It’s an excellent opportunity for me (along with new friend/co-manager, Thusuong) to meet and learn from the professionals in our industry. But enough about that. Are you interesting and passionate about marketing? Or maybe just sort of good at it? Want to add your two cents to the MN AMA blog? Let me know. Willing to be interviewed for a post? Raise your hand. I want to get you on board.
Leave me a comment here. Call me. Pass me a note. Tweet me. Send me an e-mail, text message, smoke signal, bottle of exquisite Chilean wine; whatever you’d prefer. Just get in touch with me, and we’ll get the ball rolling.
My husband realized this tonight. That boy is smart as a whip, I tell you. I always knew this, but I didn’t realize the strange-ness until my hubby mentioned it (he’s from Chile- moved here last April). I told him we would soon no longer be Minneapolis- we’re going to be Target City.
Seriously, though- does it seem kind of “much” to anyone else that 2 out of 4 major sports venues are now going to be Target-related? At least it’s going to be TCF Stadium for the Gophers. Otherwise, that whole “Target City” thing wouldn’t seem so far-fetched.
This got me thinking about the future of presentations and conferences. Are people going to be more selective with what presentations they physically attend? Are event planners going to be able to get away with charging attendees the same amounts of money in the future because of this? Anyone can join the conversations without actually showing up now, thanks to the power of Twitter and the web. I recognize that participating online is not the same as physical attendance, but it’s a pretty great substitute when you can’t make it to the show. Anyway, just some conversation fuel.
Anyone following me on Twitter knows how I feel about direct welcome messages. Auto-DM me, and you are auto-unfollowed. My apologies for being so judgmental, but 90% of the time they turn out to be someone whose use of Twitter bothers me anyway. If it’s a welcome message that doesn’t ask me to visit their blog or claim my free gift, I will still keep them on board- even if it is obviously automated, at least that’s less irritating.
On the other hand, personalized messages are just fine. Especially when they come from your favorite beer.
Lately I’ve been struggling with a bunch of spam e-mails from companies I’ve never heard of. Some have these have turned out to be nearly impossible to unsubscribe from. Today was no different, as I tried to unsubscribe from a certain list to no avail. It brought me to a page which said “The request did not include a valid MID. Please have your MID setup properly to utilize this page.”
Since I had no idea what MID meant and no time to figure it out, I assumed (correctly) that I had not been removed from this list.
A few hours later, I received this message:
Dear Elizabeth,
Earlier today you opened an email from us announcing the new and improved Customer Management IQ website. Unfortunately some of the links in that email were not functioning correctly and as a result you may not have been able to open all of the articles you wanted to view.
We apologize for this inconvenience and would like to provide you with the direct links to the items in the earlier email.
I realized I must have gotten myself on the hook to receive these e-mails from downloading a white paper or something of the sort. Silly me. But how nice of them to apologize for their e-marketing shortcomings. Sadly they still have a few bugs to work out, since the unsubscribe link was still not functioning properly.
My advice to companies: your messages are not forever-relevant to your subscribers. Be kind and make it simple for them to get away from you if they wish. Nobody likes too much noise on the web or clutter in their inbox.
The difference in standards online vs. offline are of great interest to me. Somehow, certain things are acceptable in cyberspace that are not (normally) accepted in the real world. A friend once sent me this video rendition of how Facebook would be in real life. And it’s funny for a reason:
Why is it that some actions are not only easier, but often commonplace, in an online social setting? For example, following the lives of complete strangers on Twitter. Please don’t get me wrong; I have met amazing people and learned so much from being active on Twitter, and if you read any other posts of mine, you know I praise and enjoy this network, among many others. What I’m really looking at now is peoples’ real-life reactions to online behavior.
I really enjoyed this article from Newsweek by Steve Tuttle in which he explains why he is quitting Facebook. His daughter was very seriously upset about his jumping on the Facebook bandwagon. Perhaps this isn’t as far-fetched from reality as I originally thought; after all, no self-respecting teenager would ever let their parents be present in their social life offline. A co-worker told me his daughters laughed when he told them he was on Facebook. I know my parents hesitate to “friend” my friends on Facebook. I wonder: Why shouldn’t they? They are friends offline, aren’t they?
It seems like there are a set of unwritten standards for how to interact on Facebook and other social networks, and nobody has really talked about them in depth, but they are there and everyone knows about them. In a conversation with Adam Metz about social media strategy, we talked about how potential business prospects would be offended if contacted via Facebook. But LinkedIn and Plaxo are fair game? Now there’s another set of standards for how to interact on different networks?
This really does make sense to me. What’s interesting to me is how online seems to be a reflection of life in general. Facebook is happy hour with your friends. LinkedIn in a professional organization or industry conference, and Twitter is… some sort of platonic speed dating? Book club, maybe? Life online is almost a catalyst for discussing reality.
Random thoughts of mine. Please feel free to share yours. I think this would make a rather interesting conversation. Thanks for reading.
I’ve asked myself many times how using celebrities like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Love Hewitt to sell acne solution ever made sense. I’m sorry Jessica, but I didn’t exactly empathize with you and your once ‘troublesome’ skin. And really, I’m hoping the majority of us realize that olympic athletes do not eat chicken sandwiches from McDonald’s for breakfast.
We may be young, but we aren’t dense. Or, are we? Celebrity endorsements are prevalent, so they must be effective. However, Tiger Woods driving a Buick has very little significance for me. So I just don’t get it. Someone, please- explain.
Layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs. It’s hardly shocking anymore, and then it hits home; two Minneapolis companies (Best Buy and Target) announced, in the same day, impending layoffs. The concept of “job security” hardly exists right now. In my opinion, companies have done a terrible job reflecting this ambivalence in their marketing. Hyundai is a different story.
Maybe I’m a little out of the loop, but this is the first I’ve heard of anyone offering a guarantee like this. Hyundai has a new ad campaign going on- “Certainty in Uncertain Times.” If you’re thinking about buying a car right now, consider a Hyundai. Why? Because if you lose your income in the next year, you can bring the car back hassle free (well, there’s probably some hassle involved, but much less than trying to figure out car payments when you’re unemployed).
What an incredible reassurance for those who are debating whether or not to buy a new car in a slumping economy. I am so impressed with Hyundai right now. I would very seriously consider a Hyundai if I were to buy a car right now.
Hey Big 3! Are you hearing this? Just saying.
Sidenote- I just saw an Ameriprise commercial that mentions the “uncertain economy.” Perhaps I spoke too soon. Still, Hyundai’s guarantee rocks.
One thing I love is great customer service. And you know what I hate? Terrible customer service (I’m looking at you, AT&T).
Members of Generation Y are notorious for being the most impatient of all consumers. I am the spokesperson for this distinction. Yes, patience is a virtue… but not one that was bestowed upon me. I have high standards when it comes to customer satisfaction. Shameless plug here: I read that impatience is hugely characteristic of Gen Y members in a white paper from Questar.
Back on topic- Digg has great customer service. I sent them a request to change my username, since I couldn’t do it myself. They got back to me within 15 minutes, having already fulfilled my request. Excellente! For a free service, that is incredible to me. I sent Twitter an inquiry over three months ago, and I still haven’t heard back. Good thing it’s not important.
We’re all very quick to open our mouths about terrible customer service (I know I am). But why wouldn’t we praise great customer service in the same fashion? Where did millenials get this sense of entitlement? That’s a whole different blog post right there. Actually, that could be a senior thesis. So I won’t tread on that just yet, but I will say: bravo Digg, and thank you for giving me the kind of customer service that makes everyone else look terrible.
“I found my long lost daughters through Facebook.” I cannot say this personally; but my uncle-in-law (is that a term?) can. This is a true story.
My husband’s uncle, Francisco, was once married with twin daughters. When they were just three years old, his wife left with the girls, and he never saw them again. But that is about to change.
Curious as my sister-in-law is, she searched on Facebook for her cousins, whom the family has spent nineteen years trying to find. Facebook search yielded success and there they were; same last name, the appropriate age, and located in Argentina- just where the family thought they would be. (Sidenote: my in-laws are from Chile, and this runaway ex-wife was originally from Argentina)
To be certain she had found the right girls, my sister-in-law contacted them for some more information. Long story short, it was them- born in Chile and moved to Argentina when they were three. Their mother told them that their father didn’t want them, which of course was a lie.
God and the ex-wife only know why she abandoned Francisco, depriving him of his daughters and their entire childhood. The amazing thing for me is that after nineteen years of looking for his children, all it took in the end was a simple Facebook search. Lucky for him, his daughters are of an age now (22) where they can decide for themselves whether or not they want to meet their father. Luckier for him, they want to.
My husband and I have not spoken with Francisco yet. I can only imagine the blitz of emotions he is feeling right now. We are all hoping for a drama-free reunion for him and his children. I am truly hoping for the best possible outcome. I can tell you one thing: I cannot wait to hear what happens next.
I am managing the blog for the MN Chapter of the American Marketing Association, and I am excited.
