Facebook Launches Facebook Stories-Is It About Us Or Them?

Facebook recently launched Facebook Stories. It's a website "dedicated to sharing the extraordinary, quirky and thought-provoking stories and ideas from the more than 950 million people around the world who make up Facebook's community."  

The plunge of Facebook stock after its IPO seems to indicate that it has more of a cultural significance than an economic one, so I'm not surprised to see that they're employing user stories to promote their social clout. The first story, about a man who completely lost his memory after he contracted tubercular meningitis, then used the "people you may know" function to piece his life back together, is a remarkable example of Facebook's power.

Congrats to the team who conceived of this and put it together. I just hope that they are able to nuance the messaging and positioning on the site so that it doesn't come across as a platform to say "thank goodness we're here," (which is somewhat sinister in a Big Brother-y sort of way), but more of a means to show how people are using Facebook to make a real difference in each other's lives.

And for Zuckerberg et al, that's always a thin line to walk...

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

The Cathryn Sloane Firestorm-Where Are You Ms. Sloane?

The technorati are not amused over recent college graduate Cathryn Sloane's blog post that all social media managers should be under 25. I wont enter the fray on that argument; suffice to say that in my experience, usage of social media for personal interactions does not equal qualifications gained over time managing a brand. (One of the complaints I often hear from Marketing and Communications Directors who have young staff working under them is that their team excels at understanding how new media tools work, but they don’t always know why they should be using the tools in the context of brand management.)

What fascinates me about this story, is that more than 500 people commented on Ms. Sloane’s article and numerous folks took the time to write articulate rebuttal articles, and even linked back to “prebuttals” such as this one. In short, it’s been a veritable link fest, engendering the kind of response to a piece of content that most of us who work in social media hope, and work hard for. Yet the crowd that she so successfully engaged has received nothing but radio silence from Ms. Sloane since the article was posted. She even went so far as to block followers on her Twitter account who had a dissenting opinion to her article. 

This is a problem.

I tell my clients to compare "engaging" on social media to going to a large, in-person networking party. There’ll be important people there that you should get to know, as perhaps they could be the key to the particular nut you’re trying to crack at the moment. You may know a few people already, so you shouldn’t ignore them, but you also have to have conversations with people you don’t know–whether it’s by listening in on an existing conversation to see where you can add something of value, or approaching a stranger and striking up a dialogue. And you have to do this in a respectful way; you have to be smart, interesting, funny and a really good listener and someone who can keep a conversation flowing. You must also hold people’s interest, so they feel a connection and start to see something in you. You never know who’s going to be there, and what role they could have in your life and career, so you wouldn't go to this party dressed in a risqué outfit, you wouldn't share intimate and inappropriate details about your personal life and you certainly wouldn’t start throwing out incendiary remarks to get attention unless you really had a good reason for doing so, and were prepared to defend them.

What Ms. Sloane did was the social media equivalent of dropping a politically incorrect bomb at an important cocktail party, then making a run for the door. While the dropping of the bomb itself might have been a strategic move to encourage link bait, her response seemingly was not. Not only did she not explain her position further–something anyone who has taken an undergraduate critical thinking class knows is, well, critical to credibility–she also missed a golden opportunity to engage and continue the debate with her detractors which could have created meaningful dialogue and provided a lot of value across the Internet. The fact that she eschewed such rigorous discourse is more damaging to her reputation than her actual article because we have to surmise that she’s either intellectually lazy or thin-skinned, and maybe a bit of both–it certainly doesn’t help her argument that young people just “know” how to be social, better than their older counterparts, because they are digital natives who’ve been using social media from a young age. Ultimately, the fact that she hasn't yet stepped up to the plate to take responsibility for and address the impact of her provocation, makes her look, at best, inconsistent and certainly not someone you’d want to be in relationship with–which is still a lot of what being in business is all about. 

The mind boggles as to what exciting things may have come her way–interviews, speaking engagements, job offers, book deals, etc., but I hope that no-one offers Ms. Sloane a job in social media–at least, not yet, anyway–until she’s learned (or displays) better etiquette. Her behavior is the antithesis of how networking and making real connections works, whether it’s in person or on the Internet. In professional settings it could seriously damage relationships and ultimately a brand’s reputation. In any case, it’s behavior that shouldn’t be rewarded.

And that’s true, no matter how old you are.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

May The Burning Bridges Light Your Way

It’s always been true that success in business is predicated on one’s ability to build enduring relationships.  And people’s reputations have always followed (or preceded) them. But now, as the walls between our personal and professional lives continue to crumble due to social media, we’re still connected online socially to people we no longer work with, which makes relationship and reputation management an ongoing concern.

It’s not only easy to trace a person’s path and network of relationships online, it’s even easier to draw conclusions about whether to recommend someone do business with them from how they conduct themselves there.

Take note of people’s behavior online, because according to a recent study, it's very likely consistent with who they are offline.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

Non-Profit Shouldn't Mean "No Money" - 15 Ways Non Profits Can Create Economic Sustainability

These aren’t easy times for non-profits. External pressures from the economy are compromising the philanthropic sector and most non-profit leaders report that there just isn’t as much money to go around anymore.

Like the small businesses that are weathering this economy, non-profits are saying yes to projects but not necessarily yes to more staff. Small business owners and non-profit leaders alike are rightly nervous about adding more fixed costs, but one essential difference between non-profits and small businesses is that even in good economic times, most non-profits revenue sources are inherently break-even, or worse, losses. How many small businesses could stay in business by providing a product or service, which routinely cost them more than they were paid to deliver? Not many, yet this hand to mouth existence is the norm for many non-profits. No wonder their leaders are also dealing with the internal pressures–such as burn out and high turnover–that come with trying to do too much with too little, especially when community needs are higher than ever.

Being funder/donor driven means most non-profits have historically had a lack of agency over what they could say no to. It’s hard to stop doing things with expenses to worry about, even when there’s a huge amount of work involved in getting a donation or grant. One Executive Director I know wryly notes that there is often an inverse relationship between the size of an award and the amount of staff time that has to go into getting it. But the old screen of: “Is it on mission?” “Is it funded?” doesn’t work anymore. Just because a project has a funder attached to it, doesn’t mean it’s sustainable.

Not surprisingly, there’s going to be a dearth of non-profit leaders in the next 5-10 years. It’s tough out there, but the good news is that times like these present opportunities for non-profits to rethink how they do business.Whether funding is restricted versus unrestricted isn’t really the question or the issue anymore – now it’s about working to get beyond break-even and aiming for modest profitability.

Granted, it’s hard to report a cash reserve to funders without them saying, “you obviously don’t need our money”, but struggling to get by no longer works – there needs to be change in how business is thought about and conducted in this sector so it can thrive. This will happen when non-profits start evaluating the opportunity cost of every project and say “no thank you” when it’s appropriate. What does this change look like? Here’s some ideas to take back to your organization: 

1. Understand that foundations are trying harder than ever to spread the wealth.
   Mobilize around this and decide to agree not to take on any projects that will pay less than the time you have to put into securing them. 
2. Realize that profit is not a dirty word.
   Think about the language you’re using. Are you really about no profit? Is that inherently sustainable? What alternative terms would be more powerful and accurate for you and your funders? 
3. Get better at saying no, by not making decisions alone.
   Listen to your staff; not just through financial metrics but also in how the delivery of service is going. 
4. Discard the notion that saying no means resources will go away, (but be ready if it does).
   Foundations might have been pulling you along because you’ve been in their portfolio. Re-shifting is happening with everyone right now. 
5. Look at the bad habits/ assumptions you need to eradicate going forward.
   Don’t be afraid to sit down and talk about what’s not working. 
6. Abolish financial illiteracy.
   There are four or five things about a non-profit balance sheet that you should know. CompassPoint has excellent fiscal literacy classes for non-profits. 
7. Embed economics into your strategic plan.
   What kind of stuff did you say yes to this year that hasn’t taken your organization where you want it to go financially 
8. Build clear revenue goals into your operational plan.
   If you haven’t hit your revenue goals for May, re-evaluate your budget and plan for the rest of the year. 
9. Create 3 budgets – optimal, maintenance and contingency.
   Use values-based decision-making in your approach to budget cuts. If you don’t have the cash it takes to do the work, and be modestly profitable, it’s not sustainable.
10. Stop thinking of your organization as a pass-through for other people’s resources.
    If grants require you to be break even, round things out with donations or earned income. A hybrid business model is key.
11. Make financial surplus a line item in the budget.
    Talk to funders transparently about wanting to have a surplus to be sustainable. Economic sustainability means you can be around for longer to do the work. 
12. Work towards modest profitability.
    Aim for at least 3 months reserve in the ban 
13. Understand which funders see you as being core to their strategy.
    Deeply understand how they think about their impact and whether you are central to that impact in their eyes. 
14. Stop writing grant proposals, start interviewing clients.
    Share your client’s stories with funders. It’s not about your organization and what it can do; it’s about the impact you’re having. 
15. Be clear about your purpose and be passionate about it.
    People naturally support leaders. If you’re engaged, excited and not burnt out, or worse yet, bored, they are more likely to support the cause you’re stomping for.

In good times or bad, social change and economics shouldn’t be at odds in this sector – they’re intrinsically connected and critical to its success and sustainability. 

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

Marketing Campaign Case Study: How The President Of The United States Helped Slurpee

The best marketing communications professionals think on their feet, mobilize rapidly and do it in an authentic way that aligns with their brand image and delights their customers. I’m impressed by what the Slurpee team did in the last few weeks with their Unity Tour marketing campaign, which wrapped up a two-week-long cross-country journey from Dallas to Washington D.C. on Thursday.

Here's 6 things they did right with this campaign:

They were nimble enough to seize a great opportunity quickly
The genesis of the tour began during the heated rhetoric of the 2010-midterm elections, when President Obama used an analogy about Republicans sipping on Slurpees while Democrats get the car –aka the nation–out of the ditch. This was manna from heaven for the Slurpee marketing team and they jumped right in to capitalize on it; White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs maintained that 7-Eleven (coyly, I'm sure) "declined to comment specifically that Slurpees were a Republican drink."

They created a campaign that is not only clever but upbeat and positive
The day after the elections, Bloomberg reporter Hans Nichols jokingly asked President Obama if he would have John Boehner and other Republican leaders over for a "Slurpee Summit." The President laughed and then quipped that Slurpees are delicious drinks and that he might very well serve Slurpees during the conversation with leaders from both parties.

Slurpee launched a new grape flavored slush drink to take on a nationwide tour called "purple for the people." The color was chosen based on the idea of mixing red for Republicans and blue for Democrats in hopes the parties would work together in passing legislation on the Hill.

They combined social media and traditional marketing seamlessly
The national tour, documented with video, was replete with special offers, customer interaction, and giveaways, and was complemented beautifully by humorous and authentic social media marketing that represented the latest trends in marketing.

They maintained a strong and consistent brand voice
Throughout the campaign, whether it was on the website, various social media outposts, or in comments they made to the media, Slurpee found exactly the right tone and stuck with it.

They were not afraid to be real
Slurpee gave people an insider look into the tour with some behind the scenes footage.



They made sure the campaign was consistent with the personality of the product
These slightly tongue-in-cheek comments from 7-Eleven Marketing Manager, Daniel May, show how Slurpee doesn’t take itself too seriously. The team knows the product is fun and is willing to take some risks:

"We are hoping there will be a Slurpee summit…The tour has sent formal invitations to everybody and everybody is welcome…We truly hope there is one and if they want Slurpees there, we will make sure to bring them."

All of this obviously caught the attention of the media. Here's video below of some news coverage of the President's comments.







Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

Save "Save The Words", Ctd

Harkin responds to my blog post and makes an excellent point (italics mine):

When I said the campaign shimmered, I meant the idea. I meant the logocentricity of the site. And I forgot that, as a linguistic type, I am easily blinded by words. I was so busy drinking in obscure words I almost choked on the interface, architecture, and execution.

Thank goodness I work with great graphic designers, web coders, interface and architecture experts, and visual creatives who can point out the importance about things beyond my linguistic world. Because the synergy between words people and picture people is where great branding really happens.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

Save "Save The Words": A Quick Marketing Case Study

If you spend any time on the web and are connected to relatively erudite people (aren’t we all?), chances are you’ve been sent the link to Save The Words, a new website developed by marketing communications company Y&R's Singapore office. Save The Words is an advertising campaign created to stimulate sales of the latest version of the Oxford English Dictionary in Malaysia.

There’s a reason the site has gone viral–it’s creative and cute. Users can choose and “adopt” a word to keep it alive or just click on words and learn their meanings. When they find a word they like enough to adopt, they promise to use the word, “in conversation and correspondence, as frequently as possible.” There’s even an option to purchase a t-shirt with the chosen word on it.

Verbal branding consultant and word expert Christine Harkin enthuses that it “simply shimmers with brilliance” and “greets its audience with a protest-connoting march of signs which all cluster in the foreground and beg readers, “pick me!” While I agree with Ms. Harkin (disclosure: I have worked with Ms. Harkin previously and she’s an esteemed colleague) that this is a clever idea, I can’t get quite as worked up about it as she does because the execution, from a communications and web usability standpoint, diminishes my experience. Plus, I’m not fully on board with the strategy either.

Here’s what’s bothering me:

Design
The Flash-based design will be difficult for some computers and mobile users. Flash also makes deep-linking impossible and individual words unsharable – a tragic missed opportunity in today’s social world.

Usability
Designers love small font sizes and light grey type but it’s impossible to read, especially for older people who read and write a lot and love words (aka the site’s target audience). The fixed font size on the site is not only deadly for older eyes, it's a usability no-no for the disabled too. On the FAQ page, the link to the Facebook group doesn’t go to Facebook, but to the Oxford Press online store; creating possible confusion and frustration for users.

Navigation
The red arrows that indicate that the screen moves in all directions are so small that it’s hard to see them. Plus there’s no language to tell users that the screen can move in all directions. The main navigation is extremely small and hard to read. Also, two words–no search.

Content
It’s assumed the user will figure things out by clicking around which quickly becomes a tiresome exercise. Not answering users questions - such as what this site is about or specifically where they can buy a dictionary is frustrating. If users are searching for an interesting word to help them say a particular thing there’s no thesaurus function to help them do that. What’s also missing are some fun facts about word usage and the dictionary–the brand image and relationship with the Oxford English Dictionary isn't really being strengthened here.

Registering and Lack of Social Interaction
It’s clear from a marketing perspective why users are required to register but it can be a turnoff for some people, especially since there’s no apparent reason here why they should have to. If user information is being collected it should be integrated on the site to show people who've adopted words and it should be fun and social–read Facebook and Twitter–in terms of who has taken on the most words, etc. 

Strategy
“One of the problems we were facing,” says Creative Director Edward Ong, who reportedly came up with the idea in a bar with friends after work, “is that many people prefer to use the online dictionary. So we thought, why not get them to develop a love for words online and push them back to the physical dictionary?” Aside from a brief mention in the FAQ section the website does little to push users back to the physical dictionary or reward them for using one. I wonder if it’s actually doing the opposite by allowing them to fall into the web again.

Ong claims that there have been 3 million website mentions of this site and a 12 percent increase in sales of the dictionary since the campaign launched so the things that are irksome for me about this site may not be an issue for most people. I've certainly seen some interesting words get slung about on the internet this past week and anything that helps increase awareness of the richness of our language can only be a good thing.

Y&R, (formally Young and Rubicam), is an industry giant so I expect them to know and implement the best practices for marketing communications and web usability. I'd like to see them come up with some social media strategies to encourage use of the dictionary and/or thesaurus offline (Youtube anyone?). Hopefully they can continue to improve on the site; it could become a great resource for people and help bridge the gap between surfing the web and the tactile and delicious experience of leafing through a "real" dictionary.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

What Major Retailers Are Missing Out On This Veterans Day

Everywhere today, people are acknowledging the fact that it's Veterans Day and talking about how much they value and appreciate the service of the men and women in our armed forces. Everywhere except, it seems, the marketing departments of major retailers. This morning I looked at the top 10 U.S. retailers' websites to see what they were saying about Veterans Day and if they were running any promotions for veterans. Not sales for the rest of us, but discounts that benefit veterans and veterans alone. The results are mostly disappointing and somewhat surprising.

Here's the rundown:

Rank #1: Walmart
No acknowledgement of Veterans Day.

Rank #2: Kroger
There's a clickable link to tell us to remember veterans.

When you click on it, however, the company merely toots it's own horn about what a veteran friendly employer it is. No promotions for veterans.

Rank #3: The Home Depot
The Home Depot does fairly well. When you click on the flag on the homepage it takes you to a page that acknowledges the holiday and thanks veterans for their service. Home Depot has a year round veteran discount program but nothing special for the holiday.

 









Rank #4: Costco
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day.

Rank #5: Target
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day.

Rank #6: Walgreens
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day.

Rank #7: CVS Caremark
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day.

Rank #8: Lowes
Lowes does well. It's promotion is communicated clearly and it's generous to boot - it's extended to both current military personnel, veterans and their family members.

Rank #9: Sears Holdings
Sears offers a 3 day sales promotion, but it's for everyone, not specifically for veterans and it doesn't thank veterans for their service.

 











Rank #10: BestBuy
No acknowledgment of Veterans Day.

While it's not in the top 10, Kmart is another notable offender who cynically offers sales for the rest of us (with no words of thanks), but nothing in particular for veterans or their families.

It's hard for me to believe that there isn't money in these retailers' budgets to offer some sort of promotion for servicemen and women. I'm also pretty sure that their marketing communications staff could be nimble enough to add something to their websites today so that, at the very least, they are acknowledging today's significance to their customers; many of whom, I'm sure, are military families. So I'm nonplussed. What a missed opportunity to strategically drive sales and simultaneously improve their brand images while strengthening relationships with their customers.

Schools are closed, government workers are sitting at home in their fuzzy slippers and National Parks have opened their gates to the general public. A day off from work or school or a chance to visit one of the country's most beautiful spots is great for those of us that can benefit from it, but many of our vets are still going to work today because they have to put food on the table. And for some, that can be a real struggle. Is Veterans Day really about veterans or is it more about the rest of us? In this economy especially, doesn't it make sense that marketers should offer veterans something to acknowledge their service that will impact their pocketbooks?

UPDATE: At least some of the restaurant sector seems to get it. Allison Linn offers a list on her blog over at MSNBC of some major restaurant chains that are offering deals and giveaways to active military personnel, veterans and their families.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius. 

Guidelines For Using Photos As Web Content

Back when I started this blog, I made the conscious decision not to include images unless they were directly illustrative of the point I was trying to make. Flash forward a few months later and if I'm not writing a case study I’ve found myself starting to use images to ‘pretty up’ most, if not all, of my posts. Research by web usability guru Jakob Nielsen indicates that I should have stuck with my original plan.

Nielsen’s eyetracking studies document a dramatic gap in how users approach website (and blog) images. Here’s the major takeaways:

1. Some types of pictures are completely ignored by web users
This is typically the case for big feel-good images that are purely decorative.

2. Other types of pictures are treated as important content and scrutinized
Photos of products and real people (as opposed to stock photos of models) often fall into this category.

3. Visual bloat annoys users
Even with high-speed Internet connections and sub-second download times, users still prefer websites that focus on the information they want, rather than images and visual design, especially when they are using smartphones.

According to Nielsen (whose website is an exemplary model of web usability), pictures can make a positive difference to the user experience in some cases. In e-commerce for example, product photos help users understand products and differentiate between similar items. On corporate and personal websites and blogs users want to see the person or team behind the site, organization or company.

What it comes down to is that users pay attention to information-carrying images that show content that's relevant to the task at hand. They ignore purely decorative images that don't add real content to the page.

Aside from these practical tips there’s a larger lesson for communications professionals here. As marketers we sometimes get sidetracked and try to give our customers what we think they should want as opposed to what they really need. We usually have the best intentions–we want to delight our customers–but it can have the unintended consequence of negatively impacting their brand experience. Graphic design should always be used judiciously and only in service of the goal we're trying to accomplish, not the other way around.

I’ll admit it, I got seduced by the power of visual assets and graphic design. I was worried about what marketer Lauren Girardin calls the deadly “nothing but text” screen. Plus, social media guru Chris Brogan, in a great post about blogging best practices, says that "using pictures makes the posts pop". But Nielsen reminded me that while blogs are a unique form of website, they are websites nonetheless and normal website usability guidelines apply to them too. From here on in, I'll be following his blog usability guidelines to the letter.

What do you think? Do images enhance your user experience on this blog or would you rather do without them unless they are directly adding to the content value or brand experience?

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius. 

What's Your Marketing Approach?

Image: Louderthanadam

You can be cynical in your approach to marketing or you can be generous.

I went through 4 airports in as many days this past weekend and had to pay to get on the Internet at every one except Denver International, which gives free (and fast) access to passengers. The exchange? Watch a twenty-second ad by the wi-fi sponsor.

I don’t have the numbers in front of me, so I can’t judge whether it’s a better decision financially to nickel and dime every passenger at the airport who wants to get on their laptop, or accept sponsorship dollars from a corporation so they can put an ad of their choosing in front of every customer before they can surf the web.

What I do know is which decision would make an airport authority come out looking more generous, even while they’re getting paid for being so.

Do it right, and being generous can be a win-win all around.


Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius. 

Customer Experience Impressions From Travel

We don’t give much credence to what we’re being told unless it lines up with what we see in action.

The hotel guest information book tells me you want me to enjoy my stay, but if I have to walk outside the hotel and find the bell boy myself so I can get my luggage, I don’t believe you want me to enjoy my stay.

The signs all over the airport tell me you take my safety seriously but if I see your male employees snickering when your female employee pats me down for a body search, I don’t believe you take my safety seriously.

The in-flight video (from the CEO himself, no less) tells me you care about my customer experience, but if I’m standing at the back of the plane and I hear your employees complaining about their customers, I don’t believe you care about my customer experience.

Next time you think no-one is watching, or think no-one will notice or care, think again.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius. 

It's The Little Things-Why Birthday Emails Matter

Image: Chaim Soutine

While I was in art school, one of my professors said something that stuck with me: when viewing a piece of poorly executed art, the average person cannot articulate why or how the perspective is"off" but they always pick up that something is not quite right. Their eyes, and thus their brain, knows that the world they are seeing reflected in the painting or illustration shouldn't really look like that.

Our professor cautioned us that we should either be able to draw perspective well enough to "get it right", or intentionally skew things in an unexpected way so that the audience would get our intention, and the piece would invite further evaluation. If we didn’t do either of those things, and were lucky, our audience might forgive our mistake and appreciate what we were trying to do. Most likely though, he said, it would turn them off to the work.

The same holds true in some ways for marketing communications. The average customer or member doesn’t question how they are being communicated with when things are humming along and it's business as usual, but they immediately notice when something is off; which can create negative perceptions towards the brand they're interacting with. Depending on the audience demographic, communicators have few chances to make mistakes. Older customers tend to be loyal to brands or organizations once they’ve committed to them, but younger customers are notoriously fickle and have little patience for brands that don't hit the right note in their communications.

Conversely, customers notice when something happens that goes above and beyond their expectations. It's my birthday in a few days and I've plugged my date of birth into online forms countless times so it's always interesting to see which companies and organizations that I’ve done business with reach out to connect with me on my special day. I could be jaded and unmoved by an email wishing me well as I get another year older, especially since I know the mechanics and intention behind it, but a personalized email–even if it is automated–still means something and I appreciate the effort that went into it. Someone, somewhere, understood that sending out a birthday email makes a difference and had the thought that it was worth taking the time to program the system to shoot out that email. And when they had the thought, they told someone, who told someone, who actually took the time to make it happen.



















Granted, these types of emails are a little self-serving and they're not always completely personalized (I got the birthday email above from the Marine Corps Marathon a full three days before the actual day of my birthday, for example), but they still add a personal touch that I often don't experience from many organizations. If some of the non-profits that I support thought to send me a birthday card expressing gratitude that I am still alive and kicking (and therefore able to continue sending them money) then maybe, just maybe, I'd be more inclined to write a larger check when it came time to solicit my annual donation. Or perhaps I'd be more willing to volunteer my time to help move understaffed projects along. There's no guarantees of course, but for those non-profits who want my continued patronage it's a small investment of time and should be worth a shot.

Furthermore, if executed really well, personalized birthday emails can communicate generosity to a customer; how nice that The Marine Corps Marathon reached out, connected and acknowledged me without needing anything. Now that's intentionally skewing my perspective of their brand, in a very positive way. (Note to non-profits: please don't ever insult your constituents when celebrating them with an ask for money in a birthday card. Same applies to thank you cards and holiday greetings too.)

Getting that birthday email made me feel good about the organization and in turn I spent some time on their website checking out their charity partners. They piqued my curiosity which took my relationship with the organization to a whole new level.

So, is your email marketing interesting your customers or turning them off?

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.

Branding Is About People

I came across this article in the Korea Times, which states that "it is now widely recognized that Korean tourism needs some serious upgrading and a thorough re-branding in order to contribute to the national reputation and economy on the scale that it could and should."

The author, David Mason, is an American who has lived in south Korea for a long time. In his article he focuses on leveraging the country's incredible history and heritage to attract religious, spiritual and pilgrimage tourism. While I don't disagree that Korea has much to offer the visitor in search of this, and that these cultural attractions should be promoted, part of the rebranding effort has to focus at a more fundamental level – on the customer (aka visitor) experience. When I was there on business, it was sometimes hard to accomplish some simple things. Here's two things the Korea Tourist Board should be thinking about now:

1. Front line employees can positively impact the customer experience.
One night during my trip I was out walking and looking for something to do that didn’t involve shopping or being out in the bone chilling February cold any longer. Business travel can be stressful and I needed something to iron out the kinks so I decided to seek out a bathhouse and get a scrub massage, something I'd been told by friends was a not to be missed kind of experience. Unfortunately for me, the woman who staffed the information center that I stopped into barely spoke English and wasn't able to be terribly helpful about the bath house or any other tourist possibilities I could have availed myself of.

I managed to get a name on a piece of paper and some directions which seemed easy enough but I was tired and cold and soon forgot where she had said to go. So, I was stuck - I couldn’t pronounce the name on my piece of paper and none of the signs on the buildings matched up with the characters written on the paper. What a missed opportunity, at minimum, to alleviate stress, which studies show can be causal in changes in brand preferences. It's statistically likely that many visiting tourists will have some knowledge of the english language so why not then make information centers easy to find and staff them with people who speak English well. This could have been an opportunity to inform and delight.

2. Invest in brand ambassadors. (And think outside of the box abut who they are.)
Once I was lost, my interest in figuring out what to do next diminished rapidly and a soak in my bathtub back at the hotel sounded just fine all of a sudden. I was tired and cold so I decided to jump a cab home, since I really had no idea how far it was from where I happened to be standing at that moment. When I showed the business card of the hotel where I was staying to the cab driver, he said a lot of things to me that I didn’t understand, then ejected me from his cab!

Understand, like the department of tourism in Belize, that cab drivers are an important touchpoint for your brand and position them as such.

Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.