Top 10 Companies Doing it Right on Twitter

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Read about the Top Ten companies who are using Twitter right, according to Web Digest for Marketers.

Where's the Restroom?

So, how did the Ritz-Carlton get it's rep as one of the best customer service providers in the world? I can sum it up in one question ... and answer.

When Pat Mene, Ritz V.P. of Quality (yes, they have a V.P. of Quality!!!) was asked what would happen if a customer asked an employee where the restroom was and the employee politely pointed them in the right direction, Pat said:

"We would make life unpleasant for them."

You see, at the Ritz, the staff is expected to WALK a customer rather than point a customer in the right direction. They just won't walk you INTO the bathroom.

So what does this mean to your branch level. Do your tellers point customers or members to the new accounts and lending staff or do they walk around the teller line and ESCORT the customers to the desk and make formal introductions?

The Ritz adheres to the following Quality Strategy and you can too:

1. Find out what the customer psychologically wants most. They've identifies the following basic psychological wants:

• Beautiful surroundings

• Recognition of regular guest’s needs

• Warm, courteous people

• Consistent delivery

2. Develop standards that respond to the customer’s needs

3. Design processes to assure delivery EVERY TIME!

Take care,

Eric

The Marketer's Social Media Cheat Sheet (thanks Twittown!)

This is one of the best roadmaps to social media that I've come across in a long time! This one's going on my wall for sure. :)

Article

Printable PDF

It's Time to Require Email Addresses as Part of Account Opening Process

I have been in banking long enough to remember the roadblocks that stood in the way of collecting birth dates from customers before the government required this information as part of the customer account file. New account representatives complained that collecting the information was intrusive and impacted the privacy of the customer even though the information was already collected as part of other financial institution transactions (insurance and investments). Once the government required collection of this insight, the barriers came down overnight and marketers were immediately armed with an important tool in modeling households and targeting messages.

While it is doubtful that the government will ever mandate the collection of email addresses, now is the time to add this to the information your bank requires as part of the new account opening process. While some people won't have an email address to provide, this communication option is beneficial for both the customer and the bank.


With an email address on file, the customer can be informed immediately if there is potential fraud or identity theft on their account. They can also be informed of special offers and can help reduce the environmental impact of postal mail.

From the bank's perspective, the cost of mandatory and promotional communication is reduced immediately, while the ability to react to time sensitive opportunities and threats is enhanced. For instance, there is a western bank that can communicate with up to 60% of their customer base right after financial results are released, answering any questions that may be of concern. They can also immediately respond to competitive opportunities ranging from rate changes to mergers and acquisitions.

I am aware of at least two large financial institutions that are now requiring the collection of email addresses from customers with minimal negative impact. In fact, since communication includes community announcements and financial education opportunities, the opt-out rate on email is minimal.

The ability to collect (and effectively use) customer email addresses is already a competitive differentiator for some progressive institutions. How long will it take for other banks to catch up?

Top 10 Public Relations Books

According to The Public Relations Writer’s Handbook, The Digital Age, “The media that can cover your company’s story now include hundreds of niche cable channels, high-definition split-offs of radio stations, thousands of online publications, and millions of blogs. Neither a few well-placed advertisements nor even a comprehensive, multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in broadcast and print can dependably reach the majority of consumers these days. [So, as a result of] finding conventional advertising less effective, companies are increasingly turning to public relations for new ideas. [As a result,] public relations spending is growing at almost double the rate of advertising.”

To assist with your public relations and media outreach, here is a list of my top 10 public relations books. Enjoy!

The Public Relations Writer’s Handbook: The Digital Age
c. 2007
By Merry Aronson, Don Spetner, and Carol Ames

Strategic Planning for Public Relations
c. 2009
By Ronald D. Smith

The Associated Press Stylebook 2009
c. 2009
Edited by the Associated Press

Making News: A Straight-Shooting Guide to Media Relations
c. 2006
By David Henderson

Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy
c. 2007 (second edition)
By Linda B. VandeVrede

Media Training 101: A Guide to Meeting the Press
c. 2003
By Sally Stewart

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR
c. 2009
By Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly
c. 2010 (second edition)
By David Meerman Scott

Never Say “No Comment”
c. 2003
By Ian Taylor and George Olds

How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less
c. 1990
By Milo O. Frank

Monday, Monday...

Good morning financial marketers...

In the spirit of Robin Williams in "Good Morning Vietnam", I share a hearty greeting!

IT'S MONDAY...

I have been reading Roxanne Emmerich's book entitled, "Thank God its Monday!"  A really good read!  The premise is building a team and environment that is the most conducive to success as possible.

So, I ask you to look around your office and institution...1st at yourself.  Are you excited to come to work on Monday?  Full of energy and ideas?  YOU have to be the emotional leader...

If you are coming in excited and ready to go...your team will, too!

I know we have all heard of "walk the walk and talk the talk", it is true!  People watch and make notes of the exec's leadership style and actions. Everything matters!  If we don't follow-thru, soon our staff will take that same cue and slow their efforts, too.  We ALL need to working toward the same goal and we have to be the lead.

Look for more ideas and thoughts about focusing your team and creating and environment that welcomes Mondays!

Cheers!

Bruce

Google Analytics API Case Study: Dolby Laboratories automates analytics reporting with Shufflepoint

We're really excited to see how companies can grow their businesses around the Google Analytics API. Today, we're publishing a case study that illustrates how Shufflepoint, Inc. has used the Google Analytics API to build an innovative product offering which has helped Dolby Laboratories become more productive.

ShufflePoint uses the the API to provide enterprise integration tools, and they've developed a SQL-like query language for Google Analytics. Dolby Laboratories uses GAQL and other ShufflePoint tools to simplify their web analytics workflow, one that incorporates spreadsheets with complex rollups, filters, and intermediate table calculations as well as annotated presentations.

The Challenge:

"Our [analysis] process gives us a lot of flexibility between analysis and presentation," explains Dolby's web analyst. "But, manually consolidating site data into the spreadsheets was time and labor intensive." To streamline the process, the team at Dolby turned to tools from ShufflePoint.

The Results:

"With GAQL and Excel Web Queries, we solved our immediate need for our reports to be updated dynamically" said Dolby. "Our team’s learning and decision making process has really sped up since engaging Shufflepoint. They improved our custom reports, which we used to do manually within Google Analytics, by combining it with the automation and flexibility of using Google Analytics’ Data API.”

A New Business Opportunity

"ShufflePoint has its roots in Excel and PowerPoint, and our capabilities here are a true differentiator in the marketplace," says Chris Harrington, CTO at ShufflePoint. "It's great to take something like the Google Analytics API and develop unique solutions that hit a home run for clients like Dolby. The Google Analytics Data API has opened up new possibilities for us -- there are so many kinds of value-adds that you can create for companies out there. It's a new business opportunity.

Read the whole story in our client case study site.

Here are some screenshots of the Shufflepoint product using the API.

We continue to be impressed by the new solutions developers are bringing to market by leveraging the Google Analytics Platform. If you have developed a useful new tool or integration on top of Google Analytics, drop us an email at analytics-api@google.com. If it's innovative and useful we'll highlight it to our readers on this blog.

Posted by Nick Mihailovski, Google Analytics API Team