Now, we here at Buzzshift have a decent amount of style, some of us know The Sartorialist, Fashionista, and Brog NOT Blog cold, and one of us even knows how to properly pronounce “Givenchy”. And while we have seen our fair share of quality or luxury as a differentiator, or customer service as a marketing tool (a la Zappos), we have rarely seen the combination of a luxury brand using customer service as an effective marketing tool. Many companies have a generous return policy, but few have a “no questions asked” policy, and fewer still have a proactive return policy that is worth raving about.

Enter Coach Bags. This purveyor of mass luxury handbags is best known for its high quality leather goods and distinctive “C” logo on its handbags and wallets. They also have a great customer service experience that is remarkable, in every sense of the word. About a year and a half back, I bought a nice little cloth and leather purse for my wife (brownie points), and she has used it with semi-regular frequency. Recently, however, we noticed that the cloth was starting to fray around the edges, slightly unusual for the amount of usage and level of quality. So, on a whim, we took it back to the store, thinking that we could get some advice on how she could avoid further damage to it, or get it repaired. Almost immediately, the sales associate said that “We have seen this before with this style of bag, and it happens when the bag regularly rubs against the wearer’s arm or against itself.”

At this point, it could have gone either way in terms of what they could offer, and probably could have said something to the effect of “too bad, so sad.” Instead, the store manager came over and said, “Feel free to look around and pick out a new bag worth $X (which was the original price of the bag), or we can give you store credit.”  As @eddiemart would say: Shut the front door! Really?

And in one instant, they turned a marginally satisfied, one-and-done customer into a happy, life-long brand advocate. My wife was THRILLED about shopping around for a new free bag. She couldn’t believe it. We had to go (thanks to our crying kiddo), but she went home, searched for the right bag on the Coach website, and came back the next day to finalize the return. In between, and afterwards, she told every friend to whom she talked, about her experience.

The math on this one: $X (cost of bag) = 1 happy customer + 20 referrals + a blogging/tweeting husband = $4X (conservatively).  I posted it on Twitter, and @Coach even pinged me back for good measure. @elysa said:

So, what’s the takeaway for your business, you ask?

1) Do you have some sort of “No Questions Asked” return policy for your product/service?

If your service is as good as you think it is, you should make it easy for customers to come back to you in case it didn’t work like it should. And you should have enough humility in place to say “I’m sorry. What can I do to make you a raving brand ambassador?”

2) If you do have that policy in place, are you making it really “remark”-able? Like, tell-10-friends-because-it’s-so-damn-cool remarkable?

How you present and execute the return policy is almost as important as the policy itself. Think about how you can make your customer’s day out of an otherwise negative situation.

3) Are you providing channels for your customers to share their “remarks” with others?

This is where we are seeing leading edge companies go crazy, and where you can help amplify their experience. Now that you’ve turned your customer around, help them share it, or monitor for their reactions on your social networks to enhance their experience even more.

We are curious, have you seen/experienced a “No Questions Asked” policy become a “return” on investment? We would love to know if their are other examples out there.

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Today, Erik Qualman from Socialnomics released Social Media Revolution 2, an updated version of his fantastic video from a year ago. With over 2 million hits, the first version was an infographic barrage of stats and insights on how social media is changing the game. Version 2.0, while keeping the same soundtrack, has updated the statistics and provides further evidence that social media is changing the way we live, operate, and how we look at digital strategy and communications.

Do you remember your best professor in college? What was so good about him/her? Was it his teaching style? Or how she made the subject matter come alive? For me, Jim Olson was my go-to prof in  grad school. While his expertise in international affairs was undeniable, and his stories of his time in the CIA wildly fascinating, what really made him my favorite professor was his open-door policy. When his door was closed, you knew he had work to do. However, when the door was open, he loved having students come in and fire away with questions (within reason, of course. He WAS a CIA officer – he didn’t answer them all.) His office was just down the hall from mine, and it would always put a pop in my step to walk down the hall and see his door propped open, even if it was just to say hello.  Even so, we knew that his time was valuable, so we didn’t waste it with chit-chat, but if we had a question about foreign policy topics, intelligence, or just our careers and possible options, he was totally game. People really valued his office hours.

So, what does that have to do with you, the agency/business/non-profit? Well, do you have “office hours”? Do people who know you, as a subject matter expert on X, have a regular chance to ask you questions in a relaxed setting? Do business owners and colleagues feel comfortable sharing with you what they are excited about, without fearing that they are being “sold” something? Happy hours are great and all, but what if you just need a couch and an ear?

For us at Buzzshift, we want to open our office to our friends, colleagues, and clients. To talk, to bounce ideas, to hang out. Maybe we end up collaborating on something, maybe one of us helps you push your idea forward just a little bit more, or maybe we just talk about trends we are seeing in the marketplace. Whatever. The door will be open.

Buzzshift Open Office Hours

Every Wednesday – 4pm-6pm

5307 East Mockingbird Lane #500
Dallas, TX 75206
214.379.7408

A variation of this is David Cohen’s office hours  (he of Techstars fame in Boulder). He hosts his availability on SparkCloud.

Yelp is making a huge splash on Gowalla and Foursquare by adding Check-In features for the iPhone this past week. It has plans to be on the Droid and other mobile operating systems very soon. 26 Million people connected with local businesses with Yelp last year and has over 1.25 million users in their community. The new release of the Yelp Check-In system is shaking up the competition. Mashable did a poll on who would win in a fight of location based mobile services which included Yelp, Gowalla and Foursquare. Of the 2495 votes Yelp received only 26% of the votes. That was at the brink of Yelp adding the Check-In feature and iPhone users are still updating to the new Yelp 4.0 software. I would like to see a similar poll at SXSWi this coming March, as we could see significantly different results.  Much like Foursquare and Gowalla, the sharing feature of the new Yelp app allows you to tell your friends on Twitter / Facebook.  Also enabling the push feature allows you to get instant alerts of where your friends. Yelp allows you to turn on “weekend only” push alerts which is new to the mix.

Why Yelp has Gowalla and Foursquare freaking out?

Yelp Monocle – this is the Augmented Reality feature Yelp added last year and has made significant updates with the new release including a new “map” feature that will move with you. Having the reviews, distance to location, type of business, and price point show up is a nice bonus with the Monocle.

Reviews - Foursquare and Gowalla both have Tips/Review systems but have a lot of ground to catch with the over 9 Million business reviews which puts Yelp in a sweet spot. Not only will you be able to see who posted the review but how many times they have been to that business.

Filtered Reviews – In 2005 Yelp added in a Review Filter which has evolved and helped businesses with credibility. The algorithm of how this is filtered is going to be quite a challenge for the competition.

Photos- The ability to add pics is a must.  When checking in on Yelp you can add pictures of the amazing dinner you are having or the coolness factor of the atmosphere. Foursquare and Gowalla do not have this as a feature.  You can however use third party applications such as Tweetphoto to check in on Foursquare just by simply taking a pic.

Maps- A Map that will show you the Check-Ins of your friends nearby and Check-In count next to your Yelp Star Rating once you write your first review.

Gowalla and Foursquare are focusing forward with virtual goods and a gaming aspect that Yelp has yet to release. It should be an interesting road forward.  Based on how Twitter spiked and took off in March ‘09 ,whichever location based service company shows up to SXSWi in March with the most offline collateral and banners for all bars, restaurants, keynotes, panels etc will probably be the clear winner for 2010. Let’s see if Mashable’s poll will shift then… What App do you use to Check-In and what do you think of the new Yelp app?

Don’t be fooled by the all time high of Social Media Hype.  Coming from the tech world of Solution Based Selling I can see how easy it is to rush into using Social Media platforms before strategically building a Digital Strategy (aka Shiny Object Syndrome). Of course you need a Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Flickr page for your company … right? I get it.. you might assume that by jumping on the Social Media bandwagon you will drive a good amount of traffic to your site… That’s not realistic unless you put a strategy in place first.  SXSW Interactive and Blogworld opened some eyes to a new breed of “Social Media Agencies” and “Social Media Experts” who primarily speak and consult about what they are doing for clients on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc.  Typically these “Experts” have a Tech, PR, or traditional marketing background which led me to the question a few things… Have these “Experts” ever run a successful business before? Do they even understand fundamental business processes? It seems so often that “Social Media People” talk up the Social Media Fluff but lack a understanding in key business principles and objectives.  Our Digital and Social Strategy always starts with Forrester’s POST Methodology.

P is People. Don’t start a social strategy until you know the capabilities of your audience. If you’re targeting college students, use social networks. If you’re reaching out business travelers, consider ratings and reviews. Forrester has great  data to help with this, but you can make some estimates on your own. Just don’t start without thinking about it.

O is objectives. Pick one. Are you starting an application to listen to your customers, or to talk with them? To support them, or to energize your best customers to evangelize others? Or are you trying to collaborate with them? Decide on your objective before you decide on a technology. Then figure out how you will measure it.

S is Strategy. Strategy here means figuring out what will be different after you’re done. Do you want a closer, two-way relationship with your best customers? Do you want to get people talking about your products? Do you want a permanent focus group for testing product ideas and generating new ones? Imagine you succeed. How will things be different afterwards? Imagine the endpoint and you’ll know where to begin.

T is Technology. A community. A wiki. A blog or a hundred blogs. Once you know your people, objectives, and strategy, then you can decide with confidence.

(Thanks to Jeff Bernoff of Forrester’s Groundswell Blog)

I tend surround myself with business and thought leaders, along with a great mix of Digital Strategy Rockstars. These business leaders and Rockstars leverage Social Media to help grow both their business and their clients businesses.  At the same time I run into daily “Social Media People” that talk all about “Social Media Stuff” and don’t understand business principles behind their message. So before you go out and build a Facebook fan page, YouTube channel, or Twitter account, make sure you know where your audience is and have clear defined objectives. That way when you start diving into your strategy you be able to leverage the right technology to help your business grow.

Technorati’s CEO Richard Jalichandra released a preview of their annual State of the Blogosphere report at Blogworld 2009.  The  ”New Technorati” was announced which would allow bloggers to publish content directly to Technorati. This will allow the slightly less known bloggers to have the opportunity to get more recognition.  Some of the highlights from this years report included:

Monetization and Revenue

Professional bloggers monetize their blogs via:

• Display Ads: 40% (up from 28% in 2008)
• Search Ads: 39%
• Affiliate Links: 36%
• Paid Postings: 8%
• Self-Employed Bloggers are the most likely to sell their inventory through a blog ad network & use affiliate links
• 2 out of 3 Part-Timers and Self-Employed bloggers use self-serve ad platforms

17% say blogging is their primary income

68% increase in the number blogs with ad tags from 2008 to 2009

• 2008 67% of ad tags were Google
• 2009 47% of ad tags are Google

Brands In The Blogosphere:

• 70% of all bloggers blog about brands
• 80% of Part-Timers & Self-Empleyed blog about brands

One in three post reviews at least once a week

Corporates get paid to write for their companies

40% of Professional Bloggers have worked in traditional media

Do you need to establish Social Media Guidelines for your company? Establishing a Social Media Handbook, Online Communication Guidelines, and Training employees on the appropriate use of social media within those guidelines, are fundamental in running a successful company. The following provided Social Media Policies and Online Communication Guides are meant to be used as a starting ground for your organization to ensure you are protecting your companies integrity through Social Media efforts. As you know these guidelines will continue to evolve as web participation and interactions evolve.

American Red Cross

One of the most admirable published Social Media Handbooks and Online Communications Guidelines was created by Wendy Harman of the Red Cross. They have divided their guides into two parts which include the Communications Guidelines and Social Media Handbook but actively reference each other within the documents:
The Social Media Handbook for Local Red Cross Units

The American Red Cross Online Communications Guidelines

Gartner

Gartner Public Web Participation Guidelines

Greteman Group

Greteman Group Social Media Policy

IBM

IBM Social Computing Guidelines

Intel

Intel Social Media Guidelines

Kodak

Kodak Social Media Tips and Guidelines

Mayo Clinic

Participation Guidelines
Comment Policy
For Mayo Clinic Employees

Porter Novelli

Porter Novelli Blogging and Social Media Policy

SAP

SAP- Social Media Participation Guidelines 2009

Telstra

Telstra (Australia) – Social Media Guidelines

Please let us know if there are any that you feel are left out of this list?

Just when the “Social Media Revolution” YouTube video is peaking at generating massive buzz, the highly respected Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod step in and release a video called “Did You Know 4.0″ (Shift in Social Media).

In early 2007, a version of this video was released called “Shift Happens”, which received over 4.8 million views. Although the music is not as trendy on the video as the Social Media Revolution video, it does a superb job in tracking the Shift in Social Media and the extreme coverage it has over traditional media outlets. More than anything its full of fun facts and figures including such things as “The computer in your cell phone today is a million times cheaper and a thousand times more powerful and about a hundred thousand times smaller (than the one computer at MIT in 1965)…” Great job on this video guys! (and look forward to an Erik Qualman followup video….Social Media Revolution II)

The last few months I have been running into more and more companies that have a so-called Social Media Rockstar or Expert on their team which seems very intriguing. One of the first questions that I always ask them is what their daily routine looks like. I get a few different answers but most revolve around different Social Networking Platform tactics and creating conversation/engaging their target audience blah blah blah. But a commonality with the more successful Social Media campaigns always involves a minimum of two people, which fit into the following categories: The Builder and the Nurturer.

The Builder:

The person who develops the framework and overall Social Media strategy.

The Nurturer:

The person and/or people who promote/engage conversation, drives the brand and generates awareness.

If you have one person in your company that holds both of these positions then chances are they are lacking focus. In order to effectively create a voice for your brand online you must leverage a minimum of two people no matter how great of a rockstar you may have on your team.

The term Socialnomics was coined by Erik Qualman @equalman who also wrote a book this year titled “Socialnomics”. It talks about how social media transforms the way we live and do business. If you haven’t picked up a copy of the book you should, as it does a great job of describing the massive socio-economic shift that is fundamentally changing the way consumers and companies communicate/interact with each other. We all understand how everyone leverages Social Networks to post comments, updates, upload pictures, videos, etc etc but many younger people truly lack the understanding of the amount of power Social Media has on businesses. Socialnomics inevitably will be one of the next classes added to accredited school curriculum but the time is now for students to learn how to leverage social media as it relates to business. This allows this generation a clear opportunity to leverage Social Networks that they are already familiar with and taking that to the next level of engaging audiences from a business prospective. Time to put together some curriculum for Socialnomics 101.