Playing the marketing game...and winning

Over the weekend, I put up a post on the Designing Better Libraries blog called Playful Design. I'm sharing it with you on LM as well because the post's theme is highly relevant to librarian-marketers. In it, I outlined 12 learning principles discussed by James Paul Gee at the Gaming Learning and Libraries Symposium. These learning principles can be applied to library services to make them more enjoyable and widely-used. Play is a serious consideration as we develop meaningful patron experiences. Employing playful elements in our services can:

• Create a feeling of community; Bring together people of various backgrounds
• Engage and excite users by making them active participants
  
• Nurture word-of-mouth communications
• Increase the value of educational services by improving learning outcomes; Teach patrons how to effectively use our services
• Make using the library fun. :-)

Let's get game and play around with our services!

Getting a handle on WOM through focus groups

Though the usefulness and applicability of focus groups continues to be debated, one market researcher contends that they are an excellent tool for understanding how word-of-mouth works. George Silverman's article, How and Why to Research Word of Mouth outlines a methodology for uncovering the WOM process including the source, sequence, and content of messages.

In other WOM news, I found an article from Pittsburg's Post-Gazette.com that gives a good overview of how modern WOM marketers use technology to track buzz, and it describes the history of the company BzzAgent (Marketing: 'Word of mouth' enters 21st century). BzzAgent, by the way, is an interesting company and I recommend reviewing their site as well as how it works. I think the company has some lessons to teach about how we can engage our own patrons and support them in spreading the word.

The good of customer service

After all my talk about Delta's horrific customer "service," it's worth noting that great service is not dead. One of the best service encounters I've had recently took place at a Famous Dave's restaurant. Our initial interactions with the staff began well. They greeted us pleasantly and promptly and seated us right away. While the service to this point was good, it was not exceptional. What made it so was our waiter and the extra attention the restaurant gives first-time customers.

It was a slow time of day for the restaurant, but rather than be discouraged by the lack of tips, our waiter used the opportunity to talk in-depth about the menu. This was my first visit to Famous Dave's, and I was unfamiliar with the food. Knowing this, our waiter sat down next to us and discussed his personal favorite items and got to know my tastes and preferences so that he could make a recommendation. I asked him all kinds of questions about the meats and BBQ sauces, and he was able to confidently answer each of them. He really seemed to be passionate about his love of the food served there, which in turn made me more enthusiastic about the place as well. In fact, he was so knowledgeable and attentive that I made it a point to tell the manager about what exceptional service we received.

To top off a great meal, Famous Dave's does something that I thought was remarkable. They give each "first-timer" a free bottle of their best BBQ sauce (it's not sample-size either!) as well as a packet full of information about the company's history, it's catering service, and menu. The envelope that contains the information reads as follows:

"Dear First-timer,

Was it as good for you as it was for us? We hope so. Because as far as we're concerned, this is just the beginning of a long and happy relationship.

We want to see your smiling face at our door for many years to come. So, be sure to tell us if there's anything we can do better to keep you coming back.

In the meantime, check out the information in this envelope. We'll be waiting for your next visit with open arms and mouth-watering 'que."

Those few short paragraphs speak volumes about the company's brand and personality. This personality even carried over to the phone survey I was prompted to call on my receipt. The recording reflected this casual, conversational tone and whimsical attitude that now defines Famous Dave's for me. Notice too that the letter solicits feedback and emphasizes the notion that dining is more than transactional, it's a relationship.

To keep the relationship-building momentum going, the restaurant has a P.I.G. Club (Pretty Important Guest). By signing up, members get e-mails with important news, free gifts, and a birthday message (kids get their own birthday gifts).

I may be a pushover, but I was blown away by the entire experience. They nailed every aspect of service quality including Responsiveness, Assurance, Tangibles (the décor was very fun!), Empathy, and, well, I'll evaluate Reliability on my next visit. Furthermore, the little extras for first-timers are the definition of word-of-mouth moments (I'm telling you all about it after all!). They truly made me feel appreciated as a customer. It make me think about what we do and don't do for first-timers in our libraries. What can we do to communicate to patrons that we want a relationship with them? What kind of a welcome can we and should we give these patrons that will make them want to come back again? At my school, I'm involved with freshman orientation, but what about those who wander in for the first time? On numerous occasions, patrons say to me, "This is my first time in here..." I usually say "Welcome" and give them a map of the building, but perhaps we could have prepared materials that include vital library information and contact information so that they are encouraged to reach out to us with future questions. When someone identifies themselves as new to the library, we should recognize what a great opportunity we have to make a good impression that could last a lifetime. A light bulb should turn on reminding us that we need to make a special effort to make our fist-timers feel important. Thanks for the lesson, Famous Dave's!

Stuff worth reading (in brief)

I'm sorry to be so silent for much of this week. It's been a short week full of meetings and getting ready for my trip to Seattle for Midwinter. There's so much juicy marketing reading out there though, that I just have to pass it along, but I will have to do so in list form:

Making relationships work: MarketingProfs outlines Five Ways to Develop a Dialogue with Key 'Influencers'. Influencers are those hubs of product/service information who have a knack for guiding others. The article points out ways in which we can best interact with these important people and build an influencer program. On a similar note, Knowledge @ Wharton reports on study that reveals people are more likely to purchase something if they are "network neighbors" with existing customers (Network-based Marketing: Using Existing Customers to Help Sell to New Ones). Finally, another MarketingProfs article suggests that there's no such thing as a one-size-fits all online community, and that "microcommunities" are much more successful. The article concludes with a handy list of 5 questions people should ask themselves when building these communities.
Update: It's All Good has more to say on social networking.

Open-source soft drinks: Pepsi sent out a press release outlining its revamped marketing strategy that aims to increase interaction with its customers. Here's an excerpt from the release with some examples of what they have in mind: "Examples of the upcoming packaging designs and promotions: In the U.S., the first can, titled "Your Pepsi," will link to a website inviting consumers to help design a Pepsi billboard ad which will run in New York City's Times Square in April. Consumers in the U.S. will also have a chance to design a special paint scheme for NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon's car that will race later this year. In many international markets, designs will link to websites that enable consumers to create music and video that they can share with others. Consumers will also have access to packaging designs by some of the biggest names in sports and music." It'll be interesting to see how this works out and if there might be some inspiration here for those of us in library land.

Book of interest: BlogCritics Magazine reviews the book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing by Ron McDaniel. What interests me most about this book is that the author counters the traditional logic that only amazing, out-of-the ordinary products generate buzz. Instead, McDaniel believes that word-of-mouth can be generated by dedicated, front-line staff. If anyone has read it, I'd like to get your take, so please leave a comment.
Update: I've wanted to mention this for a while: Paul at the Idea Sandbox has an outstanding series of posts on being remarkable. The posts highlight books on the topic of differentiation, all of which are going straight to my ever-growing "To Read" list. This topic is one of my absolute favorites in marketing, so I'm excited to dive into these reads.

Marketing on a budget: Once again, MarketingProfs has a great article, this time on the topic of online marketing on a small budget. Some of the examples include using surveys, forums, and e-mail management sites.

Influencing the influential influencers

If you're like me, you're probably excited about the possibilities presented by word-of-mouth marketing, but are less certain about how to identify the influencers who will pass along their positive library experiences. We're not alone. Marketers are trying to answer the same question. I found a few pieces that address this topic that may help:

1. ClickZ mentions a study conducted by Yahoo! and comScore Networks that found that Brand Advocates (WOM spreaders) tend to spend more time online than non-advocates conducting searches and using social media. As the article states, "Researchers believe that as these advocates are investing more time and effort into their own decision making process, they are more compelled to talk about their purchases with others."

2. On Adotas, Jim Calhoun writes about a planning tool called a Viral Marketing Matrix in his piece, "Enter the Viral Marketing Matrix: Exploring the Template to Motivate Your Word-of-Mouth Revolution." The two dimensions of this matrix are Personal Appeal and Social Appeal (high/low). Simply stated, items of high personal appeal are things people want, and those of low personal appeal are unwanted. Similarly, items with high social appeal entail a social benefit; those with low social appeal entail a stigma. By figuring out where your services fall in this matrix, you can determine how to best present your message and what incentives you may need to offer. This approach appealed to me because I think library services can easily be thought of in these terms.

3. DoubleClick Inc., a digital marketing technology and services provider, released survey results in its report, Influencing the Influencers: How Online Advertising and Media Impact Word of Mouth (PDF). The study produced a number of interesting results, including the fact that "Influencers use more of all media, especially digital media. When building a marketing campaign that aims to reach influencers and tap the potential of word of mouth, digital media needs to be a critical part of the plan. Emerging media platforms such as online video, mobile web content, and blogs are also highly concentrated with influencers." Page 9 of the report lists recommended books for leveraging WOM.

Influencers are not necessarily the patrons who use our services the most. By learning about the characteristics of the patrons who influence others, we can better identify and engage them in our marketing efforts.

Catching up on all the marketing news that's fit to blog

Today's my first day back after a pleasant, restful holiday. I hope you are all off to a great start in the new year! While I may have taken a break from blogging about marketing, marketing news and articles kept on coming. As I'm trying to dig out from under all of it, I wanted to share some of the gems I uncovered (although, it's a bit of a stretch to say that I'm getting all the marketing news that's fit to blog...):

• MarketingProfs author Stephan Spencer takes a close look at MySpace and what makes a successful business profile work. In it, Spencer analyzes what good profiles have in common (including this one from the Brooklyn Museum) and interviews one businessman who reveals how he made MySpace work for his jewelry retail enterprise.
• Another MarketingProfs article turns the spotlight on Second Life and how to win over its residents (free registration may be required for this one).
• Nancy over at The "M" Word writes about how one library system employed some creative marketing tactics to increase its awareness among residents. The best part is that it sounds like these efforts were true community partnerships!
• FastCompany profiles a Silicon Valley start up that runs on customer power. This story of one open source business highlights the challenges and rewards of letting the customers call the shots (via KnowThis).
• The New York Times article, "Online Chat Is a Grapevine That Yields Precious Fruit", Dec. 25, 2006, (registration required), discusses how two pediatricians got their baby skin care business off the ground by including their customers and colleagues in its creation. They also leveraged online message boards and parenting Web sites, all with no marketing budget. (There's a lot to learn about marketing from others involved in professional fields!)
• The Media Daily News reports on an important WOM fact: most WOM (90%!) is spoken and the Internet is a key to sparking those conversations. Advertising Age also reports on these findings: "Word-of-mouth: The real action is offline," Dec 4, 2006; Vol.77, Iss. 49; pg. 20.

I think I'll leave it here for now. I'll discuss a couple of other interesting pieces about WOM and how to influence people to spread it next.