Yeah, yeah… “Thanksgiving” posts abound… So, thank you. Thank you, and you, and you…

It seems simple enough, right?

(Warning…  ranting ahead…)

I’ve noticed that’s a statement that gets overlooked these days.  In our culture of instant gratification and “It’s all about me…  or what YOU can do for ME,” the graciousness of our society has been somehow diminished.

It’s a shame.

I’m no stodgy old fart, but some times I do miss the days when it was unheard of for a gentlemen to enter a building before a woman - ANY woman, not just the hotties. And holding the door, for females or male counterparts, was simply expected.

For those that don’t remember… There was a day when chivalry and politeness were commonplace.  It was a sense of making the world comfortable - for everyone else, not just you.  No one was concerned with their wireless reception or how many bars they had.  The parking place closest to the door didn’t take priority over yielding to a senior citizen.  Paramedics weren’t called because of how long the line at the bank was, or if the shop on the corner didn’t have the freshest Hawaiian Kona beans.  Being a member of society was more about the niceties that, well, made society SOCIAL.

Then I thought about it…

When was the last time you were consciously aware of how many times you thanked someone, anyone, in a single day?

So I decided to do an experiment.  For one whole day, I’d document how many times I said thank you or performed a “random act of kindness” as well as how many times I witnessed others doing the same.  This is what I found…

What’d you say to me?

12 times, I intentionally looked someone directly in the eye and said “Thank you.” Not in a creepy, “I’m going to stalk you” way, I was genuine and sincere.  I wanted to let them know that while their actions weren’t unexpected, I was appreciative of their effort.

A majority (7) of those salutations were reciprocated with “you’re welcome.” Another two at least flashed back a smile and a nod.  And the remaining two were pleasant enough to ignore me completely while avoiding all eye contact. Paranoid or guilty?

My secret voyeur-vision…

I wanted to just sit and watch others interact.  So, I sat at a small table in the corner of my favorite restaurant and watched people engage.  It wasn’t a scientific study, but it was eye-opening.

For 45 minutes, I watched as customers entered, ordered, navigated around others, ate and exited.  While doing all that, I saw five (yes, 5) people hold the door for someone else.  I heard “Thank you” said to the counter attendant six times. And the number of people that simply left their plates, trays, drinks and partially eaten sandwiches was shocking.

I also watched as the staff provided a service.  Sure they were getting paid.  Sure they do it every day for ungodly hours.  And what did I see?  Professional courtesy…  cold, calculated and systematic.  I saw three employees smile and thank their customer (non-scripted). And one employee stood out from the disappointment by coming out from behind the counter to help an older, feeble man get through the door as no less than 10 able-bodied citizens watched on in disinterest (including me).

Here, let me get that…

I held the door at three establishments for three people each. At the morning coffee shop, I was completely ignored by all three.  One woman was talking to her friend that was already in the lobby, the second, I thought would say some kind of thank you, because she DID make eye contact; but she quickly motioned to her head (similar to the “I’m crazy” signal) with her forefinger signaling to me that she was on her bluetooth-a-ma-jiggy and couldn’t pause that conversation .  The third was a “gentleman” that seemed a little “uncomfortable” that a dude held the door for him.  Get over it Romeo.

At lunch, I tried a different establishment, but got similar results.  The first two were young “ladies” (liberally applied term) that were much more interested in giggling and texting (each other, I assume) than acknowledging my kindness.  The third was a smartly dressed business woman that simply nodded and proceeded on to cut in line at the service counter…  classy.

Finally, at a convenience store, I held the door for one 40-something blue-collar guy that roughly blurted “thanx” (yes, it would have been spelled that way) and another lady that said nothing at all.

Then, my chivalry-dream-come-true walked up the driveway toward the door.  She was a 70+, silver haired lady clutching her handbag like it was pay day in 1931.  I opened the door and looked her in the eyes and said, “Here, let me get that for you.”

She looked up at me and in a small whisper of a voice said, “… hmmm such a good gentleman… thank you, hon.” And she patted me on the chest, smiled and walked in.

That just about made me cry.

As I’ve said in the past, I tend to over thank people.  I was raised in a restaurateur’s family where it was imperative to show your appreciation for the little things people did for you.  Opening a door… Delivering a package…  Serving a meal… and my education yesterday was quite disappointing.

Why, on Facbook and other social sites, are there millions of people posting “what they’re thankful for” throughout the month of November when they can’t simply do it while standing in line at a restaurant on a basic Tuesday?

From a branding perspective, what does that say about American society?  No wonder the rest of the world thinks we’re a bunch of self-serving, materialistic bullies.

Can technology and the “Now Generation” do anything to correct this offence to basic civility?  Sure, I sound like an old-fart curmudgeon, but as technology expands even further into our lives, how will civil, face-to-face social interaction survive?

With that, give thanks today, tomorrow and every day for the things that you have.  Large or small, life is a miracle and it’s a blessing that we get to share it together on this little rock racing through space.

The alternative is frightening.

Keep Cooking (actual social interactions - always)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

[Photo by Thomas Hawk]

This is how geeky I’ve become in my old age.  Star Trek (yes, the movie) made me think of a great brand engagement solution – well, maybe not specifically Star Trek, but the DVD I purchased this week, TWICE.

Let me explain…

Last night, I found myself standing in line at the customer service counter at a local “Big Box” store - for the second time in as many days. It seems as though a shipment of the new Star Trek DVDs had been damaged; and about 200 upset geeks, including me, found themselves watching Spock, Kirk and Uhura jump from present day to past, to the movie climax, to witty sexual innuendo, to exciting battle scene… about every six minutes.

While it made for an entertaining montage of the flick, after about 30 minutes, I’d had enough (my wife and kids were sick of it after about 10).  So, at 7:30pm on a Wednesday night, I stood in line.  Waiting.  Frustrated with every progressing minute that I wasn’t able to get my geeky fanboy Uhura fix… (mmmmmmmm Uhura).

Then, the social media marketer in me came to the surface (I’ll have to talk to my psychiatrist about this).  I looked around, and in the crowd of nerds, geeks, dweebs and extra terrestrials of all sorts, I saw one dominant feature (besides loose, black, funky sweat pants).

Mobile phones… PDAs, iPhones, Droids… you name it, they were EVERYWHERE!

All I could hear was the clickity-click of sweaty thumbs texting away on mobile devices from the doorway to the service counter. I even had my CrackBerry out so I could update my wife with how long the line was.

I could just imagine what all of the others were texting…

“Honey, the line at Big Box in insane…  get the kids ready for bed… #sorry “

“I can’t believe how long the line is at Big Box! WTF! #Fail“

“Just spent the last half hour waiting for Big Box to replace my #StarTrek DVD! F.”

“Did I leave the popcorn going in the microwave? #nasty“

“Beverly said my sweatpants need to be washed…#luckytobedating“

Poor Beverly.  Now she’ll have to deal with Morgan’s fermented redolence for another night because he’s standing in line…

Then, I looked up to the service counter.  The poor girl behind the register (yes, only one) was darting back and forth from the phone to the counter faster than a hamster on crack and RedBull. She had six DVDs in one hand, a phone tucked precariously on her shoulder, and was trying to talk one poor nerd girl down from the ledge – convincing her that “Big Box” was going to replace her DVD, she just needed to show a receipt… (I could hear the nerd girl’s cerebral cortex shatter like a Faberge egg.)

Oh man, I felt for the customer service girl, though.  I’d been in similar situations.  But when I worked in customer service (20+ years ago), there wasn’t social media.  There wasn’t an army of social media militants standing at the counter organizing their chaos through bluetooth devices.  There was just me, irate customers, a cash register and a phone…  How archaic was that?!?

Then I looked again.  SHE was in the same situation I’d been in 20 years ago! (remind me to check my own cerebral cortex.)

SOCIAL MEDIA TO THE RESCUE!

So, what if…  just go with me on this one… “Big Box” realized the situation and circumvented the ire of the “World Of Warcraft” generation and addressed the issue using…  wait for it…

TWITTER!

It would be a simple implementation.  If “Big Box” had someone monitoring their brand, they would see the conversations going on (I wrote a post about it a few weeks ago).  With that knowledge, they could,

1) address the issue directly to the people making the complaints, or

2) create a hashtag “#” to focus the conversation and keep everyone engaged with solutions as they are developed.

How?

I see it done like this:

“Big Box’s” social media monitor (yeah) tracks a series of red flag statements rolling through the Twittersphere, specific to a certain store.  With speed and efficiency (good luck with that one), they send the message down to store management and then on to the service center to post solutions, instructions and apologies for any inconvenience to their store’s Twitter account under a specific hashtag, like “#BBSouthStarTrekDVD”

At the same time, somewhere around service counter a sign could be posted stating the issue and that “Big Box” was doing what they could within the store to accomodate the customers and solve the issues.  But (and this is the cool part), if they had questions, comments, etc., they could join the conversation with the store and other customers by just using Twitter and #BBSouthStarTrekDVD !

Simple?  I think so.  I think MANY of my co-nerds would have been satiated by just this small gesture.

By the time I got to the counter, in my mind, I’d been promoted from customer service dweeb to “Big Box” CEO and was looking to shop for my next home in the Hamptons; so I didn’t get the chance to offer this advice to the girl behind the counter.  But I think she was a little too busy anyway.

What could your company do to utilize hashtags on Twitter? Could customer service issues be solved with a simple tweet-or-two?  Or do you think it’s still about what Morgan had for breakfast this morning (that quickly found its way onto his sweatpants)?

What other departments could benefit from tracking conversations about your brand?

Food for thought.

Keep Cooking,
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

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Yes, I said it. As “The Brand Chef,” that’s something I never thought would come out of my mouth.  But in a recent meeting with a friend, I closed my laptop, pushed my chair back and looked him straight in the eye and said these exact words:

“Your marketing can’t fix crazy…” (and this was in reference to HIS company!)

Now, this could either be a lesson on how to shoot yourself in the foot during a casual meeting with a friend; or it could turn into a logical discussion on branding versus marketing.  This discussion could cover how, because branding is at the core of a company’s culture, business and communications model, your brand isn’t something that you can just decide to give a “face lift.” Marketing, on the other hand – what many people think of when branding comes up in a conversation – can be changed to suit an ever-evolving brand…

Here’s the difference: Marketing is the strategic communication effort that results from a TRUE core brand promise, targeted to a specific audience, with the goal of enticing engagement with that brand.

So, to say it again, just for affect:

“Your marketing can’t fix crazy….”

You see companies, almost on a daily basis, “rebranding” themselves.  But deep-down, without a TRUE brand strategy, the marketing that results is guaranteed to reflect what is going on inside the company - for better or worse…

Based on the conversation that ensued after my “shocking” statement, my friend and I came up with five simple takeaways.

Marketing can’t fix…

1. … a company that has changed its “brand strategy” 5 times in the last 5 years. This happens when deeper brand issues stall out the progress marketing should be making.  Instead of stopping and performing a TRUE brand evaluation, the CEO or CMO simply jump the track to find a different way.  Different doesn’t fix what’s broken.
   
2. … a company’s inability to make brand-based decisions. Unfortunately a company with this problem usually slows or destroys its marketing efforts simply by not being able to take action.
3. … a broken marketing communication system by only using “internal staffers.” Few “Internal Marketing Departments” have enough perspective to do all of the brand evaluation and execution without outside counsel. Trust me, I’ve seen many companies try and many have failed.
4. … a company with a lousy product or service (even at a discount). In this economy, when people are looking for value, quality still is at the core of our decision-making process.  If your product or service is at the bottom of the quality scale in that category, you’d better re-think more than your brand.
5. … a program with an insufficient budget. The phrase “money talks and B.S. walks,” for this point, is painfully applicable.  Plan all you want.  Scheme big dreams and map out creative strategies until your face turns fuchsia.  None of it will succeed unless you have the resources to support it.  How many campaigns have gotten out of the starting blocks in a blur, only to fall to its knees a quarter way through the race because it’s out of funding?

TRUE Branding (Truthful/Transparent, Relevant, Unique and Engaging) is the core to building a successful marketing communications program.  With strategic marketing you can analyze a company’s TRUE Brand position, develop a successful plan and implement a program to raise awareness and engage your market. But remember, branding takes time and sometimes painful effort. It shouldn’t be viewed as a quick fix, or a “face-lift.”

With that, I’d like to send a big “Thank you” out to my friend for letting me vent to (at) him.  Although the coffee was good, I appreciate the conversations that make me think and evaluate how I can better help clients and their brands.

Next time, the coffee is on me.

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

What does the recent addition of  Twitter Lists mean to you?  It’s another enhancement for Twitter, sure, but what does it mean to your daily social media routine?  That question was asked at the Central Iowa Blogger’s (#CIB) meet-up this morning.

At #CIB, the conversations revolve around everything from the impact of social media on our local economy to the impact of Dallas J. Moore’s beard on the local lady-folk.  But today’s group of 20 to 30 die-hard, as well as a handful of new faces, got into a pretty vibrant conversation about how Twitter Lists will affect their social media practices.

Below is a list of some of the concepts that came out of this morning’s discussion.  Which one will you practice when it comes to Twitter Lists?

I’ll use Twitter Lists as a viability measurement.

(# of List Appearances ÷ # of Followers = Viability Score)
Personal social media measurement is still a sticky wicket.  I know people that have well over 10,000 followers.  And for ages, that was supposed to be some kind of indication of how viable they are in the social media circles they were in.  Well, with the inception of Twitter Lists, their viability could be measured by a ratio of followers to lists they appear on.

Using the equation above, if you have 7,500 followers, but you only appear on 15 lists, would would have a “Viability Score” of 0.20%. On the other hand, if you follow 7,500 and you’re on 125 lists, your Viability Score would be 1.66%.

One would assume that the higher your Viability Score, the more PERCEIVED VALUE AND IMPACT you would have on your followers and prospective followers. (by-the-way, @thebrandchef’s viability score is 1.75% and Chris Brogan has a 28.01%.  One can dream…)

I’ll use Twitter Lists as a network noise reducer.

How many of those conversations can you actually track?
Like many of you, I started out using Twitter to track conversations about my personal brand as well as promote The Brand Chef.  That led to following hundreds of “Movers and shakers” in the marketing communications “twittersphere.”  Then, I began following targeted markets (restaurant chains, food professionals) to monitor and engage potential clientele.  Finally, I added friends, associates, local thought-leaders and networking acquaintances.

After 11 short months, I was following almost 2,000 conversations and close to that many were following me!  The noise within my traditional tweetstream was impossible to focus. How many conversations are you trying to follow?  Can you see how the noise can get out of hand?

So, using Twitter Lists as a network noise reducer, I’d be able to create segmented breaks from that conversation of 2000.  I could have a couple hundred on a list of  “Marketing Gurus;” a couple hundred in in a list called, “The Boffo Branding Brigade;” and finally pull another handful in to list called “Foodie Folk.” This gives me the opportunity to cut down on the noise form my “Des Moines tweeps” (sorry guys) and focus on Marketing, Branding and Food, respectively.

So much quieter - not to mention more productive…

I’ll use Twitter Lists as a reconnaissance tool.

Now you know who “they” think is important.
With Twitter Lists, while there IS an option to make your lists private, I’m not seeing a lot of people protecting them. Segmentation isn’t anything new.  I made the lists mentioned above in my Tweetdeck, and for months I’ve been able to “reduce the noise.” But most have been making lists willy-nilly and for all to see.  What does that mean to competitive advantage?

As a reconnaissance tool, searching certain competitor’s Twitter Lists would give you easy market research of the conversations that “they” deem important enough to list.  For instance, if my #CIB buddy Claire Celsi had a list of “Clients That Tweet” (which she doesn’t), a competing PR Firm could “happen upon” her list and see who she’s working with.  It’s a pretty black-hat tactic, but it DID come up in conversation.

What will you do with Twitter Lists?

So, with that, how do YOU plan on using Twitter Lists.  Do you have other applications?  Like the network noise reducer, what are the advantages to Twitter Lists.  Or, as illustrated with the reconnaissance tool, do you see a draw back to using it?

Thanks for listening!  And please, help me “up” my Twitter Viability Score and add me to your lists…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Social media tools are easy to acquire…  Sure.  But just like a sharp knife, you may not want to hand it over to any shlub that walks into the kitchen.  If your company wants to start cooking up some social media marketing, you’d better be ready to do some serious planning.

If social media is like a big cocktail party, let’s think of social media MARKETING this way…

When gathering recipes for your next big shindig, you probably don’t want to mingle the sushi with the snow cones (only at my parties).  So, in the same spirit, why would companies insist on throwing anything and everything into their social media marketing mix?

Many companies are starting to really turn up the heat on their social media “marketing.”  They’ve set up Twitter accounts and launched Facebook pages and groups; but it looks like they haven’t thought of their brand, their target audience or, in some instances, even political correctness. Seriously?

Trust me, a meal consisting of three cups of unashamed self promotion, a tablespoon of ego, 1/4 cup of chaos and a pinch of nonsense will give your target audience nothing but a serious case of indigestion.

Create engagement and value with an integrated social media marketing strategy.

Here are three simple “Brandchef-a-fied” questions to ask yourself before that next tweetfest…

1. Are you working from a proven recipe?
   If you have a marketing plan with goals and targets, see how social media can be integrated into it.  Don’t throw the whole dish out just because there’s a new ingredient.

   Social media is so new that social media marketing is struggling to keep up with new developments, new policies, new technology, not to mention new users.  The right recipe – a proven crowd-pleaser – will help to solidify your position, extend your marketing message and your brand.  Just spice it up using the great tools social media has to offer!
   

2. Does your meal have any nutritional value?
   Empty promises or veiled attempts at engagement, just like empty calories, won’t add value.

   If you have a truly strategic marketing plan (with the customer in mind), your social media marketing efforts should reflect those same values and benefit your audience.  Superficial fluff, inane updates and ego-driven campaigns will only show your audience that you’re in it for yourself and soon they’ll walk away from the table – full, and dissatisfied.

3. How many dishes are in your sink?
   Máma BrandCheffio used to say, “If you have a sink full of dishes, you know you have a house full of happy kids.” The same goes for your social media marketing campaign.

   If you can measure results based on a working strategy, then you know what kind of appetite your audience has.  Set your goals, feed them the first course, and watch for the return. With those kinds of metrics you can make changes to your recipes on-the-fly – assuring an always full sink.

With any soiree, the planner has a lot of responsibilities.  As long as your strategy is truthful, transparent, relevant, unique and engaging, everyone at the party will have a great time,  and soon you will be the talk of the town.

Keep Cooking (tasty social media treats)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef