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Brand

Kellogg, Kashi, and What Customers Want

by Daria Steigman on April 30, 2012

SoybeansSaying you’ve done nothing wrong when your customers are angry may not be the smartest response. Calling customers “confused”–really?

My friend Zane Safrit pointed me to this story about Kellogg’s Kashi brand. Apparently some of the soy used in its cereals comes from genetically modified soybeans. So the use of the term “natural” strikes some consumers as misleading–even if Kashi’s general manager says the company has done nothing wrong.

Legally, he is correct. But it’s a soundproof room argument.

Perception is another matter. And while Kashi has committed to have “at least 70 percent organic ingredients by 2015,” that doesn’t make some customers feel less duped today. Not to mention that the Kashi brand is marketed as though it were an independent health-focused company, not part of the same big business responsible for Rice Krispies and Pop Tarts.

Authenticity is not about “all-natural ingredients” and “nothing artificial.” It’s about being the same when the covers come off as you are when you’re all wrapped up for show.

Photo by Brendan C.

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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Why Facebook is the Customer Service Outpost of Last Resort

by Daria Steigman on April 2, 2012

It's Not Enough to Have Use Facebook as a MegaphoneThere is an interesting study on big retailers and their Facebook pages. STELLAService tested how 20 top retailers handle “general service questions.” The results:

“Of the 20 retailers measured, five failed to respond to a question posted on their wall within two days. Meanwhile, seven retailers removed the question from their wall, hiding any record that a consumer had a question.

Questions were more likely to be answered when they were posted directly to the retailer’s wall. Just seven of the 20 retailers responded to questions posted in the comments section of a post within two days, while five retailers erased the question from the comments section.”

So much for engagement. But are you really surprised?

Facebook is the customer service outpost of last resort.

Companies who talk to customers on Twitter (distinct from being “active” in pushing out information) understand that it can be an effective way to respond to questions and complaints.  On Twitter, it’s you talking, your voice, your words.

On Facebook, on the other hand, you “post” stuff to a wall. While a few companies do a terrific job of interacting on Facebook, most just dump and depart.

Customers with problems just want solutions.

The customers who use Twitter to talk to brands typically reach out there because they know they’ll get a response.

For example, when I needed help recently from a rental car company, I looked to see if the company had a Twitter feed. Then I looked to see if they were actively using it. Then I reached out. (And the problem was resolved quickly.) If Enterprise hadn’t been active on Twitter, I’d have called the corporate office.

I only use Facebook vis-a-vis customer service when I can’t reach a person to talk to online, on the phone, or in person. In other words, when I’m trying to talk to a company that doesn’t talk to its customers.

What’s been your experience with Facebook, brands, and customer service?

Photo by Jeffrey Montes (Flickr). 

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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Are You Disrespecting Your Fan Base?

by Daria Steigman on February 23, 2012

 

So I went on a mini rant yesterday about my hometown team’s social media ineptness. And my brother posed an interesting question in return.

He’s right (of course) and he’s wrong.

I’m not impressed when a brand follows me. But I’m irritated when a brand I follow (and talk about) doesn’t follow  me back.

Being social starts with perception. 

Most companies have a few evangelists. A few brands, a la Apple, have big, rabid fan bases talking about them. Don’t you want to cultivate the ones you have?

Here’s why the 26K matters: 26,000 customers and prospects have indicated that they are interested enough in your brand to put your tweets in their Twitterstream. Not following them back implies you don’t care about them. Or worse, you’re taking their support for granted.

If you’re not talking, we think you’re not listening either. 

The Washington Nationals have a very good blog. It’s conversational. It’s fun. It lets fans peak behind the curtain. It’s a good social outpost for the team. Ditto for Screech (the mascot), who follows back his fans. But the corporate Twitterstream (and Twitter behavior) suggests someone said, “We need a Twitter feed.”  It’s not ready for prime time.

If your customers are being social but you’re not, you risk alienating them. Sure, it might not change my feelings about baseball and the Nationals (where a rabid fan base comes in handy), but can your company afford to take this risk?

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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What Andy Warhol and Joe Paterno Have in Common

by Daria Steigman on January 26, 2012

Warhol was right: At the end of the day, others will define your brand for you.Have you ever listened to Songs from Drella?

The album is Lou Reed and John Cale‘s brilliant tribute to Andy Warhol‘s life and art. It’s fascinating, personal, and emotionally raw.

The penultimate verse:

They really hated you, now all that’s changed
But I have some resentments that can never be unmade
You hit me where it hurts I didn’t laugh
Your Diaries are not a worthy epitaph

Your legacy is all your atoms and bytes.

When Joe Paterno died on Sunday, I wasn’t so much surprised as saddened by all the glowing words being said about him. Calling him a “flawed hero,” or talking about how he handled the Penn State scandal “with grace” (seriously?). Somehow I don’t think this is what my high school English teacher had in mind when she was teaching us about Shakespeare and Aristotelian tragedy.

You can be really great at something (for Warhol, art; for Paterno, winning football games), but you don’t get to write your epitaph. And the consequences of your words and your actions all become a part of your legacy.

Your brand, at the end of the day, is what other people decide it is.

Here’s the question: What would you like your epitaph to be? Will it?

Photo by Podknox (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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Are Your Customers Feeling the Love?

by Daria Steigman on December 15, 2011

Connecting Customers With Your BrandWe talk a lot about connecting with customers (and clients, prospects, and so forth)–but are they feeling the love? In other words, are they connecting with us?

These are not the same thing.

What a Two-Way Connection Looks Like

I’ve always highly valued my University of Chicago education. And I’m the second generation to earn a degree there (my mom was first), and then my brother followed me. But other than sending me an alumni magazine, the only time I ever heard from the university was when they wanted money.

(Except for the awesome local U of C Entrepreneurs Group, but I’ve always viewed that more as a business group than a university group.)

Now, thanks to, UChicagoAlumni, I feel connected to the institution.

It’s not about a Twitter feed. It’s Tracey Swanson (the voice of UChicagoAlumni), who gets that talking to people (conversation), listening to them (he honored my request to change how he identified my affiliation with the university when retweeting me), and valuing what they’re doing (he shares the occasional blog post from here with his audience) are critical in forging a two-way connection.

What are you doing to ensure your customers are engaged with you?

Photo by Worthy FM (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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