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online marketing

Sarah Worsham / Feb 17, 2009

Don't forget the Relationship in CRM

relationshipsolarikonDoes your company have CRM (Customer Relationship Management)?  CRM used to be about a business process of managing a relationship with a customer, but now it often just applies to a piece of software that stores customer names and some information about them. During this recession, there is an opportunity to actually form relationships with your customers.  As Lee Odden from Online Marketing Blog says:

As companies decide where to invest their limited marketing resources, there is a distinct opportunity to focus on investing in relationships: with their customers, prospects, employees and business partners.

So instead of using your CRM to blast out targeted email campaigns, use CRM to form long-lasting relationships with your customers.  Reach out to them and see if you can help.  Companies and people who connect with their customers will be remembered much more than companies that just sent out lots of advertising.  Best of all, building relationships is easy on the wallet – just takes a bit of your time.

(photo by “Solar ikon” @ Flickr CC)

Technorati tags: business, business strategy, crm, customer relationship management, customers, marketing, marketing strategy, online marketing, internet marketing

Sarah Worsham / Oct 15, 2008

Tips for Creating a Memorable Brand

emotionoimaxWhen customers see your logo or hear your name, what do they think and feel?  If there isn’t any emotion or attachment to your brand, you’re missing out on an opportunity to connect on an emotional level with your customers.  Here’s some tips on how to create a memorable brand:

  • Figure out what traits you want your brand to be known for.
  • Create unique images, sounds, looks, etc. that represent your brand traits.
  • Be consistent.
  • Provide excellent customer experiences.
  • Deal fairly with others.
  • Handle failures transparently.
  • Connect with your customers.
  • Listen to your customers.
  • Be true to yourself.
  • Have fun.

What’s worked for your brand?  Have ideas to add to the list? Please share in the comments below.

(photo by OiMax @ Flickr CC)

Technorati Tags: branding, brand, brand management, social media, social media strategy, internet marketing, online marketing

Aaron Worsham / Sep 29, 2008

Your customers want your brand as a friend

conversationsbdsolisCone, Omnicom Group’s strategy arm, released some data from a recent survey measuring brand trust.  This research claims that 93% of the 1092 Americans surveyed thought that companies should have a corporate presence on social media. It went further, citing 85% of those surveyed being open to interaction with companies within social media.  The demographic breakdown favored young males and weathly individuals, which can be a sweetspot for some marketed brands.

While networks like Facebook and Myspace may be old news for well polished marketing firms representing highly branded labels, this study is suggesting that the time may be right for more conservative consumer industries to follow suit.  If your company is consumer driven, tending towards younger male Americans or the affluent population, Cone is recommending you look at social media for your next marketing campaign.

It should be said that the study is a bit self serving, as Cone is a ‘strategy and communications agency’ with a presumed stake in the growth on online Brand Marketing.  That doesn’t make the results any less intriguing.  One of the best pull quotes I saw was this response from the surveyor to the question of what should Companies be doing in social networks:

Companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%)

People, it can be really simple.  Find out what the top ten customer questions are for sales, the top ten service calls for your product, wrap them up and build them into an interactive Facebook app.  Don’t just spit out one line information or a support number either, if the solution could be automated for the customer, take the added steps to do it.

Your customers don’t want you to be their Best Friend Forever.  But even one answer to a ‘Hey, can you help me with this’ will make you 10x more valuable than a crate of flying sheep.

photo attributed to b_d_solis @ Flickr CC

Technorati Tags: brand, branding, social media, social media strategy, internet marketing, online marketing

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About Sazbean


Sarah Worsham (Sazbean) is a Webgrrl = Solution Architect + Product Management (Computer Engineer * Geek * Digital Strategist)^MBA. All views are her own.

Business + Technical Product Management

My sweet spot is at the intersection between technology and business. I love to manage and develop products, market them, and deep dive into technical issues when needed. Leveraging strategic and creative thinking to problem solving is when I thrive. I have developed and marketed products for a variety of industries and companies, including manufacturing, eCommerce, retail, software, publishing, media, law, accounting, medical, construction, & marketing.

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