Dan Spellman ( My Two Cents )

Something To Chew On

   

The old advertisement told us that 4 out of 5 dentists chewed Trident Gum.  What it didn’t tell us, was that the last dentist was busy online updating her MySpace page.  “A recent study by Ipsos Insight found that one in five adults has visited a social networking site,” reports ClubSymantic.  “Some sites, such as Growing Bolder and Eons, cater specifically to people 50 and older.”

   

If your goal is to build a corporate blog that your customers find interesting, the first step is to ask them what’s on their mind.  “Send out a survey”, states Lee Ericson, “asking customers where they go for information about job-related issues.  What are their favorite blogs, online publications, organizations, and associations?”

   

Many times, the conversation may have already started.  If so, specific sites are already generating traffic as the community begins to center around a select number of key influencers. 

   

Key influencers are people in the community whose opinion matters.  Every writer aspires to have Oprah recommend their book to her community of viewers.  The same is possible in your community of customers.  Individuals who have a large network of contacts and whose opinion is held in high regard, can influence the actions of the community.

   

An easy way to find these key members of the community is to use Google Blog Search or Technorati.  With a little research, you can quickly identify highly trafficked blogs that deal with topics of interest to your customers.   The next step is to enter the conversation yourself.  No-one knows your business better than you, and by establishing yourself as an active member of the community, you begin to establish credibility and build an audience.

   

Until next time,

   

Dan

   

   

One Clear Voice

    

Being able to establish your place in the market is imperative for survival – but being able to define a brand that resonates with your customers is imperative for success.

    

“Corporate branding is a serious undertaking which entails more skills and activities than just an updated glossy marketing facade with empty jargon” explains Martin Roll from Venture Republic.  Brands must be able to create a “dialogue with an authentic voice.”

    

This ‘authentic voice’ is transmitted through your website.  Not only are you having daily conversations with your customers, but they, in turn, are having conversations about you.  Therefore, your brand messaging must be clear, consistent and relevant. 

    

         

    

    

Keeping a consistent message over time has proven to be difficult for many companies.  The Blake Project, a strategy consulting group, describes successful companies as those businesses that have a “rigorous attention to the brand’s position.”  Over time, however, that attention can wane and companies can stray from having a single, focused brand position.  “The next thing you know, you’re about to come down with a bad case of brand schizophrenia.” 

    

Once your brand lacks focus, you lose your ‘authentic voice’ and then, you lose your customer’s loyalty.

    

Until next time,

    

Dan

    

    

    

    

Spreading The Word - Corporate Blogging

It is becoming more apparent that in order to manage the brand, companies need to be actively involved in social networking.  People are out on the net and they are talking about you.  The trick is to get your advocates (customers) talking about you.

   

One way to help facilitate this type of discussion is to start a corporate blog.  “More and more companies”, writes Mitch Joel, “are looking at the power of corporate blogs”.  In Joel’s latest post, he does a great job outlining the seven basic types of corporate blogs: 

   

·        Industry

·        Idea Storm

·        Individual

·        CEO

·        Departmental

·        Parody

·        Customer Service

   

But, as with anything you do, even this type of customer contact needs to serve a purpose.  If your readers (customers) don’t find your blog interesting, what good have you done?

    

Did you see Jake McGee’s post about the Graco blog?  In this post he outlined several key components of a successful corporate blog.  First and foremost it must have good content.  “The Graco blogging team clearly understands that they’re here to connect with parents,” writes McGee, “and what better way than to talk about parenting?”  Along with the content, the Graco blog  makes it easy for customers to interact and become involved in the conversation.  They keep the content fresh by enlisting a number of bloggers rather than relying upon a single individual.

    

Spreading the work load among several people certainly has its advantages.  However you need to enlist volunteers rather than draftees.  Otherwise you run the risk of being exposed as shown in this news excerpt from Barely Political.

    

    

    

         

Until next time,

    

Dan

    

    

    

    

Get a Bag

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I’m starting to see red shaped hearts all over the place.  Now, after having been married for almost 20 years, I should be shopping for a nice piece of jewelry and attaching a note in a heart shaped card.  However, I have the urge to buy my wife something green.

   

   

Why?  Because green “says I want you. Love you. Need you. Like red never could.”

        

          

I remember back in high school when my buddy Mike bought a couple bags of M&Ms, emptied out the contents and then placed the green ones into one of the bags.  The urban legend was that green M&Ms sent the “right” message.  Apparently, Mike was ahead of his time. 

   

   

While looking through the Sunday paper, I came across a coupon for bags full of Green M&Ms.  Over the years we have enjoyed the M&M personalities come to life in various commercials, but lately there has been a new girl in town . . . and she is sexy!  Apparently, Ms. Green may be “hot”, but she melts for no-one.

   

   

The people at Mars have done such a great job creating the M&Ms brand, these characters have become a part of the American culture.  Keep an eye out for how they continue to tell the story of Ms. Green.

    

    

   

   

Until next time,

   

   

Dan

   

    

Grab Life by the Beans

Did you see it in today’s newspaper?  Juan Valdez will be a guest star on Nip/Tuck.  Well, I might have some facts wrong on this.  However, it appears that Juan will be getting a makeover. 

   

   

In today’s Tribune, I saw an article that stated Juan would soon be “younger, more vigorous, more eco-conscious”.  About time something has been done about him.  When I was a kid, I wasn’t afraid of monsters under my bed, I was afraid of Juan Valdez creeping into my house and making coffee.

    

    

Apparently this isn’t the first time that Juan has tried to target a younger crowd.  In the 1990’s, Juan  was part of the “grab life by the beans” campaign which focused on the “surge of espresso bars which brought with them a new generation of younger coffee drinkers.”

    

    

Juan will have a hard time getting in touch with today’s younger crowd.  While it isn’t difficult to find the closest Starbucks, even here, Juan is under pressure.  Starbucks offers a wide range of coffees from all around the world – and now with the economy having problems, Starbucks seems to be struggling.

    

    

    

It will be interesting to see how the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Columbia leverage the Juan Valdez brand on the Internet in the coming months.  Although I’m not personally invested, I don’t consume ANY caffeine, I’ll keep my eyes open for the way Juan builds excitement on the web.

    

    

Well, I’m running low on my Diet Mountain Dew (does that have any caffeine?).

    

    

Until next time,

    

    

Dan