Although I have a certain affinity for Starbucks, I really have to applaud McDonald’s recent effort to stand out from the crowd.  Appearing in Starbucks home state of Washington, this billboard campaign seems to be getting their message across.

Congratulations, you made it through 2008. Whether you made or lost money last year, the scorecard starts anew (for most of us) in 2009.  That also means its time (if you haven’t done so already) to review or renew your marketing plans for the coming year.

If you’re like many companies, the process often goes like this… there’s a meeting where everyone sits down and maps out the year. Lofty goals are laid out, budgets are assigned and everyone is excited about the possibilities.  By the second quarter of the year, you start to notice a few kinks in the effort.  Daily life has kicked in, problems arise, and focus shifts to distraction. Now, scheduled strategies and efforts are either woefully late, or not getting done at all.  Your team is discouraged as they focus on putting out fires and being reactive more than proactive.

The most successful marketing plan (more often than not) starts with creating one you can actually execute. Someone once inquired as to what diet was best in order to accomplish their goal of losing weight.  The expert’s answer?  The diet you’ll actually DO!  The same may be true of your marketing plan. 

Start with making sure your plan’s goals are realistic and have basis. What are your clients telling you? Market conditions? Goals should be articulate, identifiable and relatively reachable. You want your team to stretch, but you also want to keep them motivated.

While it’s important to dream and think out of the box, it’s equally important to avoid lofty goals that sound great in a meeting, but have no realistic chance of getting done or funded.  Also, be sure to set deadlines and then expect to meet them.  Too often projects don’t get launched because the deadline is too easily moved.  Still can’t get the job done in house?  Outside help may be worth considering. It’s a great way to avoid fixed overhead yet get things done.

You gotta love Office Max’s recent effort with viral video.  Imagine how you’d react if someone tried to pay you with a bag of pennies.  And of course, we’re doing the very thing they hoped for.  Passing the word along about Office Max as part of the process.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying that nothing sells a product better than word of mouth. But have you heard the term ’social media’?  If not, you should get familiar with it.  Social Media is how the new word of mouth happens.  

To quote a blog by the Duct Tape Marketing folks, “Gone are the days when all you needed to be on the web was a website.”  Whether it’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or another of the myriad of online media formats, both young and old are becoming more social as they flock to these online buzz hubs.  Discussions cover about everything from your business to the weather.

Here are a few overwhelming statistics regarding the use of social media by online users.  It was developed by Universal McCann (one of New York’s mega ad agencies) 

73% of online users read a blog

57% of online users join social networks

45% of online users have started a blog

83% of online users have viewed a video online

39% of online users subscribe to RSS feeds

36% of online users think more positively about companies that have blogs

Incredible information! Here’s proof that if you’re not paying attention to social media and how it can help promote your business, you should be!

My wife and I had dinner last night at a nearby restaurant.  Their advertised offer to ‘buy one get one free’ special caught our interest.  Wonderful, I thought.  Just the ticket to lure 2 hungry people facing $4 per gallon gas as they decide whether to venture out or not.

As the waitress approached us, she mentioned the special was good until 7pm.  I promptly looked at my watch and it was 1 minute before 7pm.  I’m in, I thought!  We ordered our food and drinks, and began to discuss the day’s activities.

As the waitress delivered our drinks, she explained the bill was actually going to be more than we thought, as the special was now over.  Hmmmm…I thought it was before 7pm when we ordered I asked.  “Well…I entered the order into the computer and it wouldn’t take the special so I don’t know” she explained right before she walked away to serve the next customer. 

No options, no apologies, no further explanation offered.  Although polite, she was obviously focused on her problems and not her customers.  While she didn’t seem interested in making it right with us….she did want us to know it wasn’t her fault.

Our local newspaper recently featured an article (interestingly enough) on this same restaurant.  The owner explained how business was down and the economy was really hurting them.  While that may be true to some degree, I’m wondering how much the restaurant may actually be hurting themselves.

In today’s connected world, a customer that has a bad experience will share that opinion with others more quickly than ever before.  That could be good (or in the case of this restaurant) it could be bad.  Most of us make buying decisions on what others have told us about a product or service, so it becomes a key influencer.

I encourage you to consider the various customer touch points in your business.  Are you giving your customer the best possible experience in every area?  Do you follow through with your commitments to your customer?

How you answer the phone, resolve a complaint, or whether you deliver your product in a timely manner is huge and can dictate the difference between a satisfied customer and a disgruntled customer. The good news is you get to choose.

Had a recent customer service experience you’d like to share?

We’d love to hear it.