What “Dry Erase Board Girl” Can Teach You About Marketing

Posted on August 11, 2010May 5, 2015 by MD

If you have no idea who Dry Erase Board Girl is, click here first. You can find her follow up to it here.

1. It doesn’t have to be fancy

33 photos that appear to be taken in someone’s living room were engaging and got the point across. Not only did it get the point across, it made it easy to share (and boy did people share it) because you could view it from just about anywhere whether you were using a computer or a smart phone.

2. It needs to resonate

While some people are upset over this not being real, most are still okay with it. Many people suspected it was a hoax before it was announced but still shared it. Why? Because it resonated with them. Who hasn’t worked at a job where they wish they could quit like this despite the repercussions?

3. Yes, sex sells, but it can still be subtle

Would this have gone viral if it were a cute guy instead of a cute girl? Probably not. But it also didn’t take a mostly (or completely) naked girl either. Yes, there is a photo of her in a tank and short shorts highlighting her HPOAness, however, the remainder are a head shot and a dry erase board. One thing I’ve heard over and over is how great the actresses’ expressions are. Proving just how powerful a smile can be.

4. Keep it real

While the situation itself may not have been real, the concept was, as well as the actress. Going back to the sex sells point, they could’ve hired someone who looked like a Playboy Centerfold or a model, but they went with someone who was more girl next door. Why? Any of those descriptions would have fit in with the HPOA quitting frustration. Because it would have taken this into the realm of over the top and wouldn’t have resonated as strongly with the audience. Most people know someone or might even be someone like Elyse Porterfield. It added to the realness of it.

5. It needs to fit your goals

The big marketing cliché lately is taking something viral. But… why? Why do you want or need something to go viral? Unfortunately, too few marketers can answer that, or answer beyond a mass marketing mentality.

Does Viral=Sales? Sometimes. Does Viral=Money? Maybe. Does Viral=Branding? Sometimes.

See a trend here? Nobody can accurately predict what will or won’t work 100% of the time.

For TheChive.com, which describes itself as “Probably the Best Site in the World”, the goal more than likely was to drive traffic and probably subscriptions. You know what? I bet they succeeded.

Anti-Networking

Posted on June 6, 2010May 5, 2015 by MD

: Image by ExecGifts via Flickr

Recently I went to a tweetup and caught up with some friends as well as met a lot of new people. As is often the case at tweetups, you have two distinct groups. I think of one as the friendlies, and the other as the card exchangers. Both are about networking, but their approach is completely different.

As you might expect card exchangers are more interested in themselves and giving as many people their business cards as possible. They’re more interested in what they want to tell you than you. They chat people up just long enough to find out your name, maybe what you do, before they launch into their spiel, possibly hand you their card and move on to their next victim.

Friendlies are also interested in meeting many new people and catching up with friends, however, the biggest difference is while they’re interested in what you might be able to do for them and them for you, their biggest interest is the person in front of them. They’ll do their fair share of talking, but they also do a lot of listening and question asking.

Now, it’s been a few days… guess who stands out in your memory? Who are you most likely to do business with?

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5 Reasons Zappos is Killing Customer Service

Posted on April 3, 2010May 5, 2015 by MD

: Image by George Eastman House via Flickr

It’s hard to not have a conversation about customer service and not mention Zappos, but I have to say, they’re wrecking customer service.

1. They make you expect a real person when you call instead of numerous levels of automation hell.

2. Not only do you expect a real person, you expect someone who is friendly, speaks your language and is knowledgeable about their products.

3. You expect your issues to actually be dealt with rather than shunted from person to person until someone finally “accidentally” disconnects the line.

4. You expect your items to arrive within a timely manner.

5. You expect to be treated as a valued customer.

Customer service is truly an important part of every business, but entirely too many companies cut corners and think of it more as a side note. What kind of experience are you providing your customers?

Think You Can Automate Your Marketing?

Posted on March 3, 2010May 5, 2015 by MD

With the growth of social media, many companies want to get involved, but don’t really want to divert resources to these untested areas. Often, companies set them up and forget about it, or they try to keep it active by passively automating it. After all, why should you pay for someone to manage your social media when you can automate it?

I need to point out that I don’t believe this Twitter page is associated with the Levi’s brand as they list their twitter account as Levisguy on their home page, however, it is associating itself with the Levi’s brand and regardless of its legitimacy, provides an effective example.

What’s in a name?

Posted on August 13, 2009May 5, 2015 by MD

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Words have meaning and names have power. ~Author Unknown

It’s old news by this point, but if you haven’t heard, Radio Shack is changing their name to The Shack.

My first thought when I started seeing this on Twitter? “Oh, I bet that’s a funny Onion article. I’ll have to read it later.”

That’s probably not the reaction they were going for, but I definitely wasn’t alone in the thought it wasn’t true. It sounds absurd because the images it conjures doesn’t fit. To me, The Shack sounds like a club of some kind, not an electronics store.

So what made them decide to change their name?

My assumption would be an attempt to reposition their brand. For years, Radio Shack has been battling an image of lower quality products despite them expanding their offerings to include high end products like iPods and cellular phones. Changing their name to The Shack however is not going to counter that image on its own. The term shack doesn’t inspire images of quality but instead makes it sound even cheaper.

Rebranding is always difficult. On the one hand you’re shedding the negative associations with the previous branding, but you’re also losing the good will associated with it. You’re also essentially starting from scratch, however, instead of just trying to introduce a new brand, you’re trying to get people to understand that it’s the same brand which in many ways defeats the purpose. As we become more and more inundated with marketing messages, consumers are even more likely to go for the brands that they’re familiar with. After all, how often when you’re grocery shopping do you grab the items you need based on recognition?

Personally, I don’t think it was the best idea, but only time will tell. What do you think?