THE SOCIAL CMO Blog – Page 22 – Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!

Matrix Retail: The Logistics of Customer Experience

January 23, 2015February 1, 2015 by TheSocialCMO

At a previous NRF Shop.org Summit I saw a keynote address by Jamie Nordstrom on trends he saw coming in the online retail business. During his talk Jamie said there was a new dynamic emerging, people were describing using words like multi-channel and omni-channel. However in his view these words were not fully capturing the changes he saw coming in retail and a new word was needed, ‘maybe polychannel or something like that’.

After the presentation I had a quick meet and greet with Jamie in which I told him how much his presentation had resonated with me based on my past senior department store retail experience at Hudson’s Bay Company. I then said to him that I think I know the word he was looking for to describe the new dynamic and that was Matrix Commerce. His reaction was immediate and visceral ‘Yes, that’s it! Have you trademarked it?’

“Life isn’t about Finding Yourself. Life is about CREATING Yourself.” #RonR

January 19, 2015 by Ted Rubin

The title of this post is a George Bernard Shaw quote I employ with my daughters in the hopes I will impress upon them, in a small way with a few words, what I will say here with many more words than their attention spans will allow. How many times have you heard that some person or other is on a quest to “find themselves?” Many times we hear it in relation to a young person starting out in life to find their purpose, or when an older person jokes about what they want to be when they “grow up.”

You are what you share

January 17, 2015 by TheSocialCMO

I have a friend who can always be counted on to have a great book recommendation handy. Another who can not only tell you the best available movie currently in theatres, but confidently stand behind his recommendations.

And some people are eager to share a link to an article or idea that’s worth reading.

Most people, though, hesitate.

“What if the other person doesn’t like it…?”

“It’s Not Authentic if Everyone Loves You”

January 14, 2015 by Ted Rubin

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“It’s not authentic if everyone loves you.”

That is a message that every marketer needs to hear loud and clear, especially as the focus on social media gets stronger and recommendations carry more purchasing weight than ever before! The term “authenticity” gets used a lot now, but how many brands actually subscribe to being authentic, not just saying they are?

The Number ONE Reason Marketers Fail When They Use Social Media

January 6, 2015 by Ted Rubin

The number ONE reason many marketers fail when they try to use social media is that they DON’T take into account important traditional marketing lessons from the past—and I’m talking Plain Jane, Vanilla Manilla lessons that should be the bread and butter for any marketer. Social media doesn’t supplant traditional marketing practices and tenets. In fact, it enhances it when handled correctly.

Real Trumps Perfect… Stop Worrying so Much and Engage! ~via @InsideCXM

December 30, 2014December 30, 2014 by Ted Rubin

There are several reasons why I think businesses hamstring their social efforts. First, there’s an overriding, if misguided, pressure to get things “perfect” on social, which is sometimes used as an excuse to avoid getting involved at all. The permanent nature of anything that’s posted on the web tends to freak out the “control the message” crowd who has their fingers poised over the delete button to instantly erase ill-advised comments or content. We’re never far removed from the latest social snafu by a public figure, or the next one to come, and that fear can be paralyzing.

Customer Service In The Data Economy

December 22, 2014December 22, 2014 by TheSocialCMO

Learning to speak “Human” #H2H

December 22, 2014December 30, 2014 by Ted Rubin

In his new e-book There is No B2B or B2C: It’s Human to Human: #H2H my good friend Bryan Kramer gives some wise advice to brands: “I don’t care what language you speak, who your brand is or what message you’re trying to send, we all need to speak more human.” I love that statement because it so perfectly reminds us that in the midst of all of our increasingly complex digital sophistication, making the human connection is more important than anything else. Because of the power of social to inform and educate consumers, companies need to be a part of the social scape, and that’s means functioning in the world on a human to human scale. They can no longer afford to hide behind a logo. They have to converse with their market and above all, listen.

Employees are as or More Important Than Customers: Why Ignoring Employee Engagement Hurts Business

December 20, 2014 by TheSocialCMO

In a late 2013 study, Gallup found that only 13% of workers actually feel engaged at their jobs. What’s worse is that 63% of the workforce is not engaged at all. But wait, the news gets even more disheartening. An astounding 24%, one-quarter of the global workforce, is actively disengaged right now. Essentially we have a significant number of workers doing their best impression of corporate zombies who go through the everyday motions to collect a paycheck.

Who let the air out of the balloon?

December 20, 2014December 20, 2014 by TheSocialCMO

Music, newspapers, books… most forms of media were exciting, high-pressure hothouses, environments with hits and winners and action and impact.

Many players in these industries are now trying to figure out where all the zing went. The mattering seems to have left.

Where did it go? It turns out that the air didn’t get let out, the balloon disappeared.

Balloons have pressure because there’s only one tiny opening. Scarce shelf space. Only room for one newspaper. Only forty titles on the Billboard chart. It’s that opening that creates the environment that allows pressure to exist, that pulls the rest of the balloon taut.