My good friend Lisa Trosien shared an article on Facebook recently.  I love what Lisa shares because it’s often informative or thought provoking.  The particular post she shared recently was definitely thought provoking.  I thought, “DAMN, ’7 Lessons from Great Marketers of Apple, Nike, Starbucks, and Red Bull,’ this should be interesting!”  Unfortunately, it wasn’t.  It was an advertisement.  The author of the article, Panos Mourdoukoutas, has written a book called ‘The Seven Principles of WOM and Buzz Marketing’ that he has built into a very weak and uninformative post for Forbes.  All in an effort, most likely, to try and get people to buy his book.  When I first read the post I was generally dissatisfied with its content, but then when I read it again and clicked on the link to his book I was even more disappointed.

Why is this so sad to me?  For a guy that is trying to share seven principles of WOM and Buzz this is a lame attempt at it himself.  On top of it, he highlights 4 very popular brands just to get some cheap clicks and shares.  Should he re-title the book ‘Seven Principles of Gaming Your Product to Popularity In the Short Run’?  OK, maybe I’m being unfair without justification.  How’s this, I’ll re-write his post right here and actually share some real perspective regarding Apple, Nike, Starbucks, and Red Bull you can actually use.  Feel free to check out his first (click on his post title above to read it) and then come back to read mine.

Here goes:

Let’s get one thing straight, when marketers dream we don’t dream about tipping points or critical mass.  That’s what finance and economics nerds dream about.  Marketing nerds dream about telling stories.  Stories that get shared over and over and over.  We understand that those stories (if told over and over and over) can lead to tipping points and mass, but we’re focused on telling a great story first and foremost.  Apple, Nike, Starbucks, and Red Bull are some of the best story tellers in business.  They get it.  Too many other marketers are focused on the tipping point and how to get mass and their story gets lost.  The difference between marketing nerds and economic nerds is how they tell their stories to actually create WOM and Buzz Marketing.

1. Understand your customer

If you are going to provide a product or service you need to understand why your customer would feel compelled to tell someone else about your product or service.  What will differentiate you in the market enough so that your customers can’t wait to share their experience with someone else.  On the surface you may think that Apple just makes better products that fit people’s needs.  What they really do is make products that people want to talk about or share a story about.  Do we really need iPads?  Nope, but we love to talk about them.  Nike does this a little bit differently.  They’ve done it more through marketing by connecting themselves with athletes, teams, and sports that all write the stories for them.  Nike’s customers associate themselves with the stories of these people and groups and they pass along those stories to others.  Starbucks allows customers to create an event (ie – story) by just getting some coffee.  Whether you visit a store for awhile or just grab and go, your order alone “Grande Mocha Vanilla Latte” is a story itself.  And how about Red Bull?  They don’t even tell people what’s in it or what it tastes like.  All we know is that it gives us wings, and if you know anyone that drinks it they have a story for why.

2. Your story must evolve

Sometimes being the 1st in can be what wins, but just as your product or service must innovate your story needs to evolve as well.  Apple wasn’t always about music, but now they are.  It’s part of their story.  Phones, tablets, books.  They’re more than products or services.  They are now part of the Apple story, and the stories all tie together.  The next chapter to their story always ties into what they’ve done.  It’s an evolution.  Not a fancy add on, bell, or whistle.  It’s a new chapter to the same story that Mr. Jobs always told so well.

3.  Target your current customers

So much money is blown trying to attract new customers it boggles my mind.  What’s more powerful, a customer (already buying from you) telling his friends about your awesome product or service or trying to capture a new demographic?  Even if you have a brand new product it can be more effective to dazzle your small customer base than chase people you don’t know.  Of course there is a time and place to push your message out, but just be cautious with your time and marketing investments as you try to expand.  Don’t forgot about your current customers in the process.  Think about marketing to them as well.

4.  Make your story easy to share

It may be as simple as putting a ‘Like’ button on your website or it may require sponsoring a professional athlete, but these steps can make it easier or more compelling for someone to share their story about your product or service.  For example, I remember back in school we all would get excited when the new Air Jordan’s would come out.  We’d all wonder who would get them first and if we could ever get a pair ourselves.  Sure, it was a 12 year old’s story, but everyone is a consumer and everyone is a story teller.  Participating in social media or having a compelling spokesperson can always make a story easier or more fun to share.

5.  Measure your messages and efforts

When I see an advertisement that doesn’t have some type of code, unique URL, or tracking capability I’m just blown away.  In today’s day and age of sophisticated tracking services and technology I don’t see why these things get missed.  Shouldn’t everyone that ever goes to a Starbucks have a bar code assigned to them.  No different than a grocery store or pet store I should be logging in every time I go there.  And for every 10th drink I should get a $1 off or something.  I should be able to scan a coupon or ad for Starbucks with my phone and get credit for it somehow as well.  It just seems odd that marketers don’t incorporate these things to better understand customer behavior.  Sure, Starbucks is doing some of this, but not to the degree grocers have.  Instead we continue to mass message an audience we really hope is our target demographic, and then we hope they care enough to even think about or buy our products.  That makes sense. <–sarcasm

6.  Communicate with your customers

If we’re not listening or asking our current customers questions then we are missing opportunities to learn about our shortfalls or needs for improvement.  In addition, if we’re not handling complaints properly then we’re not seizing opportunities to create customers for life.  How we recover from our failures can be more important than what we believe will be our next big success or marketing campaign.  Don’t ignore the people that already have bought from you.  They will sing your praises if you listen to them.  Check out Starbucks and Red Bull on Twitter.  They’re listening.

7.  Dare to be different

Safe stories are no fun.  That’s why most books don’t get published and most movies don’t get made.  My best blog posts have some risk in them.  Good stories do too.  There’s a fine line, sure, but make sure your story is interesting.  Carve your own path.  The day an economist or financial expert tells you how to write your story I think you’re screwed.  Most advertising sucks because approval rarely comes solely through marketing and  it gets watered down by a committee of executives.  Keep dreaming for something bigger than a tipping point or critical mass.  That’s what keeps your story fresh.

The bottom line:  Effective WOM and Buzz marketing is not about a campaign.  It’s about the stories you tell at each touch point along the way.  Page by page, chapter by chapter.  Create stories your customers want to retell over and over and over.  This stuff doesn’t happen over night or with one idea.  Campaigns fizzle and die.  Stories last a lifetime.  These big brands are so much more than great products and marketing.  They are part of people’s lives.  And those people love to share stories about them.

I started writing a marketing manifesto about a year ago.  I wasn’t sure where it was going so I shelved it.  The idea is resurfacing though as I’ve had some inspirational moments in recent months that are driving me to pick it up again.  I wanted share 3 of these moments.

First, is a conversation I had with Mr. Bill Szczytko.  I knew the guy was nerdy, but I didn’t know what he was capable of.  After showing me some of the intranet he built for his company I had to throw an idea at him.  He inspired me to share it, and he’s inspiring me to push the idea more.  Be on the lookout for www.ApartmentHelpdesk.com.

Second, was having the Super Bowl come to Indianapolis.  It was an incredible event and the committees, teams, and volunteers that helped pull it together were inspiring.  What inspired me the most was the “Indianapolis” community.  The event really brought people together and we became even more proud of our little mid-west city that usually gets passed over and shoved to the side.  This event has inspired me to be a better part of the community myself.  Ready, set, go!

Third, was an interesting response to my blog post from last week.  When you put your thoughts out there you never really know what part of it will stick with someone.  Apparently I hit a nerve with a Google+ superuser.  In a good way though.  Jake Croston stumbled across my post and showed concern that my interest in G+ was waning.  Check out what happened from there.

I share these stories with you because I wanted to share a bit of the mind of Mark.  I’m constantly seeking snippets of inspiration from anyone or anything around.  Sometimes it’s a person.  Sometimes it’s a product.  Sometimes it’s an event.  The key, though, is that I’m always looking.  You never know what or who will inspire you to do that next project, take the next leap, go after a new idea, or just reevaluate what you are doing right now.  Don’t take anything for granted.  It could be the gateway to the next big thing for you.  You just need to do something with it.

It’s amazing how quickly things can change online.  The potential for Google+ is incredible, but their lack of syndication and connectivity to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, or other social networks has been their downfall in my opinion.  With the only option to post to Google+ being through Google+ itself, I think they’ve limited their opportunity to become a real player in the social space.  And, them not having an easy sync feature for Twitter or Facebook sure doesn’t encourage people to post there either.  Sure, “it’s coming” with Hootsuite or some other platforms, but have they missed their window?  Unfortunately they may have.

The thing is, I don’t want to check another social network unless people are there and I am having conversation.  Facebook is great for this.  Twitter can be too (although there is a lot more push than pull there in the past couple years).  I get that each network is a bit different, but we’re on them to share and have conversation.  I may be a bit more personal on Facebook and more business on Twitter, but I like to limit the number of channels I need to monitor and engage on.  It’s just tough to juggle so many, and if they don’t serve a unique purpose then I think people will naturally gravitate to the one they like the most.

I’ve said before, I think there is a gap that can be filled by Google+, and I believe that gap is in the business and local business connecting game.  Maybe we will truly see this happen as they integrate more of their tools like Maps and Places.  We’ll see.  In the mean time, there are two fairly new services/tools that have my attention.  I’m warming up to them because they fill a void, and can sync with other sites.

First, Pinterest.  If you haven’t signed up or at least heard about Pinterest then I suggest you check it out.  We’re visual people.  If you create a post on Facebook that includes a photo people are much more likely to read it or engage on it.  Plenty of studies have show this, and you know it’s true because that’s what you do yourself.  Step in Pinterest to help people “Pin” and share things they like, and the image takes priority number 1.  Beautiful and a great concept.  There are plenty of bookmarking sites out there, but this one delivers something we’ve been missing.  It has my interest, and we’ll see if they can keep the momentum they have right now.

Second, Path.  I mentioned that one of the problems with Google+ is the syndication of posts.  Path has done a brilliant job of making this easy.  If you haven’t checked out Path you’ll need to do so on your Apple or Android device (sorry Blackberry folks) as it’s only mobile.  A beautiful user interface makes this mobile app great by itself, but the fact that I can syndicate a status update or check-in to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, or Tumblr is fantastic.  And, I can choose with each post which channels to do so or not.  Sometimes I want to send an update to Facebook and not Twitter.  It’s now easy to do.  And the beauty of Path is that it limits the number of connections you can have.  Only 150.  So what you put on your Path doesn’t have to be public and it only has to be shown to the 150 closest people you approve to follow you.  Check it out.

So Google, what’s next for you?  I’d buy one of these new sites up, or figure out quickly how to get people interested in you again.  My interest is waning.

It’s Super Bowl week in Indianapolis.  The atmosphere is all a buzz, and the committees and local groups that organized the event have done an incredible job.  It’s inspired me to make sure and be a part of more local events.  I think you should think about that to.

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Have you heard the buzz about responsive website design?  What is responsive design you ask?  With the plethora of mobile and tablet devices on the market today it’s a huge challenge to create mobile versions of websites that work for everyone.  Or is it?  In comes responsive design where a website automagically adjusts to fit your device.

We’re currently working on an all new J.C. Hart website using a responsive design for WordPress.  We’re really excited about this new path for our sites and to leverage this technology.  This type of design is also helping us focus on photos and video, and we look forward to updating our strategy in those areas.  Stay tuned for more on the progress of the J.C. Hart sites.

In the mean time, we’ve recently changed over The Resident Connection website to a responsive design.  Feel free to check it out on your smart phone, tablet, or computer.  You can even adjust the size of your browser window right on your computer to see what the design would look like on smaller screens.  As part of our new offerings at The Resident Connection we will be the first company to bring WordPress Responsive Website designs that specifically cater to the apartment industry.  Please contact us for more information and look out for updates coming soon for these services.

I trust your year is off to a good start.  I know mine has been busy with beginning to plan out the website overhaul for J.C. Hart, planning new social media strategies, and evolving our email marketing efforts.  As I plan out all of those initiatives for J.C. Hart I’ve also been working on my new business, The Resident Connection.  What’s great about The Resident Connection is that we specialize in all these same marketing areas that I’m working on for J.C. Hart.

In conjunction with 30 Lines & Firebelly Marketing, The Resident Connection provides the following products and services.

- WordPress Websites & Search Engine Optimization

- Social Media Strategies & Services

- Customer Lifecycle Email Marketing

We selected these 3 areas of focus for the multifamily industry as we believe these areas of your marketing efforts must be in line with each other to work best.  There are plenty of other pieces that fit into your marketing mix of course, but insuring these 3 are all working well together is critical.

We’d love to talk to you about any or all of these services and how we can help your company create synergy with these marketing areas.

Yup!  It will be here before you know it.  This is THE ONE conference I don’t miss each year.  Great minds, great information, nerdy stuff, friends, and fun.  If you haven’t been then I highly recommend it.

Last year we had fun with an impromptu recess session, and Mike and I have some other plans for some fun this year (beyond the conference fun of course).  We sure hope to see you there.

The learn more and register for the conference go to www.apartmentinternetmarketing.com.

People make bad decisions.  This is reality.  Unfortunately, when people take to the internet to proclaim their dissatisfaction (due to a bad decision) it can become a PR nightmare for a company today.  Papa John’s took an absolute beating the past few days since the “lady chinky eyes” racial slur debacle.  Here’s a bit of the story: Papa Johns Apologizes

It seems like these situations are rarely handled well, and a PR superhero has to try and swoop in to save the day.  And when they do we see little success as the damage is already done.

So what do you do if this happens to you and your company?

- Take your licks.  You or a representative of your company was wrong.  Admit it and don’t dance around it like a politician.

- Respond.  A simple apology is probably best, but if you’re taking some type of action a brief and general description of what you’re doing can be shared.

- Apologize some more.  Dedicate some time to apologizing to everyone you can and you’d be surprised at how that can help your situation.  I like what Vaynermedia is doing apologizing to New York Jets fans for not making the playoffs.

- Don’t get caught up in the hate.  There will be plenty of people that never forgive you.  GoDaddy still lost over 20,000 registrants in one day after their apology and flip-flop on SOPA.

- More marketing can just make it worse.  Sorry NY Jets.  Great Twitter responses, but a terrible call on the Pepsi Max deal.

- Get over it!  From what I’ve witnessed, very few people are talking about these things 2 weeks later.  It will likely pass.

- Help it pass.  Focus on new initiatives to help customers and enhance their experience.  You can’t fix what happened, but you can make your next customer’s experience even better.

I’ve handled a few of these things in my Toyota/Lexus days and now in my J.C. Hart days.  They feel like doom and gloom in the moment, but you can live for another day by innovating and changing how you do business tomorrow.  Some things are more difficult to change than others, but caring more is always a possibility.  Too often we try to ignore things we can fix or make right, but many times just acknowledging a situation can be the solution.  I hope you don’t have any of these nightmare issues, but if you do at least know that they can be overcome without the Justice League needing to save the day.

Pic courtesy mhaithaca on Flickr.

Look beyond the tools in front of you.  Please!

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Duncan, Mike, and I were discussing 2012 and what we’re looking forward to.  I will tell you that we don’t predict for the world to end, but we may see some things begin to fall off that seem tried and true today.  Enjoy my 2012 marketing predictions and listen live to our podcast 12/20/2012 at 5:00 p.m. EST to hear more.

Social

Niche social sites (ie- Instagram, Pinterest, Path, Quora, etc.) will gather more momentum, but stay niche much like Tumblr.  Facebook currency may take on another dimension, but more importantly Google+ will finally become something that we can’t afford to ignore.

Local

Local businesses that seize the opportunity to leverage Google, Foursquare, Yelp, etc. will begin seeing distinctive advantages in those efforts.  And, we’ll find out if Groupon and LivingSocial can compete with Google Offers.  I still don’t understand the deep discount craze, so I can’t predict if there will be a winner or if the whole concept will blow up.

Mobile

If you haven’t really explored this space or put much effort into it as yet don’t get left behind.  It’s so much more than text messaging, so dive in.  However, be smart with what you invest in here.  We don’t need an app for everything, and from what I’m seeing you don’t need a separate mobile website either.

Search

Page 1 of Google isn’t as important if you can leverage social discovery over search discovery.  Search engines are still important, but the social factors are becoming critical.  There is more than one way to skin a cat, but SEO is evolving.  Updating your status on Facebook, Twitter, or other channels with a question is now part of the search process, and marketers need to understand and leverage that in 2012.  One could even say that what people share is more important than what people find.

Apartment Marketing

Marketing budgets are shifting because we’re measuring everything and eliminating waste.  Commodity marketing won’t cut it in the consumer’s eyes, and they want more than listings.  Craigslists success may begin to fade.  We’ll continue to measure more and more of our marketing efforts and communications.  And finally, the ideas today for using a tablet or smartphone in the leasing process will look much different by the end of 2012.  Make sure what you invest in today can evolve with the trends and your needs.

Would love your thoughts on these topics as well!  Thanks for following in 2011, and cheers to 2012!!!

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In case you missed it, check out the Best of MarkJuleen.com 2011.

And if you really want to be overwhelmed by where technology is going, watch this video. Networked Society ‘On the Brink’