We recently dropped in to a Foot Locker at a mall to pick up some sox.
We selected the package and I pulled out my smartphone, opened one my barcode reader apps (in this case, ShopSavvy) and scanned the barcode. Sure enough, the same sox were available at Nordstrom at a lower price. Ten seconds.
We showed the sales clerk the lower price on the phone screen and asked her if they price-matched other stores. She didn’t know and needed to ask the manager. Five seconds.
The manager looked at the Nordstrom price on the phone and the price on his packaging and after a brief discussion said they’d match the price. Fifteen seconds.
Until recently, “social media fatigue” has been the most dangerous “condition” that we social media marketers have had to combat. Now, however, with the recent trend toward frequent deep discounts and coupon offers, we are risking an even more serious condition of “offer fatigue.”
“Gamification” seems to be the up and coming buzz word. You may recall that in April, I covered 
Chances are, few if any of you are thinking about the sales department. Most marketers believe that social media marketing is about freely sharing and exchanging ideas and dialogue, building online communities and not overtly selling products. 
According to the recently released State of Marketing Report from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, 57% of marketers plan to increase their marketing budgets this year with a priority on incorporating social media across all channels and taking full advantage of the insights gleaned to grow their respective brands. 
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Highlights from the Social CMO’s Live Marketer Monday Chat
Since social media makes it so simple (quick and easy) to post your message (content) in numerous social networks, it can be tempting to spray your message around the cybersphere as far and wide as possible. However, that method keeps you at a surface level of connection… which gets you little more than a glance. To go deeper and have ongoing consumer relationships that result in sales, you need to be relevant and stay relevant to your audience.
More than once in recent weeks I’ve participated in (or overheard out of the corner-of-an-ear) discussions on how time-consuming social media has become, what the payoff might be, and when it might be realized. And I would certainly be surprised if many of you haven’t asked some version of these same questions of yourself or others.