Breaking the rules and transfering from Blogger to Wordpress

Before I started my blog I began reading lots of other blogs to get the lay of the land. I started commenting and engaging with blog authors and I began looking for tips on beginning your own blog. One of those tips, which I am now breaking, is to pick a platform and stick with it - forever. I choose Blogger. It was free, I already had a google account, it had the functionality I was looking for and it had an easy interface that made posting to it a breeze.

Two years later and I no longer think it's the best tool for me. Wordpress is easier to customize, stats are built right in and there's more flexibility to the design and different pieces of content you can add.

So here I am breaking one of the rules. I'm migrating to Wordpress. For the time being I'll keep both blogs going while I get a hang of Wordpress. And I'll think of what to do with the two years of content living at Blogger; let it live there or transfer it to Wordpress one post at a time.

For now you can find me at Blogger and Wordpress, both with the title Marketing Engagement by Valerie Conyngham. It's where I post about everyday marketing ideas that strike me, with a particular bent toward the design industry, as in architectural.

And if you're thinking about breaking any of the rules, I'd say go for it. Remember, technology changes often and our best offensive strike is to be flexible. Live by rules, but not rigidly.

Image credit: Flickr user givepeaceachance

July calendar ready for download

We may be having cloudy skies in Boston this summer, but July's calendar is designed to evoke a zen like state of soaking up the sun (wearing sunscreen of course) on the beach. Download today and print out on 5x7 cardstock.

June Calendar - Free download

The June installment of my 2009 Calendar series is now available for download. Prints out 5x7. Enjoy!

May Calendar for Download

Another month means another edition in my 2009 calendar is ready. May is now ready to download. It's formatted to print out at 5x7 and looks great on white card stock. Visit my website to download May now.

Inspiration from a pencil and W.S. Merwin

Last night I came across the poem The Unwritten by W.S Merwin. I found the following lines inspirational. I hope you will too.

Inside this pencil
crouch words that have never been written
never been spoken
never been taught
they’re hiding

maybe there aren’t many
it could be that there’s only one word
and it’s all we need
it’s here in this pencil

every pencil in the world
is like this

You can read the poem in its entirety here.

Image credit: hownowdesign

Stress, money and health problems abound

Stress, money and health problems abound in the US. The Gallup Organization and Healthways, Inc. released data today from a poll on health and happiness. The results (in my opinion) paint a depressing picture of Americans. Take these stats for instance:

• Almost 40 percent of those polled said they were significantly stressed the day before
• Two-thirds said they had at least one of a list of chronic health problems
  
• 28 percent said they were not well-rested
  
• A third said they worried about money the day before
• 30 percent said they had a lot of worries in general and
  
• 23 percent said they were in physical pain

What are the implications of a study like this? Perhaps drug companies will use the results as fodder to increase marketing budgets to better reach the hoards of stressed Americans. Or maybe the results point to why there has been such an increase in drug advertisements over the past five years.

According to an AHIP article The sponsors are hoping employers might use the information in support of bolstering social events for workers. It aligns with the finding that social time with friends and family is used as a buffer for stress. It also assumes that better social relationships in the workplace would help combat the stress born out of a bad workplace environment (one of the stress factors indicated in the study). Or is this the encouragement needed for the masses to adopt social networking. If an increase in friends and social activity correlates with a decrease in stress perhaps that’s the new message for conversing online and planning in-person meet-ups.

However you interpret the data, the important take-away is that the emotional wellbeing of Americans seems to be getting worse. Forty-seven percent of respondents identified themselves as struggling, up from thirty-seven percent in 2006, though that's to be expected in today's economic situation. Maybe we should release a Get Happier RFP, if that were the case what would your proposal include?

image credit: lindseyy

The Method Pop-up Retail Experience

I had my first pop-up retail experience this weekend courtesy of Method. It started with excitement as I thought perhaps the store was the newest fixture on Newbury Street. But upon entering, the salesperson who greeted me explained that the store would be gone April 28th. It was a temporary disappointment as I knew this would still mark an opportunity to stock up on my favorite cleaning supplies, and of course there were special offers to be had. It also presented an opportunity to experience pop-up retail first hand.

The store was beautiful, it was well thought out with lots of greenery, my favorite being a toilet bowl filled with daffodils and grass. There was a photo booth to add to the playful mood and the signage was a challenge to the city's residents - Detox Your Home Boston.

The products were displayed on clear shelving, by scent making it easy to pick up all the products in a single scent family and there were scent bottles to involve the senses even more. Jars of colorful gumballs helped tie the color pallet together and there were dog treats on hand for any four-legged visitors (as a dog owner I can tell you I'm much more loyal to brands that keep dog treats on hand). Reusable bags made of recycled plastic were given to shoppers to tote their purchases home in, helping to drive home the "green" message. My only complaint was that the full spectrum of products was not available, making it hard to take advantage of the 5 for 20 dollar special without purchasing duplicates.

If I was reader of the Method blog I would have benefited from knowing that I could bring in my chemical based cleaners and trade them in for Method cleaners. Though readers of the blog are probably already Method customers and might not have any chemical based cleaners in their homes, hmmm, perhaps the blog wasn't the best place for that message...And if I had mentioned "beantown is a green town" I would have received an extra 10 percent off my purchase. But I'm not a reader of the Method blog so I missed out on the incentives. I did visit the blog after visiting the pop-up store to learn more about their tour.

Boston was Method's first stop, NYC will be the next. I'd be curious to see how at the end of the travels pop-up retail helps Method to convert people to its biodegradable, earth friendly cleaners and what kind of ROI it produces, if one can be determined.

The Boston stop was maestroed perfectly. The store popped up on a high traffic (with equal parts local and visitor traffic) street around Earth Day. The message was succinct and the scents produced by the store were intoxicating. Staff was friendly and they were will trained in the message of the brand. As for myself, I now have enough All Surface Cleaner and Wood For Good Surface Cleaner to last a year. However, I'll need to make the trip to Target to pick up some more Wood For Good Floor Cleaner as that's the one thing I really needed.

Image taken from the Method Blog.

Looking for a platform to publish your book?

The great thing about marketers is they write great books, but not all budding authors have a platform. Thomas Knoll is looking to change that. He's encouraging people through ThePoint.com, a new activism website, to pledge to write a book on a platform that he'll develop. As long as he receives 20 pledges he'll build the platform. He only asks that people follow-through, participate and be willing to write their book on an open platform - open to collaboration, community and feedback.

It's a great idea. It uses social media to help would be authors write a book, builds a platform for continual feedback (hopefully producing a better book) and builds a community of 20+ people, all starting from the same spot of having an idea that they'd like to put to paper and using a new tool to do it.

It's become easier over the years to self-publish and this is one more step in the open spread of ideas. If you're looking for a platform to publish your book join Thomas and keep me updated on what you'll be writing about.

Image credit: Flyzipper

A Creative Book Promotion Inspires

I’ve been uninspired lately. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t posted to this blog in over a week. But that changed last night when I was on BzzAgent submitting a bzz report for a product I’m testing out. Here’s what inspired me. Dave Balter (founder of BzzAgent) is coming out with a new book, The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II. That’s not what struck me. Dave’s first book Grapevine was great, but I wasn’t feeling a need for a sequel. What caught my eye was the promise that with every pre-ordered book Dave would mark it with handwritten annotations and (this is what really interested me) Seth Minkin, BzzAgent’s artist-in-residence would illustrate some of the annotations. Seth is one of my favorite artists. I love his work; it’s quirky and fun, much like Seth himself. And I’d happily pay for a book that included some of his hand drawn illustrations. So I’ve placed a pre-order for a book I’m not all that interested in reading. I did it because of the extra effort that Dave and Seth are willing to put into the effort. We can all learn a lot from this example and I hope it inspires you, as it will me, to put a little extra effort into our products, marketing or whatever else we’re concentrating on. And the icing on the cake – the book was only $7 and at checkout I got a surprise, Dave will be throwing in a free copy of Grapevine.

A Gem on public speaking from Now, Discover Your Strenghts

I'm in the midst of reading Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. The purpose of the book is to point you to your themes - your natural talents that can be built into strengths, but also included is a fascinating overview on brain development. And escalating the book to one of my favorites are the little gems of information spread throughout. The point of this post is to share one of those gems with you.

Public speaking is a talent. To some it comes easily, but to others it can be a struggle. One of the best assets a public speaker can have is being able to tell a story, or to weave several stories together into one cohesive speech. Here are some steps, taken from Now, Discover Your Strengths to help you build your presentation storytelling skills.

1. Write down any story or fact or example that resonates with you.
   
2. Practice telling it out load. Listen to yourself actually saying the words.
3. These stories will become your "beads," as in the beads of a necklace.
   
4. All you have to do when giving a speech is string your beads in the appropriate order, and you will give a speech that seems as natural as a conversation.
   
5. Use 3-by-5 cards, or a clipping file to keep adding new beads to your string.
   

That's the gem that I wanted to share with you; I hope you'll find it as useful as I do. And if you're curious and have read Now, Discover Your Strengths, my themes are: Relator, Adaptability, Empathy, Individualization and Input. What are yours?

The iPhone is changing behavior

I'm a market research junkie. I love the whole process, from setting the research objectives to interpreting the data. And I'm also obsessed with anything Apple. That combination makes Rubicon's recently released report titled The Apple iPhone: Successes and Challenges for the Mobile Industry on the top of my reading list. download the study

These were my takeaways:

• The introduction of the iPhone has raised expectations of what information should be accessible at your fingertips (the web, maps, contacts, email, the web).
  
  
• People aged 26 - 40 are the most likely to upgrade their traditional mobile phone to an iPhone. Motorola might see their margins decline as the iPhone picks up in popularity.
  
  
• The iPhone has the potential to decrease laptop sales which will put pressure on content providers to be more agile in providing data to multiple screen sizes.
  

My three takeaways all lead to the same place. The iPhone, like the iPod, has become a success in changing consumer behavior. Consumers are no longer happy having their music in their pockets. Now they want something more comparable to their laptops in their pockets.

One of the most surprising statistics (to me) in the study was that 1 in 4 iPhone adopters was new to Apple. I would have expected a much smaller base in the first year of introduction. Perhaps the iPhone will also serve in convincing more people to trust their computer needs to Apple delivering even more market share to the company.

Now a question for you, if you have an iPhone how has it changed your behavior?

Another way to sell your web designs

Following the ranks of Etsy and Cafepress, Templamatic is one more example of how artists and designers are gaining better access to end buyers.

Templamatic is a new outlet for web designers to make some money. Currently in Beta mode, the website allows designers to upload their templates for blogs and websites. It's not clear who sets the prices, but the designs that are currently posted range from $50 for non-exclusive use to $750 for unique access, with 75 percent going to the creator.

I for one plan on keeping my eyes on Templamatic, if only because I'd love a more custom look for this blog and $70 is a bargin.

When Free Isn't Enough

Last month I wrote a post about Chris Anderson’s Free: Why $.0.00 is the Future of Business. From there I updated the post with Trendwatching’s Free Love trend briefing. It was while reading the Free Love briefing that I discovered SilverJewelryClub.com. A website where visitors are presented with a revolving choice of free jewelry. In the spirit of research I choose a pair of earrings and ordered them. The earrings were free + $5.99 in shipping costs, a bargain by any definition. The transaction was easy, order follow-up was appropriate and the earrings arrived 1-2 weeks later. Unfortunately 1-2 weeks later was just long enough for me to forget the name of the company I ordered them from.

The earrings arrived in a non-descript padded envelope. Within the envelope the earrings were in multiple small plastic bags crammed into a blue mesh jewelry bag. That was it - no packing slip, no collateral encouraging me to buy jewelry and no mention of what company the jewelry came from. The worst part is the packaging of the earrings and the lack of attention to detail has taken what started out as a great experience where I had a positive impression of the company and turned it into a negative experience. There was nothing special that would encourage me to pay for jewelry from the company. Instead I feel relieved that the earrings were free and that I didn’t pay the SRP of $59.99.

Free is great, it gets people interested, but it’s equally important to think through how to make free into a profitable equation. For SilverJewelryClub.com that could be as simple as upgrading its packaging and including some well though out collateral. Perhaps a mini catalog of jewelry available for purchase. At the very least, when sending a customer a freebie, remind them whom the freebie is from.

Virtual Interview with Rohit Bhargava on Personality Not Included

This past Tuesday Rohit Bhargava conducted a book launch experiment using social media. Through his blog, Influential Marketing he invited his readers and fellow bloggers to send him five interview questions about his new book Personality Not Included. Rohit gets coverage for his book and the bloggers participating get a nice interview for their blog. All of the participants and links to their interviews (when published) can be found here.

I loved Rohit's book launch idea and am happy to participate in it. So without further adieu following is my virtual interview with Rohit on his new book Personality Not Included.

Valerie: Was it companies that have excelled in building a personality or the widespread lack of personality in companies that served as the inspiration for Personality Not Included?

Rohit: I think it was probably the widespread lack of personality that mostly led me to writing this book. First because I thought it was a message that people needed to hear, and second because I thought it would be very useful to a large number of organizations."

Valerie: If you had to choose one company that was most in need of a personality, what company would it be?

Rohit: Hmm, tough to choose one company, but I can definitely single out a few industries. They are the usual suspects, but industries like cable television, airlines, and banks. The nice thing is, there is hope for all of them, as I share some stories in the book of efforts in each of these industries that offer a hope for all of them.

Valerie: What is the biggest piece of advice you have for a company that knows that it needs to become more authentic, but isn’t sure how to go about it?

Rohit: The single best thing any company can do is to lose their "employee silencing policy" as I called it in the book. This means allowing employees to have a voice and share more openly about what they do. I realize this is a tough prospect for many companies because it means giving up control ... but if they believe these employees are not already talking about where they work and what they do, they are misleading themselves. Being more open about this lets you tap the most powerful potential brand ambassadors you have, your employees.

Valerie: In your opinion, is it easier for companies that align themselves with a cause to be viewed as more authentic to their customers and prospects or does social integrity not play into the authenticity equation?

Rohit: This is a really good question. I think that it certainly plays a part, but having a social cause is not a necessity in most cases. There are industries that are exceptions ... pharmaceutical companies for example will rarely do a patient oriented campaign without some sort of cause element. The point your question comes down to is whether a brand offers something compelling enough to believe in. An element of the book is helping brands to identify what this is. In some cases, it would certainly involve a social cause ... but not all the time.

Valerie: What is the consumer’s role in crafting the authenticity of a brand? Should the brand be the leader or should the brand acknowledge and embrace consumer change, such as unexpected brand embracement by one or more subcultures?

Rohit: The most authentic brands are the ones that have the types of relationships with their customers where they are heavily influenced by their customers. I don't think requires a subculture (ie - niche) element, though. You raise a great point about change, though - because customers can very often be the best agents of change if a company is willing to listen.

Making Dental Sexy

A shout out to my colleagues at Delta Dental, we knew dental was sexy, and here's the proof. Inspired by David Meerman Scott, Dr. Helaine Smith brings us the Healthy Mouth, Healthy Sex ebook. You can download it from her blog.

Organizational Change vis a vis Things Fall Apart

I recently finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It’s a story about Okonkwo, an African tribal man who spends his entire life trying to prove his strength. Toward the end of the book his tribe is changing, it’s embracing peace instead of its usual stance of war. Okonkwo believes so strongly in the old ways of his tribe that it becomes impossible for him to embrace the tribe’s new way of thinking.

While reading this book I was struck by how companies and their employees go through this conflict on a daily basis. Companies are built and destroyed by the culture they create. And that culture can change at any time for a number of reasons, such as the appointment of a new CEO or the implementation of a new growth strategy. Employees are expected to be resilient and adapt to the changes around them. However, without a strong leader, someone who is willing to take the time to explain the changes, the meaning of the changes and the vision the changes are meant to deliver it becomes seemingly difficult to accept them. This failing leaves a company with a string of Okonkwos, feeling petulant to the changes around them until they’re left with no other choice but to leave. It’s a good reminder that humans are innately resistant to change, but with a strong, charismatic leader, change becomes easier and cultures can be built around it.

Getting rid of the bad tables

Seth Godin’s The Bad Table post got me thinking about the group insurance industry. The post challenges readers to think differently about their “bad tables” (you know, the ones crammed in the corner near the noisy kitchen or next to the bathrooms). It suggests giving special service at the bad tables to make the entire experience equal with that of the good tables, but equal in a different way. The reason this makes me think of insurance is because the group insurance industry is famous for handing out lots of bad tables, usually to small groups. Insuring small groups can be risky because there isn’t a large pool of people to spread risk across. However, because small groups tend to have higher premiums (to account for the riskier nature of their size) they usually end up funding the discounts that the larger groups enjoy. And for their trouble, they get treated as second-class citizens. Many insurance companies create great new benefits, but usually with the fine print of “not available to groups of 50 or less members.” That leaves small groups paying more in premiums for fewer benefits. While not all insurance companies are guilty of this (Delta Dental extends new benefits to groups of all sizes), many are. Getting rid of the bad tables is something every business should strive to do. It wont be the easiest assignment, but it could be the most creative.

A clever campaign by USPS and HBO to promote the John Adams miniseries

The United States Postal Service and HBO are partnering for a clever marketing campaign to gain exposure for both the upcoming John Adams miniseries on HBO and the lost art of letter writing. The campaign is called Power of the Letter. Participants can customize and send a free John Adams greeting card via Cardstore, enter to win a trip to Colonial Williamsburg and watch clips from the upcoming miniseries. The greeting cards all contain quotes from John Adams' correspondences with his wife Abigail Adams and contain the miniseries information on the back of the card. They're also customizable to the point where you can include your own imagery and words on the inside of the card. Once the order is completed the USPS will pick up the postage tab. Mail is further being utilized to promote the campaign via the special Power of the Letter cancellation stamp being used which reads: "Let us dare to read, think, speak and write." John Adams 1765 poweroftheletter.com.

If you're familiar with John Adams you'll remember that he was a prolific letter writer, making the partnership between HBO and the USPS very fitting. It's a beautiful example of how two organizations collaborate to put together a marketing campaign befitting to both.

Verizon’s attempt at customer retention

I recently switched my phone service from Verizon to Comcast. It wasn’t because I felt one company was better than the other. I’ve had problems with both in the past. It was because Comcast called me on a day that I happed to have the time to listen to their sales pitch. They got my attention by telling me that they were reviewing my account and discovered that I wasn’t getting as much value from their services as I should be. The solution was simple – switch my phone service to Comcast and I would pay no more than I was currently paying for my cable and Internet service alone. Plus I’d get a $100 Amex gift card (which two weeks later I still haven’t received) and HBO and Showtime at no additional cost. And my rates were guaranteed for two years.

A few days later I received a UPS Next Day Air letter. I wasn’t expecting anything important, but I opened it anyway. To my surprise and annoyance (mainly annoyance) it was a letter from Verizon telling me if I leave now I’ll miss out of great new savings. To give them credit their bundle package pricing is better than Comcast, but their form letter was completely inapplicable to me. If they had bothered to look at my zip code before they sent the letter they would have realized that one of the services they were trying to sell me, DiretTV, isn’t available in my neighborhood. They should have also anticipated that I’d need a little more education on why DSL might be better than the cable modem I was used to, or, if DirectTV was available in my neighborhood, why moving to a satellite dish would be preferable to cable.

That was the beauty in Comcast’s method. The phone call gave me immediate access to a person that could answer the questions I had about switching my phone line. They also didn’t pressure me with urgency. I told the person I was speaking with that I’d have to think about the offer and the sales rep gave me her direct line and told me to take all the time I needed, the offer would be open when and if I wanted it.

Verizon’s attempt at customer retention didn’t make me feel as though they valued my business. They assumed that my only concern was cost. And even with that, they offered me a deal that wasn’t available due to service limitations in my area. Perhaps if they had taken the time in the past to occasionally ask me if I was pleased with my service, or tell me real ways I could save money, or even educate me on why they’re the better service provider I would have stayed. But now they’ve lost my business and made me feel like I was just a number in the first place. In contrast, Comcast took advantage of the existing relationship they had with me, called me with a valuable offer, listened to my concerns and didn’t pressure me into making a quick decision.

The example serves as a reminder that customer retention programs need to be personal if they’re to be believable. And if your customers don’t believe your retention efforts are genuine you risk damaging the relationship (and trust) for years to come.

A book review - Join the Conversation by Joseph Jaffe

I started reading Join the Conversation by Joseph Jaffe in December. It’s now March and I’ve completed it. I usually pour through a book within a week or two, but this book was different. And not in a good way. The book has good information, but it’s hidden in between sophomoric humor, euphemism crammed sentences and a self-congratulatory tone, making it hard to become engaged with the text. My advice - if you plan on reading this book start at chapter 18 (page 246). That’s where the real information begins.

I’d like to take a step back and explain why I’m writing this review. If it was any other book it would have been added to my pile of partially read books back at chapter 3. But Jaffe’s activities leading up to the book launch made me want to “join the conversation.” I happily blogged about bumrushing Amazon (the post was on an Emerson College class blog which has since been taken down. However, the text of the post is below) and I purchased the book from Amazon during the bumrush. I was excited about reading it and I recommended it to numerous people. But after reading it I felt let down.

The bottom line - Jaffe’s embracement of new media and his use of it is refreshing and awe inspiring. I still believe the marketing community has a lot to learn from him. That is where my real disappointment in Join the Conversation lies. The book wasn't able to live up to my impression of Jaffe.


Original Join the Conversation post

Posted: 18 Oct 2007 09:52 AM EST

I always find the best way of learning is by reinforcing the taught concept with a real world example, that’s why I’m so impressed with a piece of Joseph Jaffe’s Join the Conversation book promotion. In his new book Join the Conversation Jaffe writes about how to use social media to “bumrush the charts.” He uses examples, Black Lab’s climb in iTunes and Scott Sigler’s book Ancestor’s climb to #4 on Amazon.com’s top 10 listing. Taking inspiration from his writing, Jaffe, through his blog Jaffe Juice, has rallied his audience to purchase Join the Conversation through Amazon.com on October 21, 2007. The more people that purchase that day the higher Join the Conversation will climb. Join the Conversation looks like a great book, and the perfect catalyst for our Interactive & eCommerce class, with that in mind this post is your invitation from me to “join the conversation” on October 21st.

Valerie Conyngham