Is Google merging with Starbucks?

First there was the buzz and now the buzz is about caffeine-you would think there may be an angle… Forget all the buzz about Google Buzz. Google’s business is Internet search. Disregard their browser, operating system, and other frivolities; their main business is the Google Search Engine. So why, oh why did they reorganize their entire process of generating search results? In case you haven’t heard on Tuesday Google announced a new search index called Caffeine. Google claims that, with Caffeine, their search results will be “50 percent fresher” than with the legacy system. I know with my traditional caffeine searching typically feels fresher! (more)

Hey, Bud, you forgetting something? The Gekko phone call?

It’s the last day of the week and you’re already thinking about the beach, the barbeque, the baseball game, etc. –ad nauseum.   You do it, I do it, heck we all do it.  If you’re a marketer of any kind though you may be leaving more than 20% on the table if you don’t take the opportunity to reach out to clients and prospects during the much heralded TGIF.  We’ve likely all read countless articles on which day is best to prospect.  I’ve personally seen studies conducted by universities on the best day and hour to call.  At the end of the day all of the data that’s analyzed is someone else’s, and bears very little relevance to you today. (more)

There’s no such thing as a dumb Social Media question…

If your company is using social media in 2010, it is vital that you have a strategy and plan in place that’s guiding your efforts.  You will be much more successful, it will save you a ton of time and money since your efforts will be focused, and it will be much easier to measure the effectiveness and success of your campaigns.

So why don’t more people have a social media strategy in place? In most cases, they simply aren’t sure how to create said strategy.  This post will hopefully help with this all too common problem.   If your company is using social media and ‘winging it’ without a plan, please share this post internally.  If you have friends that are trying to get social media efforts off the ground at their company, please pass this along to them.  We will not see real growth from companies using social media until more of them get solid plans in place that are guiding their efforts. (more)

3 Steps to improve customer engagement-our operators are standing by

Collecting customer feedback is vital to learning how well your brand reaches, engages, and resonates with your customers. Unfortunately, most companies fail miserably to both collect and effectively respond to customer feedback.

Think about the last time you made a complaint or suggestion to a big company like AT&T or Comcast. Did you get a lame response like “Thank you, we’ll take your feedback under consideration?”  I had an issue with AT&T personally a few months ago and had to research them and track them down to engage-lesson learned Comcast Cares, but AT&T not so much!

It’s not enough to simply say you’re listening, or give a scripted response. You actually have to mean it. Then, you have to prove it by taking concrete actions to address the feedback in a timely manner.

Here are 3 steps to help you to improve how you listen and respond to your customers: (more)