Hello, Hello, Baby, You Called?

December 15th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink

christina aguilera old phone talkie
Photo via Unknown Source, but its Xtina!

Communication. It’s such a simple word, yet such a complex thing for people to do. Why do brands have such a hard time talking to customers?

Well, “back in they day” brands could just ignore customer service letters, mess up a customer order and not say sorry, make a mistake and hope no one notices. Not this “day and age”. With social media, email, and technology the way it is, there is no reason NOT to communicate with your peeps. (Notice the “with” part. Brands should be talking with customers, not “to” them.) If you ignore them – they will let you know via any channel they can and it’s out there for the world to see and to taint your image.

So wouldn’t it be easier just to be their friend and tell them everything? I mean realistically you can’t tell them EVERYTHING, but let them know about things that affect their experience with you. Prime example of good social media “phone” skills? Take a look at men’s fashion retailer Bonobos. They had a major snafu on Cyber Monday (the site crashed completely, and for like 3 days!) and this is how their CEO handled it.

An Apology From Bonobos

They didn try to ignore it, or even explain it in a simple sentence. Andy (the head honcho) was real, to the point, and from an outisders view – honest.

He took the time to tell his peeps what was up and even honored the sale they missed out on. This is good communication. (High fiveeeee!)

Telephone Editorial - Specimen Models

Photo via Specimen Models

So basically, my point is that good communication can mean the world to your customers. If you are an honest-to-good brand, and you make a mistake – own it, explain what happend, what will happen, and your customers will forgive and forget. (well except for some haters are gonna hate, so let ‘em be) They will still love you, because that’s what we do as humans. We make mistakes, we learn from them, we forgive others, and we continue loving. (and all that gushy mushy stuff)

And.. now time for the post-like wrap up:

• Let customers know what’s going on. You may think they don’t care, but they do. This goes for mistakes, successes, or even small changes.

• Brand engagement and experience matters. Customers are spending their hard earned money, and sometimes they will spend that extra buck because they are loyal to you and no one else. Do your best to make it worth those extra pennies. Form that personal relationship with them so they know they can count on you to do the right thing.

• Know that no brand is ever perfect. Welcome customer comments – the good, bad, and the ugly.

lady-gaga-telephone-video
Photo via Mother Monster

Soooooooooo, I see many brands make slip-ups and try to hide themselves with marketing schticks. Brands that are succeeding these days (well, morally) are the ones that openly communicate with customers about mistakes, growing pains, issues, successes, testing, milestones, triumphs, basically whatever. Kinda honoring the “open door” policy. Because isnt’ that what the social world now is? A mega-door that has been opened for everyone to walk through. Social media opened the door to brands actually being a “good” friend to a customer.

When the social media phone rings, don’t just ignore it. What do you do? Pick it up and say hello. It’s a good start and will most likely lead to an ear-opening conversation.

Ta-ta for now,

xo

Tam

Start Your Engines…Fashion Forward’s Top Tweets

October 28th, 2011 § 9 comments § permalink

Fashion-Forward-Digital

Ok, going to get a bit nerdy on ya… but the race to digital dominance is on!!!!  Fashion Forward Digital amazingly brought together fashion brand leaders, digital influencers, and wickedly intelligent people discussing fashion brands’ digital work yesterday in NYC. Can I just say – it’s about freakin’ time!!! Digital is crucial to the fashion retail world  and I love that its importance is being highlighted. Albeit, I was not there physically, Twitter was so kind to update me all day with thoughtful tweety insights.  So,  partially as a reminder to myself and partially hoping this helps others, I’ve pulled out key “nuggets” (see below)  from the #FFD hashtag and collected my fav tweets!

2011 Fashion Forward Digital Insights

  • Engagement just isn’t key, conversations are too.
  • Don’t be afraid of content platforms – find new ways to connect and story-tell through. Right now, the hot tamales are Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.
  • Partner with the right people who make sense for your brand vision and understand that it’s an investment on both parts – treat them well, you’re a team  – ya know?
  • Story-tell in every way – images, words, motion – let people know who your brand is, don’t  just showcase or push your product.
  • Make use of content, social media platforms, and feedback to evaluate your sales funnel and tweak what gets discovered, discussed, and ultimately decided on (aka purchased).

See… don’t you want to be here too? If only  just to hang out with the Man Repeller and Lala, but so many good convos going on and sooo much to learn. I’m really hoping that I can make it there for the next get together!

xo

Tam

No More Mystique

October 25th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

Sometimes you have a vision of something in your head and think, well that’s the way it is, because that’s how I imagined. I kinda felt that way with DKNY PR Girl. One of THE BEST brand uses of Twitter, and now Tumblr – this persona could last foreves because there was no name, no face, no employee associated with it. But that totally changed today when this video was released.

Aliza is super cool, def knows her PR shiz, and would be so awesome to learn from. However, it just burst my bubble and all the mystery behind her persona. I think it was cool if she had always identified herself, but would she have been as successful? Maybe the answer is yes, but I’m just going to miss the mystery. :(

Wahh!

But, interested to see where this goes. With her brillance I def will keep tuned in.

xo
T

Put Your Polyvore Skills To Work To Go To NY Fashion Week

January 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Rebecca Minkoff NY Fashion Week Polyvore Contest
Rebecca Minkoff NY Fashion Week Polyvore Contest

Rebecca Minkoff NY Fashion Week Polyvore Contest

It seems like everyday there is a new way for fashion loving fans to get involved with their favorite brands. Mostly we are seeing fashion bloggers collaborating with brands, but more and more fashion houses are holding contests to have the most creative and passionate fans be a part of major events such as Levi’s Girl Brand Ambassador,  Sunglasses Hut Fulltime Blogger Contest, American Apparel’s lookbook, and Burberry’s Art of the Trench.

The latest and greatest is Rebecca Minkoff using Polyvore sets to choose a winner to come to New York Fashion Week  to help style and attend her show. This is great exposure for Rebecca as Polyvore usage has skyrocketed over the past 2 years, and with their recent launch of Style Analytics , they should be able to track interactions with its products more effectively. I think it’s great that so many brands are opening up their doors to let the ordinary fashion lover have a chance to experience NY Fashion week , be on a huge photo shoot production, or be a part of the brand everyday. This is what may fans aspire to do and through social media and great platforms like Polyvore, we now have a chance to do it.  Want your chance? Enter now! The contest ends 1/24/11.

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The Power of You – Levi’s Searches For New Social Media Brand Ambassdor

January 23rd, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

Levi's Girl Social Media Ambassador

Levi's Girl Social Media Ambassador
The message from the Levi’s Girl Facebook Tab

“Smart marketers know that it’s no longer the marketers’ brand – it’s the consumers’ brand. Letting go of that control is somewhat the point—our fans want to communicate with a real, genuine personality who embodies the spirit of Levi’s.” -Mary Alderete

When I saw the above quote from PR Couture’s interview with Levi’s, I thought to myself  “no wonder Levi’s is thought of as a fashion social media leader”. Levi’s understands what it’s consumer wants and needs and understands the importance of engaging with its fans. The current Levi’s Girl for the UK is the popular fashion blogger Kristin Knox from the Clothes Whisperer who also is featured in the video on Facebook in search for the U.S. brand ambassador.

With having a real person who embodies the brand personality, it connects fans emotionally to the brand and forms a relationship that is more personal than just a brand talking to a consumer. But Levi’s just isn’t choosing its own brand ambassador, it’s letting the Facebook community decide who they want it to be. It seems like the whole contest revolves around the consumer choice which is definitely why Levi’s has almost 3 million fans on Facebook and why it continues to be a leader in the social media space. It gives the power of the brand to you.

Read the full interview on PR Couture here.

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