Voices: the CMB Blog

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Tech Tuesday… the offers keep rolling in, and this year, I cracked.  Yes, I still love you LL Bean, Lands’ End, Williams Sonoma, and Wal-mart.  But I can’t take your daily barrage anymore; it’s time to purge.Despite my innate skepticism—no matter what you do or say, you can’t get off a mailing list–I forged ahead to try to staunch some of the flow.  I mean, if I am spending even 10 seconds on each of the 100-odd commercial emails I get a day, couldn’t I find a better use of my time, like baking cookies?  Not to mention, I remember reading somewhere about how much energy an email takes to generate, send and store, etc.  So really this was a green effort on my part. 

But I digress.   As I got rolling, I noticed several unsubscribe methods.  And it got me thinking about how they—the marketers, should keep contact with me—the consumer, while not annoying me (yes, me over here with the credit card at the ready!). Because, as I mentioned, I still love those guys for the most part. 

And so here’s how the world of unsubs breaks down in my recent experience:

The Clean Cut and Run: This is the one I wonder about the outcome of most.  While everyone pretty much has to offer the unsubscribe option when they email you, my suspicious side makes me think they are actually validating my email when I click through and unsubscribe.  I am, after all, confirming my existence with a live email address.  Sometimes you hear back that, “yes, you are off the list now,” while at other times it feels like you’re shouting into the void.  The latter situation leaves me with a less than positive feeling.

The Good Bye and Good Luck: This is when they say something like, “Aw shucks!  We’ll miss you.”  And you feel a moment’s regret, but know in your heart of hearts they will be back someday… well maybe.  At least you parted on good terms.

The Really?  Good-bye?: They will let you go, but not without a last ditch effort to ask, “Why?  How could you do this to me?  You’re really are breaking up with me?”  And you might, if not doggedly persistent, find yourself caving and not following through on the unsub.

The But wait, there’s more: Here’s where the real genius starts to kick in (or is it just common sense).  I click the unsubscribe link, get to a page that says something to the effect of:  “OK so how often would you like to get emails from us?  Is once a week too much, how about once every two weeks or once a month? Would you be willing to get a quarterly update?  You don’t want to never get them, right?” And chances are I don’t want to cut them off completely, but I sincerely do want to de-clutter.  So I end up saying, sure, you can keep sending me something once in a great while.  

Then there was one with the option to choose a contact timeframe, and the options were:

Multiple times a day
Once a day
2-3 times a week
Once a week
Never

Umm.  I have to say “never” wins here.  Who is clicking an unsubscribe link only to say, “Yes, please send me emails several times a day?”  Fact is, and this is undoubtedly personality driven, if I am going to shop, chances are I already know what I am looking for and I start from Amazon or the retailer’s page directly, not from an advermail.  They probably have some offer right there on their home page after all.  It’s not as if I truly believe they are only sending me the alert that they have a 10% off + free shipping deal underway… plus there’s always RetailMeNot for a coupon code!

But I think my favorite unsub result may be when you get an email confirming you just said you didn’t want any more emails.  Granted, I really DID need to purge that pizza joint from a trip 2 years ago to DC.  I live in Boston and good as it may be, their pizza won’t be delivered all the way up north. 

So at the risk of dismaying some email marketers with my Scrooge-like email purge, just know I feel fresh and invigorated again now in the anticipation of a clean start to the New Year.  Some of you marketers made me feel listened to and heard.  And I am grateful for it.  Maybe even grateful in a way that reminds me to check you out next time I need a new blender, or a pair of fingerless gloves.

Kate is a Project Director, working with clients across many industries at CMB. She has been known to perform in local musical theater here and there, speaks three languages well and a few others passably, and loves coincidence.

Learn more about why people subscribe to emails (or don't) with our Consumer Pulse: 10 Quick Facts about How and Why Consumers "Like" and Subscribe.

The recent research study showing that marketers rank lower than politicians on the “respectability scale” might feel like a kick in the gut for most of us in this role. 

From the research: only 13% of consumers agree that marketing benefits society.  It’s no surprise that teachers, scientists and engineers are the top of the list, but marketing even falls below bankers (32%), lawyers (34%), and politicians (18%). One point of solace, marketers are tied with actors and dancers; so, we’re not alone.

If we deconstruct the research, we can find plenty to take issue with.  What research study isn’t immune to that?  For instance, the focus of the research is about online advertising, while the questions about professional respectability come after questions about the effectiveness of different marketing methods.  To what extent has this approach primed respondents in a certain direction?

Additionally, when you look more deeply at the results, you find that people still “respect” the need for marketing within business.  Most, in fact, consider it “strategic” and necessary for sales.

So, the research findings shouldn’t be taken too personally.  As noted earlier, marketers are in the same boat as actors and dancers.  It makes me think of Ode by Arthur O’Shaughnessy:

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

Or, as the great Willy Wonka puts it:

 

Who but a marketer would ever create lickable wallpaper with snozzberry flavor???

So marketers, don’t give up on your role and profession. And remember that without you, the world would be a place with much less flavor and much less fun.

When Jeff's not busy contributing to society at large, he serves as a senior consultant and methodologist for CMB; making sense of big data, and speaking on topics like mobile and the future of market research.

As a market researcher, there are times I can’t help but look at the upcoming presidential election as the ultimate marketing campaign. A successful political campaign often adapts many of the same strategies used by marketers, and just as savvy marketers have adapted their campaigns to the overwhelming number of Americans who own a mobile device, our candidates have strategically followed suit.Due to the overwhelming and increasing number of voters who own smartphones, it’s easy to see why politicians today are placing so much importance on taking their campaigns mobile.  A study released this month by the Pew Research Center found that 88% of registered voters own a cell phone, and roughly half (48%) of these folks own a smartphone. Of the registered voters who own a cell phone, 27% have used it to stay up to date on the 2012 election or politics in general.

The rise in mobile phone ownership has created opportunities for both the Obama and Romney campaigns to increase exposure in hopes of gaining voters, and one of the biggest ways our presidential hopefuls are getting their message out is through mobile advertising. During this election, both campaigns and their supporters are expected to spend about $159 million on internet ads alone, and it’s expected that mobile advertising will consume a large portion of their online advertising budgets.  The Obama campaign has focused much of this mobile ad spending on an online Google advertising platform, while the Romney campaign has invested heavily into iAd; Apple’s mobile advertising platform made especially for its products including the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. This type of advertising has been used extensively to augment existing television ad campaigns and to encourage voters to visit campaign websites.

The campaigns are also using mobile devices in their fundraising efforts and to keep supporters updated on campaign news and events.  Supporters can easily donate to their favored politician at campaign events by swiping their credit cards on mobile payment platforms like Square; a portable credit card machine that attaches to most mobile devices and can quickly accept electronic payments.  Campaign supporters who have their credit card already on file can also text to donate to either campaign—a major benefit because the less onerous the payment process the more likely people are to donate.

When supporters aren’t at fundraising events or texting donations to their favored politician, they can stay connected to the election using their favorite mobile application. Romney supporters can use their iPhones to upload pro-Romney images to Twitter and Facebook, order tickets to see him speak, and stay updated on campaign news and information, while Obama supporters can use an app to check out ways to get involved with the campaign locally. The Obama for America app enables anyone to look up information regarding news, events, community activities, volunteer activities, the President’s policies, as well as information on how to vote.  Of course voters needn’t limit themselves to partisan apps; there have been ample opportunities for voters to search for information on their own—the Pew study found 35% of smartphone owners have used their phone to fact check a campaign or candidate this election season.

Just four years ago, the internet played a critical (and much discussed) role in organizing, informing and motivating voters. mobile technology deepens and expands this impact— facts can be checked on the spot,  polls conducted, and prospective voters reached anywhere they take their phone. Raise your hand if you had your phone out while you watched the debates.  And who knows, maybe someday we’ll be able to secretly text our votes instead of filling in a box or pulling a lever.

Kathleen is CMB's Field Services Associate. She wants to make sure you get off your phone and vote on November 6th!

 

For more on how mobile is changing consumer behaviors, check out our Consumer Pulse: The New Banking Value Proposition.

 

I’m on record as saying that loyalty programs should focus on rewarding behaviors that have a direct financial benefit to the business (i.e., purchase, bookings, and sales).  Because of this belief, I was staunchly opposed to the concept of giving loyalty members “points for tweets.” But my thinking, like the role of social media in general, has evolved. 

One reason for my change of heart is that ‘social media’ no longer just means Facebook or Twitter…it now includes location-based tools (like FourSquare) and connecting to people ‘on the go’ through mobile apps. This new revolution (according to those who name new revolutions!) is called SoLoMo (social, location, mobile) media. 

Last month I led a panel discussion at the Loyalty Expo in Orlando on the role of social media in loyalty programs and it was clear from the start that we couldn’t talk about social media without talking about mobile and location-based services (SoLoMo!). The loyalty lifecycle shown below provides a basis for understanding how SoLoMo tactics can support member engagement:

 

Acquire:  To reach members that ‘look like’ your currently valuable members, Loyalty Marketers can use SoLoMo tools.  Two recent examples of programs developed to get members/customers to talk about a company/program are offered by Tasti D-Lite and Caesars.  TastiRewards incentivizes customers to associate their Twitter and Foursquare accounts with their Tasti D-Lite membership cards, posting a tweet or comment every time they order a delicious treat. Caesars recently relaunched Total Rewards, giving loyalty members points for tweets.  These SoLoMo initiatives can drive program awareness and member acquisition.

On-boarding:  Facebook, Twitter and other online communities (gated or not) are ideal platforms to introduce customers to the ‘loyalty club’ to let these newbies learn from like-minded members—and, importantly, encouraging them to use their rewards, rather than just letting them languish in their wallets.

Engage:  SoLoMo tools can be employed in a variety of ways to engage and strengthen relationships with current members.  Here are some examples:   

• Making rewards more obtainable:   Citi’s rewards app lets cardholders ‘pool’ rewards so they can plan a joint purchase, trip, or even make a charitable donation to an organization they support

• Surprise and delight your customers: Best Buy surprised (and no doubt delighted!) a few of its reward members with tickets to the Twilight movie premiere. Members were selected and invited based on past purchase history and spending potential.  

• Make rewards/currency more relevant:  Companies like ifeelgoods are offering loyalty programs as an option to provide a social currency to reward member’s behavior.  With 240 million active monthly users on Zynga, there’s a good chance at least some of your members would enjoy the opportunity to buy digital goods. 

Retain and win back:  While we don’t suggest giving up traditional channels for monitoring and responding to customer service failures, social media can let you discover failures (and wins!) quickly and begin the customer recovery process.

The bottom line is, your customers are social, they use Facebook and other sites, and they expect businesses to not only have a presence but to engage.  Sites like Facebook and Twitter are ideal platforms to engage and reward customers – particularly through SoLoMo tools.  So I’d like to report that I’ve “come around,” to see the value of social media for loyalty programs because of the opportunities they present to engage, and “surprise and delight” your most valuable customers.

Want to learn more about our approach to building Customer Loyalty? See how CMB helped GE CareCredit redesign their online customer advocacy panel, creating a community with high engagement and even higher returns. Watch the webinar.

Posted by Judy Melanson. Judy leads the Travel & Entertainment practice and loves collaborating with clients on driving customer loyalty.  She's the mom of two teens and the wife of an oyster farmer. Follow Judy on Twitter at @Judy_LC

Imagine a company whose principle mission is to treat clients fairly, one that operates, not at low-cost but “at-cost,” and is beholden only to its clients—not Wall Street or wealthy shareholders. At a time when a social movement, based largely on deep displeasure with the financial industry, has exploded across the country, these are very attractive attributes.

Vanguard, doesn’t need to imagine that company, it’s been operating as a client-owned investment management company since 1975. But, to spread the word about their offerings and what differentiates them from other firms, they needed to get creative. TV, print, and social media all have their place, but explaining the “at-cost” concept isn’t easy to do in a static ad or 140 character tweet.  Moreover, when you are owned by your clients, spending tens of millions of dollars on an expensive TV campaign runs counter to your mission.  And so the Vanguard At-Cost Café was born, a traveling coffee truck, serving investment information, and coffee at-cost…for 28 cents!

Today, I grabbed 84 cents and two of my colleagues to check out the Café for myself. Aside from the almost irresistible allure of 28 cent coffee, the At-Cost Café is an excellent example of how a company can make an impression when so many of us have become expert at tuning out ads. Vanguard did this by connecting one of the most appealing, but least understood, aspects of their company to a concrete, easily grasped concept like really, really cheap coffee.  In addition to the coffee, Vanguard had baristas, video monitors, QR codes, and printed materials readily available to further enlighten the many thankful coffee drinkers about the company, its values, and its financial offerings in more detail.

The At-Cost Café is a success because it feels like much more than a marketing gimmick.  As the company described the effort, the Café is: "...a part of Vanguard’s ongoing effort to educate investors on the impact of investment costs, the At-Cost Café will be touring select cities to demonstrate how investors can save thousands of dollars simply by paying attention to the price tag on their investments." From my perspective Vanguard accomplished this mission and raised the bar  for connecting with customers and prospects by being innovative, straightforward, and informative—that and 28 cents will get you way more than a cup of coffee!

Posted by Jim Garrity. Jim Garrity is VP of CMB's Financial Services practice, never wears blue jeans to work, enjoys a reasonably priced cup of coffee, and always makes a point to ask "What Would the Dowager Countess Do?"