By Shannon Martin
January 13th, 2010
My colleague Emily just wrote a great post about not bashing your competition but what about intentionally bashing yourself or your own brand? This week Domino’s Pizza unveiled a new ad campaign that takes quite a jab at its own product.
These new campaigns focus on the less positive qualities of Domino’s Pizza and boldly state ‘their crust taste like cardboard and their sauce like ketchup.’
My question is: Is it ever a good idea to bash your own brand?
Rebranding can be a challenging project for any company, but the strategy behind a rebrand is often more important than the ‘new and improved’ image. While Domino’s Pizza’s ad agency is known for making bold statements, I wonder what focus group research, if any, was done to determine that customers were unhappy with its pizza. Domino’s Pizza’s ads give the impression that Twitter was an important source of customer feedback. With the rebrand, Domino’s has tried to off-set its own harsh critics with less-obvious tactics designed to show the favorability of its new product.
What do you think of Domino’s Pizza’s marketing direction? Will customers internalize too many former negative qualities that Domino’s is bringing to light or will customers embrace the new product?
By Shannon Martin
November 23rd, 2009
Have you ever had a corporate meeting moment like this?
My point is that meetings are well, meetings. Many times you’re crammed into a conference room or hotel meeting space for hours at a time wishing you were somewhere, anywhere but right there. As marketers, many times we are not only tasked with executing the dreaded off-site meeting but also with making it engaging, interesting and—gulp—compelling enough to attend in this economy?!
Well there is some good news! With sales down, many hotels and meeting facilities are being forced to think outside-the-box to drum-up off-site meeting business. Imagine walking into a meeting where you are greeted with magic 8® balls on each chair, lucky charms® and pop-tarts® at the breakfast buffet and Twister® for a morning break activity. There are so many cool themes that hotels are offering now as add-ons to traditional meeting packages. Kimpton® hotels have several that I find especially cool. I mean, who wouldn’t want to attend an ‘Elements of Wellness’ or ‘Earthcare’ meeting?
Photo courtesy of Kimpton Hotels
What dynamic meeting add-ons would you love to see at your next off-site meeting?
By Shannon Martin
October 20th, 2009
The Canyonites are headed out to the ballgame to support a good cause. On November 14th our team–The One Hit Wonders–will participate in the 7th Annual Avnet Softball Desert Classic, a 16” softball tournament for B2B companies.
Our participation and all net proceeds will benefit the Spark of Hope, a Tempe-based organization which provides assistance to disabled children and their families who are not supported by traditional charitable programs.
Come cheer for us on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at the Tempe (Arizona) Sports Complex. I personally guarantee prizes for anyone sporting ‘Canyon Rocks’ signage.
By Shannon Martin
September 15th, 2009
Today, a news anchor found himself in hot water over a Twitter post that included a comment President Obama made off the record about Kanye West’s outburst at the VMAs earlier this week.
This is the perfect reminder about the power of social media and how, if used incorrectly, it can embarrass you, your company and even cost you your job.
Before you tweet—especially on behalf of your company—or utilize other social media tools, ask yourself these important questions:
- Could someone be offended by this information? If you have to ask, DO NOT POST IT!
- Would I be okay with my boss, kids or grandmother seeing this information? Never forget, the Internet is a public forum and not everything can be deleted.
- Does my company have a social media policy? If so, am I following it? To see why social media policies are so important check out this past B2B Fishbowl post.
Don’t be a reckless Tweeter. Be professional. You’ll thank yourself later and chances are, you’ll still be employed.
Whose moment did Kanye West steal? If you’re the first person to comment with the name of a song by that person, you win your own Canyon “buzz”ness card!
By Shannon Martin
July 23rd, 2009
How many times have you heard the phase “Customer service is dead?” I’m always surprised that people actually believe this jaded sentiment. No matter what your profession—whether it’s dog walker, doctor or accountant—you provide some form of customer service. So, why not provide the highest level of service imaginable?
Giving your clients excellent service is more important now than ever. There are a multitude of companies out there, just like yours, waiting for you to slip up so your customer can take their business elsewhere. The better service you offer, the harder it will be for your competitors to get that chance.
Want to zap your customer service efforts back to life? Here are some tips:
- Listen: Take the time to get to know your customers—both professionally and personally. You’ll be amazed how many bonus points you score when you remember that your client’s son’s name is Matt, that they like to collect ceramic figurines or their favorite country is Italy.
- Stay in front of your customers: Everyone wants to feel like they are the most important customer. The more you communicate with them, the more they will appreciate you. Today’s technology makes this easy because you can talk to your customers through phone or e-mail, or use newer methods like Twitter or text messaging.
- Solutionize: Always push yourself to provide your clients with solutions to difficult challenges. Any time you can make their lives easier, you demonstrate your value.
- Admit fault: You are bound to make mistakes at some point. Admitting fault and, more importantly, making things right is always better than downplaying a negative situation or making excuses.
And don’t forget, people are more likely to remember negative experiences than positive ones, and it’s the negative ones that they share with others. We find this all the time with the Net Promoter Score research projects we manage for our clients.
For more food for thought, check out the top 25 ranked U.S. companies in customer service. What are your experiences with these companies? What aspects of your company parallel these organizations?
