Twalk

Posted via web from constantgardener's posterous

First Direct have taken me from empathy to offense in under two minutes and three Tweets

First Direct really should have thought about reputation management before they embarked on their Customer Sentiment and Social campaign.

This morning I opened up my twitter account to find that I was DMed by First Direct on ways to improve my sex life. I've heard of Customer Relationship Management but this may be taking it a step too far.

My immediate reaction was one of pity because clearly they were attacked by the Twitter Phisher. But then they told me to disregard this in a public reply.

Apparently they were 'hacked' last night. So now I think 'hang on you've been hacked. But, I entrust my worldly wealth to you.'. Now I'm worried. With a re-read I notice a hint of complacency there and the anger begins to set in. But a second Tweet follows quickly. Perhaps this one will be better crafted.

Still no 'sorry', just a clarification that 'all is well'. Still no DM to me explaining what's happened. Good thing I was online at the time of the clarification. I'm not getting the 'all is well' feeling. 

Ah ha. Now the apology but in the form of another clarification. 'Just to clarify, it wasn't a password issue at all. Oh, and sorry for the offense caused.'. No offense was ever caused because of the initial attack: spam happens. I am however offended by how this has been dealt with.

First Direct clearly has no crash bag. If you are going to base your entire marketing strategy on Customer Sentiment and a Social Strategy this is a massive oversight. Especially in light of what has happened with Toyota and Euro Star recently, and the fact that Twitter had warned more phishing is likely to happen. 

It looks like First Direct is only prepared for when the going is good. In a previous post I used them as an example of a brand that should start to think about how they respond when the going is not so good, and this morning adds weight and a certain amount of urgency to this need.

In under two minutes I've gone from empathy to offense - that is the power of Social Media. First Direct I used to salute you, I no longer do.

Digital hasn't killed the TV star, just its omnipotent hold over advertising

Melanie Cook
m: +44 7834 906 991
b: http://theconstantgardener-me.blogspot.com/
t: @constant_garden

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from constantgardener's posterous

"Retail, meet Miss Location based Media

Ye olde days when exact targeting was a mere dream

I remember when I first started in our esteemed industry the mantra drummed into me was 'the right message, at the right place, at the right time'. Ever since then that mantra has done me proud. All my strategy was and still is driven by knowing the people you communicate with. Know them and you know what to say, and with this insight the 'where' and 'when' can be guestimated.

Location based retail marketing in the digial age

Then comes along location based apps. No more guestimation about place and time. Retail marketing meet the digital age. Now all we have to do is set up some kind of value exchange for the permissin to use these applications.

Some ideas that could be explored to bring the two together

1) On applications like mobile Google maps include promotions to drive footfall as well as contact/ address details

2) Get people to make their phone 'discoverable' with the promise of promotions when they pass your store

3) Gain permission to track an individual's mobile number by promising something unbelievably special and yummy when they get close to a retail outlet. Like a hug from the Abercrombie and Fitch boys possibly...maybe...

I wouldn't know where to start with getting the technology in place to do this, but it is something that I would love to explore.

Any takers?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Social strategy - it's not about a single minded proposition, but a many-minded conversation

Many marketeers effectively kill social strategies by trying to exert control over 'their' community. They believe it is the only way to get what they want and deal with what they don't want. Letting a community go is scary but more effective in the long run. (thanks V Dub)

The thing about a community is you can't control it.  It's like having a child that you give birth to, nurture and love, then suddenly it becomes this unwieldy teenager you can only hope to influence. For many marketeers this is hard to swallow given their modus operandi of one way, single messaging, totally controllable advertising.  This is where an Account Planner can come into their own. Instead of developing single-minded propositions, we should be managing many-minded conversations.

Here are a few things us Account Planners can do:


Don't make it up yourself

It's received wisdom that nobody likes to post the first comment. We can't control if, when or how the campaign takes off. However, we must not let fellow practitioners make the fatal error of DIY posts like Kingsmill Confessions.




Nobody buys it.

Instead, facilitate a way of collating genuine consumer views.  Many brands survey customers for satisfaction scores and comments.  This could be a perfect place to start as long as you have the customer's permission to post their comments, and that both good and bad comments are publicised. This is one of the only ways to achieve authenticity.


Face up to the facts

Mistakes happen. Allow them to be aired within the community, but deal with them promptly, painstakingly and publicly. I'm not suggesting it's an Account Planner's job to deal with the comments themselves, there are Community Managers for that. It is our job to persuade Clients that the good and not so good need to be posted and to ensure they are prepared to handle the consequences.   

First Direct customers can now post comments for all to see.  This is a brave move especially at a time when bankers are less trusted than politicians.  The positive and negative go up. Bravo.

But unfortunately there is little evidence of follow-up from the bank.  This is more like a graffiti wall with one way messaging that the bank have little permission to control.  This is marketing harikari.

Be seen to be listening 


Unfortunately the graffiti wall now feels like a brick wall. First Direct is damaging their hard won reputation of customer-centricity and transparency by not replying to the comments posted. 

Account Planners must build into their strategy the ability to deal with comments and also to leverage them.  In instances where it needs to be a private conversation, say so, do it privately but keep the community posted.



Many-minded doesn't mean many-sited 

The community will grow organically, choose what to say and where to meet. Rather inconveniently it's not always at the designated place brands create. So does this mean brands need to have space in the myriad of social platforms now in existence?  No, in short. Brands do need to keep their ear to the ground as conversations happen about them, without them.  (First Direct take note.) But brands should get involved in these conversations and then direct the conversation back to its nerve-center.

When deciding which platforms to formally partake in, brands need to ask themselves the classic marketing questions. Are target-consumers congregating there? Does the brand have permission to be there, or at least have the ability to develop this permission over time? Does being there help to meet marketing and subsequently business objectives?

If planned in this way, your social strategy can be all pervasive yet cohesive. 

In short, if you're going to embark on social media marketing be prepared to:-

1. Leave your control freak habits behind
2. Get the ball rolling with true authenticity
3. Listen and react to, and learn from the community
4. Be everywhere and only in one place at the same time.

Nobody said it would be easy, but done right, it will be extremely rewarding.