social media

We spend a lot of time educating our clients on the best ways to spend their digital dollars. There are tons of new ways to reach out and engage customers, generate new leads and meet their marketing goals, however just as the client expects ROI so do their customers.

Here is a perfect example of using something new, Chili’s offered free chips and salsa to people that check in using Foursquare. We think this is going to be a great way for retail outlets to reward their fans in the very near future. As location-based check in services and smart phone penetration increases, these types of offers are going to be affordable and commonplace not only with companies like Foursquare, which took off like a rocket during SXSW Interactive in Austin last year, but also with Gowalla and Facebook’s new “places” check in feature.

We have a lot training to do in the retail space before these types of offers don’t backfire on the advertiser. For example, point of sale systems need to be upgraded to accept non-traditional coupons. There is also a big training curve for servers or retail staff that must occur. These are big upfront expenses for large chains like Chili’s. You don’t just send out a memo from corporate to give away free chips and salsa to customers and expect it to go flawlessly.

Kate Buck Jr excitedly tweeted “Free chips and Salsa” as she checked in on Foursquare to her local Chili’s. Clearly, Kate was expecting a special offer.  When she showed her phone to her server, he/she replied that the coupon really needed to be printed. Really? This wasn’t just a missed opportunity, it created negative buzz—the opposite of what the company was trying to achieve.

Do you think she’ll return if she sees another “deal” for that restaurant on Foursquare? Will her nearly 28,000 followers? Probably not. Some companies “do” check-ins right: They train their employees to track check-ins, customers simply have to show up and mention the “deal” on Foursquare, and not only is the coupon honored, but the company or retailer has a method of tracking ROI when they offer deals on check-in applications.

We ran a campaign late last year for a retail client that asked users to print out a coupon because of this very problem. The point of service (POS) system could not recognize any “code” or result that could be delivered on a smart phone. While we were enthusiastically prepared to launch something creative like SMS short codes and location based check-in services offers, we had to conclude that the idea just wouldn’t work. It would be a logistical nightmare. The client was a little disappointed that they couldn’t be “sexy” with something new, but appreciated how well thought out our strategy was for their campaign.

Sometimes the answer really is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” for an advertising campaign. Think of all the training of staff and confusion and hurt feelings (and potential damage to credibility) we saved our client. Poor Chili’s…if only they had called us first.

Lesson learned, hopefully. The takeaway here for companies eager to jump on the “check-in deals” bandwagon is to think your strategy through first. If you don’t have a way to train staff to honor a coupon, a method to avoid abuse of a deal, a method to track ROI for offering that coupon—whether your goal is to bring in new customers or bring back old ones—put on the brakes and think it through. Check-in deals can be a great tool for your business, but only if it’s done right and with foresight.

An article in AdAge this week about how AT&T plans to lift its image via social media “customer care” inspired us to share our own experiences with brands that use social media-as-customer-service (and do it right). As a business or brand venturing into social media, one of the most common mistakes one can make is set up the Twitter, Facebook, etc. accounts, post a few times, garner a few followers or fans, then maintain “radio silence.” The brands that we would qualify as “social media pros” use the medium not only for promotion and marketing, but also for customer service and brand loyalty.

One recent example: A friend spent a weekend at a Westin (Starwood) Hotel in Washington, DC, and returned from his trip with some unwanted “visitors” – dust mites that not only caused an awful rash that sent him to the doctor for treatment, but he also had to disinfect his clothing, bedding, luggage, and most of his home. When he called the hotel’s customer service department, they “opened a ticket” and finally responded to him (after several phone calls) that the room in which he stayed was indeed infested with dust mites. The offered compensation? Starwood Hotel points. When my friend hung up the phone, he Tweeted to his 1,000+ followers about his experience and his dissatisfaction with the resolution. In turn, several of his followers re-Tweeted his comment and shared it on Facebook. Within about 30 minutes, he was contacted by a staffer at Starwood responsible for customer care via its Twitter page (www.twitter.com/starwoodbuzz), an email exchange followed, and he was reimbursed for his entire stay as a result. He shared that information via his social media channels as well. Our grade? “C-” for initial phone customer service contact, but an “A” for follow-up effort via Twitter and Starwood’s customer care social media staff.

A few weeks ago after lunch, I Tweeted that I was dismayed to discover Central Market didn’t carry Sparkling Lime IZZE (my favorite IZZE flavor). Literally, within about four minutes, www.twitter.com/izzetasteagents were following me on Twitter and two weeks later, my favorite supermarket/lunch haven now carries my favorite IZZE beverage. Grade? “A++” for immediacy, responsiveness, and brand loyalty incentive. Clearly, the “taste agents” are on top of their game and since one-third of Twitter users talk brands, companies have to know what’s being said about their brand (and respond!).

Other top contenders for social media customer care:

Wachovia – www.twitter.com/wachovia, ranks “A” for customer responsiveness on Twitter, but also uses the social media channel to disseminate customer information.

Zappos – www.twitter.com/zappos, online shoe retailer (admitting to a little bias with my own love of shoes), but more than 1 and a half million followers can’t be wrong, can they?

Sephora – www.twitter.com/sephora, ranks an “A” or higher for sheer consistency and number of Tweets, lack of re-Tweeting, and sharing links relevant to its customer base.

Starbucks - www.twitter.com/starbucks, (I know, I know…we’re trying to “drink local” too). Interestingly, the coffee conglomerate has fewer followers on Twitter than Zappos and many other companies (less than 1 million), but we give them a “B+” for customer engagement via contests and other “follower only” promotions.

Whole Foods – www.twitter.com/wholefoods, Tweeting from its global HQ right here in Austin, TX. More than 1.7 million followers reading Tweets about healthy eating and in-store promotions (how else would I  have heard organic cherries were on mega-sale last weekend?), but this primary account is used to respond to Twitter users, followers or not, Tweeting about their Whole Foods experience. “A++” for responsiveness (to both negative and positive comments)!

There are many that rank high on the social media customer care index – www.twitter.com/coach, www.twitter.com/harleydavidson, www.twitter.com/gap, www.twitter.com/burberry, www.twitter.com/jetblue, www.twitter.com/HRBlock, and www.twitter.com/RedCross, among others. The reason?

They know “the four Rs” of customer service via social media: reviewing, responding, recording, and redirecting.

They also understand customer engagement, the immediacy of the social media environment, and the power of social media networks. We’ll be keeping an eye on AT&T’s new customer care initiative (considering the sheer number of mentions they have on social networks – more than 10,000 – in a 24-hour period) just to see if and how high they’re going to set the bar for large companies and “social care teams.”

If your company or brand is ready to dip a toe in the waters of social media, we’re here to help with anything from consulting to managing social media campaigns, monitoring, tracking, and responding. Contact us with any questions!