Thoughts and observations from a self-diagnosed cycling addict, technology fan and lover of cool gadgets. I also have a passion for public speaking and helping people learn.
Isabella Bank turned their Halloween post into a "find the logo" game and encouraged visitors to find their logo. Heck, I was just trying to figure out how to eat the screen!
In between visits to the candy dish to refill on candy corn (my vice this time of year - so kudos to Isabella Bank), I've been keeping an eye on my Facebook wall and noticed more banks supporting Halloween this year by dressing up at the office. Of course, it could just be that more banks are on Facebook this year and I know they are dressing up, but whatever the case it, it's good to see my banker friends get "in the spirit" (yeah, pun intended there... sorry) and have some fun this year.
I like the fact that bankers are using Facebook to show their "human" side and let their customers and community know they can have some fun. While not everything is rosy in the world of banking thanks to the increased regulatory burden many banks are having to deal with (just ask a bank president and I'm sure s/he will be happy to let you know all about it), it appears as if just for today the folks below are having more fun than usual.
I'm also excited to see bankers leveraging social channels like Facebook to help the rest of the world experience the fun. Like I said at the beginning, I'm not sure if it's really more banks are dressing up this year or just the mere fact that more are using Facebook to promote it... but regardless these are all the right things to be doing.
Sure, dressing up like a pirate or zombie might not convince someone to come in and open a checking account or apply for a mortgage right away, but it's all about setting the expectation and supporting a brand. People want to do business with those they know, like and trust and if you see your banker(s) having some fun and it puts a smile on your face, that certainly can't help their cause. Besides, if you visit the office to see them in person they may just give you some candy corn (or other tasty treat). That's worth it to me!
Check out some of the banks that I've found on my wall. If there are others businesses (and banks) that you've found who also dressed up, leave their name and information in the comments. I'd love to check 'em out!
Plus, I found one bank that actually changed their cover photo, using pictures that customers and members of the community sent them of their pumpkin carving skills. Check it out below... very cool!
Note: My apologies to many of my "banker buddies" that dressed up and I missed the mention. I tried to get as many as I could, so if you got left out it certainly wasn't intentional!
Recently I had an experience involving LinkedIn that spurred a thought and inspired me to share the story with you here. As you may suspect from the title of this post, my story is going to have something to do with "proof" that time vested in social networking can reap rewards for you, even when you least expect it. Here's the story...
Last week a couple of my international WSI colleagues who know my love of the banking sector shared a link to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report entitled "The New Digital Tipping Point" and how banking is facing the steepest challenge in over a generation. The report suggests that a new tipping point has been reached and the fulcrum is the shift towards going digital. Great information, so I decided to share "socially" and send it along to my connections.
While there certainly are many banking industry-specific statistics and information in the report, there are just as many references to the evolution of the consumer that are relevant to almost any industry. Below are five key elements (shared on page five of the report) with my perspective on how the lessons can be extended to your business (even if it's not banking). I'll also give you a little hint... social media
Consumers Expect More - The lines are being blurred between industries and if you have a stellar experience with one business, then it's an expectation that your business should be able to deliver the same experience. Technology is available to make the customer experience a richer, more fulfilling experience. Are you taking advantage of it in your business?
Consumers Trust Their Peers - We can thank social networking for this fact, as it has become almost too easy to read the thoughts and opinions of what others are saying. Whether it's good or bad, people are posting what's on their mind - and it's all there for us to read.
Consumers Are More Informed - This another area where digital has caused a huge shift in the way we get our information. We've got instant access to experts, research and almost an overload of data on virtually any topic we could want to lean more about. Gone are the days when we, as business owners, have the opportunity to educate our customers. They do that all by themselves, most of the time before they even contact us.
Consumers Have Choices - With technology allowing us to conveniently shop not only across town, but across the country (even the world), consumers have more choices now than ever. While some may argue that having too many choices is "information overload", it reinforces that if you're not on your game, you can be quickly (and easily) replaced.
Consumers Have a Voice -While you may not recognize the name Molly Katchpole, this 20-something old intern from Washington DC was the young lady that started the online petition on Change.org to get Bank of America (the largest bank in the country) to reconsider their $5 monthly debit card fee. Have you stopped over to Google, Yelp or any other social networking site lately to see what people are saying about YOUR business? As referenced in #2 above, consumers are trusting what others are saying and even a lone voice can help to topple even the largest behemoth when they put their mind to it.
So, what's all this got to do with "proving" social networking works? Well, as soon as I got the link I hopped over to LinkedIn and did a quick network update with a link to download the report. One of my connections, who also does a regular podcast radio show focused on small businesses and technology, clicked on my post and checked it out. Later that afternoon I received a call from someone in his office asking me to come on his show and provide additional commentary on the report, and what its findings mean for businesses.
The show is called Bottom Line IT and featured on the Michigan Business Network. Who knows just how many people will be tuned in to hear the show (or catch the replay). The important thing to note here is the only reason I'm being asked to be on the show is that I took the time to share an interesting article with my connections, which obviously spurred some thought and an interest in bringing me on the show.
While I'm not going to profess to be the author of the report, I will be sharing my perspective on not only what it means for banking, but businesses in general (as touched on above). As any business owner knows, if you get a chance to talk about what you know in a setting where you've been invited as the "expert" that can be a real opportunity... all because I took 30 seconds to create a post and share it with my connections on LinkedIn!
Have you been surprised (in a good way) by social networking recently? If so, share your story in the comments. I'd love to hear all about it.
Below is the text of an e-mail that I just sent out to help announce/promote my fundraising effort to help keep the memory of Christi Thomas alive. Feel free to follow the links to make a donation or learn more!
Christi is my inspiration to help raise money
to find a cure to child cancer.
We miss and love you Christi!
Greetings Everyone...
This message is going out to friends and family to make sure that you're aware of my upcoming event to help raise money in the fight against childhood cancer. Many of you are familiar with Christi Thomas (http://www.ChristiThomas.com and http://christithomas.blogspot.com) and her fight, and eventual loss, to Neuroblastoma. This rare form of child cancer continues to rob families of their little ones and my hope is that every penny I help to raise for the cause will help to get them that much closer to a cure so nobody has to suffer the loss of their child.
Alicia and I just spent the weekend in Ohio with the "Thomas Team" and had an amazing time. Shayla, Christi's "little sister" is now 13 years old and has turned in to an amazing young lady. We spent an entire day on Kellys Island in Lake Erie with our bikes, riding around and enjoying the time together. However, each time we are together I cannot help but think what Christi would be like if she was still with us. Several times while on the Island we were able to overlook Cedar Point, which was one of our favorite spots (because I was the only one brave enough to go on all the roller coasters with Christi). It got me thinking about my upcoming event and wanted to send out a note and ask for your support.
On September 9th, I'll be competing in the 70.3 mile "Half Rev" triathlon at Cedar Point in Christi's memory. When I competed in the event two years ago I finished under 6 hours (my goal) and was able to raise some nice donations in the process (and many of you supported my efforts - so thanks!). As with years past, I'm supporting the CNCF (Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Society - http://www.cncfhope.org) and my good friend and training partner Kathy Roche-Wallace is going to be racing the event as well (but she's doing the full 140.6 race - stud). Below is the event website if you'd like to check it out and see what I'm "up against" this year. The cool part is we finish under the big ferris wheel and they've got a "jumbo-tron" that shows video of you coming across the line, which is pretty cool!
If you are able to support my event financially, that would be wonderful. The link below will take you directly to the online donations page and you can pay with a credit or debit card. Or, if you prefer to mail me a check you can make it payable to CNCF and send to 12369 Verona Rd., Battle Creek, MI 49014. Even $5 or $10 helps (but of course more is better).
If you are not able to support me with a donation, you can still help by encouraging your friends to help support my cause. You can post the link on Facebook or send an e-mail and offer up your perspective on my event and the cause. You never know just who Christi's story will touch and if they will offer up a donation to help make a difference.
So if you've made it this far thanks for reading along. Hopefully you will be able to either help support the CNCF with a donation or at least send along a note to your friends to encourage them to support the cause (or both).
Thanks,
Eric
P.S. If you're going to be out and about at all this summer in Northern Michigan, I'm going to be racing in Cadillac on the 28th of July at the Lumberman. August 11th I'll be racing the Sanford and Sun in Sanford, MI and then head to Ludington for the Lighthouse Tri on August 29th before my big event in September. If you've never been to a triathlon it's a pretty cool event with lots going on.
This weekend I finished my first race of the season and competed in the Lowell 50 Gravel Road Race. I won't go into too much detail here, but you can hop over to the WSI Cycling site and check out my race report for the "nitty-gritty" details. All being said, I was very pleased with my results and ended up taking 5th place in my age group. Normally I race against fellow "large guys" in the Clydesdale division (200 lbs. and over), but being a relatively new race they simply don't have the numbers to justify the category. It was good to see that I can still "hold my own" - even with some of the "skinny guys" and the four of us from the team all had great showing.
Also this week I had the pleasure of presenting for the Washington Bankers Association at their 2012 Marketing Conference in Seattle, WA. This was my first time in Seattle, and was lucky to be able to have some time after my session for a little "walk about" and see the sights. A good friend recommended to bring some GoreTex to keep dry, and I put my parka to good use, as the rain was ever-present during my walking tour of the city.
One thing that I found rather interesting (especially since I was presenting on the topic of Mobile Marketing) was the number of small craft stands, stores and other retail outlets that were promoting their Facebook and Twitter pages.... even using QR (quick response) codes and encouraging people to "check-in" via Foursquare. Check out the image below and how notice the hand-written sign on the sidewalk, plus the sign in the upper window (although I'd suggest they bring it down a bit to make it easier for people to scan the QR code).
In my session for the WBA I talked about how the mobile device is quickly becoming the primary device consumers are using to access the Internet. Whether you're a bank or any other type of business, having a strategy (or at least getting on on your radar screen) to address the marketing opportunities around the mobile device will be time well-spent.
In addition to talking about the social ways the mobile device is changing our lives, I also gave a tour of WSI's Mobile360 SMS messaging system and gave some ideas of how to engage with text messages for things like sending updates, alerts, news and other types of opt-in communications directly to someone's mobile device. While I may be a bit biased, I got the impression the crowd was surprised just how easy creating a text message campaign could be. As a presenter, I just love it when I see "lightbulbs" light up in the audience when an idea pops into someone's head (yes, you can tell).
Hopefully I'll get a chance to re-visit Seattle and take in the sights (when it's a bit warmer). In the meantime, thanks to the city for a taking good care of me. Met lots of friendly people both at the conference and while "out and about" and can't wait to get back again sometime soon.
This past week, one of my clients (Heartland Bank) sponsored the first ever 610 WTVN Business Power Hour (news talk radio). I was the featured speaker for the event and was able to provide several tips for attendees on how to get the most out of their LinkedIn efforts. Below are just a few of the “nuggets” that I shared during my presentation. Hope you like it...
With over 135 million users registered, LinkedIn is the world’s leading social network dedicated to the success of businesses. Much like a “resume on steroids”, there are several different aspects to realizing success with your LinkedIn efforts. If you’re not using LinkedIn yet, you better get on the bandwagon. Businesses of all sizes are using this social network to connect, communicate and do business together!
Ensure that Your Profile is 100% Complete
Whether you’re just getting started or have had a LinkedIn profile for some time, be sure that your at 100% Complete. This means, according to LinkedIn, you have all the necessary information in your profile that includes things such as your current position, education, recommendations, etc. Not only will LinkedIn see you as being complete, those visiting your profile will have access to a wealth of information about you (which can help them decide if they want to connect with you down the road).
One thing to keep in mind…. As LinkedIn adds new features your 100% complete may drop until you activate these new features. This happened recently when LinkedIn added “Skills” to their list of available profile settings. Even long-time users of LinkedIn that had 100% Complete in their profiles had to update with some Skills to get back to being 100%.
Use LinkedIn to Research People, Companies and More
When you are in LinkedIn there is a search box to the top right of the page that has some drop-down options. You can search for People (by default), but you can also search for other types of information such as Jobs, Companies, Answers – just to name a few.
Once you do your search and you see the results, you can also update and refine your results. One tactic you may find useful is to pick 2nd tier connections. These are people that are “connections of connections” – meaning that it will be easy to get an introduction to them if you need to since one of your connections already knows these people. However, they are not yet connected with you, so they are missing out on your updates and all the other information you may be sharing in LinkedIn.
Leverage Technology Whenever Possible
There are tools out there you can use to also help ensure that you’re getting the most out of LinkedIn. One of these, called LinkedIn Maps (http://inmaps.linkedinlabs.com) helps you visualize your network with a graphical representation of your network. When you do this, you can see quickly if you have any concentrations in specific areas (and if you need to do a better job of connecting with others that could help lead to business). Visit the link and see what your “map” looks like, then see if you need to modify your networking strategy.
From my LinkedIn Map, it's obvious that I've got a lot of "blue friends". These are all of my fellow WSI colleagues from around the world. As a business owner, it's nice to know this because my "revenue" potential from these connections is minimal - but they provide me with an excellent source of information for "all things Internet related".
Another great tool to help keep you “in the know” when it comes to LinkedIn is called Job Change Notifier (http://www.jobchangenotifier.com). With this handy program, you receive a notification via e-mail anytime someone you are connected to changes his or her job title or description. This is great for letting you know when someone gets a promotion or changes jobs. Not only can you take the time to offer a “congratulations”, but if they move to a different company, there may be an opportunity to take your relationship with them, resulting in NEW business for you. Plus, you may want to reach out and find out who took their place to protect the business you have at their former company. Without a tool like this, it would be impossible to monitor even a handful of connections.
Be Real and Stand Out
In business a genuine “thank you” or personal note really goes a long way to help you stand out from everyone else in the market place. This is just as important when using technology and can really help you stand out. For example, when you are inviting someone to connect on LinkedIn, don’t use the default text that LinkedIn provides and click Send. Instead, personalize your invitation with something like “I really enjoyed meeting you yesterday at the Chamber mixer and would like to connect.” Since most people won’t take the time to do this, your invitations will stand out (and the other person will know you took the time to send them a message instead of just “click and send” like so many others do).
On the “flip-side”, when you get an invitation to connect (and accept), take the time to click on the Send Message link after you click Accept link and say thanks. Something as simple as “Hi Bob, thanks for taking the time to connect with me on LinkedIn. If I can be of assistance to you down the road, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” Not only will they be surprised that you took the time to say thank you, but you’ve planted the seed (and opened the door) for them to contact you for future business opportunities!
Hopefully these tips have given you some ideas on how to get the most out of your LinkedIn experience. If you'd like more help or some personal coaching, feel free to let me know. I'd love to help. Oh, and don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn (just be sure to personalize your invitation!).
I love it when someone goes “above and beyond” during the normal course of business and makes me sit back and say “wow”. During a recent trip to Maine, I had one of those moments that I’d like to share.
On the cab ride from Portland to Freeport (the conference was held at the Harraseeket Inn), Dan from AB Cab, and I had a very enjoyable conversation and we chatted about the area. This was my first time to Maine (and unfortunately was not going to be able to spend much time there), but he talked about all the great things to do if I ever came back. Spending money at the L.L. Bean store would be top on my list (they’re open 24 hours, you know) as well as being able to enjoy some of the local seafood.
Well, speaking of seafood… when we arrived at the Inn, Dan wanted to make sure that I got my “Lobster Stamp” for my boarding pass on the return flight back home. Of course, I took the bait and asked “what’s a Lobster Stamp?” Dan went on to tell me that due to government regulation and environmental concerns, the local lobstermen were required to replace all their rope with special rope that sinks so as to not entangle other marine live. They also had to update all of their lobster traps and several other “requirements” that had made it very expensive to be in the lobster business.
“So, the state of Maine now makes it a requirement that any visitors to the state have to purchase a lobster during their trip to the state to help the lobstermen offset the additional costs that have been imposed on them,” he said. “When you order lobster, you’ll get a Lobster Stamp that you can put on your boarding pass – otherwise you’ll pay a $25 fee. So, you might as well get to enjoy some lobster since you’re going to have to pay one way or another.”
Of course, I knew he was joking and played along, but the story was a good one and made the cab ride from the airport that much more enjoyable. Plus, I now had an idea for my “opening remarks” the following morning during my session. In fact, when I checked in at the Inn, I told the story to the front desk and they all seemed to get a kick out of it (and thought it was a good idea, too).
The reason I was in Maine was to present for the Maine Bankers Association at their 2011 Emerging Leaders Conference. As is typically the case with my speaking topics, this session was focused on the ways to leverage “social strategies” to connect with customers and promote the bank. I started off telling the story of the Lobster Stamp to lighten the mood and the bankers all seemed to find humor in the good-natured ribbing of this Michigander.
I then started my presentation and shared the following video from Erik Qualman, the author of the book Socialnomics.
A key statistic that one of the bankers (kudos Katie!) picked up on after the video was done stated that 90% of people trust the opinions of their peers, while only 14% trust advertisements. A powerful statistic, considering if you look at the makeup of a typical operating budget, most banks (and I suspect businesses in general) spend a lot more of their time and money on advertising, yet it’ s becoming less relevant in today’s social world. Additionally, just a year ago the earlier version of this video had the numbers at 78%/14%.
As you can see, the power of the “crowd” is gaining importance, as we are increasingly more concerned about what others think about a business or service than what their advertisements say. This further demonstrates the power of “word of mouth” and why it’s important to get yourself “outside of the box” and do things that make people stand up and take notice. Create a WOW moment that people will want to talk about and play off the 90%.
This leads me to the point of my entire story… I went to checkout after my session was done and it started off as any usual checkout goes. “Room 304 please,” I said. “Thank you Mr. Cook, we hope you enjoyed your stay,” was the response – typical (and yes, I did, it was very nice). However, one of the other ladies chimed in and said, “Oh, you’re Mr. Cook, we have something for you…” and proceeded to hand me a postcard with – you guessed it – a picture of a Maine Lobster on the front!
On the back was a hand-written note that said: “Mr. Cook – This should fill the taxi qualifications for a lobster stamp. ☺ Hope you had a nice visit. Cheerfully, Kathy & front desk staff, Harraseeket Inn.” Not only was I literally “blown away” by this gesture, but I made a point of going back into the dining room where the rest of the bankers were finishing their lunch to share the fact that I indeed got a “Lobster Stamp” for my return trip home! I made a point of ensuring that my contact from the Maine Bankers Association also was aware of this “above-and-beyond” gesture so that she could mention it to management.
Kathy did something that all of us can learn a lesson from. She listened to my story when I checked in the prior evening and saw an opportunity to step outside of her box and do something that would cause me to say “wow”. As a result, I’m spending time telling you about my experience in this post and helping to fuel the 90% (what others say about your business). I can tell you that when (not if) I come back for a visit in the future, there’s no way I’m staying any place other than the Harraseeket Inn. I’m sure there are a lot of quaint and very nice places to stay at in the area. But, thanks to Kathy (and her front desk team), they created a loyal customer that’s willing to tell others about his experience. I just hope I get to come back again soon.
I challenge you to pay attention to what goes on during the general course of your business day. While you may think it’s the “same ‘ole, same ‘ole”, you might be surprised. Are your customers unknowingly leaving hints for you to pick up on to create a “wow” experience for them, like Kathy did for me? I challenge you to get out of your normal routine and force yourself to be more aware of what’s going on. You might be surprised. For the cost of a postcard, you too may have the ability to make someone’s day and tell their friends.
Embrace the 90%... (and don't forget your Lobster Stamp next time you're in Maine)!
Jing's "Magic Ball". Image via WikipediaOk, I'm a bad blogger... I know it's been "more than a while" since my last post and apologize for the lapse. The good news is that I've had a very busy summer, working on customer projects and traveling to present at conferences. As a business owner, keeping busy during these "challenging economic times" is a blessing and I'm grateful for the opportunities that I've had these past several months.
As I was contemplating what wisdom to share with my "return" blog post, I recently had an experience with a client that was having problems with their e-mail, which I was able to solve (remotely) thanks to a great free tool that I've talked about before... Jing. This program from the folks at TechSmith gives you the ability to capture screenshots and videos right from your desktop and quickly share them out to one person or many people with just a couple clicks of your mouse. Here's what happened...
As has been the case this summer, I was out of the office when one of my customers contacted me, stating they were having problems with their e-mail program. They were moving from POP to IMAP, while at the same time migrating from Outlook to Mozilla's Thunderbird mail client (the makers of Firefox). He had been working on this for almost an entire day, but was getting error messages when trying to send e-mail and was getting very frustrated (not only at the situation, but at the technology that WE were providing his business).
Step One - Download Thunderbird to Test
The first thing I did was to try and mimic what he was going through on my computer and I went out and downloaded the Thunderbird mail client and walked through the setup process while he was on the phone. This way I could "see what he sees" and since the program was free, no cost was involved. As his service provider, he was comfortable sharing his password with me so that I could log in "as him" and set up the system to check e-mail. There was one step that was overlooked, which we talked about, and then I was able to see all his mail and sent out some test messages. We made sure the settings were the same and viola! Problem solved... or so we thought.
Step Two - Sending Messages Does Not Work
About an hour later, he called me back and said that he was getting errors sending e-mail, and I could tell there was an increased level of frustration in his voice (understandably so). In order for me to see what was going on, I asked him to take some screenshots of the error messages and send them my way. At that time, I was away from the computer, but when I got back, was able to see the problem was in the authentication of the "outgoing mail server settings", which was keeping his mail from going out. I thought this was strange, because in the Thunderbird program that I installed, I didn't have any of these problems and did some further digging. That's when I opened up my Jing and was able to get to the bottom of this issue.
Step Three - Explore Further With Jing
Some of the Jing captures that I have saved on my computer,
ready to be shared with clients via Screencast.com.
I wasn't sure exactly what the problem was, but I knew one thing for sure... his mail settings were different than mine since the exact same program on my computer was working for me, but not at his end. So, I fired up Jing and turned on the video screen capture option. With the free version, you can capture up to five minutes of video from your screen, and that was going to be plenty.
So, with the video grabbing my actions, I went into the properties and settings, exploring all of the various options that could be chosen during the configuration process. The video was about three minutes in total and when done, I uploaded it to my Screencast.com account (a free account you get when you sign up for Jing that gives you the ability to share what you've captured easily). Once the upload of the video was done, I pasted the link into a message and sent it to him (since he was able to GET messages, just not send them).
Guess what! When he watched the video and walked through his Thunderbird settings he discovered (and I never would have thought to ask him to check this) another version of an outgoing mail server that was incorrectly set up the first time he tried installing the program. It seems this server configuration was conflicting with the "right" one and causing the problem with him sending e-mail. Once he removed this from the system, his e-mail worked like a champ. Thank you Jing!
This is an example of a screenshot capture of this blog post
showing how you can "mock up" the page, add callouts,
draw arrows and provide text description for different areas.
I continue to use Jing for lots of other things as well as troubleshooting problems like this. When we do website designs for customers, I'll use the screen grab feature to get a snapshot of the screen and then use the editing tools to draw boxes, arrows, add text and highlights to help explain what changes and modifications to make. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case Jing allows you to combine the picture and your words to tell the full story.
If you're not using Jing yet, what are you waiting for? This free program is a great tool to have on-hand and can be used for a variety of tasks. It's PC and Mac compatible and they also offer a paid version that does not limit the time of your videos for around $15. Once you give it a try, I have a feeling it will be one of your most favorite programs! What programs have you used in similar situations? I've love to hear your ideas and feedback.
