Where I've Been...

I have begun posting on my company's blog and while I'd love to cross-post, I think it's best to keep all of my content in one place. To check out my latest musings on marketing, visit InsightIQ

Evolution of Dance

The YouTube phenom is back! Judson Laipply will premiere his Evolution of Dance II on the Today show tomorrow morning. If it's as good as the first, it's sure to garner more than 100 million views.

Enjoy!

Seven Things You May (or May Not) Want to Know About Me...

It's my turn. I've been tagged by Dave Raffaele (@daveraffaele), a social media guru and Twitter aficionado and Adam Cohen (@adamcohen), a friend and soc expert from Rosetta, for the ”7 Things You Wish You Didn’t (Or Did) Know About Me” meme. Here’s how it works:

1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged

So here goes...

The 7 things I think you may or may not want to know about me, in no particular order, are:

1. I was a professional mime. No, I'm not kidding. I went to the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas, and was a member of the school's esteemed mime troupe. I managed to work a few (paid) gigs as a mime, including one as an extra in a show that featured Gregory Hines.
2. I've been participating in social networks for more than ten years. Long before we knew them as social networks, online message boards served to connect people with like interests. I belonged to several "communities" around the time I got married almost ten years ago. The Delphi "white wedding" board was a gossipy, high-school like atmosphere (complete with cliques!), but I managed to meet some of the most wonderful women, most of whom I can still call friends.
   
3. I've run three marathons. I've run New York twice and Boston once. And no, I don't think there will be a fourth. Now, a tri...that's something I might be open to.
4. I was once a blond. Most people don't believe me when I tell them, but in fact, going blond is easy; you just need the right colorist.
5. I'll say it: I've used the auto-DM to new Twitter followers feature. Now before you jump all over me, know this: my intentions were good and I've stopped using it. I understand that it runs counter to the very nature of Twitter, but I like to try all new apps...even the useless or annoying ones.
6. I've had heart surgery...and have the scars to prove it. When I was 21 I had a radiofrequency ablation to correct a nasty arrythmia called AV Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia (AVNRT). While rarely life-threatening, AVNRT is quite debilitating. The procedure I underwent was so new at the time, it was considered experimental; the hospital made me sign a million waivers.
7. I love maps. One of my favorite Christmas gifts was a Rand McNally road atlas. I'll probably succumb to the lure of a GPS, but in my mind, there's nothing better than a good, old-fashioned map.

This part's going to be difficult; I've already been tagged my everyone I know who has a blog. But I'll throw it out to a couple of folks who should be writing for our corporate blog: Mike Burke and Patrick Dineen. I'll add more later!

Why Twitter?

Are you on Twitter? Like most people, you've probably looked at the social messaging utility, which allows you to tell the world what you’re doing in 140 characters or less, and thought, why? How on earth could one find value reading about what someone ate for breakfast or what color socks they’re wearing?

Yet, many well-known brands have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon to hear what their most vocal supporters and detractors have to say. Why? Twitter is a bellwether that presages social media (and other) mishaps long before the general public hears about them. Take the recent Motrin Moms example. When Motrin launched a new ad targeting new moms for their Ibuprofen painkiller, they highlighted the drug’s efficacy fighting the head, neck and back pain associated with carrying a baby in a sling, wrap or “Schwing”. Angry moms flooded Twitter with messages denouncing the ad, clearly offended by its tone and inference that baby-carrying devices cause pain. How did Motrin respond? By pulling down the ad and issuing a public apology on their home page.

While the Twitter community is relatively small, it is incredibly powerful. Consider this: in April 2008, James Buck, a graduate journalism student at UC Berkeley was arrested in Egypt along with his translator for photographing an anti-government protest. While under arrest, Buck “tweeted” update messages to his followers who rallied support and ultimately informed the college, which hired a lawyer for the student. Buck was released the next day.

I’m not suggesting that you run out and join Twitter. But you should recognize it as a viable social media channel, one that is drawing a great deal of attention from consumers and brands alike. And, you should know who of your clients are represented.

If you are already on Twitter, please post your Twitter handle in the comments. Mine is @michellebb. Look forward to seeing you there…in 140 characters or less.

Has it really been a month?

I guess it's been almost a month since my last post...that's quite the stretch. My apologies, but I've been rather tied up: my company, Quaero, has signed an agreement to be acquired by CSG Systems, a leading provider of customer interaction solutions. To read the full story, click here.

I look forward to sharing more in the coming months. Until then, I'll try to post more frequently.

Looking Beyond Engagement to Value

Check out the front page of CustomerThink!

Quaero's own John Strabley has written an article, Here's How to Get Your Most Valuable Customers Engaged With Your Web Site and Increase Your Bottom Line, that made the cover of CustomerThink, an online publication dedicated to customer-centric business strategy.

In his article, John stresses the importance of looking beyond customer engagement- which has become the new marketing metric - to the value derived from engagement. He cites examples from our recent media company case study to illustrate his point.

To read the article in its entirety, click here. And congratulations to John; his piece coupled with Manuel's article on cloud computing makes for a nice CustomerThink front page coup for Quaero!

Out with the Old; In with the New.

Lisa Bradner, senior analyst at Forrester Research kicked off day two of Forrester's Consumer Forum with a thought-provoking session on the future of consumer marketing. Entitled Consumer 2018 - Separating Fact from Fad, Lisa's presentation discussed what B2C companies need to know about consumers to drive their business in the next ten years.

So what *do* you as marketers need to know? Well, duh, the 4Ps, right? Not quite so fast. Brader suggests that we need to think beyond the traditional marketing mix with which we're all familiar - product, pricing, promotion and placement. Instead, marketers need to consider and integrate into their planning a whole new set of consumer-driven Ps - permission, proximity, perception and participation.

Here is Bradner's take on the 4Ps:

Permission - consumers derive comfort (getting back to James McQuivey's four universal needs) by managing with whom they engage. Bradner suggests that by adhering to consumers' permission preferences, you help them stay safe. And they, in turn, reward you with more information.

Proximity - This doesn't refer to physical closeness necessarily. Bradner says "consumers use proximity to tap into networks and affiliations based on comfort and association. " The majority of us (approx. 87%, according to Forrester) only "friend" people we know well in a social network. And only 8% of us "friend" companies or brands. What does this tell us? Consumers get the information they need in the way that feels most comfortable to them (e.g., online reviews, peer recommendations). Help, don't hinder.

Perception - "Consumers inhabit multiple personas to feel a sense of uniqueness and control", according to Bradner. She recommends engaging with the persona they put forward, which might be different from the one stored in a database.

Participation - We all have a strong need to feel connected...to somebody or something. Give consumers the right type of community and they will participate...even with a brand. In fact, according to Forrester Research, 51% of online adults are willing or extremely willing to participate in an online community organized by a company. Think MyStarbucksIdea.

So does this mean the 4Ps as we know them go away? I don't think so, entirely. But I do think marketers need to shift their thinking about consumers in this age of social media. Forrester's new 4Ps remind us that consumers are in the drivers' seat and it's our job as marketers to make it more convenient for them to get what they want, when and how they want it.