Blogs

We all struggle with relationships, so it’s no wonder that brands struggle with relationship marketing. There are self-help books by the millions for individuals and for marketers, too. Despite this, it’s still hard for all of us to get the basics right. Stepping back from the marketing strategy, let’s look at everyday life for clues on how to avoid those bad relationships.

Too much of a seemingly “good thing” reduces the impact of promotional offers when everyone is fighting for your customers’ attention. Having an offer strategy that takes into account different segments’ characteristics, preferences and/or purchase history will boost the response rate and yield truly incremental sales.

It started with a failed card swipe and ended with what this cardholder thought was a superbly developed and executed customer service experience. How do companies turn what should be a mundane experience into something memorable? Here's the story of how American Express turned the simple act of ordering a replacement credit card into an exceptional customer experience.

Preserving prestige is what sets brands such as Burberry and Hermes apart from Gap and H&M, but that same elitism has previously kept certain luxury brands from engaging in the digital space/social media — one of the most powerful forms of marketing at the moment. Despite the initial industry-wide hesitations, we have seen a recent increase in digital marketing initiatives from select premium brands; with Burberry leading the way.

As members of the Atlanta Chapter, Teresa Caro (AMA Board Member) and I were eager to attend AMA's October Signature Luncheon just by its title alone:Journey Beyond The Comfort Zone. What we didn't know beforehand was how inspired and entertained we were going to be.

I recently attended the Social Media Integration Conference held at Kennesaw State University, and it was such a treat to hear all the talented professionals share their insights. One of my favorite and most applicable seminars was Mack Collier's "Think Like a Rockstar." I love this perspective on the company/customer relationships, and these key takeaways can be applied to any industry.

As you can probably imagine, social media marketing permeates throughout our conversations. Instead of a separate, siloed activity, social integrates into our entire approach and our recommendations to clients. So, to say one study stands out above all others, is really not accurate. It's just that every once in a while, one causes us to pause and have a great conversation. Gallup's Social Media: The Three Big Myths was one of those studies.

Given the increasing saturation of the “deals” market, Microsoft has made a much talked about and speculated move here. Consumers do not want to sort through the 6-10 different emails they are receiving daily from all of the deals sites they’ve signed up for, so Microsoft has come up with a convenient solution for these users. Bing says, “Instead of building another program, we're harnessing deals from major providers and retailers, including Groupon, LivingSocial, Nordstrom, Target and many others, to help you cut through the clutter and find the best deals in one central location.

Amazon is preparing to launch a new Kindle tablet in November, just in time to give Apple a run for its “iPad” money this holiday season.