How did Virgin stop a brand advocate becoming a brand terrorist?

Some of you may have recently seen (on the web) a letter of complaint from a Virgin passenger to Sir Richard Branson about the food served on a flight from Mumbai to Heathrow. In the letter, the complainant says he was a Virgin fan. Whether he remains a Virgin advocate or becomes a brand terrorist will depend on how Virgin treats his complaint.

In this case, Sir Richard called him and thanked him for his 'constructive if tongue in cheek' email. Virgin apologised and invited him to their catering house to select the next range of meals and wines on board. See Telegraph article.  

If you want to maximise customer lifetime value and avoid brand advocates becoming brand terrorists then a look at my article, 'Are you getting enough customer complaints?' 

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Capital One switch from direct mail to digital to attract customers

Credit card company Capital One (historically a UK top 3 user of direct mail) is switching to digital for customer acquisition. They say that the traditional approach isn't working for them anymore. 

Their new strategy combines digital ads on mainstream websites and affiliate marketing using price comparison websites.

This sends out a strong message to UK companies large or small.

Despite their significant DM experience, resources and investment, Capital One cannot make traditional direct marketing deliver cost-effective sales. Once again this demonstrates why UK business in increasingly switching budgets to internet marketing to attract and keep valuable customers. When times are tough, you need to use a channel that is effective and accountable.

If you are not making best use of the internet to attract and keep valuable customers, talk to a web marketing expert.

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

UK business spends more with Google despite economic pressures

Google's global ad revenue continues to grow despite the difficult economic climate.

It was $5.5bn in Q4 2008, up 15% on the previous year. UK revenue was $685m.

So with so much pressure to cut costs, why is UK business spending more with Google? To find out take a look at one of my previous blogs Why is UK internet marketing spend continuing to grow despite all other marketing budgets being cut?

To find out more about how pay per click advertising can help attract target prospects talk to a pay per click marketing expert

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Lucozade Target Toilet Ads

One of the challenges facing Marketers is getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time - or is that 3 challenges? Here is a recent example of an offline campaign by Lucozade that 'hit the spot'.

Lucozade has placed an ad above a urinal at my local sports centre with an headline of 'Topping up your fluid levels is vital to maintaining performance during exercise. Water alone is not enough.'

They continue 'You can monitor your hydration levels using the pee chart' which shows 6 different colours from straw yellow to orange brown. 

I defy anyone to read the ad and not look down to make a comparison!

The ad finishes by saying 'Choose your training partner' with 3 pack shots of their product range. Lucozade have created a website (the Lucozade Sport Science Academy ) which provides further sports nutrition information and an online shop which converts web visitors to customers and demonstrates their joined-up marketing approach.

Key learning for companies large and small (using Lucozade as an example)

Conduct regular reviews to ensure that you:-

• have a clearly defined target audience(s) e.g. people doing sports / exercise
• have a solution that solves a key problem (for your target audience) e.g. the need to maintain fluid levels when exercising
• have an effective message that cuts through all the 'noise' e.g. water isn't enough: test your pee colour
• know how to reach them when your solution is most relevant e.g. at the urinal. 
• n.b. this is why Pay Per Click marketing is so powerful as your message only appears when people are searching for your product / problem
• carry out joined-up web marketing

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Printed blogs being tested in USA

In a recent blog, I outlined why Exchange & Mart had decided to end print publication & focus online. Here is an example of a US company doing the opposite. The Printed Blog claims to be 'the world's first daily newspaper comprised entirely of blogs and other user-generated web content'.

It aims to publish 'highly localised' editions twice a day and is on beta test in various US cities. The 3 to 4 page publications will be free and advertiser funded. Blogging contributors will get a share of the ad revenue.

Why would anyone read it?

I suspect that many of their target audience will have iPhones and similar devices which can access their preferred blogs and website content at home, in the office or when they are on the move. This means that they could access significantly more content then available in a 3 or 4 page publication. However, it appears to offer some potential benefits:-

• it could aggregate the 'best bits' of the web for specific communities, introducing new and interesting stuff that the reader is not aware of
• reading a paper is still easier and more pleasurable than reading a small screen
• if successful, it could become a brand label that says something about you, similar to the newspaper you read, the car you drive, the beer you drink

Will it be here in 12 months time?

Given, it is free the only barrier as to whether people will pick it up and read it is the content. If it's good they will. The key issue is whether the ad revenue covers the costs of content, publishing & distribution. Unlike online models, as circulation increases, so do print & distribution costs.

Advertisers do not have unlimited budgets, so a dollar spent here will have to be taken from another advertising opportunity. Advertiser have never had so many ways to invest their ad budget. Smart marketers will choose activities that deliver the best marketing results for the money. 

So the key success factor will be how well it meets advertiser marketing objectives.

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Amazon's Great Returns Process Increases Web Sales

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Amazon's website and bought an adaptor to charge my iPhone in the car and to play the audio through my car's audio system auxiliary socket. Unfortunately, the wireless remote control was faulty and I decided to return it for an exchange

Amazon amazing returns process 

Amazon made the process, simple, quick and effortless. There was a link thinking of returning an item towards the bottom of their own page. The instructions were easy to follow and I printed out a returns address label with free postage.

On their website I selected that I wanted a replacement rather than a refund and they sent it out the next day i.e. even before they had received my return. Their policy said I had 30 days to return the faulty goods otherwise they reserved the right to charge for the replacement which was very reasonable.

Why is it amazing?

It is amazing because it is rare. Amazon understand that if you have a faulty product you are likely to be a dissatisfied customer. Within a few minutes, I was:-

• calm (I had easily found the information I needed)
• happy (because the process covered my needs and was simple)
• impressed (because I had no postage cost for the return and that they immediately sent out a replacement before receiving my return)

Amazon is my natural default when buying online

If I want a book or a present or a computer product, Amazon is the first (and usually only) place I go. There might be a site that could save me a few pence but Amazon have created a series of hooks that me reluctant to buy elsewhere:-

• Over 10 years they have established a strong position of everyday low prices. It would have to be a significant purchase for me to spend time doing a price comparison
  
• They have a terrific product range and it is rare for them not to stock what I am looking for
• Their site structure & search makes it easy to find what I am looking for
• Their shopping cart process is simple and quick
• They deliver fast (often next day) and as an Amazon Prime customer with no additional delivery costs
• You can count on them if there is a problem

So as a result of Amazon's web strategies, I would not consider buying from anyone else, unless it was significantly cheaper given the likely extra hassle & risk involved. Given Amazon's huge purchasing power, it is unlikely that many other retailers can compete on price without compromising their margins.

Do you make it easy for dissatisfied customers?

Amazon & other UK retailers like Asda & Tesco want you to be a long term customer and buy from them again & again. 

I once had a customer who had the opposite view: that the best policy is to make it as hard as possible for a customer to complain or get a refund / replacement. He believed this made him higher profits.

I disagreed: it might provide a notional increase in short term profits but at the expense of significantly higher long term profits. If a customer is dissatisfied, making the process more difficult for them is only likely to create a bigger problem,  losing future sales and helping to create a brand terrorist. This is covered in more detail in an earlier article 'Are you getting enough customer complaints?'

Does your website encourage repeat business?

• do you make it easy for target prospects / customers to find what they are looking for when they visit your website?
• does your range of products / services cover their likely requirements?
• if you have a shopping cart is it simple to use
• do you meet your customers' delivery requirements?
• how do you help them if they have a problem?
• do you focus on the short term at the expense of the long term?

If you need some help with this, contact a web marketing expert.

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Exchange & Mart to end print publication & focus online

Historically, Exchange & Mart was one of the key UK print publications if you wanted to buy & sell cars, caravans and numerous other categories. With declining print circulation & revenue they have announced that they are to end print publication & focus exclusively online. It's the latest example of how the internet has become the first place that people go to when they want information or to buy a wide range of products. 

Cut costs

For Exchange & Mart it significantly cuts their costs as sellers 'publish' their own content & upload images. It cuts out print & distribution & reduces labour costs. 

Solve customers' problems & provide additional "low cost" value

Customers (sellers) benefit as they can reach an audience of 1M visitors a month for just £5 (for private sellers). Buyers benefit as they can access the data for free, without buying the magazine. It is also:-

• more up to date, rather than a weekly publication
• easier to search for a specific specification
• possible to set up alerts to advise you of cars for sale that meet your specification

So overall everyone wins, apart from the print industry and sadly, the 80 staff who may be made redundant. 

Key learning for companies large and small

Conduct regular reviews to identify how could you use the internet to:-

• create more value for your business?
  
• cost effectively attract target prospects & convert more of them to become valuable customers?
• cut your existing costs to serve customers?
• provide new services / additional value to customers?
• grow customer lifetime value?

If you need some help on this, contact a web marketing expert.

 

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.