Be Proactive in your Customer Service
March 30, 2009
Stephen Mutch, a business management, operations and client services professional from Napa, California says this about great customer service: “At the most basic element, great customer service is (all about) fulfilling promises. Failure to do that leads to loss of credibility and trust in your company and organizations which have fatal and long-term ramifications.”
Marketing and promotions can be accomplished in many forms and from a number of different mediums. Some strategies are designed to reach a great number of people, while others focus on targeting and reaching a specific customer demographic.
Regardless, fostering great relationships with your customers are of utmost importance. It’s often a challenging task as consumer needs are constantly evolving and must be frequently monitored so as to make the necessary adjustments. This is why a number of companies are employing “reputation managers” who constantly monitor blogs, social networks and other information sources on the internet to keep up with what people are saying about their brands.
It’s been said here many times before, but the best way to get the information you need to be successful is to establish many contact points with your customers. And how else to do this effectively, inexpensively and efficiently but through social media!
So this week’s tip: Take charge of your customer service!
Seattle-based Decho group, a technology development firm, doesn’t wait for customers to contact them with questions, comments or concerns – they seek them out directly by using social media tools.
ITBusiness.ca reports on their strategy: “‘Increasingly, they are choosing to reach out to the online community and ask questions about our products, rather than contact us directly,’ said Dave Robinson, vice-president of marketing at Decho.”
Amazon.com demonstrates pure mastery on this front. They were featured on the cover of Business Week Magazine earlier this month because of their ability to turn potentially bad publicity into an opportunity to brand themselves as a caring company. Here’s an exerpt from the article:
“For the most part, Amazon has earned a reputation for strong service by letting customers get what they want without ever talking to an employee. Sales clerks are nonexistent. Orders ship with a few mouse clicks. Packages arrive on doorsteps quickly. It all happens with monotonous regularity even as the number of customers has doubled in the past five years to 88 million. But when things go wrong at Amazon—and they occasionally do—the company’s employees get involved. That may be where Amazon stands out most markedly from other companies, and helps explain how the company earned the No. 1 spot on Business Week’s customer service ranking this year.”
When a business reaches out to their customers and does everything in their power to make them happy, they remember it, sign the company’s praises in their blogs, and tell all their friends. A gesture which may cost $20 to fix could result in $2000 worth of business from valuable viral word of mouth. A failure to pony up that same $20 in the event of a mistake could cost $2000 the other way.
Local Spotlight: March 27th, 2009
March 27, 2009
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and significant assets to the community. They understand that a marathon of hard work and perseverance goes into being successful, and that it’s tough to achieve without a strong network of collaborators and supporters.
Here’s what these 6 businesses have learned along the way:
K & M Farms
28494 Maclure Road, Aldergrove, BC
Ph: 604-857-8912
Email: kmfarms@shaw.ca
Web: www.kmfarms.blogspot.com
In their own words:
K & M farms raises chickens, turkeys and beef like your grandmother did – the natural way – outside on pasture with no antibiotics, growth hormones or animal by products!
What’s your secret?
“Start slow,” says Mark Robbins, who originally started the farm as a side project, but has seen it grow considerably in the past few years. “It’s also important not to lose sight of the big picture.”
Lowland Herb Farm
5685 Lickman Rd, Chilliwack, B.C.
Ph: 604-858-4216
Email: info@lowlandherbfarm.com
Website: www.lowlandherbfarm.com
In their own words:
We have 35 years of experience growing herbs organically. We use biodynamic and sutainable practices so that our comprehensive and unique list is incorporated into our landscape/farm/greenhouse/Qltuts (walfrin cold frames) for maximum efficiency, consistency and unique flavours and quality with amazing keeping ability of our fresh product.
What’s your secret?
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years, so I’m proud that I’ve hung in for so long, and proud to be a small scale and organic farm,” says owner Boni Townsend. “I am a devotee of working cooperatively, and serving the needs of our cooperative. In a world of limited resources, this takes precident over profit.”
Silverhill Apple Orchard
30111 Silverhill Ave., Mission, B.C.
Ph. 604-820-7957
Email: orchard1@telus.net
Website: www.bcfarmfresh.com/farm.asp?id=29
In their own words:
Come visit our Orchard and Country Store in the beautiful Silverdale area of SW Mission. We offer one of the best selections available of local and naturally grown produce under our Protective Crop Tunnels. This latest intensive and environmentally friendly growing method allows us to grow an even greater variety of products without the use of toxic chemicals.
What’s your secret?
“Providing the best quality product, grown with love. And, for us, taking our production costs into careful consideration, and making sure to follow all the government regulations.”
BCFRESH INC.
# 201-7560 Vantage Way, Delta, B.C.
Ph. 604-946-3139
Email: gerrit@bcfreshinc.com
Website: www.bcfreshinc.com
In their own words:
“BCFresh is 100% locally owned and operated. Our root vegetables are grown by 32 families throughout the Fraser Valley, many of whom have been growing BCFresh produce for for or five generations. Much care is taken to ensure that only the freshest, highest quality produce reaches your dinner table. Look for BCFresh products at your local grocer.”
What’s your secret?
“Be patient, get your name out there,” says Gerrit of BCFresh. “You have to get your network going. It takes a lot of time, so make sure to just keep going.”
Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm
49350 Prairie Central Rd, Chilliwack, B.C.
Ph. 604-794-3999
Email: farm@forstbauer.com
Website: http://www.forstbauer.com
In their own words:
Founded in 1977, the Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm is a Certified Organic farm in Chilliwack. Mary and Hans Forstbauer were pioneers in the early organic farming movement, and are still farming with integrity and passion.
What’s your secret?
“We’re involved with a lot of associations, including the BC Farmer’s Market Association, Canada Association of Farmers Markets, and the Farmer’s Market Nutrition Coupons Program,” says Mary Forstbauer. “It’s also important to listen, and really hear what people are saying instead of just waiting to speak. You also have to do your research, and take a step of faith.”
Painted River Farm
218 Barnston Island, Surrey
Ph. 604-581-2665
Email: paintedriverfarm@skyweb.ca
Website: www.paintedriverfarm.ca
In their own words:
Painted River Farm, locared on Barnston Island, produced naturally raised beef and goat meat. We do not use hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides on our land. We were the first SPCA-certified beef producers in BC, and sell our products from our farm gate in the fall.
What’s your secret?
“We produce naturally-raised SPCA-certified beef, that’s a great product, raised very well for the general public, and with passion towards our animals,” says Donna Gilmore. “It’s important to do your homework, and talk with people if you don’t know something.”
Is there such a thing as girl food and guy food?
March 26, 2009
Some will say women have more refined taste than men, that the male palate is much easier to satisfy. Women have a reputation for being more discriminate with what they eat, choosing healthier options, while men shun the starch-vegetable-protein formula in favour of meat-meat-meat.
Suffice it to say, generalities abound with this topic.
I think as a male diner I can chime in on this topic. I consider eating out to be a special occassion, so I’m more likely to eat less healthy than if I were having a meal at home. Apparently, women remain much more dedicated regardless of the situation. I think everyone’s starting to embrace healthier lifestyles, but I don’t think your average guy will turn down the surf ‘n turf in favour of the baked tilapia with asparagus, no matter how well it’s prepared.
Here’s an article from the Boston Globe which weighs in on this very issue.
Ran across two interesting articles which show just how far food service establishments in the US will go to salvage business during the recession.
According to USA Today, the $183 billion full-service dining industry is struggling to keep up with falling demand at its restaurant locations, which has prompted some well-known chains to offer astonishingly low entree prices and deals.
“‘Chains have little choice. Cash-strapped consumers are holding back on eating out. Same-store sales have been falling for 14 months and were down 3.6% in February,’ says researcher Knapp-Track.”
For chains that use budget and family themes in their branding, offering lower prices is a sure way of appealing to their traditional customer base. It’s risky for an elite brand to low-ball its offerings, but even the upscale Morton’s Steakhouse is getting in on the act…
Adding value is a strategy often employed by brands which come advertised as worth every penny, and are reluctant to risk their reputations by discounting, but even low-end fare requires a little dressing up to sell.
Ask yourself if you would risk eating this for the chance at winning a t-shirt…
Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
March 25, 2009
Serves 2
1/3 cup finely chopped mix of shallot, red onion, white onion, sweet onion, and leek (pale green and white part only)
3 tablespoons chopped scallion
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
4 slices (each 1/2-inch thick) country bread, halved crosswise
3/4 pound aged Cheddar, coarsely grated
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1. Heat a large griddle over medium-low heat until hot.
2. In a bowl, combine the onion mixture, scallion, and garlic. Make 4 sandwiches with bread, cheese (pack it on), and onion mixture. Butter both sides of the sandwiches.
3. Set the sandwiches on the griddle and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, turning once, until the bread is golden and the cheese melts.
Sweet Potato Vegetable Lasagna
March 25, 2009
Courtesy of “The Engine 2 Diet.”
1 onion, chopped
1 small head garlic, cloves chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 pound silken tofu
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 jars (about 25 ounces each) prepared pasta sauce
1 pound whole grain lasagna noodles (uncooked)
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
6 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup raw cashews, ground
1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. In a large skillet over high heat, cook the onion and garlic, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until they release their liquid.
3. With a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a large bowl, reserving the liquid in the pan.
4. In the same skillet, cook the broccoli and carrots, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add them to the mushroom mixture.
5. Add the bell peppers to the pan and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until they’re just beginning to soften; transfer to the bowl of vegetables.
6. Drain the tofu by wrapping it in paper towels. Break it into pieces. Add the tofu to the vegetables with the cayenne, oregano, basil, and rosemary. Mix well.
7. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of sauce. Add a layer of noodles. Cover the noodles generously with sauce. Spread all the vegetables on top. Add another layer of noodles, then another layer of sauce.
8. Distribute all the spinach evenly on top. Use all the sweet potatoes to make another layer. Add sauce, then noodles, and finally more sauce. Lay the tomatoes on top.
9. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
10. Remove the foil. Sprinkle with cashews and return to the oven. Continue baking for 15 minutes. (Total baking time is 1 hour.) Let rest 15 minutes before serving. Adapted from “The Engine 2 Diet”
Bet the Farm
March 24, 2009
It’s a paradox of sorts, but as the world gets bigger and bigger, it really has begun to shrink.
Consumers have grown weary of suspicious ingredients in their food, ambiguous claims on packaging, and misleading statements in advertising. People just want some organic goat cheese (thanks Cha-Cha, pictured above) containing ingredients no longer than four syllables. This doesn’t have to be an expensive burden on restaurants and food manufacturers, who might be tempted to secure cheaper “natural” products from a large-scale manufacturer with cozy rolling hills on its labels.
As we grow, the world begins to partition off into small sects which must be self-sustaining in case oil someday rises to $200 a barrel and hiring that truck from South Carolina will no longer make financial sense. But the few extra pennies we spend now supporting our local farmers and food producers will not only create strong and fair local economies, but also serves as a fantastic opportunity to market with these hard-working individuals. The consumer wants local, organic, farm-produced food, and though they may not be as willing to spend a whole lot extra for it now, this trend will increasingly become the norm.
The marketing tip is for restaurants and suppliers: Bet the Farm!
Restaurateurs, start making connections with local farmers and suppliers, and craft feature menu items around their products. Have a daily menu item, or a special evening that features locally-sourced products. Studies show that customers are interested in the back-story of these individuals, so include a write-up about one or more of them or their products and slip it into the evening menu. Increasing your support for these businesses will probably result in better deals for you (especially if you offer the exposure), and it’s a win-win for the local economy.
Remember: 2% of the world grows food for the other 98%, and with arable land shrinking, it’s best to plan to be locally sustainable now. Your customers will love the novelty.
Atención: Latino Foods are in!
March 24, 2009
Forget your cheeseburgers, pizza, apple pie, meat and potatoes and other tried-and-true traditional dishes; the North American palate has evolved in recent years, fueled by a desire for new, risky ethnic flavours. “Chinese food” and “Mexican Food” used represent the consumer’s foray outside of their culinary comfort zone, but an influx of cultural influence has thoroughly infiltrated the food landscape.
The reasons for these changes have been out of both necessity and interest. For food manufacturers and restaurants, experimenting with new flavours is viewed as a great way to spice up traditional offerings. It’s much cheaper to add spices such as tandoori, curry and jerk to your average chicken dish than revamp an entire operation or menu, and consumers can’t seem to get enough risk with their food.
The Spanish are probably one of the most under served and under appreciated demographics in North America, but that is beginning to change. This vocal plurality carries a tremendous amount of consumer influence, and companies have downplayed their significance for far too long. Plus, their food is flavourful, passionate, invigorating and complex.
MediaPost highlights a report on what kind of products are hitting the scene: “Epazote, Seville oranges, aji amarillo chiles and sofritos, according to a new Culinary Trend Report on next-wave Latino foods from Packaged Facts and the Center for Culinary Development (CCD).”
“Epazote is a Mexican culinary herb that smells like “grassy turpentine” in its raw state, but when simmered in a pot of black beans, “mellows to a rich, grounding presence that more and more chefs are finding addictive,” report CCD’s trend-spotters. They expect the herb to move beyond upscale Mexican restaurants to become a common ingredient in canned and CPG products.
Seville oranges are becoming increasingly popular ingredients in sophisticated contemporary Latin restaurant fare, and CCD predicts that CPGs will soon be using the oranges’ somewhat bitter citrus flavor to add “Caribbean tang” to a variety of products.
Aji amarillo chiles, the most popular variety in Peru, offer a distinctively fruity flavor while retaining chile bite. The combination adds up to crossover appeal similar to that previously shown by now-ubiquitous chipotles, making aji chiles prime candidates for inclusion in “everything from spicy wings at QSRs to jarred salsas,” reports CCD.”
Other trends MediaPost points out:
• “Rotisserie chicken flavored with authentic, regionally inspired flavors from Latin America. CCD believes this trend is destined for wide adoption by food manufacturers and restaurants because it offers the familiar comfort food roast chicken with a novel twist, as well as built-in nutritious, wholesome positioning.
• U.S.-made versions of Mexican cheese varieties are in demand by Latinos and non-Latinos alike, and marketers are gradually catching on. Wisconsin’s Hispanic cheese production has doubled since 1997, and big national brands like Sargento and Tillamook have added Mexican cheeses and shredded jack-and-cheddar quesadilla blends, notes CCD.
• Bland tableside guacamoles are being reinvented as consumers look for fresh, healthy ways to snack. Freshly made, hand-mashed, chunky varieties that can be customized to taste with more/less onions, chiles and other seasonings are hot–and CCD stresses that marketers should look to apply the same lessons to many other types of food offerings.
• Soft-corn tortilla tacos–which offer both health and flavor advantages over the crunchy variety–are popping up in QSR’s and casual dining restaurants, and becoming more available in supermarkets as well.
• Mojito isn’t over. While mojito cocktails may seem old-hat to some, seemingly endless variations on the basic tart lime/mint flavor are now finding their way into soft drinks, marinades, chocolates and even chewing gum. Far from reaching saturation, this Cuban flavor profile “will go on inspiring CPG manufacturers across a broad spectrum of products,” predicts CCD.”
Consumers Push for More Transparency in Food
March 24, 2009
For those who are familiar with The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollen’s manifesto of mastication, or Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin’s sugar-less spoonful of medicine, Skinny Bitch, it’s not just about what we eat, but also our food’s journey from pasture to plate, and what is really going on behind the scenes.
It’s remarkable how utterly undiscerning many of us are about what goes into our mouths. Fortunately, we’ve begun to ask about those nine-syllable additives in our breakfast cereal, and learned the truth about misleading, “hydrogenated,” “natural” and “enriched” labels.
Accountability and transparency are not specific to the food industry, or characteristics of a passing trend. The internet has leveled the information playing field such that consumers now have all the power. With blogs in their holsters, average people spread criticism like wildfire. Staying on the up-and-up has never been more important, or more difficult for businesses and their marketers. Companies large and small are realizing they better not bite the hand that feeds.
According to Margaret Kime, the director of branding consultant, Fletcher Knight, as reported by MediaPost, “Consumer awareness of and interest in being intimately informed about their food has never been stronger,” says Kime. “As the organic, fair trade, local and artisan food movements grow and food contamination scares persist, consumers are demanding more detail around the origins of a product and each of its ingredients. Faceless or ‘orphan’ ingredients will be viewed with increasing suspicion.”
Food labeling in particular has toed the fine line between “ambiguous” and “leagalish” for too long. In this country, only 51% of a product must be manufactured domestically for it to carry the “Made in Canada” sticker. Not to mention the “Recommended Serving Sizes” and favourable calorie scales which allow products to appear better for you than they actually are.
According to a 2007 study by the Consumer Reports National Research Centre, 92% of those polled support better labeling for products imported into the United States, as food security issues have risen to what most agree are unacceptable levels. A GreenerChoice.org article reports that “…nearly 9 out of 10 consumers want natural meat to come from animals that were raised on a diet without drugs, chemicals and other artificial ingredients. Currently, the natural label on meat only pertains to how the cut of meat was processed and not how animal was raised or what it ate.”
The US Government in 2002 enacted a program called Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) which requires almost all products to carry specific information about where they originated. Originally passed in 2002, the program was delayed for nearly 7 years (with the exception of seafood) and has seen its first limited implementation just this month. The COOL initiative hopes to resolve questions surrounding interpretation and definition of product descriptions, but there is still a lot that is not known about this program.
As these changes have created problems for some, it’s presented new opportunities for others. Products which emphasize local origin, artisan skill, pure, pronounceable ingredients, and responsible procurement have earned the respect of consumers, and gotten many of them talking. A popular example is Welch’s Grape Juice. Employing the services of popular food personality, Alton Brown, Welch’s has made a splash touting the benefits of its anti-oxidant-rich product, and also brings you right to the farm to have a close look at who is producing its fruit. While it’s not cynical to point out that cute little farmers hauling baskets of grapes onto a beat-up truck is not representative of the manufacturing process as a whole, it does use an everyman, human marketing strategy on which companies in other industries, including Ford and Microsoft, have started using as well.
As of now it’s still relatively easy to mislead consumers about product origin and ingredients, as regulatory oversight is still being established. But businesses must be more truthful with their offerings, because if any evidence to the contrary (real or implied, the bloggers don’t care) could spell disaster for your brand. So if you’re trying to carve out a niche in your market, and lend some credibility to your product, it might not be a bad idea for you to bet the farm.
Catch Something Viral
March 24, 2009
Make Master Documents
Ok, so it may seem a bit impersonal to cut and paste all your information when you’re supposed to be having real, genuine conversations, but outsourcing some templates is necessary to keep networking an efficient and time-saving strategy. Some things every savvy social networker must have on file which they must be able to post at the drop of a hat:
- A Persuasive Email – which can be easily updated to accomodate new changes developments.
- General Press Release – where new information can be easily inserted.
- Social Networking-specific introduction.
- Short video about you or your company.
- One article you’ve written that touts your expertise or delivers your advice.
Consolidate your Social Networks
With 10′s (approaching hundreds) of social networks to choose from people are finding it difficult and annoying to keep updated information for each. Here’s internet marketer Donna Gunter’s advice on the best consolidation service on the web:
“Consider using the Ping.fm service, which automatically updates your status on all of your social networking sites. Depending on the number of networks you use, it will take you 10-50 minutes to connect your Ping.fm account to your various social network accounts. However, once everything is set up, you simply log into your Ping account, post your status update (no more than 140 characters), and your status is automatically updated on all of your social networking profiles.”
Use Viral Resources
Facebook is the king of social networking, so it’s important to use what they give you to your advantage (of course, I’m kidding…but not really, they’re the new Google). Here’s the service in their own words:
“FriendFeed is a new service that will enable you to keep up-to-date with all of the online activity of your friends and family easily. With FriendFeed, you can subscribe to a continually updated feed of web pages, links, photos, videos, music, and more that your friends are sharing. It’s kind of like the Facebook News Feed that everyone loves so much.”
Make a Video
You’ve been hearing about how popular video has become on the web, and if you think you can stand by and be a spectator, then you might as well be watching television! Of course we love watching videos, so it’s time to be the star of the show. Hire a professional videographer (it’s not as expensive as you may think) and post it on as many video websites as you can. Make sure you include a lot of tags with your posting, so there will be a better chance of it being viewed. Here are the most popular ones:
Register your Blog
Blogs are great for so many reasons, but mostly because they support new online trends of transparency and maintaining a human element. People buy from people, so you use your blog to humanize your business. Blogs are another great way for information about you or your business to go viral, so don’t be shy! Register your blog with as many blog search engines as you can, so there will be that much more chance of your information being found, your links being clicked, and a potential customer visiting your website. Here’s some popular blog search engines:
Link, Link, Link, Link
Everybody says that linking is a good thing, but few people understand why. Here’s what you need to know:
Links are important to search engines because they demonstrate a website’s value of category content. The more links you have, the higher your search engine ranking. Therefore, if your website is going to show up in lead positions in search engine results, it must be linked to other websites of with like information. Here’s what a leading social marketing firm has to say:
“The links are called backlinks and the like content is termed theme relevancy. Theme relevancy means that the site that places a link on their site, driving traffic to you, should be relevant or related to your sites theme. Ideally, the linking partner’s site would not compete with your website, but would complement what your site offers.”
There you have it. It’s a lot of up-front investment, but, like we said, the pay-off will be 10 fold. That’s why this is one virus you’d really be lucky to catch.
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