Pic: French Label Jours Aprés Lunes who is managing your online reputation? Just last week, Target became the latest retailer to come under attack over Facebook from a dissatisfied mother of a teenage girl who accused the retailer of producing clothes that made her daughter look like a tramp. More than 50,000 likes later and over 48 hours had passed when Target responded to the post. A bad customer experience and sharing this feedback has taken on a new meaning with the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Within moments 100 or more of your customer’s network will know about it, and have the potential to share with their networks. How companies deal with negative feedback is essential Identify the issue. Take the time to read the message carefully, and understand the issue. Respond quickly. Address the issue as soon as possible, the longer you leave it the more traction it can gain. Show empathy. Acknowledge the issue, and show genuine concern in resolving it. Respect your customer’s privacy. Once the issue has been acknowledged publicly, take it offline and contact the customer through a private channel. Don’t take it personally. Don’t take the feedback as an attack personally on you. Keep a level head and respond in a professional manner, but also in a tone appropriate to that channel, ie if on Facebook keep it conversational and chatty. Offer a solution. And try to minimise hand-offs. If you can solve the problem for the customer, do so without directing them elsewhere. Close the loop. If the issue can’t be solved in that moment, let the customer know the timeframe and next steps. Also ensure you make contact with them at the end of the process to ensure they are satisfied with the solution. Identify a small team who are responsible for monitoring your companies various channels, and empower them to respond as appropriate. Being able to respond to your customer’s issue, in a timely and genuine manner will go a long way in turning their bad experience into a good one, and will minimise the damage to your online reputation. Annemaree

How mobile phones have changed the planet The power of marketing is now mobile, and it's easier than ever to put your message in your clients' hands. Here are how some savvy companies are leveraging mobile shopping, social integration and brand connection. Maybe there's something you can do too? 1. hail the fashion cab! Glamour magazine launched a totally fabulous way for weary New Yorkers to order their YSL eye saviour. In the back of a cab between shows during NY fashion week, fashion sisters could download an app and swipe the screen to order their Touche Eclat! 2. QR codes are turning up everywhere! Those weird patterns printed on ads and products are starting to take off in a big way. Whilst it's a great way for a reader to get more info from ads, smart marketers are using QR codes to make their shop fronts work 24/7. QR - 'quick response codes' - are graphics, like barcodes, but can hold much more information. You need an app for your iPhone to 'read' a QR code, but they are free and downloadable from the app store. You swipe your iPhone over the code and it links you to the data, which can be just about anything. Want to get people to download your app? A QR code is a great way to send your customers directly to the right place to download it without lifting a finger... Check out Qkies - proving you can have your QR code & eat it too! 3. socialising is what we do! There's no denying that social media is here to stay - in fact, social media is literally taking over the planet. consider this: Facebook has 800 million active monthly users & growing Twitter has 230 million tweeters LinkedIn has 135 million subscribers and everybody's doing it! 98% of 18-24 year olds & 82% of 55-64 year olds use social media think it's a one hit wonder? Social networks reach 82% of the worlds internet population. Nothing else does.... but why? 67% of us use social media to stay in touch with friends 64% use it to stay in touch with our family members But only 5% of us use social media to catch up on what's happening with celebrities, or so we say.. . hot topics on social media 2011 #1 Death of Osama bin Laden #2 The Super Bowl #4 Charlie Sheen #5 Death of Steve Jobs #6 The Royal Wedding #7 Death of Amy Winehouse #8 Call of Duty, Modern Warfare Proof is that to make it big in social media today is to ...... die or kill your career! so what do people want to do on social media? 63% of Facebook users seek out sales & promotional codes 51% participate in polls 62% look for the latest news about their brands on Facebook 61% seek out new product information 58% look for contests & giveaways & if you need more proof... social ad spending will rise by 45% to $8 billion ( a miserly $3 billion in 2011) Facebook will generate $5.78 Billion in ad revenue in 2012 Twitter will generate $259.9 million in ad revenue 2012 money talks!

Clever name, clever idea! Innovative thinking at its best. Whilst crowdfunding is not new, this is a particularly good example of great, easy to use web design that connects interested people to interesting projects. It's what many social networks try to do, and many fall short. So why does Pozible work: 1. it's easy to engage with. You can be a follower and a supporter for as little as $1 donation. 2. there is a wide range of projects - from dancers raising money to get them to an international dance event, to funds sought to publish a comic to lots of great films (check out 'I've Been Here So Long' by my son ;) which all rely on the interest of others to help get their projects off the ground. 3. It has brilliant sharing functionality and SEO. Hat's off to Pozible.com.au - a smart destination for new ideas to garner public support. I pledge to visit it often and toss the value of a bottle of vino in someone's cap each month. All the fun without the hangover. Check it out. It's a site worth everybody's attention to participate in and to learn from. After all, great work deserves to be shared! AnneMaree Fitzgerald

There's a lot to know about Facebook and every day there's more and more to learn. Which is great, because it means that the channel has the flexibility to evolve quickly and brilliantly. Are you using facebook to: 1 . Drive new people to your brand? Here's one savvy business owner who is doing it well. Can you think of a Facebook page that might draw a new group to your brand that isn't your business name? eg: "my favourite hairdresser in Sydney" or "Beautiful Teeth in Melbourne?" Like Google, you need to drive people to your site or page by understanding how people search for what you offer. Obviously, if they don't know your brand already, they will search by what you do or sell. See how the image works below to grab attention when searching for a sale page. 2. Sell products online? Why divert friends to your website or Ebay shop if you can seal the sale right here on Facebook? Check out Lady Gaga's merchandise shop and imagine if you could have even a capsule range of products or service vouchers on your Facebook page? Service providers should be offering gift vouchers and promoting them through status posts. eg: ""No time for shopping around? A voucher she'll love in 60 seconds flat!" (hair/beauty/spa vouchers, lingerie voucher, fresh fruit delivery) eg: "all you need to know about the law but were too afraid to ask!" vouchers for a 15 minute telephone conversations about........ divorce, liability, fence disputes........ you name it. It's a great way to introduce a new generation to legal advice. 3.Test drive your new ideas? Facebook polls are a great way to find out what your friends think. Perhaps you're planning a new range of board shorts for your surf shop. Wouldn't it be a good idea to road test your design by asking what would your friends buy.... a: the new shorter shorts Italian style, b: old school surfer boardies, c: bring back speedos please!!! Link the poll to your Facebook page of designs and see the votes roll in.....and sales take off! Just three things to think about for your Facebook business channel - ignore it at your peril! Have a great weekend! AnneMaree Fitzgerald

I attended an Anthill entrepreneurs night in Melbourne this week, 60 people in a room all with big ideas and trying to wrestle them into a success story. Some were gorgeously young and naive, some of (us) were a little older, more experienced and a lot more circumspect. What we heard from the young and enthusiastic 'entrepreneurial speakers ranged from: "the key to success is (wait for it)....being prepared to work hard" ....to...."if I was launching a restaurant today, I'd artificially inflate the price of a meal and then discount it on Spreets", because "traffic is everything." Entrepreneurial experts? Should we be worried? I think the audience was smart enough to know that sometimes even the most 'clever' of us say some pretty stupid things. Let's look at "traffic is everything" first. The dynamos of online and social media spruik that instead of talking to a prospect 'one to one', we should find ourselves talking to a mass audience. That can be great if we're selling chicken nuggets or diabolical if we've had a glitch in our booking system (Jetstar). The scale of opportunity today is very much the domain of the mass marketers. Is that you? It's certainly not me! How much traffic volume does your business need? I can't see the rationale for driving the masses to your website or Facebook page if you're selling to up to 500 clients a month, why focus on talking to millions? Of course, 500 clients a month demands a steady flow of prospective clients and therefore convertable traffic to your business. The volume of which has to do with your conversion rate. The less enquiries you can convert, the more you need. Should you concentrate on improving your conversion rate, or simply drive through more traffic? I fear that driving through more and more traffic, you get caught up in the task rather than focus on the true business objective. And driving SEO and social media to the masses is indeed an onerous task that takes time, time and even more time. Time you could be doing something else more targeted - using SEO and social media - talking to the people who matter to you most. Is that everyone? How do you use Social Media to talk to the 200 people you want to reach now? That my friends, is really the $64 question. 1. Cultivate a quality database 200 of the right targets is of far more value to you, and enables you to manage the task of personalising and targeting your communications so more effectively. Go to the effort of ensuring your database is truly valuable to you. The right people, their right details and their particular area of interest as it relates to your business. How on earth have I got on the mailing list of a dozen specialist accounting software companies? Obviously to some companies, wastage is just the cost of volume marketing - they don't care. But I do. You do harm every time you send an ill targeted communication. And when you do it over and over again - I'd call that harassment - or that's how it feels. So you're unlikely to get my business - but you're also unlikely to get my referral. I liken poorly targeted online marketing to the 20 telemarketing calls we get a day for switching telecommunications providers.........%$#@!?% 2. Think 'exclusive' rather than 'inclusive' An 'off centre' posting from one of your 200 fans on Facebook does more harm to the credibility of your page than you'd think. Keep the conversation relevant to your business and your 'real' customers. Linkedin forums have found a way to manage the focus of the discussion by ensuring only the right people can join. Those forums are the best for coherent exchange without stupid, irrelevant distraction. Consider this simple management protocol for your own Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn 'forums' - don't invite everyone to the party - just the ones you want to be friends with. 3. Fashion your message Don't be dragged into the trend of driving your business to meet the needs of the masses. A more targeted approach is likely to be more successful. Make sure the message you are sending is at least of interest to the recipient, and at best, a real solution to their problem. You can do this is you take the time to manage to whom you are speaking. Old fashioned? Or just common sense? How does this get lost in social media marketing today? Now, for the second piece of mischief - lack of authenticity. When you set your prices, do so with some respect for your clients. Artificially inflating a price to make the discount larger and more appealing is short term thinking....and best described as malevolent marketing. Your customer is not stupid. Price is traditionally determined by demand and settles into position according to competition. Margins are smaller when there are more competitors in the market. However, burning customers who purchase a product or service in good faith, is certainly not the right foundation for the making of a successful business. So beware of the temptation that Spreets and Groupon etc offer. Get involved when it makes sense for your business and be authentic with your customers. How much margin is right? Despite its hefty price tag, the real margin on a Louis Vuitton handbag is no where near what you'd assume. Hand finishing, selective materials and the rarified, highly skilled and manufactured environment where you buy it make the $2,000+ bag a big investment surely. However, it is likely to outlast your $100 Target special by a lifetime. You just have to like the design for a lot longer! That's also what you pay for - longevity. Does your product or service offer longevity? Your product must be priced correctly to enable you to deliver it well to your customer and follow it up with good after sales service. A client must be able to see the value in the price - which is often only really discovered when something goes wrong in a week or 6 years. Your steak undercooked? Your goods damaged in transit? Your widget came off the wodjet? Your advice following a campaign? What do you want - the response from a company that doesn't have the margin in its goods to provide adequate training and customer service for its customers? If that margin instead goes into the owner's pocket, or there just isn't the margin in that cheap price, then you have a problem. You need enough margin in your price to ensure your customer will return and purchase again. Have a look at your prices and consider if you have included in that squeezed profit margin, enough money to ensure if something goes wrong, you have your client's back. And lastly....... To be fair, you do have to work hard to be successful. Some of us have to work harder for longer than others though. That's why we're still in the room ;) AnneMaree Fitzgerald - www.marketme.com.au