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Archive for the ‘service marketing’ Category

5 Reasons Why Weight Watchers Marketing Rocks

Friday, January 6, 2012 — 

 

For the past year, I’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle and have been following Weight Watchers.  I haven’t shared much about this because I’m still working on getting to my goal “weight.”  So far I’m way impressed by this program and it really works – I’ve lost over 70 lbs.

Weight Watchers recently rolled out many improvements to the plan for 2012 including a new iPhone app called Weight Watchers Barcode Scanner.  This app allows you to scan barcodes and calculates the PointsPlus values of food.  I recently downloaded this app and so far I really like it.

Weight loss programs and services are a hot topic this time of year because there is a large portion of the population that can use these services.  According to the Worldwide Health Organization, over 1.8 billion people are overweight worldwide and it is estimated that and people spend more than $60 billion on weight loss programs and services.  Wow. That’s a whole lot of market potential.  No wonder you see so many products and services popping up to capture a bit of this market share.

So with all the weight loss program choices out there, how does Weight Watchers stand out with their marketing?  Here are the top five reasons why I think Weight Watchers marketing rocks:

1. Consistent branding, messaging and communications with members who are engaged.

2. Well-respected celebrity endorsers and partners– Jennifer Hudson, Charles Barkley, Hungry Girl, and Dr. Oz. Plus, they also feature real users of the program and their success stories.

3. An easy-to-use online and offline community to help you keep your weight loss on track with success stories, tips, blogs, challenges, etc.

4. Mobile apps for tech-savvy consumers.

5. Print publications (cookbooks and a magazine) plus products to make following the program easier.

The marketing of Weight Watchers definitely reflects their great understanding of their audiences and a focused effort to engage their “ideal” consumer.  This provides Weight Watchers with the best opportunity to stand out from the crowd.  For example, Charles Barkley is clearly a great spokesperson  to engage more men, the apps engage techy consumers and Dr. Oz targets middle age women.  Is your marketing this focused?

Susan Schoultz is Design Director at Clear Verve Marketing and works with clients to plan, create,  and execute marketing campaigns.  Follow her on Twitter as @clearverve2.

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Business is built one step at a time

Monday, October 24, 2011 — 

 

This week, we kicked off a branding project with a new client that came to us as a referral from someone I met five years ago. Next week, I am meeting with a prospect that came to us as a referral from someone I met three years ago. We are talking with another prospect who heard me speak at a seminar two years ago, and I was just asked to speak at an upcoming event because of a body of work we’ve been building up for the past four years.

Why am I sharing this? Because many businesses are often so worried about the short-term impact of their marketing initiatives that it is easy to forget about or not want to “waste time with” things that don’t pay off immediately. But that’s not how building a business works. Everything you do adds up over time. The most successful and stable businesses are usually not overnight successes (although it may seem like it to an outsider). Remember as you build your marketing plan that it is important to include both short term and long term strategies. Mix different avenues of communication and be consistent. Suddenly, it will feel like you are an “overnight success” too.

Christina Steder is the President of Clear Verve Marketing and works with clients to plan, create and execute marketing campaigns. Follow her on Twitter as @clearverve

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Hello, Time Warner Business Class. Is anyone there?

Friday, July 15, 2011 — 

 

We recently moved our offices at Clear Verve to a wonderful new space that gives us plenty of room to work and grow. Almost everything about the move went really well. Our movers (Two Men and a Truck) were fantastic. Our IT company (TBG Networks) was incredibly helpful and amazing. Time Warner Business Class, on the other hand, was not.

We’ve been in our office for two weeks now and finally got a properly working phone system just a few days ago. First, the system was ordered incorrectly. The sales guy ordered an extra phone line and asked for the system to be configured the wrong way. The installer caught that mistake and fixed it (or so I thought). The following workday, as I attempted to configure our voice mail, I discovered that the system still couldn’t work the way I wanted it to. Two phone calls to tech support and two phone calls to the sales guy later, was told by someone else that he had ordered a completely incorrect configuration and features I didn’t even need. And, it would take Time Warner three to five days to fix it. In the interim, we had to set up a single voice mail box for the entire company and just live with it.

At the same time, I was also attempting to get information from Time Warner on how to get our emails working. My requests only seemed to confuse my sales guy, who had no idea what information I needed to make my email work. He did however, know how to say, “I haven’t been trained on that,” and, “Here’s the number for tech support.” It didn’t take me too long to figure out that this guy hadn’t really been trained on ANYTHING and had no idea what he’d sold me.

Two days later, as I prepared to leave for vacation, I sent the sales guy an email telling him I’d be out of town and that he should work with Susan when the new configuration was complete. To my surprise, I received an autoreply from him telling me he had left for vacation the day before and wouldn’t be back for a week. In frustration, I called Time Warner’s corporate office, explained my situation, and asked for his boss’ phone number and name. I then called that guy and left a message. He didn’t call me back. For some odd reason, I was not surprised. (Can you hear the sarcasm?)

While I was gone, Time Warner reconfigured our system. However, they neglected to inform us about it. The only way we discovered this was when clients started desperately emailing us telling us they couldn’t leave us voice mails. Susan called tech support, and once again managed to get us a single voice mail box. Meanwhile, we lost a prospective project because someone couldn’t get a hold of us.

When I returned, I attempted to set up our voice mails. However, we had never been sent instructions on how to do this, so I had to (once again) call tech support. During my third call, I discovered that the rollover feature on our phone lines was not working. Luckily, I had finally found someone at Time Warner who cared, and he stuck with the problem until he figured out how to solve it. At that point, he also discovered that I STILL had one more phone line than I needed and gave me different number to call to have it removed.

So, what about my sales guy, who was so helpful when he sold me the system? I haven’t heard from him in two weeks. I’ve called his boss four times so far, and he hasn’t bothered to call me back either. Today, I’ll be asking for the next guy up on the food chain when I call Time Warner. I wonder how far I will have to go up the totem pole before someone actually cares.

Christina Steder is the President of Clear Verve Marketing and works with clients to plan, create and execute marketing campaigns. Follow her on Twitter as @clearverve.

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Walk in your client’s shoes : How ethnography can fit into your business

Friday, January 21, 2011 — 

 

I recently attended a meeting of the American Marketing Society where the speaker, Jeanne Meyer, presented how GE Healthcare uses ethnography to help develop and market the company’s products. Ethnography is research in which a company immerses itself in their buyer’s culture. At GE Healthcare, this meant that the company spent four months studying the education needs of nurses in order to develop effective training solutions. The result, of course, was an extremely well thought out set of solutions that are likely to be well received in the healthcare industry.

Unfortunately, most businesses we know believe they don’t have the time or the money to do this type of extensive research, think it is not necessary, or that it couldn’t possibly apply to their business. None of those things are true. Need proof? The following challenges shouldn’t hold you back.

“I don’t have the time or the money.”
Ethnography doesn’t have to involve expensive research. One of Jeanne’s examples of ethnography in use occurs at Harley Davidson. All executives at Harley are required to attend motorcycle rallies. Spending time at rallies helps them relate to their customers and see their products in use. Try to see how you can spend time observing how your services are used in the real world.

“I don’t see how this applies to my business.”
This is an easy one, especially for companies like the ones we work with. Most service providers offer something that is either technical, government-regulated, or part of a lengthy process. If you’ve ever tried to explain what you do and had the person you’re talking to look at you like you’re speaking a foreign language, maybe you could benefit from spending some time with your clients.  An ethnography mindset, even if you aren’t doing a formal study, can help you communicate without the jargon and gobbeldygook that consultants can easily end up relying on.

The next time you have a communications challenge or need guidance to help make a business development decision, try asking yourself, “How can I put myself in my client’s shoes?”

Christina Steder is the President of Clear Verve Marketing and works with clients to plan, create and execute marketing campaigns.  Follow her on Twitter as @clearverve.

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Niches: A smart strategy

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 — 

 

In his blog, Real Lawyers Have Blogs, Kevin O’Keefe makes several compelling arguments for why attorneys should blog on specific niches rather than writing a blog on general legal topics. It’s a great, short read and we recommend you check it out, particularly if you’ve ever worried about defining your practice or your firm by a niche.

We think niches are a smart strategy. Not just for blogs, but for your business. Whether you’re an attorney, an accountant, or any other type of service provider, niches can help you market your firm because your prospects will understand when you are the right person to call. Will it exclude you from some opportunities? Sure, but it will also ensure that you get more of the work you enjoy most because when you explain what you do, eight of the nine people you are talking to will not be interested but that ninth person will hand you a business card and say, “Call me. I’ve been looking for someone like you.”

Choosing a niche is scary, we know. But it is the best way to differentiate yourself from other service providers who describe their work in such general terms you can’t tell why on earth you’d ever want to engage them.

Christina Steder is the President of Clear Verve Marketing and works with clients to plan, create and execute marketing campaigns.  Follow her on Twitter as @clearverve.

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The Power of BYO

Friday, August 20, 2010 — 

 

When we entertain, the phrase “bring-your-own [insert item here]” or BYO is commonplace to ask guests to bring a dish or beverage to pass.  The BYO concept is great for entertaining and can also carry forth into the commercial world.  Here are a few great examples:

Restaurants: A recent Nations Restaurant News article featured restaurants that have started offering  corkage-free promos. They encourage people to bring their own wine to restaurants and do not charge a corkage fee.  It’s a great idea.  It allows wine connoisseurs to bring the wines they love to meals.  Plus, it allows budget-conscious diners to save some money.

Retail locations: OfficeMax & Menards – both offer special percentage off days where you receive a specific discount if you bring in the paper bag they provide.  An even better and greener alternative – most grocery stores provide you with a discount when you use a reusable tote bag for shopping.

Movie Theaters:  Concessions definitely are a money maker for movie theaters, but something many budget conscious people cut back on.  To keep people coming in, Fandango offers “bring your own popcorn” times.

How can you incorporate a BYO concept into your marketing/promotions?  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Is there an area of your business where you can forgo a product/service but still retain your profit?
  • Get to the bottom of what pains your customers.  If you have a good understanding of this, you can help ease a burden for them – even if it is something small.
  • Are there any social good organizations you can partner with to help them and offer some sort of BYO concept?

Please share ways you’d suggest adding a BYO concept into your business or organization or great examples you have seen.

Susan Schoultz is Client Service Director at Clear Verve Marketing and works with clients to plan, create and execute marketing campaigns.  Follow her on Twitter as @clearverve2.

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Fundraising with Twitter

Monday, April 12, 2010 — 

 

This week, we will launch a first for Milwaukee. On Friday, April 16, in conjunction with A Day for Meta House, Clear Verve has organized the first ever Milwaukee-area twitter-based fundraiser. Thanks to the generosity of Manpower and the vision of the people at Meta House, we hope to raise $1500 through retweets of the hashtag #Day4MH. Here’s how it will work:

During the tweetathon, Meta House will be using twitter to send out messages about their mission, the activities that will be happening at the breakfast and lunch events, and Manpower’s support for retweeted messages. Tweets will also be sent following the theme for the day – the ripple effect of addiction and recovery and how one person’s life affects many other’s – and asking people to share their messages of inspiration and the people who have impacted their lives.

Then, Milwaukee-area tweetathon participants are invited to attend a tweetup at iPic at Bayshore from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. Admission is free, but freewill donations will be accepted to benefit Meta House. Attendees can RSVP for the tweetup by clicking here.

If you don’t know much about Meta House, be sure to follow #Day4MH on twitter, you will learn a lot. They are an amazing organization, a nationally recognized treatment center that has been providing alcohol and other drug abuse treatment services designed specifically for women since 1963. Meta House helps women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction reclaim their lives and rebuild their families. Its model program meets the unique needs of women and their children, ending the generational cycle of substance abuse. Meta House knows that women are likely to have become addicted in response to the pain of traumatic life experiences. They also know that women succeed in treatment when they have a healing environment that understands the importance of their roles in society. For more information, visit www.metahouse.org.

So, how can you help?

We hope you’ll participate in this great experiment and help a wonderful organization make a difference in Milwaukee. Be sure to follow #Day4MH on twitter and take a moment to retweet a few times. Then, show up at iPic to meet the other Milwaukee-area tweeps who will help us raise up to $1500 for Meta House. We’re confident we’ll reach our goal and we hope you’ll be a part of it!

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Service Marketing and the Oscars

Thursday, March 25, 2010 — 

 

In her Golden Practices blog, Michelle Golden draws an interesting parallel between a comment made at the Oscars and accounting marketing.

You should check out her blog to read the whole entry in which she makes some great points about what really matters in service marketing – content. And not jargon-filled, hyped up content either. What matters is content that assumes the audience is intelligent, but not necessarily knowledgeable about the technical stuff that seems like common sense to someone in your industry.

In a service based industry, you are selling the invisible. Whether you offer knowledge, creativity, or a thorough job performing manual labor, people need to understand what you can do for them. They need to know that you’re smart, but won’t make them feel stupid. They need to understand what types of problems you solve. They need to be able to figure out what the heck you do.

Share your knowledge, share examples, explain and explain and explain. It will only make them need you more.

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Details Matter in Customer Experience

Monday, March 8, 2010 — 

 

Experts say we are not supposed to sweat the small stuff in life, but lately I have been surprised by my experiences with several businesses and their lack of attention to detail.

A Restaurant

Most of the time when I visit a restaurant, the service is satisfactory. I was baffled by a recent visit to a local restaurant that offered a new smaller portion menu (side note: I’m very happy for the small portion menus as I could use the portion control help!).

I placed my order, and after about 10 minutes the waitress came back and said that the item I wanted couldn’t be served because they did not have the special martini glasses they were supposed to serve it in. My response to this was, “Can’t you serve it on a regular plate?” This seemed like a logical thing to me.  The waitress then told me that the restaurant’s General Manager said they had to stick to exactly how the item was listed on the menu. No exceptions. Huh? To me, this made no sense. Especially since there was not a picture of the item I ordered in the menu. I didn’t even know it was supposed to be served in a martini glass and honestly, would have found it easier to eat off a plate. Seems to me this restaurant has focused on the wrong detail here – what about making the customer happy?

A Hotel

During a recent trip to Northern Wisconsin, we stayed at a hotel & resort that was very nice for the area. We were interested in seeing what was going on that weekend, so we looked at the hotel information “binder” in our room expecting to find that information in there. We did find what was “happening” in the area – last June! Luckily, the front desk was able to help us. Hmm, seems like an important detail was overlooked here as well.

Another Restaurant

When I ordered take-out at a new, local restaurant a few weeks ago, I had to search in several places before I found the phone number for this new restaurant because it was not on their web site. When we picked up our order, I brought it to the attention of the waitress as a helpful note. I recently checked their web site and there still is no phone number listed. Guess my tip didn’t reach the right person.

Don’t Overlook Key Details!

Sure details can get missed from time to time. We are all human. However, we have to make sure we take a step back and look at our organizations through our customers’ point of view. Small details can annoy your customers and turn into negative word of mouth. It used to be said that unsatisfied customers tell five other people about negative experiences. With the use of social media today, one person can easily tell thousands. Bruce Temkin from Forrester shared some new research in his customer experience blog on a study that was conducted with 4,500 individuals and how they share experiences with others. It is something that is definitely worth checking out.

When people are vocal about bad experiences with your company or organization, it is great opportunity to learn, make things right, and engage with your customers. To learn about these experiences in social media or the Web, have you set up tools to track mentions of your business/organization? If not, you can learn more about this in an upcoming blog post.

Susan Schoultz is Client Service Director at Clear Verve Marketing and works with clients to plan, create and execute marketing campaigns.  Follow her on Twitter as @clearverve2.

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