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Strong Passwords Protect You Online

03/02/2012
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True identities can be difficult to verify online.

As more personal data, communication and transactions are performed online…that fact can be more than a little discerning.

Oddly enough many of us are nonchallant about the passwords we use. “Password” ranks first on password management application provider SplashData’s annual list of worst internet passwords. Yikes! “PasswΟrd,” with a numeral zero, isn’t much smarter, ranking 18th on the list.

Hackers can easily break into many accounts just by repeatedly trying common passwords. So why would someone select any easily hacked password? Sorry, I don’t have the answer to that one.

SplashData created the rankings based on millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers. Here is a list of the top 5:

  • 1. password
  • 2. 123456
  • 3.12345678
  • 4. qwerty
  • 5. abc123

I’m not sure what a qwerty is – but is the result of hitting the first 6 keys on the top left of a keyboard. Pretty original, eh? No one wants to have their identities or financials hacked. The strongest passwords (and the ones that force hackers to move on) contain letters, in both upper and lower case, and numbers. Having multiple passwords is even more bullet proof. If keeping track of passwords is keeping you back, use password manager software like Kaspersky Password Manager or RoboForm Pro.

Don’t throw a softball to bad guys by using 123456 or qwerty as your password. It’s not worth the risk.

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from → Consumer Confidence, eCommerce, Mobile, Technology

Anthropologie’s Catalog Delivers Creatively

03/01/2012
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Dramatic Overhead Product Shot

Anthropologie is one of the few multi-channel retailers that is publishing fantastic catalogs these days. Most catalogs are filled with predictable shots of attractive people cavorting or looking sullen in beautiful settings.

I don’t know much about Anthropologies product, but my wife is fond of several of the brands’ products she’s purchased. To me it looks like a range of products for waif-like women who live in sparsely decorated apartments back east…but that’s just me.

According to their website, “Anthropologie products are an expression of our customer’s appreciation for artfulness and good design. To that end, our buyers and designers travel the world to uncover special products and to collaborate with talented artisans. Our assortment includes clothing, accessories, shoes, beauty, home furnishings, found objects, gifts and décor that exhibit influences ranging from vintage to global.” Based upon what I’ve seen I’d say mission accomplished.

The March catalog that arrived yesterday and, while short on copy, is put together with terrific creative work. The product is presented so it can be clearly viewed while simultaneously looking fantastic, which is easier said than done. For example the overhead shots (looking straight down –  like the image above) on products arranged on the floor are refreshing. Another effective product shot (at right) mixes several pairs of pants laid down with a pair of legs mixed in! Both presentations cause a near double take – which results in spending a bit more time looking at the product – which might lead to purchasing. I believe that’s the whole purpose behind producing a catalog – right?

Hats off to the creative team that put the book together. There’s been a dearth of this kind of creative handling of merchandise for some time now. Perhaps with David McCreight, formerly of Lands’ End, at the helm Anthropologie will be a leader in a world lacking leadership.

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from → Brands, Customer Satisfaction, Design, Retail

Do We Really Need Leap Year Sales?

02/29/2012
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Leap years are years with 366 days, instead of the usual 365. Leap years are necessary because the actual length of a year is 365.242 days, not 365 days, as commonly stated. Basically, leap years occur every 4 years, and years that are evenly divisible by 4 (2004, for example) have 366 days. This extra day is added to the calendar on February 29th.

However, there is one exception to the leap year rule involving century years, like the year 1900. Since the year is slightly less than 365.25 days long, adding an extra day every 4 years results in about 3 extra days being added over a period of 400 years. For this reason, only 1 out of every 4 century years is considered as a leap year. Century years are only considered as leap years if they are evenly divisible by 400. Therefore, 1700, 1800, 1900 were not leap years, and 2100 will not be a leap year. But 1600 and 2000 were leap years, because those year numbers are evenly divisible by 400.

More than you wanted to know? I thought so.

Leap year is so exciting for marketers because they can have a “Leap Year Sale” but it occurs only once every four years – so it feels like a new idea every time they dust it off. From GoDaddy.com to Virgin Air – leap year sales abound.

Fortunately none have an ad like these two “cowboys” hawking furniture at the last leap year. What exactly are they doing on those little horses?

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from → Advertising, Consumer Spending, Marketing

Driver Keselowski Tweets During Daytona 500

02/28/2012
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Photo Tweeted During Daytona 500 Race

Texting while driving is the source of pubic debate among legislators, law enforcement officials and proponents of the nanny state. I wonder what those folks would say about a tweeting Daytona 500 driver?

That’s exactly what happened at last night’s rain delayed Daytona 500.

A bizarre accident involving  Juan  Montoya’s disabled car and track maintenance vehicle set off a huge fire – fueled by the truck’s jet fuel powered equipment. Drivers waited out the 90 minute delay on the track.

However one driver, Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) was busy on another sphere. He was tweeting about the race. He sent pictures, too. Got to be a first.

In the process Keselowski picked up over 100,000 followers to his Twitter account – which could be a land-speed record for the “most followers picked up in brief time” class.

I’m not certain that Keselowski’s antics will win him big favor among parents of teens. I do hope that he isn’t using the products of his sponsor, Miller Brewing, while driving a NASCAR vehicle. That’d really put him in the dog house.

What this does for social media is interesting. It creates a new genre of “extreme tweeting” where the object is to be tweeting in odd, difficult, if not insane places, just for the heck of it. With events like the Olympics coming up – tweeting while competing could go to whole new level.

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from → American Culture, Innovation, Media, Start-Ups, Trends

Consumers Are Benefitting From The Social Media Communication Shift

02/27/2012
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Not too long ago businesses had the upper hand in communication – be it to customers, prospects or vendors. Companies controlled the dialogue, and it was primarily one way: Businesses mailed, broadcasted and emailed information to customers. If there was a problem, customers could phone the call center, but that was often a time-consuming and frustrating proposition.

If customers weren’t satisfied with the company’s response to the complaint, they could vent to their co-workers and friends and, if the problem was troublesome enough, lodge a protest with a consumer advocacy group or government agency. Again, this was often a time-consuming and frustrating proposition.

Today, if individuals are unhappy with a product or company, they can make their displeasure known to their circle of friends on Facebook, and they can tell their friends, who can tell their friends, etc. Depending on how many followers they have on Twitter, disgruntled customers may even be able to tweet their unhappiness to a global audience. Ripples in a pond.

It is clear that today’s customers have unprecedented insight and choice about the companies with which they do business. That has been a shock to the management of many businesses, who are ill-prepared to deal with this customer revolution.

The tide is not turning back, however, so companies that want to thrive—or even survive—in this new landscape need to rethink their business strategies and develop tactics that put their customers first.

The first step is changing the paradigm that social media is a mildly effective marketing tool. A more proactive perspective of social media is that it is a connection point to shape a company’s social business. Businesses applying the same zeal and focus on their social media footprint as they have previously in creating a catalog or television spot.

This shift should not be intimidating. Rather it is an opportunity for businesses to change what was the natural order of things – in their favor. Adept social businesses can unseat corporate market leaders through thoughtful and genuine communication. What an opportunity! Go out and make a few ripples. It might be the best thing you’ve ever done for your brand.

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from → Communication, Customer Satisfaction, Effectiveness, Merchandising, Trends

Sears Can’t Sell Merchandise, Must Unload Stores

02/24/2012
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Sears, circa 1960

Sears seemingly can’t sell merchandise so the company is forced to sell stores (aka real estate).

Sears Holdings Corp. said it plans to spin-off its small-format hometown dealer stores and outlets and sell 11 stores to raise cash and shore up its money-losing retail business.

The long-suffering retailer, controlled by hedge-fund investor Edward Lampert, said it expects the steps to raise up to $770 million. The offering to separate the more than 1,000 hometown and outlet stores should raise $400 million to $500 million, the company said.

This is desperate move as suppliers are unwilling or reticent to accept orders from SHC for fall 2012 deliveries. Sears shares had plummeted below $30 in January when word spread that CIT Group Inc., a key lender in the retail industry, would no longer provide loans to suppliers shipping goods to Sears and Kmart. CIT’s decision came on the heels of Sears’ disappointing holiday sales drop, a string of quarterly losses, rising debt, dwindling cash, store closings and downgrades from the major credit agencies deeper into junk territory.

Interestingly investors and retail observers have long anticipated that Lampert would sell off portions of Sears, in particular its real estate, to raise money. It’s a tactic Lampert used when he purchased Kmart out of bankruptcy in 2003.

Sears Holding Company presents two important lessons for all retailers:

A non-merchant at the helm is trouble - CEO Lou D’Ambrosio, in the top slot a year now, previously worked at Avaya and IBM. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, other struggling retailers are headed by non-merchants as well.

Guard your brand integrity at all costs - Sears has been blase’ about core brands such  as Kenmore and Craftsman which, if given proper nurturing, could drive the entire Sears brand.

Experts predict Sears will eventually become an e-commerce retailer with fewer, smaller storefronts. If true, than can’t happen fast enough to stop the hemorrhaging of cash out of the business.

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from → Brands, Consumer Confidence, Merchandising, Retail

Why Don’t Marketers Advertise Themselves?

02/23/2012
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Seth Godin in his Blog raises an interesting question today.

Godin says, “Ad agencies don’t run many ads for themselves.” Godin is absolutely right.

The same can be said for a lot of other small businesses but Godin’s observation raises the question. If you’re in the business of marketing, why wouldn’t you market yourself?

Godin continues, “Spending money on your own account is a difficult psychological hurdle. Lots of small businesses get stuck in this chasm, happy to pitch, to network, to send out proposals and to work far into the night, but hesitate when it comes time to pay actual cash money for marketing, trade show booths or other sorts of media.”

Finally Godin writes the question that pierces the issue completely, “The question is: do successful businesses spend money on media, or does spending money on media make you successful?”

Here’s where I agree with Seth completely. The answer to his question is a little bit of both. I’ve worked with a number of bootstrapping entrepreneurs over the last couple of years. Most are really good at what they do. Nearly all are terrified of spending money to promote what they do. It’s a chicken/egg scenario, but I am convinced that promoting your brand is imperative. Organic growth can be good but accelerated growth coming from a great marketing footprint is exhilarating.

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from → Advertising, Brands, Campaign, Marketing

Malt-O-Meal – A Risky Change To MOM Brands

02/22/2012
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Malt-O-Meal is changing its brand name. The change effects the corporate brand not the individual products. The company’s flagship cereal, Malt-O-Meal, will keep it original name.

Changing the Malt-O-Meal name, even at the corporate level, is not without a good degree of risk.

In December 2011 Advertising Age named Malt-O-Meal brand cereal has been named one of America’s Hottest Brands for 2011. The annual issue recognizes the 25 most innovative and successful brands of the year and is a prestigious honor that places Malt-O-Meal in the company of such megabrands as Dove, DC Comics, and Jeep Wrangler.

One of just three food brands to make the 2011 list, the Malt-O-Meal ready-to-eat line was selected for its success in the cereal category. Malt-O-Meal produces 22 varieties of ready-to-eat cereal, each bearing the Malt-O-Meal brand name. The brand has tripled its market share in the past ten years, which it was able to do without traditional CPG marketing tactics such as television advertising and Sunday circular coupons, while much larger competitors and the overall cereal category have seen a decline. In fact, Malt-O-Meal’s sales were up 5.1 percent in 2011, outperforming big-spending competitors such as Kellogg’s, General Mills, Post, and Quaker.

With sunny results like this why would the company change its name to something as bland as MOM Brands? It is hard to say but I think the decision is on thin ice.

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from → Advertising, Brands, Communication, Marketing

Starbucks Ski Thu Store Opens On Mountain

02/21/2012
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Room For Powder?

Adrenaline junkies such as skiers and boarders favor high-octane energy drinks like Red Bull. But they also favor caffeine served in a variety of ways – and now in a new type of location.

That’s why Starbucks has opened its first ski-thru outlet, in Squaw Valley on Lake Tahoe, at 8,000 feet above sea level. Customers can grab a coffee without having to remove their skis or snowboards.

While the location is novel the concept is brilliant.

Starbucks the world’s largest coffee chain — 17,000 locations in 55 countries — made almost $11 billion last year by coaxing some 60 million customers a week to feel momentarily indulgent over a an overpriced cup of coffee is not going to get a lot of press for opening another store.

That’s why this opening is smart. The uniqueness of the venue creates interest that generates exposure by the media, buzz on social networks and a tremendous return on investment for the temporary shop. Today there are over 3,000,000 responses to a Google search for “Starbucks Ski Thru”.

Starbucks continues to create models for other businesses to emulate. Retailers, food service providers and other services should take a look at what Starbucks is doing with the on-mountain concept to determine if and how they too could capture buzz by opening a storefront in an unusual location.

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from → Brands, Consumer Spending, Customer Satisfaction, Marketing, Marketing Genius, Retail

Social Media Negative Reviews Can Be Good For Business

02/20/2012
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Social media has transformed communication on multiple levels.

For businesses one notable change has come in the form of negative reviews or complaints. What was once limited to internal discussions and among a small number of individuals has become very public.

In a recent study of social media by Nielsen and NM Incite, most social media said they give online reviews to give companies recognition, but 58 percent said they give negative feedback to protect others from bad experiences. Among 18 – 24 year-olds, 42 percent expect customer support within 24 hours of a negative complaint.

This is a significant shift for business – who are now expected to act more like individuals, where businesses have not had to do this before.

Some negative reviews are made with the purpose of getting something for nothing and can take the form of a public shakedown. The lesson here is that companies need to understand that review websites and social media sites aren’t going to go away. Not participating doesn’t make people stop talking about you; it just means you aren’t part of the conversation. What businesses need to realize is they have to become part of the discussion and get smarter about how they do it.

Businesses should have a plan to respond to negativity online and in social media. The best bet is to take the high road publicly, move the detailed interaction privately and move on.

A simple approach is to monitor, listen, respond & react then amplify. Remember a negative comment or review can be turned into an opportunity to promote or connect. Don’t let the chance to take advantage of your ability to resolve complaints or problems slip away.

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from → Brands, Communication, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service, Media, Research, Social Media
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