The best thing a customer can do for your business is give you feedback — good or bad. The reality is that bad feedback greatly outnumbers good feedback. It’s just human nature. We love to complain when something doesn’t go right, and are often too busy to go to the effort to tell someone that something does go right. Even when complaints are justified, the business sometimes never hears them because the customer voiced his or her opinion in a private medium, such as telling a friend how awful the service in the restaurant was, and never giving the business a change to make it right. Word of mouth works for negative feedback even more powerfully than positive.

Mistakes happen. But even beyond mistakes, customers are a business owner’s objective barometer for knowing how well products and services are received. I’ve developed a mantra lately to help me remember this: you can’t argue with perception.

Social media provides unprecedented opportunities to listen in on some of those private complaints from customers that otherwise would never make it back to the business. You should make an effort to respond quickly to a complaint and do so publicly so that others reading the complaint can also benefit from your response. Think of it this way: the complaint will be out there whether or not you respond, so you’d better do something about it.

For large companies, the major cultural shift needed to effectively and genuinely reach customers through these channels may be more difficult than a small company who can do it with one or two people. The rules are the same in either case:

1. Engage people on their own turf. They’ll be impressed when you show up unexpectedly to help them solve their problem.
2. As with all customer service, keep your cool and “take the high road” whenever you can. Don’t get sucked into meaningless and unrelated tirades.
3. Remember how hard it is to control tone through text-based mediums such as email. Lean on the side of being extra nice.
4. Try to put a positive spin on the problem, so long as it’s genuine. Talk about future plans to remedy it.
5. Don’t discount suggestions, but also don’t over-commit to adding everything people request.

A few years ago Microsoft was getting a lot of public flak about its open source software initiatives. They stayed strong, responding to the comments on their blogs and others, and over a period of several months began to sway the tone of the comments. Eventually the community actually started sticking up for them. This took a lot of time and effort, but it helped to “humanize” Microsoft.

Comparing social media campaigns from Target and Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart failed so miserably that they chose to bow out not-so-gracefully in the face of hundreds of negative comments from students looking for roommates. If they’d stuck it out, I imagine they might have been able to turn it around or save face. Target got their campaign right from the start, creating a “party” for discussing dorm survival, which speaks to the culture and brand perception of the companies going into the campaigns.

The bottom line is to be true to your brand, your service, your customers, and your mistakes. The customer is not always right, but they always have the right to complain. Listening and responding will save you a lot of trouble down the road and probably lead to more business in the short term.

This post was featured in ePiphany, Astek’s Monthly Newsletter | Other ePiphany Articles

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Andy Swindler Categories: Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Social Media, Web, ePiphany Featured Story

One of the principle tenants of building your personal brand online is “provide value.” One easy way to do this is sharing interesting stories and links.

I love using this “Share on Facebook” button. It takes just a simple drag and drop to add to your browser toolbar and it makes sharing interesting stories and links on your Facebook profile so easy – you don’t even have to go to Facebook! Anyone know if there is a version of this for posting to a Fan page you control?

This is a screenshot. Find the actual page here.

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Katie Hawkey Categories: Marketing, Social Media

Do you know if people are talking about your company, or even you personally, on the Internet? And what they are saying? If you don’t, then you could be missing out on a wealth of valuable feedback on the perception of your company’s or your own personal brand. In particular, if people are out there writing negative things about your brand, you should hear about it in a timely fashion so you can react to ameliorate those perceptions.

There is a range of tools available to find and analyze the online conversations people are having about you. The best fit is likely based on the size of your organization or general public presence. Although you may not know the latter until you have experimented with some of the tools I discuss in this article. I highlight three offerings, from entry up to enterprise level. You may actually want to go ahead and start using the most basic, expanding from there to determine what features pay off for you versus the cost.

Google Alerts
Cost: Free
Google Alerts is basically an automated Google search based on a set of saved keywords. You have likely already manually searched for keywords associated with your brand. And you may not have actually gotten back anything interesting. But unless you set a schedule for yourself to do those searches, you may miss an important news article or blog post of interest. Google Alerts does this for you, and emails you the results on a weekly, daily, or “as it happens” basis. That last option has searches running continuously, and you get updated whenever something new pops up.

Google Alerts is basically the minimum you should be doing to monitor online conversations. And it’s free and fairly easy to use, so you don’t have much of an excuse not to give it a try. However, you have to do any analysis on the results it sends you manually. Also, it does not specifically target any social media besides blogs as a general category. So you may have to sift through a lot to find anything of interest, or you may not even find the results you are looking for.

Filtrbox
Cost: Free basic plan, $10/month unlimited plan, with a free trial of unspecified length
Like Google Alerts, with Filtrbox you basically just define keywords, or “filtrs” to search for. And if you already have Google Alerts, you can import your keywords from there. The big difference between Google Alerts and Filtrbox is that Filtrbox searches a much more targeted set of sources for those keywords. Instead of basically the entire web, Filtrbox, according to them, “continuously monitors thousands of mainstream news sources, millions of blogs, Twitter, FriendFeed, blog comments and conversations, and any custom sources you add to your account via RSS.” Filtrbox also allows you to rank and flag sources that return hits for your keyword, so that you can refine your interactions with it more and more as you use it. Like Google Analytics it provides you with email updates of results, but also provides various charts and graphs to analyze and trend those results.

By all means give the free basic plan a try. But you will only be able to create five filters, and can only look back 15 days in the history of results you generate. But at $10 per month, the paid version seems like quite a value and completely removes those restrictions.

Scout Labs
Cost: ranging from $100/mo to $749+/mo, with a 30 day free trial at any subscription level
This product allows you define multiple searches, with a more sophisticated way to create search exceptions and merge different searches together than the previous two tools. This capability sets it apart in the way that you can tune out a lot of unwanted noise right from the start. It also includes lots of charting and analysis tools, including a report of the “share” of online buzz about particular topics which result from your searches. This can demonstrate how big your online presence is in relation to competitors. The biggest selling point for Scout Labs seems to be its sentiment tracking tool. You use their own engine for determining whether results returned by your searches are positive, negative, or neutral. You can then override the linking of keywords with those sentiments, to train their system to align more with your brand’s domain.

The Scout Labs product is by no means cheap, and the $100 level only allows for five different searches. However, it seems like an extremely powerful tool, especially for the sentiment tracking ability that would give you an easy and automatic dashboard view of how your brand is perceived online.

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Andrew Crowe Categories: Marketing, Social Media, Technology, Web, ePiphany Featured Story

I spent last Friday at the Neumann Association, an agency which serves the disabled with housing and many other programs.  I was invited to photograph their Summer Games event, which is normally held in a park but due to rain that day it was at their main building in Edgewater.  Since I was there on a weekday they considered Astek a sponsor and even put our logo on the T-shirt!  Pretty cool.  Look for it right in the middle on the back of the shirts in this photo.

It was a real treat to shoot photos all day and interact with the awesome clients and staff there.  Note that Illinois is on the verge of drastically slashing funding for such social services.  If you live in Illinois, please consider contacting your legislators about the issue.

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Andrew Crowe Categories: Fun, General

Through our work with CoreNet Global Chicago and New York Chapters, as well as Alter Group, CREW Chicago, TCB Development, Tobin Development and others, quite a few of our clients are in Corporate Real Estate. Many of you have been inquiring about using Facebook and other Social Networking sites to improve your business.

I just ran into this article today – “The ‘Facebooking’ of Commercial Real Estate” – here’s the money quote:

“As more commercial real estate professionals are realizing Facebook’s potential for marketing commercial properties and services, the website is seeing a plethora of professionals having joined the site in recent months. Through Facebook’s status updates, wall postings and messaging capabilities, commercial real estate brokers are finding that they can push out their listing to scores of people. In fact, some brokers have created Facebook groups that center around a specific property. I have seen these groups contain properties for sale, new developments and even properties for lease. The best part about these marketing resources is that they are free. The only cost is your time in setting them up.

Some commercial firms are working diligently to expand their presence on Facebook. A great example of this on a national level is Sperry Van Ness. The company has created a Facebook group* for its Asset Recovery Team as well as a group for its corporate presence*. Sperry Van Ness uses these groups to push out news about market dynamics, company services and expert opinions to the members of its group, which includes company advisors, clients and potential investors.”

*This author actually incorrectly identifies the pages referenced above as “groups.” Those are actually “pages” – a distinction we have covered in a past blog post here.

Astek resently presented on social media to a group of real estate professionals at a CoreNet Chicago event – Challenging Economy Digital World in May.

Andy and others in Panel Discussion about Social Media

Katie teaches Facebook & LinkedIn 101

Katie takes audience questions about Facebook & LinkedIn

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Katie Hawkey Categories: Marketing, Social Media, Web

I’m a huge fan of the Indie-Craft Movement and I have been impressed with the way the community as a whole has embraced Social Media Marketing.

Indie-Craft - also called alternative craft, alt-craft, new wave craft, craftivism, green-craft, eco-craft, DIY (do-it-yourself) craft, etc – is often paired with the tag line “Not your grandma’s craft.” The artists and makers who art part of this movement use traditional crafting techniques like knitting, needlepoint, screen printing, felting, crocheting and more to make fashion, accessories and decor often with a punk, indie-music or “urban” aesthetic.

Another trend of the movement is the embrace of entrepreneurism – similar to the Arts and Craft movement at the turn of the century, these makers are exploring ways to make a dignified, self sufficient living selling things they have made themselves. In this movement “handmade” and “self-employed“ are badges of honor and many makers are dedicated to ecological and economical practices like sustainability, reuse and “up-cycling.”

The internet provides today’s makers with easy and free access to buyers across the globe. In fact, many credit the internet with the rise of the current indie-craft movement. Sites like etsy.com make it possible for part-time and full-time crafters all over the world to connect with customers.

Another online trend in the Indie-Craft movement is the free exchange of ideas, patterns and resources. Sites like instructables.com make it easier than ever for DIYers to share instructions on making just about anything. The Indie-Craft community has undeniably blossomed around the free exchange of patterns and how-to’s now available on the internet.

The community jumped on the blog bandwagon early and with great success. Blogs are a great medium for an individual to share photos and videos showing off projects, asking for feedback and sharing instructions. Soon blogs like blog.craftzine.com and indiefixx.com sprang up, aggregating the best projects from the individual crafter’s blogs and exploring current trends.

Lately, I’ve been noticing how plugged in many of the indie-crafters are to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Blog.craftzine.com has created one of my favorite Twitter feeds through @craft_tips which watches twitter feeds of various crafters and publishes helpful tips like

“burn/melt the ends of nylon strapping or cord with a lighter to prevent it from fraying”

or

“A 6″ wisk broom, found with camping gear, helps to scrub the fabric bits out of your cutting mat and sweep them off. (via @sanourra)”

or

“Make replacement shirt collar stays by slicing the plastic fake credit cards you get in junk mail. (via @justsomeguy)“

So what lessons about marketing and creating online communities can we learn from the Indie-Craft movement?

SAVE THE WORLD: Because of it’s ties to sustainability and ecology, the Indie-Craft movement gained a lot of traction with the renewal of the ”green“ cause. Also, the collapse of the economy in the last year has lent strength to the messages of self-sustainability, self-sufficiency, and the trend of making or mending instead of buying. Set against these noble causes, sellers can position their products as solutions to some of the greatest problems facing America right now. Being able to position your product in the context of ”buy this and save the world“ is a great way create passion for your product and to move the conversation away from price. In point of fact, some Indie-Crafters report that as their customers have become more informed of the ”good“ that the Indie-Craft community is doing, there has been an increase in the price buyers are willing to pay.

SHARE: This community created a vibrant market out of a previously far-scattered audience by pooling their resources. Etsy.com has consolidated buyers and sellers and gave them all one place to meet. Contrary to common wisdom, setting up shop ”next door“ to their competitors actually strengthened the majority of these sellers businesses.

BE TRANSPARENT: The members of this movement pride themselves on their ”authenticity.“ Many blogs will show the failed projects right along with the successes. There is a free flow of advice and conversation back and forth between maker, reader and buyer. This solidifies the sense of community and creates intense customer loyalty. Frequent customer feedback also allows the makers to almost constantly evolve their production methods and products.

GIVE: Indie-Crafters are constantly giving advise, tips, links, how-to instructions, and encouragement. This both creates community and builds recognition for those who’s advice is particularly insightful or valuable. It’s a great example of brand building.

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Katie Hawkey Categories: Entrepreneurship, Fun, Green, Marketing, Social Media, Technology, Web, ePiphany Featured Story

I guess this is somewhat old news, but I got to see a Steelcase Walkstation in the flesh last night at the Office Concepts party in Chicago. I have to admit when I first heard about this concept a few days ago, I snickered a bit, but the idea is growing on me.

At first I imagined someone trying to run, or even jog, while typing or trying to concentrate. I know when I work out the blood doesn’t seem to flow first to the brain, but your mileage may vary.

I was told that the contraption was intended for walking and working instead, at around 2.5 miles per hour. This could make more sense. Everyone should walk for at least half an hour every day. I’ve always believed humans were not meant to be shackled to a desk all day long, and this might be the next step towards a healthier working lifestyle.

Especially with innovations in the gaming world of controller-less interfaces that use cameras and microphones to detect body motions and sound, it’s not hard to imagine a virtual environment where after donning some kind of headgear you can be “walking” through a sunny glade, collaborating with people you “meet” (actually seamless video-teleconferencing) in a pretty natural way.

With a price tag around $5,000, the Steelcase solution isn’t for everyone, and the do-it-yourselfers are already proving anyone can make a treadmill desk for a lot less money. But you probably won’t get the nifty buttons that allow you to adjust the desk height on the fly.

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Andy Swindler Categories: Entrepreneurship, Fun, Gadget, Technology

Starting Saturday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern, Facebook will allow users to personalize their Page URL’s (the web link people use to access profiles and fan pages). Not only is it a nice touch for Web users and brand promoters, it will help with search engine optimization for your brand since Facebook gets so much traffic. Though chances are Facebook is a top hit for your page already. Telling someone how to find you on Facebook will be easier, since you can provide an easy URL rather than telling him or her to search for you.

You must have had 1,000 fans on your page prior to June 1 to be eligible. Be sure to secure your name or brand before someone else does!

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Andy Swindler Categories: Fun, Social Media, Web