May, 2008

Branding / Personal Branding — 5 Comments
28
May 08

Authenticity, Disclaimers and a Radio Commercial

Paris Las Vegas
Photo Credits: http2007

On my way back from work these last few days I’ve repeatedly heard a radio commercial for comedian Roseanne Barr’s Las Vegas show that really ticks me off. Nothing against Roseanne, though. It’s more against the commercial itself.

The commercial is staged as an interview, where Roseanne answers several questions about her show. But the interview is not real. The original recording has silent pauses engineered into it, so that local DJ’s can fill in with their voice and “ask” the questions.

Clever, but fake. At the end, we hear the disclaimer: “the preceding segment has been a paid advertisement”.

The worse part is that the “interviewers” are well known local radio DJ’s who we’ve learned to like and trust. They are, nevertheless, lending themselves to a charade designed to fool their most loyal listeners as if to say: Ha! made you listen…..

Maybe I’m overreacting to a simple commercial. But again, maybe not. Maybe us, the consumers, are really getting tired of artificial, top down messages and the usual tricks and gimmicks of traditional advertising.

Maybe we are increasingly putting a heavy premium on authenticity and transparency. That would explain why people revolt when large corporations sponsor fake blogs or when they take over niche cult brands .

As we build our small business and personal brands, it would be wise to remember not to make the same mistakes that traditional media and large corporations sometimes make, and to communicate with our audience with authenticity and respect.

Just remember this rule of thumb: if you need a disclaimer, you’re probably not being authentic.

Business — 7 Comments
20
May 08

How to Handle Customer E-mail

I don’t like to spend money on cars, but with $4 per gallon of gas and my 12 year old Jeep acting up I decided to just move on and buy a smaller, more efficient vehicle.

A friend at work had recently bought a Scion xD, a cool little car loaded with features, a decent engine and great fuel economy. I liked it and decided that it would be my next car.

I started my new car search by emailing four local Scion dealers (let’s call them dealers A, B, C and D) to see if they had the color I wanted (and also to evaluate their responses as a marketing experiment). My email request was simple: I told them that I was looking for a silver, base xD and asked for two things: price and availability.

Following is a summary of the answers I received:

Dealer D

Didn’t answer.

Dealer C

They sent me three consecutive emails, none of which answered my question. Instead, I received these gems:

Email 1:

Hello Mario !
I have good news for you! Give me a call (xxx) xxx-xxxx or reply to this email. Please call me at your convenience. You’ll be glad you did!

Email 2:

Dear Mario,
We’d like to welcome you to our new Virtual Dealership!
Click the arrow to the right to view your special presentation.
Please feel free to reach me at any time. I look forward to
working with you.
Have a great day!

Email 3:

Hello Mario !
Thank you for your interest in the Toyota (sic) . Below is a brochure containing additional information. Please click below and it should open right up. If you have any trouble, please pick up the phone and call me john doe (not his real name) at (xxx) xxx-xxxx. Also, if you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact me.

Three emails, no answer. Just spam and fluff.

Dealer B

These guys were close, but in the end fell short. Their first email came back quoting me an xD with $389 in options, when I had clearly stated that I wanted a base car. On top of that, they had added a $699 dealer fee.

I politely wrote back saying that I appreciated the response, but that I had requested a car w/o options, and that I would not pay any “dealer fees”.

They wrote back, two days later, with a new quote, this time without the options and the dealer fees. In the two days it took them to get back to me, though, I was already talking to dealer A and we were already far ahead into the process.

If dealer B would have answered my question from the start, or at least wouldn’t have taken two days to send me their second quote, they may have gotten the business. Instead, they blew it.

Dealer A

A sales woman immediately answered my email, giving me a price and letting me know that they had three cars in stock that fit my criteria.

I replied back asking her if that was the net price before tax, tag and title. She wrote back immediately, confirming that yes, it was, and that since this was an Internet transaction they would waive the dealer fee.

I then made an appointment to test drive the car. That day, she had all the paperwork ready and made the process a breeze. She even made arrangements to wash my wife’s car while we waited for my new car to be ready.

In Summary

Why did dealer A get my business?

  1. Because they answered my e-mail in the first place.
  2. Because they answered directly and promptly.
  3. Because there was a real person on the other side.
  4. Because they gave me the specific information I was looking for.
  5. Because they didn’t send me spam.
  6. Because they didn’t try to bamboozle me into having to call them.
  7. Because they didn’t try to pull the old bait and switch.

Seth Godin’s latest book has a lengthy section on the value of direct email communication with customers. This is pretty much what he says:

Every organization now has the ability (and probably the responsibility) to deal directly with the world. With customers, with prospects and with those impacted by their actions. No middlemen. This direct connection is an asset or a risk, depending on how you look at it.

Some companies regard email communication as a cost and therefore avoid it. Others consider it an excuse to send spam. Others, however, see it as an opportunity to build a business, as our little example shows.

Personal Branding / Social Media — 29 Comments
8
May 08

Personal Branding Tips for LinkedIn

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social network of more than 20 million professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments, pretty much like an online resume, but with important social networking elements baked into it.

Here are some personal branding and marketing tips to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile:

Add a picture

You can add your picture and display it at the top of your profile. A picture helps create a personal connection and conveys the message that you take networking seriously.

You can use the same picture you use in other social networking sites, so that those who frequent them may identify you more easily (brand recognition).

Create a personalized URL

When you join LinkedIn, your profile will be assigned a random URL such as:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/496/aa7

Not very marketable.

You have the option, however, to create a personalized URL such as:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname/

If you want an even better URL, you can always register yourname.com for less than $10/year and forward it to your LinkedIn profile page for the ultimate in URL branding.

Promote your profile with LinkedIn buttons

Like other social networking sites, LinkedIn offers a wide array of icons and buttons that you can use to promote your LinkedIn profile on your site or blog.

View Mario Sanchez-Carrion's profile on LinkedIn
You can chose among many different styles, and link them to your profile.

Create a LinkedIn email signature file

A LinkedIn email signature file displays your contact information including a link to your LinkedIn profile, in a variety of layout styles. The only caveat is that LinkedIn signatures are designed using HTML, and therefore will work with Outlook but not with Gmail or Hotmail.

If you don’t like any of the default styles, you can always use an HTML editor and create your own signature file, or create one directly in Outlook (you can use one of the LinkedIn buttons discussed before to make the link to your profile stand out).

If you use Gmail or other email provider that doesn’t accept HTML, you can always create a text-based signature file, and include a link to your LinkedIn profile by writing your URL preceded by http://.

Always include a Summary

LinkedIn lets you write a few paragraphs about yourself as part of your profile. You must take advantage of this since the Summary almost always gets read. This is your chance to include your elevator pitch or any other carefully crafted statement where you put your best foot forward.

Make your summary objective, but not boring. Avoid sounding self serving and corporate: if the summary of your qualifications sounds like it came out of an automatic mission statement generator delete everything and start again.

I suggest that you read the profile summaries of several members first, to help you decide how you would like your profile to read.

Participate in Questions & Answers

LinkedIn has a Q&A section where you can pose questions and answer other people’s inquiries. By actively using this feature you can share your expertise with other members and enhance your reputation in your field.

When answering questions, pretend you’re commenting on a blog or an online forum. The idea is to help others and add something meaningful to the conversation, not to openly advertise your products and services. If you are too aggressive you will turn people off. If you honestly try to help, people will naturally come to you.

Fill up the Specialties section carefully

Some LinkedIn users search for people by keyword. For example, if somebody does a LinkedIn search for “Online PR” and the term Online PR is listed among your specialties, your profile has a better chance to pop up for that query. Make sure to include all your areas of expertise in the Specialties field.

What other tips do you use to promote yourself in LinkedIn?