Are You Listening to Social Media?

With millions of organizations and professionals on a dozen different social media platforms, one wonders what is happening to all that they are jabbing. Is someone listening too?

Social Media has become one of the greatest tools to get our message across at a low budget and least amount of time. To this end, it is being used and over-used phenomenally. To the extent, that there is so much content being generated that the content itself is losing value. The waterfall of tweets and posts and pictures and what not!

In the rat race to " be heard", we often forget "to hear". In the business world, when a company hires a social media professional, the expectations are : a few thousand tweets, a few hundred pictures, a few thousand followers, and mentions and retweets, and share, so on and forth. While it all makes sense, let us not forget, engaging is not limited to communication, especially if it is a one-way communication.

Listening is an important part of engaging with our clients, our communities, our market. Social Media not only allows but actually encourages us to participate actively in the lives of our clients and our market, which in turn creates a relationship. This relationship is the key to engagement.

Here are some tips on "active listening on Social Media`

1. Spend some time checking tweets on your Timeline. Otherwise, search using Hashtag. Hashtag will help you look for tweets on topics that interest you most and possibly connect with those tweeters.
2. Respond to Tweets when you think you could make a good contribution to the conversation, or even, start a conversation.
3. Mentions are a great way of recognizing other tweeters around you. Mention others at least a few times in a day.
4. Introduce yourself to people who are of interest, and especially if you have new followers. Acknowledging their entry into your twitter-sphere will make them feel valued. It is another way of seeding engagement.
5. RETWEET as often as you can and better if you can add your comments or ask a relevant question.
6. Make sure your tweets are of interest to twitter networks.

The more you tweet and you more you listen to the twitter content around you, the more you can engage with your networks. With Web 2.0, your real worth is your followers. They are your future treasure!

Want to be the talk of the town?

I am a Press Release. Every day, I travel across millions of computer screens and millions of people. I’m written, re-written, edited, read, re-read, filed away and if I’m lucky, stored on a computer.  Many a times, I’m discarded or recycled right after I knock someone's door. It is brutal when I’m thrown away without even being read but I blame the writer more so than the reader when that happens.

Most people think I’ve no soul, no feelings, no desires and absolutely no quality to win gracious looks. Wish I could tell them how wrong they are. Just a little grooming and I could be the centre of attraction at an early morning editorial meeting! 

The other day, there were at least half a dozen people scribbling all over me, correcting some mistakes and arguing about my content.  I like it. Attention is always good; and especially, when attention wins media interest. Let me tell you- all this fussing over me is never a waste of time. If I’m well done, I win a lot of attention and that means my contents will be all over the place- internet, television, radio, newspapers, magazine. Everyone will be talking about me- facebook, twitter, you name it. The rewards are many, of this attention you give me.

Photo Courtesy: www.shopforfollowers.com

I’m like a model in front of a buyer who has hundreds of models to select from. One cut can make all the difference. However, unlike models, I don’t thrive on cuts but rather on hooks. A reporter threw me away because she couldn’t find a hook. I don’t blame her. Hooks are what describe my magical charms. Give me a few nice hooks and I’ll get the looks! If you want to know what a good hook is- answer yourself WHY the world needs to know about your story and WHAT? That is the best hook. Add to it, WHO? And when your reader is all hooked on, show her the path- how to get to you. Tell her: WHEN & WHERE.

The WHAT hook can be attached to my title and the WHY & WHO hook can be explained in the first few lines. I’ve a desire to win my buyers and I can be successful if you are grooming me well enough.  Did you add the interesting quotes from impressive people that matter to the readers, third party endorsements and unique information in my body? Lastly, make sure you don’t forget to invite the reader to the event or check out additional resources.

I can be successful, and I want to be successful- be published, telecast, adorn every facebook page and become the talk of the town, only if you let me be! 

Year of the Snake

I'm not excited about the way I almost got ushered into the year of the snake, 2013. My last post was in August 2012 and it won't be an exaggeration to submit that the writer inside me breathed her last sometime around that time.

St. John Ambulance -Peel Branch which has graciously agreed to let me be on their rolls, if I may, announced the Grand Opening Ceremony of the new branch in July 2012, and the communications specialist- a hat that I proudly wear, was summoned to stitch her pants to the seat and get the ball rolling. That was it and the rest of the season, I cared little about the beckoning fall, the maple leaves in their wondrous hues, the warm murmurs of the wind, the sunny days and short sleeved shirts. All that I saw in broad daylight or abstract dreams was the Invite for October 4th, the program of the grand opening and the list of  - to dos'.

The event was a success. But, barely had I shaken my tired limbs for an energetic burst, that I could hear the books calling out for me. I took two courses in the fall of 2012: Foundations of Project Management, and Strategies for a web presence. Such an out pour of knowledge has two major influences on me -  cold embarrassment for the years I've lived sans knowledge, and secondly, mesmerizes me with the newly-attained knowledge. As I stayed cradling between these two extremes of my knowledge-related emotional self, it wasn't long before I finished the courses, wrote my exams and was almost ready for Christmas 2012. Of course, with chiropractic treatment and massage therapies.

What a relief after a grueling three months at work and studies, when I was greeted by a few days of laziness-inspired holidays marking the end of 2012. I woke up in the new year with a brand new spirit to put the web 2.0 learning into action but it was far too soon to spell the writing on the wall. A nerve pinched and I've since been restricted to the walls of my bedroom. The five weeks in bed broke my years of love affair with my pillow that would actually get intense every morning at 5:30, with the beeping of the alarm clock.

For sure, my brain has relaxed enough and especially with the all narcotics-laden painkillers, I've had little to think or worry about. No clients, no media calls, no press releases, no write-ups, just plain simple sleep.

The good news is that the writer in me just resuscitated.

A Strategy for Automobile Markets

An Interactive Ferrari website could be a dream come true & a compelling strategy to develop new market

Ferrari is known for high quality and high-end luxury vehicle. It is s dream of millions around the world to own a Ferrari and most know that they might never be able to afford one. This is where Ferrari can encash an opportunity. Understand the psychology of a wanna-be consumer and reach out to that market. Ferrari need not step down from its luxury brand status by straightforward trading-down but just add an innovative strategy.

Imagine if Ferrari introduces a new brand that could be launched online with the option to BUILD YOUR OWN CAR. The product strategy would be to allow customers the flexibility to build their own car by choosing whatever accessories, engine or parts etc they would like in their car through an online software. Each component could indicate the advantages, disadvantages and price. This flexibility would allow customers to suit their pockets and yet own a car from "the makers of Ferrari".

The car could then be ordered online after a virtual image of the inside and outside is created and delivered to the customer online. Once the customer books the car by paying online, the order could then by processed at the company factory where, just like DELL, Ferrari can put together the car and ship it to the customer. It can trade-off on time and responsiveness to cut down the cost a little bit.

The car could be marketed as "for those who seek adventure", rather than pure luxury. 

This strategy would allow Ferrari to tone down the luxury elements of the car and thus bring down the cost. There are many young drivers who would like to own a Ferrari-associated brand which promises adventure, rather than luxury. These young drivers are passionate about the look and functions of the car but won't worry too much about the luxury aspect of the car.

Just a strategy!

Marketing research- Quantitative or Qualititative

In a world of rapidly evolving trends, technological innovations and migrating cultures, it is impossible to make successful marketing decisions while bypassing marketing research. Not only is it important to know what the market is like but also to create a future projection based on the facts deducted from the research. Already, the changes are so much in place that marketers face the challenge whether the market portfolio will remain stable until the time the product is launched, leave aside the idea of ignoring marketing research all together. Many established companies have witnessed product failures when they ignored marketing research.

However, based on the needs of the company, the budget and the nature of the product or service, the company can choose from a wide variety of research methodologies that will serve the purpose. But, at no cost, should they totally ignore marketing research from its new product strategy.

I'm reproducing below a chart categorizing different research methodologies that can be used by a company to conduct an effective research and how they produce quantitative or qualitative results.

                                Qualitative                                               Quantitative

1. Philosophy:                  Phenomenology                                         Positivism

2.  Goal:                          Understand, meaning                                Prediction, test hypothesis

3. Focus                          Quality( features)                               Quantity(how much, numbers)

4. Method:                   Ethnography/Action research                Experiments/Correlation

5. Data collection:        Interviews, observation, Sampling,             Checking documents, artefacts                                                                  

6. Research Design:               Flexible, emerging                           Structured, predetermined

7.Sample                            Small, purposeful                        Large, random, representational

8. Generalization                Unique case selection                                       Generalisation

9. Analysis                        Inductive (by the researcher)            Deductive (by statistical methods)

10.Role of Researcher         Immersed                                               Detached

Focus groups for Research

Focus group in RESEARCH 3.0



The rapidly evolving consumer market and globalization has produced newer challenges for product managers and marketing experts and one of these is market research to ensure that the right product is reaching the right market or in Dr.Philip Kotler’s words, “value is being delivered to the target market leading to profit.” In this scenario, the comment echoes the frustration of a marketer who assumes that product managers will only apply one single- step research methodology. However, if we were to look for an answer to research challenges, Simon Chadwick’s insight on Research 3.0 where primary research is surrounded by other types of data gathering is quite reassuring. He favours a broader and holistic approach to research projects than one single survey or focus group.

Focus group is an important part of any research method mix. David L Morgan explains Focus groups as the "explicit use of group interaction to produce data and insights that would be less accessible without the interaction found in a group.” He further endorses that Focus groups have the advantage of being used both as a primary and supplementary source of data collection, validation or deeper drilling in any mix of research methods being used.

For example, once product managers receive data from a primary research, they can conduct focus groups in order to refine information on particular topics as individual focus groups can be drawn from specific populations. Focus group helps collect more thoughts, ideas and experiences as group interactions tend to be more creative than individual interactions. Also, Focus group can be used as an exploratory approach to gather data before large surveys or sampling is commissioned. In the end, I will reinforce the importance of Focus groups as an important step in the research process because of its sheer flexibility that allows generating ideas, concepts or research hypothesis, diagnosing problems, evolving research terminology, instrument pre-testing, interpreting experimental results, drilling into comparative insights of existing data, to name a few. It depends on the product manager’s innovative intelligence to utilize the strength of Focus groups in eliciting the data required whether as a part or a self-contained research method.

How to define the brand value of a product?

Brand value is a highly debated topic among marketing analysts, brand evaluators and academics with the effect that several schools of thought exist even when it comes to defining brand value. While some consider it to be as simple as “what you get for what you pay”, Kotler and Keller define “brand valuation” as “an estimate of the total financial value of the brand”. For the purpose of elaborating on the popular criterion for brand value determination, I'll briefly define brand value as "the tangible and intangible worth of a trademark". Academics and marketing experts have purported their brand value analysis based on their research which could be broadly categorized as under:

Cost-based Approach: This method considers the costs involved in creating the brand through the stages of research and development of the product concept, market testing, continued promotion during commercialization, and product improvements over time.

Market-based Approach: By using available marketplace information on the sale of branded and unbranded products, a particular brand value is measured.  The researcher computes the profits due to the brand by subtracting the profits that would be made if the product were unbranded. This is a rather transparent approach but it lacks the ability to take into account any future growth.

Financial Approach:  Brand value is measured by computing the estimated earnings from intangibles and analyzing customer mind-set metrics. It predicts the future earnings attributable to the brand and capitalizes on the earnings by applying a discount.

Formula Approach: Some experts prefer to distinguish brand value from brand equity and therefore prefer to evaluate intangible strength of a brand rather than the financial data. For example, Interbrand rankings take into account the financial performance as well as the other intangible attributes like role of brand and brand strength. Check more on Interbrand rankings at: http://www.interbrand.com/en/Default.aspx

John Hallward, Director at Ipsos-ASI Inc, contends that brand value is determined by its uniqueness, familiarity, quality, popularity and relevance which is in turn supported by product quality or performance. Young & Rubicom have the BrandAsset Evaluator™ technique where they decipher the "Energy" of a particular brand by evaluating its vision, invention and dynamism.

To sum up,  different approaches to brand value determination exist which require a certain degree of estimation and subjectivity and the above-mentioned are just one way of categorizing them.

Positioning a product in the market

Today's consumer is inundated with hundreds of product choices, so much so that it is often impossible to break into an already established industry unless one has a unique and competitive product. Now what makes a product competitive is what we called its "positioning" vis a vis other products  or services. Positioning refers to important attributes of a product or service that help create its image in the market. It allows consumers to compare it with other products in the market and analyse whether it identifies with their needs or not.  Positioning is definitely important and not only in the marketing process but also in the planning phase of the product or service. If you are sure what demands you want to supply to and how you will supply, you can create a positioning statement well in advance. During the product development phase, one could always reposition if required.  It helps your team when they know where you would like to place/ position your product in the market and then plan the product development, marketing and communications accordingly.
Positioning helps us to focus on the market and get rid of activities or ideas that don't fit with the brand. Once we know which market we are catering to, we can chisel our position further.  When there are all these exciting coffee brands available, why would one go to Tim Hortons? Because of its pricing and a definite taste that has become so popular especially among the new immigrants. Tim Hortons has recently introduced new coffee products and increased its serving size- all the better for the ever-increasing multicultural immigrant segment. This is effective positioning.Position has to be continuous process.  I’ll cite Neutrogena as another example of effective positioning.  From Natone to Johnson & Johnson-acquired Neutrogena, the name is synonymous to a healthy way of becoming beautiful. It caters to a health-conscious, educated and well-to-do class of women who can spend the money on their looks and not compromise with the health and safety part of the products. Neutrogena products are not necessarily glamorous to the core but definitely health-inspiring and safe to use.

Unbelievable that it has been almost a year since I blogged at all. Long hiatus. Well, I arrived in Canada and took up a job with St. John  Ambulance as a Communications and Outreach Specialist. Got busy settling in this new role. It's going to be a year soon. I love my job and my organization.

I went to India for a brief vacation and attended NRI Conference in Jaipur. And, I was busy learning more about the psychology of Influence and marketing principles at University of Toronto.

I hope to start writing again soon.

Volunteer and Travel in India!

You can now find out more about volunteering and travelling opportunities in India by checking out these videos. Idex organizes volunteer and travel programs in Rajasthan, Goa and the Himalayas. These videos give you a clear idea of what "volunteering as you travel" experience could be if you are a novice.

Idex takes care of everything for you, letting you enjoy and relax- in the mountains, desert or the beaches!
I thoroughly enjoyed creating these videos and a special thanks to Katja for shooting most of the stuff, Check these out and send me your views.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Idexprograms

Ciao
Roma Kaur