Marketing – Page 3

Why Email Marketing Is Still the Cat’s Meow

November 9, 2014 Kacee Erhard

old-school marketing — “Caption, anybody?” by Rob, used under CC BY and modified from original

It’s so old school, why would anyone still use it? Hasn’t social media replaced it? Won’t people think you’re just spamming them?

These are valid questions and concerns about email marketing. These objections all hold a grain of truth, but they only apply to email marketing when it’s used incorrectly.

If you want to get results from your email newsletter, then be sure you’re doing a few things right.

Don’t Pussyfoot Around With Old-School Email

The cat is out of the proverbial bag. Yes, it’s the oldest internet marketing technology. But old-school email is also the new e-newsletter that grabs your readers attention with bright colors and compelling visuals.

Today’s email newsletter doesn’t have to look like it did a decade ago. With the aid of email marketing services such as Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, AWeber, and GetResponse, you can easily whip up a visual prey of delight in your email.

So when it comes to old-school email, don’t pussyfoot around thinking it’s no longer relevant. Commit yourself to a scheduled email newsletter as part of your marketing plan.

Who Needs Email When You Have Social Media?

Social media continues to be a great way to have conversations with your followers and customers. When you want to link to others, explore joint ventures, and meet people who share your interests, social media is the cool cat’s party.

Compare social media to an event where your objective is networking. It’s an ongoing, online event where you can build your name, where you can share your latest news. It’s the ideal platform for taking the information you send to your email recipients and sharing it with a wider audience.

What social media doesn’t do is make direct contact by landing in someone’s inbox. In other words, trying to position yourself as a leader to your social media followers can be like herding cats.

It’s one thing to be an authority on something, but to be a leader, you need to show you’re serious about what you do. The best way to do this is to deliver interesting content directly to the people who need it most.

Your email subscribers are like the audience of a radio talk show. According to Ben Settle, world class email specialist who delivers content to his subscribers daily, it’s the best way to keep a casual conversation going about what you have to offer your customers.

But Email Is So Spammy

The primary purpose of your email marketing is to sell your product or service. But that doesn’t mean your emails need to be spammy.

The essence of your email newsletters is to talk about your common interest or problem. Sometimes you won’t even mention your product in the email. You might just include a link to it.

Wherever it fits in naturally, within the context of the story you are telling in the email, find the right place to add information about what you can do to solve their problem. You are the invited guest in their inbox, and as their guest you are obligated to tell them how you can benefit them.

Always include a reference to how you can meet their need. Make this a clear call to action, and tell them what to click, where to go, or what to do next.

As your readers continue to receive your emails, the bonding process also continues. When they need what you are selling, you will be the one they turn to – the one they always hear from.

Get Better Email Open Rates With Your Subject Line

August 21, 2014 Kacee Erhard

If you want to see improved email open rates, then spend time crafting an effective subject line. By working the subject line, you’ve overcome a third of the battle because 33% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone.

Check out these 7 easy tips for improving email open rates by writing a better subject line.

1. Don’t try for the vague approach

Most people will spend about 15 seconds reading your email. Give them what they want to know, not some vague trickery in the subject line to try to get them to open it.

Get to your point quickly and keep to one topic, and be sure to make it relevant to your email content.

2. Keep it short and sweet

Your subject line has room for only one subject and no more than 50 characters. You need to say a lot in a few words, making it descriptive and to the point.

Using fewer than 10 characters could mean an open rate of 58%, so keeping it short is a mean feat of concise success.

3. Avoid buzzwords

The last thing you want to do is trigger a spam filter in your recipient’s email system. These emails will never get read if they go straight to the trash.

Buzzwords to avoid include the word “free,” which is a big red flag, as well as the more innocuous words “help,” “percent off,” and “reminder.”

On the other hand, certain words boost open rates for B2B companies, such as “money,” “revenue,” and “profit.” (Adestra July 2012 Report)

4. The first-name basis approach

By personalizing the subject line with the recipient’s first name or something else pertinent, you’re establishing trust. It’s a reminder that they have given you a name and email as a way to communicate.

The personal approach is a way to break through the large amount of clutter your audience receives in their inbox and stand out from the crowd.

5. Give them something to act on

You can create a sense of urgency by offering an incentive for your recipient to open the email. But be careful here. Sounding too slick and salesy can backfire and turn people off. The best subject lines tell, not sell what’s inside.

It’s also not a good idea to put a date in your subject line in an attempt to build urgency. This will date your email for those who don’t check email often.

6. Add your newsletter or company name

This reminds recipients of the relationship you have, as well as making sure they are aware of the nature of the content. Sometimes on smartphones email providers only display the subject line and not the sender name, making it more important to include a company name.

7. Get the right “from” name and email

Speaking of the sender name, it’s important to get it right. Okay, so this isn’t in the subject line, but it’s located directly above it and should reflect your company name and image. Call it the subject line’s counterpart.

If possible, it should match the department that is relevant to the email, such as coming from “returns@company.name.”

The best way to know what is working is to test it! Check your open rates and compare this with your subject lines to find out how your audience and specific marketing situations respond to different attempts.

SEO Benefits to Embedding Video

August 15, 2014 Kacee Erhard

Embedding video in your website has many SEO benefits, including the two-for-one benefit. You get two listings for the price of one – one for your website and one for your YouTube (or other hosting) channel.

We already discussed why embedding video is better than uploading on your WordPress site. By embedding videos and using YouTube as the host, you give search engines added content to rank. Since YouTube is a Google product, using YouTube for embedding videos gives your site that much more traffic-building power.

So how do you get the most out of embedding your videos?

Here are 8 tips to help your SEO with embedding video:

1. Name your video title with video keywords.

Google Trends is another way besides Adwords to see what keywords are good for your YouTube videos.

Go to Google Trends and begin a search for something. Then click on “Web Search” in the upper right and select “YouTube Search.” Check out the search queries used as well as the trend over time to see what keyword terms you might wish to try.

2. Describe your video.

Completely fill in the description portion using these same keywords. Use your website URL in the top line of your video description so viewers will see this first when they search.

3. Transcribe your video.

By adding a transcription of the video, you’re reinforcing the keywords with additional text. This is especially useful as well for how-to videos, giving users another way to view your explanation.

To do this, go to your video listings on your channel via Video Manager. Click on “Edit” then “Subtitles and CC,” “Add subtitles or CC,” and select a language. You can then choose to upload a file of your text or transcribe and set timings by typing in the text as the video plays. The video automatically pauses while you type.

4. Label your video.

You can add a watermark or other labeling by using Annotations. This is also a great way to add your website URL as a live link.

5. Link to your video from you website.

Don’t forget to add a link from your website to your YouTube video. This is another way for viewers to access your YouTube channel and your other videos, which are in turn all have links to your site.

The more your videos are viewed, the higher they can potentially rank in YouTube searches.

6. Create a video sitemap.

Or not! Video sitemaps are a way to make sure Google (and other search engines) index your video. The good news is when you embed YouTube videos, YouTube does the work for you, giving you much better visibility.

7. Place your video on a product page.

Placing your video in other locations such as a product page will help you to stand out in SERPs and give you a video thumbnail in the search results as well.

The added stickiness (increased time a viewer remains on a webpage) of video viewing is an indicator of page quality, another consideration in your rankings.

8. Don’t forget to share on social media!

It’s important to get inbound links to your video. By sharing your video on social media sites and email blasts, you are encouraging views, giving you increased website traffic.

This careful attention to your videos is good for your SEO because it helps search engines (and humans) to understand what type of content you are sharing. Optimize your website’s embedded video content and get your two-for-one benefit today.

Don’t Let Jargon Be a Communication Barrier

June 26, 2014 Kacee Erhard

Communicating effectively with your customers is essential if you want to build relationships. But there are many things that can be a barrier to communication.

Speaking the same language doesn’t mean there won’t be communication barriers. Foreign accents, cultural barriers, and the use of slang can all work to prevent clear communication.

Once while visiting Glasgow, I was completely unable to interpret what a sales clerk was saying to me. After asking for him to repeat it twice, I gave up in embarrassment.

Outside of the uncomfortable dialect issue, you expect to understand someone when you speak the same language. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. One of the biggest communication barriers – and one that’s easily avoided – is the use of jargon.

Jargon words are meant to enhance communication by simplifying a particular concept. This works when everyone involved in the conversation is aware of the word’s meaning.

When Jargon Doesn’t Work

To someone who isn’t clued in, however, it can be seen as technical snobbery. At the very least, it can confuse the message so the recipient loses interest.

Jargon can waste time and money. When documents and emails take longer to read and to understand, people may grow frustrated. Time is wasted when unknown terms have to be explained or are interpreted incorrectly and result in errors of deciphering, which leads to errors in follow-up action.

Business opportunities may be lost, along with potential money-making possibilities, when jargon is misunderstood.

When Jargon Is Unavoidable

JargonThere is a good side to jargon. Jargon-philes are able to share their new techno-terms with ease amongst their fellow professionals. As new concepts and ideas are developed, communities can quickly convey essential solutions and strategies with their jargony-sounding words.

The trick is to pay attention to your audience and minimize the use of jargon in content created for clients who don’t live, eat, and breathe the particular jargon-speak you do.

Because let’s face it, despite the diehards who wish to defend the English language and ban all jargon and buzzwords, we are not going to see an end to it. We love to manufacture words to convey meaning in our ever-expanding landscape of ideas and interests.

Jargon often ends up becoming a household term. Various communities use jargon that inevitably falls into common use, including technical, business, and military jargon.

The military deserves the award for having the greatest number of jargon terms. Some well known examples include “zero dark thirty,” or the early morning hours, “AWOL” and “MIA” to describe absent parties, and when something or someone is exceedingly difficult to deal with, “boot camp” is tacked on to describe its extreme nature.

Business jargon is another strong contender in jargonese. This Forbes list has terms you probably are unfamiliar with, but includes other buzzwords such as “drinking the Kool-Aid,” “outside-the-box,” and “scalability.”

Use Jargon Sparingly

Jargon-filled content can be risky. Jargon can hurt your SEO because users will search for terms that they are familiar with and reflect the way they speak. Jargon can also be boring. If you don’t understand something, you quickly lose interest.

When jargon serves a useful purpose, it can be on-point in its message. Use jargon wisely when you communicate and help your audience out by demystifying anything that might be unclear.

When in doubt, leave it out. Save your showing off for karaoke nights and Facebook status updates.

Why Color Matters In Your Marketing Decisions

May 28, 2014 Kacee Erhard

This image is a derivative of web 2.0 by tyger_lyllie, licensed under CC BY.

What matters most when you make a marketing decision? Science shows that the visual has more impact on people than any of our other senses.

While the visuals of design, power words, and your main image all influence online behavior, your marketing decisions on color matters in how you are perceived.

What are the messages you are sending with your website colors? Are you taking advantage of the full effect of colors? A well-chosen color scheme can give your brand a unique message and convey the right emotions.

Want to know what colors mean to you compared to over 30,000 other responses? Take the color survey to find out.

Color is a key factor in brand recognition

Some of the most recognizable brands rely on color. Check out the power of color on this website and see how well you can identify brands by viewing a small section of their logo.

As this recognizable brand test demonstrates, brand recognition is often color dependent. Recognition can increase by up to 80% through the use of color, according to a much-touted University of Loyola, Maryland study.

Not only that, but brands are growing increasingly color-centric in their identity. Consider the red signature sole of Louboutin. Louboutin filed a trademark infringement claim against Yves Saint Laurent, who dared to use the red sole in their shoes that Louboutin claimed was their visual identity.

Louboutin was unsuccessful in this case, but others have been able to register a color as a trademark. Here’s a link for a list of currently registered trademarks.

Color increases memory

Studies show that pictures with natural colors, or “living colors” are more appealing and are more easily remembered than black and white. Compared to the colors of nature, falsely colored scenes did not improve memory.

“Perhaps designers should be aware that, in order to engage or grab one’s attention (as in advertising), bright colors might well be most suitable,” Felix A. Wichmann said, author of “The Contributions of Color to Recognition Memory for Natural Scenes.”

“If, on the other hand, the aim is more to have an image ‘stick’ in the viewer’s memory, unnatural colors may not be suitable.”

Color has meaning

Color has significant and unique meaning based on cultural, historical, and natural elements. Our perceptions of a color are based on how we have experienced it.

Red is seen as signaling danger, anger, and love. As the color of blood and fire, it was also extremely hard to come by. Ironically, much of the dye used to make red still comes from the cochineal beetle.

Red is one of the top two favorite colors, and is in three-quarters of the world’s flags. All languages have a word for black and white, with red the next color to exist.

The color green is now also a verb. It is intrinsically linked to nature, rebirth, and ecology. There are more shades of green than any other color.

Green is used to describe our moods. If you are nauseated, you are green around the gills. When you’re jealous, you’re green with envy, and when you’re green behind the ears, you are showing your immaturity.

Blue rates as the favorite color for all people. It’s the most common color in corporate branding and is associated with peace, denim, and trust.

It is also the $80 million color that Bing chose for its call-to-action links, making it a similarly colored blue to Google’s shade of blue.

Blue has its share of expressions, including blue laws, blue bloods, blue streak, blue book, and true blue. Without blue and all its varied meanings, we would most assuredly be singing the blues.

The colors of various brands can tell us a lot about what they wished to convey, as this chart shows:

Explore more visuals like this one.

Color choice can impact participation

The button color test has long been a way to see what color influences participation. What they found out might surprise you.

The colors red and green were selected. Red, as we’ve seen, connotes passion, and it is associated with “stop” as well as warning. Green, on the other hand, generally means “go” and points to nature and the environment. It is also the color most used for buttons on websites.

The test showed the red button won over the green button by 21%. While you shouldn’t go out and change your button colors, it’s not a bad idea to test your button colors with your audience and your website to see what the results are.

Color and gender preference

The True Colors survey says that blue ranks #1 for both males and females. Purple doesn’t rank at all with males, but it’s the second favorite color for females.

For least favorite colors, the genders are more similar, with both choosing brown and orange, although in different ranking order.

“Men keep it simple” couldn’t be more accurate. Woman give more names to color variants, allowing for grape, plum, or eggplant for purple, while men like to call purple by its name, not some fruit. (Yes, eggplant is a fruit.)

Men are also more likely to be color blind. Approximately 1 in 12 men and 1 in 20 women are affected by color blindness.

Color blindness is a color vision deficiency that is most common in a red/green deficiency. This means that people will mix up all colors that have some red or green as part of the whole color. For example, a color blind person will be unable to see the difference between blue and purple.

Vischeck simulates what color blind vision is, as well as offers a way to correct images for color blind viewers.

Choose your colors with this information in mind so you can show your true colors with confidence.

Marketers Need Ethics Now More Than Ever

May 16, 2014 Kacee Erhard

Transparency in marketing is absolutely necessary in today’s world of social media. But is it really possible to have marketing ethics?

The American Marketing Association outlines its statement of ethics with the core values of honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect, transparency, and citizenship. This is how you build relationships. This is how you enhance consumer confidence.

Is a miracle is required for marketers to make this happen?

Will brands still try to wiggle out of these high standards of marketing ethics when social media accountability looms over every marketer’s head? Is there room to have a personal opinion as a marketer or business owner when even secret recordings revealed to the world can herald your demise?

“Thou shalt have no other gods in advertising but truth,” agreed the Associated Advertising Club in 1911 as its first rule in The Ten Commandments in Advertising.

Target’s Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Jones applied this rule of truth when Gawker published an anonymous rant by an employee. By being willing to admit the company’s failings, he tried for transparency and optimism in his letter of response, The Truth Hurts.

The best of the ten commandments gets more specific with number seven. “Thou shalt not lie, misstate, exaggerate, misrepresent, nor conceal; thou shalt not bear false witness to the public, but thou shalt be fair to thy merchandise.”

Can we expect fairness and truth online from the public sphere of marketing and advertising or allow a Wild West of order? And where do you draw the line when companies are beginning to think of themselves as publishers of information?

The shift from hawking products and services to providing valuable content and engaging on social media should mean more listening and better service from marketers. All the new channels of communication allow companies to reach their audience better and give their audience the access that they desire.

It also allows brands more wiggle room.

How can marketers stay within the lines of ethical standards when so much is demanded of them? What are some benchmarks marketers can use to establish marketing ethics?

Here are some basic rules to follow for a business as well as a public profile:

1. Avoid all defamatory or libelous comments.

Since you are legally responsible for anything said by you or your business, be careful to avoid all statements that could damage someone’s reputation. Because businesses are now able to act as a media channel, the same rules that journalists should follow apply to a business.

The greater your public profile, the harder you can fall. Anything posted on social media applies.

2. Stay away from controversial topics like politics and religion.

If there’s anything that’s guaranteed to put your brand in hot water, it’s taking a stand in a political or religious debate. Social media is meant to give a business a personal context, but these subjects have the potential to offend and alienate people.

So unless you want that kind of spotlight on you, avoid it like the plague.

3. Know and follow the rules for each social media network.

It’s always wise to understand the terms of service for the information that’s posted on a social media site. For instance, Facebook’s terms of service states that for all content covered by intellectual property rights – like photos and videos – you grant “a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook.”

Twitter’s rules includes permanent suspension of accounts with updates that consist mainly of links and not personal updates, posting duplicate content over multiple accounts, or multiple duplicate updates on one account.

4. Show professionalism.

Merriam-Webster defines professionalism as “the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well.”

The best way to stay on the safe side of the ethical boundary line is to say things online that you would be agreeable to saying aloud at a client meeting or sharing with everyone at an important public event.

When Benchmark responded to a dissatisfied customer’s tweet, a representative exhibited the opposite of professionalism, and even demanded that the customer be more professional! Worse, she made a thinly veiled threat to the customer’s future career. Benchmark recovered quickly with all the appropriate, professional actions.

5. Be truthful.

Eventually deceptive content will come back to bite you. People will realize the deception, grow dissatisfied with their product or service, and they will vent their dissatisfaction on social media. Negative word-of-mouth takes on new meaning when it’s given an audience of potentially thousands online.

Studies show that 70% of consumers trust brand recommendations from friends. This same authority can be used against a company on social media when it is less than authentic.

6. Play fair.

As this letter to the marketing industry points out, marketers can wield a mighty sword with their emotional tactics. Like telling lies, a brand’s lack of fairness will come to light sooner or later. People won’t stand for being tricked and manipulated.

Begin by offering a quality product or service that you believe in. Then observe Seth Godin’s philosophy on the good guys: “Individuals and organizations that can compete on generosity and fairness repeatedly defeat those that only do it grudgingly.”

Online accountability is ultimately a positive force, and technological advancements in cyber communication will encourage businesses to make decisions that reflect ethical standards.

Transparency may not be easy, but it doesn’t require a miracle either.

4 Steps to the Best Landing Pages

February 26, 2014 Kacee Erhard

The four steps to the best landing pages come with a history of attempted murder. Over a hundred years ago, E. St. Elmo Lewis, the creator of the original four steps, was twice targeted by an unknown suspect. First with arsenic, then with fire.

Being a successful businessman has its risks, after all.

Lewis devised the marketing acronym AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action; the four steps in the process of selling. For landing pages, specific elements are applied to these four steps to achieve one objective.

A landing page can cause only one of five actions: to get your visitor to buy, register or sign up (which includes giving permission to follow up), click to visit a targeted page, learn something, or tell a friend.

Determine which of these five desired actions you want and stay focused on that one alone. Like a dog with its bone, don’t distract your readers with anything else.

1. Attention:

You have three seconds. Your visitors will choose to stay or go in this length of time, according to The Three Second Rule.

Convert your visitors toward your goal by attracting their attention with large font and captivating visuals. Make your landing page fertile ground by using web design that keeps the important elements above the fold, or in the visible screen without scrolling.

The three seconds begins with an attention-grabbing headline. Create a headline that matches the one from the place that drove your visitors to your landing page. This way your visitors will know they’re in the right place.

2. Interest:

Instead of talking about the features of your product or service, talk about how it will benefit your visitors. Maintain their interest by using “you” and “your” instead of “we.” This helps them to identify with what you’re offering.

Your design will communicate this with simple and clear elements, just like your copy. Try a one-column format that includes plenty of white space in the copy with small paragraphs and wide side margins.

There should be no more than five lines – not sentences – per paragraph. The first paragraph should be one to two lines. By varying the size of paragraphs, you make your copy easier to read.

Remember the dog and its bone. Keep the focus on one thing.

3. Desire:

How do you make your visitors want to buy, register, click, learn, or share? Answer this question: What do you want them to do?

When they land on your landing page, it should be clear what they’re being asked to do. Everything on the page is there to support the one goal you chose. Remove all distracting elements and visual clutter, including navigation bar, widgets, and extra links.

Don’t lose their interest by veering away from your chosen goal. Write copy that is absolutely clear, beginning with an eye-catching headline followed by the benefits.

Tell them why. When you include “because” you’re giving them a reason to choose your offer. Keep them on track. Everything on the page is steering the visitor to the next and last step.

4. Action:

This is a direct call to people to do what you called them there to do. There should be a minimum of two call to actions, unless the copy is long, then more is required.

Include a graphic button or hot-linked text that stands out. If your copy goes below the fold, then don’t neglect to include one there as well. Use direct writing on the buttons to encourage action. “Buy now,” “sign up free,” “get the ebook,” or “get started” make their expectations obvious.

Your landing page is a goal-oriented tool meant to accomplish one thing only. Stay single-minded. Don’t confuse it with your home page. Make it uncommonly good.

(There is one inconsistency with this post. I used a dog analogy instead of a cat. I hope it doesn’t throw anyone off too much.)

Learning Authority from Seth Godin, a Mom, and a Robbery

January 29, 2014 Kacee Erhard

Seth Godin recently wrote a guest post on Copyblogger about striving for authority. The comments were nearly as entertaining and informative as the post.

You would think no one would dare to question Godin, whose authority and credibility have been time-tested and proven. But since it’s the nature of humans to squabble and whine, even Godin, whose high moral ground is the beacon of light for marketers worldwide, will suffer from censure.

As one commenter complained, isn’t it obvious by now that in order to gain authority you must work for it? Why must we be reminded of this again and again?

Because we need it. Duh.

My mom used to tell me, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say.” Coming from a parent who has earned her authority, she wasn’t so worried about her credibility. Of course, that changed as I grew older and began to question that authority.

To be an authority online, what you do and what you say need to match up. Delivering your promises is more important now than ever with all the social media platforms that allow for public venting and finger-pointing.

When our house was broken into, the policeman who handled the case was unquestionably an authority. Like Godin pointed out, licensed authorities are obvious. What’s not so obvious is the potential to earn authority through acts of credibility.

This policeman earned his credibility when he showed that he was doing the hard work of searching for the perpetrator and supporting us. He also earned our trust. He might have been a figure of authority when he walked in, but he was a true model of law enforcement’s compassion and integrity when he left.

It didn’t matter that he never caught the burglar. What mattered is that we knew he cared due to his investment of time and effort with us as a family.

In describing his contes moreaux, or “moral tales” film series, director Eric Rohmer said, “What matters most is what they think about their behavior, rather than their behavior itself.”

What matters most is not what you do, but what you think, because that’s what’s going to become clear over time. Your behavior will come back to bite you if it’s not authentic. As Sonia Simone, Copyblogger co-founder, wrote in the comments, “Authority without credibility is called fraud.”

Derek Halpern makes a case for gaining instant credibility on his website, Social Triggers. Sounds gimmicky, I know. However, he gives three valid points that expand on what are well-known tactics: “Be honest” – by arguing against your own self-interests, “know your ish” – give accurate and precise information, and “don’t scam” – back your claims with evidence.

Halpern’s blunt personality and no-holds-barred approach make for an authentic online presence. If anything he does comes back to bite him, it’s surely not due to a lack of truth telling. (His How to Deal With Haters is my favorite. I know you’ll love it too.)

To be an authority, emulate the prototype. As Godin tells us, “Authority comes from consistent generosity, from truth telling, and from empathy. It comes from showing up. It comes from telling your truth and consistently sharing your point of view.”

Copyblogger’s founder Brian Clark summed up our inherent need for a beacon of light in Godin in a reply to a commenter, “It’s good to air these things out like the big dysfunctional family we are.”

Well said.

The Customer Experience Story is Remembered Long After the Logo

January 21, 2014 Kacee Erhard

We are all customers who’ve felt the sting of mistreatment at one time or another — the unfriendly or incompetent company representative who forced us into a stalemate of dislike because they didn’t follow the simple rules of engagement.

A customer’s experience will be remembered much longer than a company logo or product packaging. A customer’s experience becomes the brand’s story, and how it is told will determine a brand’s value.

Seth Godin’s definition of brand spells out the fundamentals: A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.

Learn from the stories. These five customer experience stories include the rules of engagement needed to create a positive value exchange.

1. Be clear on the policy.

Every time you check out at Forever 21, you are reminded of their store policy with a simple question: “Do you know what our return policy is?”

It’s a simple formality, and it shows that Forever 21 wants customers to be aware before they walk out of the store. When you have only twenty-one days to return an item for store credit, it’s critical to make it clear.

A customer who knows the limitations and rules up front are less likely to complain. Sharing information as part of the transaction helps to cement the agreement.

2. Bend the rules.

The return policy isn’t so clear with Game Gear, but when you’re ordering online it’s up to the customer to read the fine print. Depending on the situation, sometimes the rules are meant to be broken.

If a customer believes they’re being listened to, they will remain satisfied. Allowing for a dialogue gives consumers the opportunity to share their experience, and it gives the brand the option to make exceptions to store policy.

In this case, a thirty-day return policy was difficult to comply with when holiday gift-giving requires additional waiting time. Game Gear’s quick response was to allow for the return, and included a happy ending with: “We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope we get the chance to make it right.”

There’s no better experience than a company who shows they are listening with a little rule bending.

3. Own up to your mistake.

A local Domino’s takes your daughter’s custom order, the same order they’ve filled for months, and tells you no, that’s not something we do.

Wait a minute. There’s no room for an unequivocal no when a customer requests something. There’s room for let me check on that for you, or can you give me more information, or I’m sorry, but that product is no longer offered.

The pizza in question – a gluten-free artisan style – was eventually made after further inquiry, but the mistake was never acknowledged. There wasn’t an apology of any kind.

There’s always room to “make it right” when a customer feels wronged, even if it means being in the wrong and saying so.

4. Sometimes you gotta take a loss.

When Shutterfly didn’t cancel a duplicate order, they charged me for both identical pillows. Despite speaking with three customer service representatives, the issue remained unresolved.

The employees that are hired to work with customers should be trained to fix the problem, and when they can’t, to follow a procedure that does get it fixed. Three failed attempts could mean strike, you’re out.

In this case, I had to ask to speak with a manager. Fortunately, this individual had the training to effectively manage an order gone terribly wrong. The end result was a free pillow for me, and a home run for the brand.

5. A company’s face should be a smiling one.

For years we were greeted at our dentist’s office with a grim-faced receptionist. As if going to the dentist isn’t bad enough, we had to deal with a cross between The Grinch and an evil minion from Despicable Me before getting past the front desk.

Hiring the right person to represent you at the front lines is a critical decision. Your goal is obvious: to welcome your visitors and make them feel wanted. You only choose someone with the stature of a squadron leader if you’re trying to prevent customers from entering.

No matter which side of the desk you’re on, life is much more pleasant when the rules of engagement are handled with a smile.

The 3 Social Media Giants (and What to Wear to Their Party)

January 15, 2014 Kacee Erhard

faces of social media — Artwork by Aaron Wood at Just One Scarf.

Once upon a time three giants, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, were invited to a party. Because giants tend to take up a lot of space, they are naturally at odds with one another on the World Wide Web’s social media gathering.

You’ve heard the term “elbow room” before. These giants are accused of jostling for place while in line for the social media party, their enormous elbows knocking over innocent bystanders. Lying flat on their backs were LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram, strong contenders for front-line passes.

Did you happen to see Tumblr, Vine, and Snapchat make a dive for the door? The party hasn’t even started, and it’s already a madhouse for those scrambling to make themselves known.

Worse still, party followers are arguing about who’s hipper: who’s the best-read, the best-dressed, and the best-selling. The question is clear for each of us who realize that we have to make an appearance at the grand social media affair.

Which party should you attend?

Facebook continues to be the place for friends in the real world to share, Twitter is where you reach out and find others of similar interests, while Google+ boasts a collaborative environment of engagement.

Wait, there’s more. Know how to party with the three social media giants (and what to wear) to avoid utter disaster.

The Dish on Google

As Mashable’s article “Sorry, Google, We Still Won’t Come to Your Party,” scathingly points out, Google seems hell bound on getting users to sign up and engage. Their latest is forcing YouTube comments to be fodder for Google+. Not exactly a party-friendly invite.

The good news, however, is there’s no place like home in Google. Once there, your options are better than any other platform. From your Google headquarters, you’ve got Google +, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, YouTube, Google Maps. Google Play, News, Calendar, and much more.

According to a Forbes article on social media trends for 2014, Google+ “has the second highest number of monthly users” (second to guess who, Facebook). It also reminds us of the ever-looming SEO fact: You either Google+ and rank, or you don’t.

It sounds like an invite you would be crazy to turn down. Dress code lines up with business casual, unless you’re just there to crash.

Facebook Party Faux Pas

Facebook continues to dominate the party with over a billion party goers, but its charm has its limits. Vaguebooking, an Urban Dictionary Word of the Day, is one of the many Facebook annoyances you must contend with when you enter the party’s fray.

Vaguebooking is a status update that’s intentionally vague and designed to elicit a response. In other words, let’s all have a pity party, folks.

Other top Facebook pet peeves include political rants (my personal top peeve), publicizing private moments, and the vanity post, a.k.a. “the selfie.” If you want to be TMI’d to death, Facebook is your party.

A dress code doesn’t exist, as far as I can tell.

Time is Short But Sweet on Twitter

The brevity of Twitter, combined with the capacity to integrate images into your Tweets, makes for a quick and smooth flight through party central. With the aid of Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, your Twitter soiree will be even less complicated.

You can add anyone you choose to follow, tweet to whomever you wish, and read Tweets from lists of favorites. The memorable Tweet, “Twitter makes me like people I’ve never met and Facebook makes me hate people I know in real life,” seems harsh. But it’s hard to argue the truth.

Dress code is what’s trending, same as the fast-paced, timely Tweets.

So Where’s the Party, Really?

The recent Pew Research survey on the top social media sites for 2013 shows that “73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind.” The top five in order are Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.

Google+ wasn’t included in the survey. It must be due to another harsh truth. Google+ is not simply coming to the party. Perhaps it is the party.