Mystery Shopping and Customer Experience

I read a post on RetailCustomerExperience.com that was an OpEd on Mystery Shopping.  The premise is that mystery shopping isn't enough.  It was a good piece, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

"Mystery Shopping" is when Retailers send in undercover shoppers to get a first person view of their store environment.  Is this done often?  Well, there is a Mystery Shopping Provider Association (MSPA).  That about sums it up (and I can't make this stuff up).

Oh, it's a mystery alright!
Some of the comments I read got me to thinking and lead to this post.  My opinion is that Mystery Shopping has a lot of benefits, but one of them is not evaluating the customer experience.  With an experience, the only thing that matters is how it is received.  It's the first rule of communication:  It's not what you say that matters, but what is heard.  Just like you cannot predict or be a proxy for how your message is heard, you can't send proxies to measure how your customers feel about their experience.

A mystery shopper can confirm and measure if an experience is being delivered as intended.  This much is true.  They are not going to be a good measure of how your real customers are feeling about that experience (especially if you have to pay the mystery shopper to shop at your store).

Marketing is all talk.
It's not surprising that many marketing people don't truly understand the nature of terms they use, like "experience".  Marketing has become a 1-way communication vehicle that is obsessed with what they, themselves, have to say (their message) and oblivious to what their customers are saying or how their message is being received.  Where we always say that "selling is about listening, not talking", it seems that Marketing is only about talking.

"Me too!"
Why do you think that social networks and social media has taken off?  What are most people talking about?  Their experiences, including their shopping experiences.  What this tells us is that the consumer has a lot to say and we only need to shut up and listen.  The retailers stopped listening because they have all of the "data and metrics" that they need, and they don't need or have time for human interaction.  So what do the consumers do?  They talk to each other!  They are looking for validation of their feelings and they get it when they here "Me too!"  When we feel something, experience something, we don't automatically believe that everyone else feels the same way.  If we did we would not express our feelings because we'd just be stating the obvious.  In fact, we often wonder "is it just me?".  Retailers could help answer that, but they don't.  So, the social community is happy too.  Meanwhile, companies and retailer are wondering why they feel like outsiders in the world of social networking and social media.  Ha ha ha.

In the store, and in the moment.
Just like we need to kick the Senators out of DC and send them home to reconnect with the people they represent, we need to kick Marketing out of HQ.  Be humans and find customers to talk to 1:1.  Then call me and we'll talk about how interactive digital signage gives you multiple ways to connect with your customers in the store and in the moment.

Thanks for reading!

How to empty a stubborn trash can on your Mac

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I found it extremely helpful and wanted to share it.

I use several Macs, all are running Snow Leopard Version 10.6.x.  At some point, I noticed that the "Empty Trash" became "Secure Empty Trash".  I'm familiar with the concept and think it's all good.  There's one problem.

IT TAKES FOREVER!  (....and in many cases doesn't actually do what it is supposed to do).

I've been getting "....locked" errors that I have no ideas what they mean.  I need to free up desktop and I literally let the secure empty trash run over night and the next morning......it was still running!

I found this tip which works wonders.  In particular, the command-line version seemed to work quickly and flawlessly.  Here it is:

From Terminal, type the following and press return:

rm -rf ~/.Trash/*

It is my new best friend until Apple fixes the "feature".

Thanks for reading!

-Jbob

Social Media Marketing: It's About Relationships

Advertising and Marketing execs are going crazy and can't jump on the Social Media band wagon fast enough.  Best Buy has the whole company tweeting on Twelpforce, every company on the planet is getting a Facebook page, and it goes on and on.  There is a wide range of results that are being seen and what some of these companies are doing appears quite reactionary, if you ask me.  It feels like a lot of "we need to do this but I'm not sure why" is going on.

However, Social Media Marketing is a very different animal and it has many traditional marketing and advertising types scratching their heads and maybe a bit out of their element.  It also seems as if having a blog, tweeting, and 2,000 Facebook friends can transform a marketing person into a Social Media Marketing person.  At least that is what you think if you did a search on that job title on Linked-In.

I say all of this as the founder of java.net and someone that has been actively participating in online community building, social networking, Open Source, and emergence theory research for over a decade.  During my work and tenure at Sun Microsystems, I was privileged to know and collaborate with some of the most brilliant minds, like Ward Cunningham who developed the first Wiki, and many others that were precursors to modern day social media.

RELATIONSHIPS AND PERSONAL CREDIBILITY
I know the nature of this beast that has come to be known as Social Media Marketing and it has more to do with group dynamics and emergent behavior than it does with marketing.  That is the single biggest challenge to marketing people today.

• Unlike the traditional megaphone of advertising and marketing that focuses on talking at the masses, Social Media is about conversations that take place among the masses.  

• Unlike like the microscope that big-brother marketing and advertising use to observe and collect information about the masses, Social Media is about the relationships within the masses that makes people willing to share information about themselves.

Social Media Marketing is about leveraging the relationships and the personal credibility that comes with the relationships.  That is the power of Social Media Marketing and what makes it different from every other type of marketing.  If you don't believe me, consider the issues of profiling and privacy.

PRIVACY AND PROFILING
I recently heard a great exchange about privacy and profiling that occurred between an advertising agency person and an audience member during a panel discussion at the Digital Signage Expo in Vegas a couple of weeks ago.  It came down to this:

The audience member said "It's ok when we do it to ourselves, but not when you do it to us".

The Ad Agency claimed that since everyone is posting their every move and most intimate details on Facebook, that they have given up their privacy and that privacy was no longer important to them.

So, where is the disconnect?  I'll tell you.

When someone joins Facebook and puts personal information up there, they don't see it as making it public.  They see it as them sharing information with their friends.  They see this group as people they have a relationship with, whether that be by mutual acquaintance, interests, or experiences.  They also feel like they are in control of the situation.  They decide what to post and who to add as friends.

Unfortunately, we all want to be popular and we measure popularity by how many friends we have.  This leads people to add EVERYONE as a friend and Ad Agencies are misreading this.  It's true that once the group of friends becomes the group of all people, is diminishes the notion of being a friend.

However, this naivety is nothing more than a case of mom needing to do a better job with the "they aren't really your friends, sweetie" message.  Ad Agencies see this ill discretion as a desire to be a public figure and a surrender of their right to privacy.

FRIENDLY VESUS CREEPY
So, when a "friend" says they heard you bought the latest Miley Cyrus CD, that is very different than Apple quoting chapter and verse of your last 6 months of music purchases.  The former is considered normal and friendly and the latter is creepy.

The real difference between the two is the person's perception of the relationship.  The complete stranger that they added as a Facebook friend is perceived as a friendly relationship.  This same person doesn't perceive that they have a friendly relationship with Apple, so different rules apply.

My final word to ad agencies and marketers is this.  Unless you are willing to enter into a social relationship with the people you are marketing to, be very careful how you implement Social Media Marketing.  It is a tool, but a fool with a tool is still a fool.

Thanks for reading.

Social Media Marketing is Word of Mouth Marketing on Steroids

There's nothing like a new buzz word to launch an industry and cause millions of resumes to be updated as everyone tries to become relevant to the latest trend.  Enter Social Media Marketing.

In reality, Social Media Marketing is nothing more than Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM), and that is nothing new.  The problem is that Marketing and Advertising people having been talking for so long that they have forgotten how to listen.  This is why Social Media Marketing is so foreign to them.

• Marketing is what you say to people.  It's your message.  

• Word of Mouth Marketing is what people say about you behind your back.¹

The only difference is that the always-on, instantly-accessible Internet has enabled Social Media Marketing to be more like WOMM on steroids.

People have been talking about how crappy your company is, to their friends and families, for generations.  It's just that now, we refer to their friends and family as their "network" and the news doesn't wait until the next family gathering.

Social Media and Internet allow us to share information with more people, more quickly, than any time in history.  If a fat guy got kicked off an airplane because he couldn't fit in the seat 10 years ago, the only people who knew were the passengers (all of their friends) and the flight crew (and all of their friends).  If that happens today, the fat guy tweets about it and the whole world knows within minutes.

So maybe Marketing has now come out of their coma and realizing that this is happening.  If that's the case, Twitter and Facebook have served a noble cause.

Social Media Marketing is also changing the rules and Marketing is having a hard time accepting the rules. The old rules of Marketing state that:

• I own the message.  I control the message.
• It's about me telling the masses what I want to tell them.

Social Media Marketing is about getting people to repeat your message, with their spin (their filter), to all of their friends.  In turn, their friends do the same.

The resulting message that gets received isn't your original message (that you spent days on trying to find just the right words).  It's your message with 2 things important things added that you could never add.  Personal relevance and credibility.

It goes from

"50% off Single Day Pass for Children under 13 for a limited time at Sea World"

to

"Hey Jane, look at this.  This might be a great idea for Johnny's birthday.  - Cathy".

The first message gets deleted and caught in the junk filter if Jane is lucky.  The second get serious consideration.  Your company was trying to sell tickets to strangers and Cathy sold an idea for a birthday party.

So, don't be afraid of Social Media Marketing.  Just don't market to it the same old way either.  The good news (or bad news) is that now you know what people are saying about you!

Thanks for reading.

¹ I borrowed this description of Word of Mouth Marketing from "How to not suck at sales" by Jeffery Gitomer

Leveraging Digital Media To Connect With Your Congregation

In my previous post, I mentioned how I hosted a few lunch and learns at the Digital Signage Expo 2010 (DSE) in Las Vegas.  One was focused on houses of worship and the topics was on how to leverage Digital Media to connect with your congregation.

Advancements in Digital Media and the advent of Digital Signage have created an abundance of previously unavailable opportunities to reach and connect with your congregations on a much deeper and more meaningful way.  Combine this with control technologies to incorporate the whole environment into the delivery of your message and you create a memorable experience.

8 ideas on how to better connect with your congregation using digital media:

1) NEW COMER EXPERIENCE

Imagine how newcomers feel the first time they enter your parking lot, come through your doors, navigate your lobby, and atrium.  Are they new to the area?  New to your faith?

“Newcomers typically make a decision within the first 5 minutes about whether or not they’ll come back”    – Cally Parkinson, Dir of Comm at Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL

Q:  How can digital signage and digital media create a welcoming, familiar, experience that conveys the spirit of your congregation?

2)  SERVICING THE DISABLED AND ELDERLY

Video On Demand recording of sermons that can be viewed outside of the church, temple, or mosque from the web so that housebound or hospitalized members of the congregation can feel included in the services.  This same video can also be viewed in schools during religious instruction.

Digital Signage can be used to display what’s happening at the altar or podium for those not sitting close enough to see and include the text of the reading for the hearing impaired.

3) WAYFINDING

Using Digital Signage for wayfinding in a large facility can vastly improve the experience for the worshipers.  More and more houses of worship are using digital signage for wayfinding to better communicate to their congregation what is available to them, where it is, and how and when to go there. 

4) MULTI-LOCATION AND MULTICASTING

As congregations grow, many houses of worship grow into multiple building or locations.  Digital Signage along with Video On Demand or Video Distribution can be used to spread the word simultaneously to a dispersed audience.  You can show live or recorded video from regional spiritual leaders to all church members in the region (i.e. a bishop addressing all churches in a diocese).

5) EMERGENCY MESSAGING

Digital Signage used with a control system can automatically turn every display into an emergency messaging system in the event of a crisis.  It can be automatically trigged when a fire alarm is triggered, for example, and direct the congregation to the nearest exit.

6) CREATING THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT USING CONTROL

Control systems can also enable you to orchestrate audio and video with other environmental systems like lighting to create the right effect and atmosphere with a single press on a touch panel strategically located at a podium or altar.  You can also automate turning everything on and off with a single button press to simplify preparing the environment before and after an event.

7) GENERAL MESSAGING AND FUNDRAISING

Digital Signage is an efficient way to communicate important announcements, events, and other information is a timely and attention grabbing way.  You can generate ad revenue as well, similarly to how it is done in many weekly church papers.  You can enable your congregation to leave personal messages and well wishing at special events (i.e. a wedding or holiday celebration) for a donation.  You also have the flexibility that you would never get with the deadlines associated with print media.

8) INTERACTIVE KIOSKS

People go to Houses of Worship for many reasons.  Many go for guidance and direction.  Why not have touch screen kiosks that can display relevant bible passages organized by topic in your lobby?  Maybe I’m trying to understand how to handle a situation that I’m not comfortable talking about, but can select the appropriate subject and be directed to relevant passages?  Maybe I’m new to a religion or congregation and want to understand how and when certain events happen.  An interactive kiosk in the atrium would provide a helpful and welcoming experience.

One final note on the Lunch & Learn.  It was very interesting to see many of the attendees where not church staff or officials, but rather lay people from various walks of life that volunteer their expertise to their church and we looking to learn how their congregation could benefit from Digital Media.  One conclusion that could be drawn is that the houses of worship themselves are not necessarily up to speed yet on the topic, so it's probably independent grass roots efforts that will help digital media find it's way in there.

Thanks for reading!

How Digital Signage Will Transform Retail

I recently attended the Digital Signage Expo (DSE) in Las Vegas and facilitated a couple of Lunch & Learns for attendees.  One of the topics was Digital Signage in Retail.  I like to bring ideas to the table when I talk to customers as a way of adding value.  Here are 6 ways that I see Digital Signage transforming Retail and the Shopping Experience:


1) WAY-FINDING 
Way-finding is becoming the killer app for digital signage in retail. You can provide a more intuitive and interactive experience to customers than is possible with a static directory map. Imagine being able to search for an item and being shown exactly where it is in the store, if it is in inventory, and if there are any related specials (e-Coupons). Rather than having a pile of printed flyers, you can use digital signage to create a digital concierge that can advertise specials with context and show the “hot spots” in the store where today’s best deals are. 

2) INTERACTIVE PRODUCT DISPLAYS
Many retail outlets have product displays that offer little more than a marketing pitch and do little to help educate consumers and help them along the decision process. As a result, customer do their research elsewhere and come to your store to see if you carry the product they want and what your price is. With digital signage and control systems, you can create an interactive product display that actually helps customers make decisions. An interactive digital sign can display relevant information in the context of the product or products being touched and even provide comparisons information when multiple products are picked up. This same data that drives the content can be used for forecast reporting to compare previous touches to current purchases. Interactive signage can augment the expertise you have in store by providing an easy reference tool for local experts, as well as level the knowledge playing field for the rest of your team. This is important since everyone can’t be an expert on everything. 

3) VIRTUAL CUSTOMER SERVICE 
Imagine a scenario where a customer is wandering in an aisle getting frustrated because they don’t know which product they need or if what they are trying to do will work. There’s nobody nearby and the customer service desk is at the other end of the store. They walk up to an interactive digital sign and immediately have access to a lot more information than is provided on any packaging, including reviews, how-tos, etc. However, they still have some questions. Right from the sign they can page an expert. They get a message to please wait along with the name and photo of the in-store expert on duty at the time. The expert gets notified within the store and because it came from a specific digital sign, they know what isle the customer is in, as well as, what type of products they are looking at. With voice over IP (VOIP), they can use their radio to tell the customer that they will be right there. When they arrive, if they can’t answer all of the customer’s questions, they can contact your call center, which is in another part of the country, right from the sign and speak with a manufacturer rep. The right digital signage strategy can accomplish all of this. 


4) IN-STORE & ONLINE CONVERGENCE
All retail establishments have both an online and brick & mortar presence. In many cases, the two are still woefully separate. Being able to buy online and pick-up at the store or check store inventory online just isn’t good enough anymore. Use digital signage in your stores to create access to the depth of information that is available online but in a new way. Become the place that customers go to first to learn and make purchase decisions, not just a stop at the end for the best price. Because of the dynamic nature of digital signage, you can provide up to the minute product information, including recalls and impromptu promotions for overstocked items. 


5) MANNEQUINS & PERSONAL SHOPPERS
Why limit your customer’s imagination to what’s on the mannequin. Use digital signage to create a virtual mannequin that can help customers create a variety of outfits. By scanning an item off of a rack, the digital signage can help recommend the rest of the outfit, show you where the articles are, and if they have your size. If the customer is looking at formal wear, you can offer them a promotion offer at the salon or makeup-counter if that is appropriate. 

6) TURN YOUR STORE INTO A VIRTUAL TRADESHOW
With the right combination of Digital Signage and Control systems, you can create the same kinds of effects in your retail environment that you see at industry tradeshows. Why not create that kind of buzz everyday in your stores and redefine the shopping experience for your customers? 


Thanks for reading!

For Digital Signage, Context is King.

Digital Signage has ushered in a new King, and that crown goes to Context.

This is because successful Digital Signage creates a contextually aware interactive digital experience for the audience. In this post, let's focus on what it means to be contextually aware.

What is Contextually Aware?

Print media is hit or miss and a 1 way push of information. You decide the message and push it out there hoping that it's the right message and still relevant by the time it's put in all of the places it's supposed to be. We've all seen out of date billboards and displays as we travel around and shop. It's one of the reasons why most print-based campaigns are typically overlooked. They have become noise and more often than not are not relevant or not relevant enough.

Additionally, recent studies have shown that one a piece of content is viewed for the 7th time, the human brain filters it out.  Therefore being able to change content frequently, even small subtle changes, is extremely important.

There are two levels of context.

• Situational Context: This is context that is based on what is happening at the moment.  It adapts to input or changes in behavior. An example of situational context is that I am looking at a particular type or style of clothing and the digital signage informs and directs me to the rest of the outfit, accessories that match, or other information that makes it easier to find or decide "what" to buy (not "if" to buy).  This is the mobile phone display that changes content based on what phone I pick up.  It also knows to show comparison information if I am holding more than one.

• Personal Context: This context is based on who I am. This is based on some level of familiarity about some aspect of my identity.  It could be as simple as recognizing my gender or differentiating an adult from a child.  It could get as deep my personal tastes and typical buying behaviors. This is digital signage that can differential me from you and the more it can derive about me, the more relevant the experience gets. It knows what I typically buy and let's me know of in-store specials or entices me to buy something that it knows I buy.  An example is a wayfinder digital sign with bar code reader.  If I scan my loyalty card, it can direct me to specials throughout the store that are tailored to me and my buying history.  iTunes does this all of the time on the web and it's time we experienced this in the real world.  Help me make the best use of my time in the store and it will result in more sales.

You certainly cannot do that with print media or even with what I like to call "Powerpoint on a stick".  That is where some generic marketing material is cycling on a monitor for the general audience and you can literally do that in Powerpoint.

Next we will look at the interactive nature of contextually aware digital signage and I'll elaborate more on "Powerpoint on a stick".

Thanks for reading.