engaging stakeholders, marketing ideas, marketing with big ideas, product development, sales ideas, selling ideas, simple ideas, using intuition