Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Attention Marketers! In App Deals Make Smartphone Users Most Happy” plus 4 more

Attention Marketers! In App Deals Make Smartphone Users Most Happy
YouTube Closed Caption Fun
Top Marketing and Sales Execs Jump Ship to Facebook and Twitter
Twitter for Customer Service? Fortune Puts it to the Test
Facebook Won’t Go Steady With Only One Phone

Attention Marketers! In App Deals Make Smartphone Users Most Happy

Posted: 16 Feb 2011 06:54 AM PST

Since smartphones will be taking over the world very soon (that's just a foregone conclusion, right?) it's important to know what people respond on these devices. If the information coming from a Pontiflex Harris Interactive survey (via eMarketer) is any indication it will require marketers to adhere to the old KISS adage: Keep It Simple Stupid.

You see, while tablet users like things that spin and give off that 3D kind of feel, smartphone users primarily want deals. Offers, coupons, giveaways etc. It's not that it's a minor majority that wants this either as shown by the findings below.

Now, these folks make it even easier to make them do something by saying if you keep your offer in the app that they are seeing it in then they will be happy. Happy people click through and act. Not so happy people, not so much.

For marketers who think that they will be able to create an offer that is pretty much the same for smartphones and tablets (with the right tweaks of course for platform adjustments) they may be sorely disappointed. Tablet users want sizzle while smartphone users just want to dive into the steak.

As if online marketers don't have enough individual channels to adjust to already, these kinds of findings put the brakes on those looking for shortcuts and smaller budget requirements. Developing messaging is one thing but putting it in the right form for each delivery device is something that will be a difficult task moving forward because destandardization is norm these days.

Of course, many will not heed this advice and they will try to make their messages similar across platforms to save time and money. Maybe with all that extra time they have they can sharpen up the resume because if there is not an effort to meet the customer on their own terms then the results may be grounds for dismissal.

Your thoughts?

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YouTube Closed Caption Fun

Posted: 16 Feb 2011 05:14 AM PST

With all of the focus on IBM’s Watson computer kicking butt and taking names on Jeopardy (even if it thinks that Toronto is a US city but let’s not nit pick) we were introduced to this video about the totally automated close captioning capabilities of YouTube (hat tip to @BreRoz). Let’s just say it needs a little work but, hey, nothing’s perfect right? Enjoy.

Top Marketing and Sales Execs Jump Ship to Facebook and Twitter

Posted: 16 Feb 2011 04:52 AM PST

There is always plenty of talk about Twitter and Facebook and their money making potential. Well, actually Twitter's is more about potential where Facebook is already a considerable success.

Now both are looking to ratchet up their efforts and they have each turned to interesting competitors to get new talent.

As reported by Kara Swisher at BoomTown, Facebook has taken the top Microsoft global advertising executive, Carolyn Everson, and made her VP of Global Sales. Awkward! She was just hired by MS last June after a long search and now has quickly jumped ship exposing some frustration with how Microsoft does business (are you surprised?). Facebook and Microsoft have a pretty serious relationship with Bing powered search results and Microsoft being an investor in Facebook from back in 2007. ‘The Book’ tried to make nice with this statement:

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg addressed that issue in a statement:

"Microsoft was one of our earliest partners and is still one of our most valued. We have a long and strong relationship that includes search ads on our site, a social layer on Bing search results and a deep and popular integration with Xbox. They are a leader when it comes to unlocking the power of social for their already popular products and services. We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship with them."

Isn’t that special? This is just another in a long line of Facebook moves that is followed by a coy flutter of the eyelashes and a completely insincere "Oh, did we do that? We're sorry!". Looks like they treat their partners much like their account holders. If they need to screw you, they will and they won't blink or lose a minute of sleep over it. Heck, it’s just business, right?!

Twitter on the other hand has saved the top marketing executive of Yahoo, Shane Steel, from languishing in a dead end marketing position. I say dead end because Yahoo is still mired in mediocrity and is still calling major cuts a success. All of this while losing market share and respect. If you are Ms. Steel you have to be relieved to be getting off a slow boat and onto a bullet train in Twitter.

All Things Digital reports:

Shane Steele, previously VP of global marketing for Yahoo, started at Twitter today as director of sales marketing. She'll be reporting to Adam Bain, the company's president of global revenue, who joined last year from Fox Interactive Media.

Steele is a longtime marketing exec with previous stints at the video ad start-up Tremor Media and Coca-Cola. She comes to Twitter at a time when the company is finally focusing on turning its service into a business.

This is much more challenging role than going to a Facebook because people have been incredibly patient with Twitter and its revenue generating efforts but that patience could go away in a heartbeat. The pressure to perform and to move Twitter from a "Are they making any money at all?" industry mindset to a "See, we knew they were going to be a revenue machine!" mindset is going to be great.

So while the rest of the world tries to figure out how best to use Facebook and Twitter for their business, both social media giants are staffed up to sell something to someone even if it isn't all figured out just quite yet.

Twitter for Customer Service? Fortune Puts it to the Test

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:30 PM PST

The answer to a customer service question should always be accurate, as simple as possible while still covering the problem completely and it should arrive in a timely manner.

For most companies, this means running customer service phone lines or responding to email, but some intrepid explorers are giving Twitter a whirl. It’s a logical step, seeing as how people love to use Twitter to complain about companies, so why not use the same method to turn the consumer around?

The folks at Fortune decided it was time to put this new option to the test, so they took their problems to eight companies known to have customer service agents manning Twitter. They dealt with banks, airlines, shopping sites and even got technical assistance for their cable TV. In each case, they delivered the question by Twitter, Phone and through the company website.

Care to guess which method was most effective most of the time? It was our old friend the telephone.

Of the companies tested, only Microsoft, Rubbermaid and Comcast Cable were able to completely solve the problem by Twitter but it wasn’t a short process. It took Comcast twenty minutes and several replies before the rep offered to refresh the box. Seven minutes into a phone call, the reporter got the same result and it took only five minutes when he connected through online chat.

What’s clear from their first hand testing is that poor customer service often stems from a failure to communicate and that’s hard to get around when you only have 140 characters. Simple answers and answers that can be solved through a forwarded link, are really the only kinds of customer service problems Twitter is equipped to deal with. Anything more complicated and the required amount of back and forth posting is simply too great.

Now if you’re thinking, not my end of the company, doesn’t matter. Think again. Poor customer service can undermine everything a good marketer puts out there and it can happen in a flash. We’ve talked about this before and it can’t be emphasized enough. Acquiring a new customer is hard work, keeping that customer is even harder, especially if you have the rest of the company working against you.

As a marketer, you may not be directly responsible for customer service issues, but you should still make it part of your routine to scan social media for problems. Sending a “how can I help you” tweet to an unhappy customer might be all that’s needed to prevent a public blowup. Just make sure that you actually do help them once they contact you or you’ll be compounding the problem.

The other thing we can take away from Fortune’s test is that social media isn’t the solution for everything. Yes, it feels like it’s the key cog in the works these days, but there’s still no substitute for talking to an actual human. Don’t let your social media drive keep you from practicing tried and true marketing and customer service techniques.

Now, let me get that door for you and if you need a place to stay, I can recommend a great hotel where they give you a hot, chocolate chip cookie when you check-in.

Facebook Won’t Go Steady With Only One Phone

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:23 PM PST

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is really heating up. Today, it’s all about Mark Zuckerberg and his plans for mobile phone domination.

For a long time, it’s been rumored that Zuckerberg was backing a Facebook-branded cell phone, but the man says it’s not going to happen. Instead of going steady with only one manufacturer, Facebook is going to play the field, working to develop increased social networking capabilities in all the top brands.

Sticking with the software side of the business seems like a pretty smart move. Facebook may technically be a “tech” company, but electronics is a little out of their line. By spreading the love around, Facebook will further cement their social media domination and that’s gotta be a bigger money maker for them than a warehouse full of phones with a big blue F on the case.

Says Zuckerberg;

“Phones are inherently social devices and the industry is just beginning to discover what’s possible.”

It’s kind of funny, actually. When you think about the fact that phones were initially designed to allow one person to communicate by voice with another. Now it seems that only a small percentage of mobile usage is dedicated to voice calls. We’re all too busy texting, checking email, playing Angry Birds and watching missed episodes of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Right now, iPhone and Android users can access Facebook through an application that allows them to easily connect photos and friends. The Windows 7 phone, however, is more of where the company is headed with Facebook “baked in” to the system allowing for an automatic flow of data from FB to your phone.

Do we really need to be this connected to our social networks? Of course! Have you seen the OnStar commercial where the guy has his car check Facebook to find out if his date enjoyed their evening together? I don’t know. Sometimes I miss the good old days of “reach out and touch someone.”

How do you feel about having Facebook become an integral part of your mobile phone?