May

3

How Palm is strengthening their mobile brand online

Filed Under Branding, Customer Service, Engagement, Marketing, Mobile, Social Media | Comments

Palm is getting ready to launch what will most likely be their best-selling handheld device ever, the Pre. There have been several attempts from most major handset manufacturers to catch up with the iPhone over the past couple of years but none have really lived up to the hype including the BlackBerry Storm and Google’s G1. Early demos and press of the Pre (which is rumored to launch May/June) have generally been great and there seems to be a lot of people that think it will be a huge success.

What I’d like to summarize as best as I can in this post is what Palm is doing online to engage with potential early adopters and long-time loyal Palm fans (which there are many of). I believe Palm could be considered a Prom King Brand, which advertising consultant Alan Wolk describes as a brand that people don’t mind “conversing” with. I think that alone has simply been the biggest factor in helping Palm successfully grow an online following.

Here are 7 things I noticed they are doing very well:

1. The Official Palm Blog

The blog looks to be managed by Palm’s Director of Online Communications, Jon Zilber and Palm’s PR agency, Edelman. It is updated a couple times a week, just enough to keep people coming back and interested. There are great discussions going on beneath most entries where Palm fans voice their opinions and seek answers to Pre questions (which usually get answered).

In Rohit Bhargava’s latest book, Personality Not Included, he refers to a great example of a Moleskine blog that was started by one passionate Moleskine customer, or what he calls an “accidental spokesperson” (pg. 59). Moleskine didn’t realize it would make sense for them to have a blog until one was started. The blog owner was later hired to officially continue his efforts for the brand. It’s obvious that a blog makes sense for Palm, especially since there are already several “unofficial” blogs out there that are doing very well. This official blog gives them better control over the information and rumors that are released about their own products.

The only thing I would suggest is for Palm to make it easier for visitors to share the content via Digg, Twitter, and Delicious.

2. Facebook Fan Page

The fan page is currently approaching 7,500 fans which is a solid start but still way behind BlackBerry which has 135,000 fans. The newsfeed is regularly updated with links to developing Palm news (even on other sites) and other online media. The Discussion board is very active and is used frequently to have featured Palm employees answer fan questions (where the accompanying blog entry directs you). Comments and Likes are common on most newsfeed items which makes it obvious the fans love the constant updates.

3. @Palm Twitter Profile

The Twitter profile appears to be for many purposes. The profile bio sums it up nicely, “Stay connected with Palm and learn about news, products, tips and tricks, deals and more.” Addressing customer support issues is another way they are using Twitter. What caught my attention was how well they are using their blog, Facebook, and Twitter together to host conversations and spread new content.

When asked about who handles the account, the reply was:

I think that will change after the Pre launches and the account grows along with Twitter.

4. Pre YouTube Channel

No need to go anywhere else, these videos straight from Sprint and Palm offer plenty of in-depth demonstrations of how the Pre will function and improve your mobile life. Apple did something similar for the iPhone but did it directly on Apple.com. Posting the videos on YouTube allows them to spread easily online by allowing people to embed them wherever they want. YouTube videos also tend to rank very high in Google search results.

5. Pre-Launch Pre Buzz

It’s becoming more common to see a brand highlight and try to aggregate all the buzz going on online in one location. Skittles drew a lot of attention to their site recently when they redesigned their homepage to link to Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook. If you head over to the Pre homepage on Sprint’s website, they are doing something similar but keeping it all on one page. I think this site also aligns nicely with their recent What’s Happening advertising campaign that got a lot of attention.

6. Become a Real Reviewer

The Real Reviewers program is a great way to give back to the online community by creating an opportunity for die hard fans to get their hands on a free Pre for 6 months. This type of transparent focus group can be great if the company really believes they are about to deliver an amazing product. Put it in the hands of some of your brand’s biggest fans and let them do what they do best.

This immediately reminded me of another similar project that was launched recently by Ford called the Fiesta Movement. Ford partnered with Ogilvy to identify 100 “agents” that get their very own Ford Fiesta for 6 months before anyone else in the U.S. These selected agents are already starting to create and share their experiences with the car on Twitter, YouTube, and their blogs. All this new content is being aggregated on the newly created Fiesta Movement website.

Just like Ford carefully chose their agents, Palm is looking for select applicants that are completely wired online (like me!) and heavily rely on their mobile phones for constant connectivity to their social networks. This post called Do Something Small on the Brains on Fire blog reminds marketers that really good things can come from putting a lot of time and effort into working with a small group of loyal customers instead of always trying to reach as many people as possible at once.

7. Notify Me Pre Alerts

SMS/Email alerts are still a great way to reach out to potential customers who are willing to opt-in to your brand and get the first updates about a new product or service. This method of engagement starts online and extends to email, text, or even live phone outreach if it makes sense.

Because Palm is a reputable company that I have known for many years, I trust that they will not use my personal info for any other purpose besides what I signed up for.

Final Thoughts

Palm had a rough couple of years, but with the Pre it certainly looks like they are about to strengthen their position as one of the major players in the smartphone market. Growing their online community and leveraging it to constantly improve upon their products will only help the company overall.

A couple of questions come to mind: How will they react to any negative feedback and press once the Pre is launched and how will they make sure their other products don’t fall off the grid?

Connect with me on Twitter @jsmakr and while you are here, check out 6 ways to provide customer support and feedback online.

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Sep

15

NY Web 2.0 Meetup Live Stream

Filed Under Branding, Videos, nextNY | Comments

I will try my best to cover the presentations starting around 7:15-7:30pm. Click here for event details on Meetup.com. Click on the chat bubble to send me a note!

Update: Unfortunately, I was not able to get it all to Qik because of the WiFi connection. Will hopefully have it figured out for the next Meetup.

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Sep

11

Thoughts on the 2nd Microsoft Ad

Filed Under Advertising, Branding, Videos | Comments

We can definitely start to see the overall theme behind this $300 million campaign is going to be Bill and Jerry doing normal everyday things with comedy thrown in. Of course you’re supposed to associate these ads with Microsoft and think wonderful things like loving, caring, human, etc. This is not the approach everyone expected, which was to fight back against all the abuse from Apple. The fact that they did not fight back in itself is proving to help this become a very successful campaign because everyone is talking about the different approach they took with these ads. By the looks of it on Twitter, you either love or hate them. Just like the leaked internal memo on TechCrunch describes:

The first phase of this campaign is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows – a conversation that will evolve as the campaign progresses, but will always be marked by humor and humanity.

I am sure CP+B knows what they are doing and somewhat expected this type of response. The more obvious product associations will come further down the line in this series so it’s still way too soon to measure if this campaign is actually effective in giving Microsoft a lift. Overall, I enjoyed this second one very much and didn’t mind sitting through the whole 4 and a half minutes of the uncut online version. I’m actually even looking forward to the next one now which I really wasn’t after the first ad. Did you catch the connection they made when Bill Gates is still trying to break in his new shoes? Very clever.

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Oct

16

Zappos knows how to make the customer happy

Filed Under Branding, Misc | Comments

Here are a few things many businesses can learn from Zappos, a large online shoe retailer. Zappos has doubled its sales every year since 1999 and is on track to hit $600 million in revenue this year.

1. Realize the power of fast, free shipping and easy returns.

Sure it is very costly to the company, but this has to be the most important factor that contributed to the success of Zappos. Many company’s offer returns on orders placed online, but not many offer free and easy return shipping. By offering these services, customers are left to ask themselves, “Why shouldn’t I order online”? Buying shoes online without actually trying them on can be very tricky since not all sizing and fit is the same across different brands. Zappos clearly understood this from the beginning and knew that this factor alone could make or break the company so they made sure returning and exchanging the shoes was easy. Some people may still find many reason not to shop online, but the positives should outweigh the negatives in most cases, such as not having to go through the hassle of searching for shoes at brick and mortar stores.

Some other company’s that I love which also offer similar services are Amazon and Netflix. Besides great pricing, free shipping (on orders over $25) is the main reason I buy so much off Amazon. Being able to send out a DVD and get a new one 2 days later without having to leave my house or pay any shipping costs is why I subscribe to Netflix.

2. Post customer feedback for customers to read.

The customer testimonial page at Zappos is located here and it is very easy to find. This is a great way to give prospective customers assurance that they should not worry when placing an order. Sure, they can see on the website that there is free shipping, free return shipping, etc., but all that does not mean anything unless it is believable that the company will honor it. As an added benefit, feedback from past customers can even answer questions that customers may have about the ordering or return process.

3. Handle each customer issue until it’s clearly resolved.

You can’t really train employees to handle every scenario they will encounter. But you can give them the power to do the right thing without having to ask. I could imagine Zappos customer service employees have the power to make price adjustments, give refunds, and all that good stuff without having to consult with a supervisor. Besides that, it seems like they are smart enough to make the right decisions when handling every situation, which is most likely a result of proper training. This makes everyone’s job easier and should also result in higher employee satisfaction on the job.

4. Sacrifice marketing costs for better customer service.

This is something they openly admit to practicing. Zappos would rather spend their revenue on all these things I am pointing out rather than spending big bucks for TV or Internet advertising. It is unclear what is more effective, but no one would doubt that the Zappos way will result in a larger number of very satisfied customers.

5. Go above and beyond.

There are a lot of company’s out there trying very hard to create word-of-mouth campaigns with little success. Some even hire outside companies such as BzzAgent to create these campaigns. Those methods could be successful, but why go through all that work when it can be as simple as just focusing on customer service through some of these obervations. Just like someones horrible customer service experience can spread quickly, a great experience like this one can also spread just as fast. I agree with Seth Godin, examples like this are clearly because the company’s employee genuinely wanted to make the customer happy, and not because they knew it would be good PR.

There are many other companies who’s customers have shared similar “above and beyond” stories such as Apple and Amazon. At some point as the company grows, it will become harder to satisfy every customer. For example, there has been a lot of articles recently about Apple customer service slipping due to their rapid growth. I think this is inevitably because any company will always here more complaints as they grow. Those complaints sometimes have a tendency to surface and spread faster on the internet. But at the same time, great stories of happy customers also spread very fast. Larger numbers of happy customers will also leave reviews that can be read by anyone on popular sites like Judy’s Book and Yahoo.

In Conclusion…

They say they are “a service company that happens to sell shoes”. So essentially, Zappos is providing a great service to help people buy the shoes they want with no hassles while hopefully saving them money at the same time. I think there is no better way to run a company.

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