Marketers, want to save your job and the company? Use real customer service.

Several things happened last week that made me take notice. And since I don’t believe in coincidences, I had to pull it altogether in my mind.
First, an amazing client story.
J.D. Gould Company is a family-owned business.  It’s been around since 1951. They make solenoid valves. It’s really hard to get excited about [...]

How can the Motrin screw-up be a blessing in disguise with Social Media?

So they screwed up.  Motrin ran this ad on their site and moms around the world were offended (check out this blog from Sarah Evans) and struck back.  Motrin brand managers quickly pulled the ad campaign and threw up an apology on the front page of the website.  Check out the offending ad below.
[...]

Download Seth Godin’s Tribes Q&A

It’s really worth the read. Click here to download Seth Godin’s Tribes Q&A. If you don’t understand what he is talking about or if you too busy to read, then do the video below.
Good stuff.

Top Ten Websites for Black Friday Discounts – How Do Hot Trends Work For You?

So here are the top ten sites to get the Black Friday Deals – I didn’t steal this from anyone.  Just did a little research and this is what I came up with.
TheBlackFriday.com
BFads.net
iBlackFriday.com
BlackFriday.net
BlackFriday.info
www.dealtaker.com/blackfriday
daddyodeals.com
blackfriday.gottadeal.com/
blackfriday.dealspl.us/
www.blackfday.com/
This is more of an article about the speed of Trend Marketing and the your company’s communications.
I love Black Friday; even though, [...]

Lost in a social media world – what should I be doing online?

Recently, I traveled to NY to visit a client and help them with one of their learning websites. The business I did there was fine if uneventful but what happened on the way back to the LaGuardia really opened my eyes to how lost people can get in an online world.
First thing I blew [...]

Erasing an online consumer complaint from your search results – Part 2 of Power to the Consumer

So here’s the secret.  You can’t.
You knew that was coming, didn’t you?  But there are ways to push the complaint farther away from your site and out of your search results.
The first thing I would do.  Go after that customer, face to face, and see if you can correct what happened.  Now some people would [...]

Power to the Consumer – dealing with Social Media and Public Complaints

So they got you…one of your customers had a bad experience and now they are online telling the world about it.
In fact, they are so upset that they started a website or blog up and are actively denouncing your company. You went out and did a Google search and they are popping up on [...]

What the heck is Princeton Premier or how Social Media can make or break your company’s internet presence?

So I got this email…
Don Schindler It is my pleasure to inform you that you are being considered for inclusion into the 2008-2009 Princeton Premier Business Leaders and Professionals Honors Edition section of the registry. The 2008-2009 edition of the registry will include biographies of the world’s most accomplished individuals. Recognition of [...]

Finding Consumer Insights in Social Media

So the kids and I went to check out Eagle Creek Reservoir Beach on Sunday afternoon.
I’m very proud of my oldest daughter. She has finally learned to swim (after this summer of swimming lessons). But she’s very particular about her nose. She has to have nose plugs on or she can’t go underwater. So be [...]

Social Media is not advertising nor marketing: it’s about connections

In yesterday’s Online Spin, there was an article Agencies: Reinvented or
Replaced by Joe Marchese.
Joe’s jist was that ad agencies need to change – that they aren’t prepared for the future of advertising within social media. Here’s what he says,
“In the end, social media is nothing more than a mirror of people’s real-world behavior (albeit [...]