September 10, 2014 · 12:22 pm

The Data Sandstorm

One client is in the midst of the back to school season and the data is flowing in like water over the Niagara Falls.

English: A massive dust storm cloud () is clos...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is so much coming out of web activity, social activity, email activity – where does one begin? It got me thinking about how it is like driving around in the fog or a sandstorm. The data get more dense and navigation becomes impossible.

One thing some people do to clean off the windshield is to wipe away the data.  They regularly make decisions based on gut feel or something they read that may have worked foe someone else.  Why let facts get in the way of a good story, after all?  I am not a fan of using data as a crutch nor as a shield.  It should be used to guide decision making but not as a replacement for your own vision. However, if you don’t measure the impact of whatever decisions you’re making and confronting the results of those decisions, the business is managing you and not vice-versa.

Data needs to support decisions.  When someone says we’re going to do X ask them what data they used in deciding to take that course of action.  The less data-driven the decisions was (and that’s OK), the more rapidly the action needs to be measured and the result quantified (although some of the results may be qualitative instead of quantitative).  I’ve found that just asking the questions can have a beneficial effect.

Yes, it’s inconvenient when the numbers don’t back up the course of action you (or your boss!) have in mind.  It may be inconvenient but it shouldn’t be ignored.  It may be hard to navigate in the sandstorm of data that overwhelms us but no one said business was easy.  Thoughts?

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September 9, 2014 · 12:42 pm

Stand By Me

Every once in a while something happens that restores my faith in how smart businesses deal with their customers.

Wüsthof

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is such a day and the company is the folks at Wusthof.  Let me relate the particulars and hopefully it brings a smile to your face as it did to mine.  More importantly, hopefully there is a business point that’s helpful in your business.

As you might know if you read the screed, I like to cook.  One very important part of the effort for me is having sharp knives.  Over time I’ve actually convinced the other cooks in my home that keeping the knives sharp makes cooking easier and accidents less likely.  While the knives get honed all the time, every so often they get a real, professional sharpening.  Today was one of those days.

The Mrs. took many of the knives in our collection to the local Wusthof outlet which does sharpening.  Most of our knives are that brand and we’ve been assembling the collection for the last 20+ years.  She gave them to the salesperson who looked them over and said that she wouldn’t sharpen some of them since the handles were beginning to crack and they ought to be replaced.  Since we never put knives in the dishwasher this must have been from normal use (although frankly I never noticed anything).

This is where my faith was restored.  The salesperson informed my wife that Wusthof stands by their knives and she was going to replace all the ones in question.  For free.  After having the remaining knives sharpened, my wife walked out with 5 new knives – easily worth a few hundred dollars – and a shocked smile on her face.  She never asked to have them replaced – we never even noticed anything was amiss other than they needed sharpening.

What is the official knife of me?  What brand will I be recommending?  Duh.  But this is how customers should be treated, whether it’s a high-end knife or something else.  Brand loyalty is a two-way street.  It’s earned before it’s given and you have to stand with the customer, not oppose them.  To any of you who will be receiving gifts from me in the near future, expect something sharp.  To those of you trying to create fans, you can use all the social tools and run all the ads you want.  Nothing can do so as well as one customer having an amazing experience and telling the world about how great your brand is.

Got it?

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September 8, 2014 · 12:23 pm

An Underutilized Marketing Tool

It seems as if many of the conversations I have with clients about marketing revolve around how to reach consumers using social media. Inevitably, I’ll interrupt the discussion of each of the social channels with a question about email. How is their email program run?  Who administers the lists?  What reports are circulated and how are results measured?  Sometimes they give me a look like “why are you so 1999?”  Putting aside my general avoidance of the “next new shiny object,” I do have reasons for asking the question.

Email may be almost 20 years old but I think it’s still a critical part of the marketing mix. While there is no question that it’s possible for it to be completely ignored – or worse – relegated to the “spam” folder – email remains one of the most effective and efficient ways to reach your consumer base.

Research from the my.com folks at shows that almost half of the Internet users in the United States spend an hour or more reading their email every day. You don’t think people are addicted? 2/3 of them get push notifications every time they get a new mail. 90% of people report using email for personal purposes, 58% for business. While Facebook may be somewhat ubiquitous, I’m not sure that 90% of consumers spend time on it every day.  More importantly, 50% of women report using email to get information about discounts and over 40% of men and women use it to get information about products in which they’re interested.

A great, informative, consumer-focused website is one thing.  The same thing delivered into a users hands via several platforms with no effort on the consumer’s part is quite another.  I call that a newsletter as well as efficient marketing.  What do you call it?

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