RIPPLE100 Micromarketing

How to word of mouth, or ripple? Get ideas here, then get started at Ripple100, where anyone can ripple anything, for any audience anywhere. Easy.

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Ripple your event or passion, if it’s so obviously unique.

If not, dig deeper and ripple that which makes you different. Different vs. others. Different where you are. Different today vs. yesterday vs. tomorrow (in other words, what’s new? what are you launching? events? pieces of work? promos?). Different in ways that matter to us:

Like, as an entertainer:

• Your carnival
• Or antiques show.
• One-of-a-kind jewelry
• Or the special materials you use.
• Children’s art
• Or how to preserve it.
• The reunion concert of the century (or at least for your town/region)
• Benefit concert and who its important to
• A day or a week of events and the theme that ties them all together.
• Your art gallery’s grand opening
• A music festival
• or any festival.
• The next big sporting event
• A networking event for your industry
• or for women
• or entrepreneurs.
• The party you just can’t miss
• A museum everyone should know about
• A last man standing competition
• or Mr. or Ms. townie.
• Family affairs with something for everyone
• Your tuber-wear party (or cloths or wine or chocolate…)
• An unusual place that may take people by surprise
• The costumes or required attire.
• A special appearance by a special person
• The variety
• The sounds or instruments or maybe lack of.
• A hero of the day, the week, the year.
• How the audience participates
• Or how they are the show.
• The reason to laugh or cry
• The games to play.
• A record that will be broken
• Or at least attempted.

Click on comments if you want to add to this list, or see what others added.

Remember: if it’s different, or if it matters, it’s worth a ripple.

How to word of mouth, or ripple? Get ideas here, then get started at Ripple100, where anyone can ripple anything, for any audience anywhere. Easy.

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Ripple your do-good non-profit, or association or your education program.  No matter what your status, you’re probably always looking for ways to make your case and get people’s attention.  You have a cause that’s worth fighting for.

If not, dig deeper and ripple that which makes you different. Different vs. other causes. Different where you are. Different today vs. yesterday vs. tomorrow (in other words, what’s new? what are you launching? products? services? promos?). Different in ways that matter to us:

Like, as a cause:

• Share your campaign
• Or event
• Your History.
• The reason it all got started
• Or why the world needs you.
• The people who inspired or sacrificed.
• The problem we can’t solve individually.
• Who you help
• Or oppose
• Or want to get involved.
• How you help
• What you’ve accomplished.
• Your goals
• Your pains
• A fundrasier
• Or other ways you raise money
• Or get volunteers.
• Recognizing your supporters
• Your volunteers
• Or opposition.
• The location
• A program
• A story
• A protest
• A special day for those that care
• Your theme song or just one that makes a lot of sense
• What you can do for others
• Where people can go for help
• The video that says it all
• A petition to sign
• Or a letter to send.
• Politicians who you support
• And those you oppose.
• A way to save a life
• Or to touch many.

Click on comments if you want to add to this list, or see what others added.

Remember: if it’s different, or if it matters, it’s worth a ripple.

How to word of mouth, or ripple. Get ideas here, then get started at Ripple100, where anyone can ripple anything, for any audience anywhere. Easy.

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Professional services. That’s you if you call us clients (not customers). And often we call you “firms”. Law firms. CPA firms. Consulting firms. Software firms. Marketing firms, or agencies, whether you do ads, PR, SEO, web development, graphic design, etc.

Ripple your firm if it’s so obviously unique.

If not, dig deeper and ripple that which makes you different. Different vs. other firms. Different where you are. Different today vs. yesterday vs. tomorrow (in other words, what’s new? launching anything? products? services? promos?). Different in ways that matter to us.

Like, as a firm:

• Your breadth – we’re a full service ________.
• Your depth – e.g., we only do IP law, and only for software.
• Your sweet spot – the mix of expertise, track record, and passion that few can match.
• Your reputation – what you’re know for.
• Or would like to be known for.
• Your big-time clientele (the best names trust you).
• Your small-town clientele (you make time for everyone).
• Your 75 years in the business (you’re tried and tested).
• Your 5 weeks in the business (you have fresh ideas).
• Case studies and/or work samples – show us, don’t just tell us.
• Your white papers, or PDFs.
• Or citations in the Wall Street Journal, or Main Street Herald.
• Or court testimonies you’ve given.
• Your typical engagement.
• Your 5-step process that begins with discovery and ends in measurement.
• The powerpoint of your 5-step process.
• The method to your madness.
• The madness in other firms’ methods.
• Your name.
• Your partners.
• Your partners’ partners.
• Your partners’ rolodex.
• Your partners’ schools and degrees.
• Your partners’ portraits, specially commissioned.
• Your culture.
• Your history.
• Your location.
• Your office.
• Your community – and how you’re a part of it.
• The cause, or nonprofit, you support.
• Your new service that you’re unveiling next month. Launches always make good ripples.
• Your fees.
• Your guarantees.
• Your quick turnaround times.
• Your non-billable hours.
• Your office hours.
• The art, decor or furniture that adorns your halls.
• Your dress code, or lack of it.
• Your movie – if your firm were a movie, or song, what would it be?
• The cappuccino or single malt you serve at your reception area.
• Your receptionist/s – (yup, we’ve seen this before).
• Your gray hair, or no hair, or too much hair.
• Your pet.
• Your food or drink or cigar of choice.
• Where you take clients for food or drink or cigars.

Basically, ripple anything that shows your personality. Because in professional services, unlike in products or even other types of services, we spend tons of face time with you. Makes it easier if we like you. You, not just what you do.

Click on comments if you want to add to this list, or see what others added.

Remember: if it’s different, or if it matters, it’s worth a ripple.

Sears partnered with AOL a few months ago to create Good News Now, adding to their MySears efforts of last year.  Yup you guessed it, GNN is all about good news meshed with some causes but isn’t shy on Sears ads either.  Sears has an artillery of social media efforts including MySears, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and a back to school campaign.  Sears is doing a lot of good things, now if only they would take a look at the flow of their sites as a whole.

B+ for Authentic. I’ll give Sears props for all their efforts right off the bat. They’ve got multiple campaigns running for genuine and good causes.  They’re also upfront about what their Twitter feeds are for- deals (nothing wrong with that, as long as you know what you’re getting into).  GNN is definitely stuffed with good news, but is it overkill? Tech Crunch seemed to think so and gave a pretty tough review using words like “barf”.  The site does push the Sears brand to the forefront.  The question is: is it a crime to push your brand? I think that a brand has the right to match up with their causes (thus cause marketing) but Sears may be a too flashy on this one.  Also what does GNN really provide to the reader?  Random good news?  I’m more favorable of some of their other campaigns that are much clearer in their call to action and meaning.

A- for Inclusive. Sears provides a lot of ways for consumers to give feedback like through MySears Community where you can write/read reviews and participate in discussions. When they launched this new media outlet, Mashable took a deeper look at the application, pointing out a few quirks like the sites directing you to idle (wrong) twitter accounts- and they still have fixed it. Overall they got a good review, and I agree that these are the steps companies, especially large ones, need and should be taking.

Snapshot of MySears Community

B for Constructive. On one hand they have some specific campaigns (like their Heroes at Home) but GNN itself? Well a little too noisy for my taste.  Some may argue the point is simply to show good news and they do tie in their other campaigns that have a call to action. OK I won’t argue with that but their Good Causes category is listed down near the bottom of the site while Store Locator, Good Deals and Weather (not sure what this one is doing here), are listed near the top.  At MySears, consumer contributions are at the forefront, much more construct- of course this is a mechanism to generate reviews which is of a higher interest to Sears.  There really isn’t a natural flow, however, from their different online presences- facebook, MySears, Sears.com, etc.  I think if they were to reorganize and take a look at how all of the pieces can work together, they’d be more constructive, drive more back and forth, and be more efficient in capturing interests.

A for Mutually Beneficial. At the end of the day Sears is doing a lot of great things with their campaigns. In short: they’re making the effort.  Maintaining such extensive sites, and so many at once, is no easy task.  They have a good flow of content and their efforts benefit real people (consumers and military vets at home mostly).  On their Heroes at Home page you can read the stories of military personnel that were helped and see search results by location + active users (check out CT). Sears has really expanded their efforts over the last year in reaching out to people and interacting with the community.  I think by tying their sites together a little better and cutting out some of the fluff they would really rise as a top brand for social media.

The effort is there and like a lot of these big companies, Sears is aggressively moving in the right direction (consumer interaction). There are flaws and improvement to make but on the 4-way test (+ my views) they score an A-. To really hit this one home Sears can work on how their sites/campaigns can work together and continuing to improve the consumer experience.

Jeremy Owyang, social media analyst at Forrester and web strategist par excellence, wrote on a topic I don’t see as often as I’d have expected in the blogosphere: How Brands Reach Gen X Using Social Media. Gen Y  yes of course, but not Gen X. This generation – I should say my generation – born 1961 to 1981 seems like an afterthought between the economically mightier generations that sandwich it, the boomers and boomlets, the present and future windfall segments of marketing convention.

Jeremy’s post struck me as another lens through which to look at our own blog, Brands That Ripple. Really, we’re attacking the same question from another angle. When we look at how brands use social media to engage kitchen table issues – personal finance, careers, healthcare, education, leisure are the 5 we’re looking at – what we’re really looking at is how brands use social media to engage various markets, including those we segment as generations. In this lens, these kitchen table issues touch Gen X in a unique and central way – precisely because we are sandwiched by boomers and boomlets. We are the ones at the peak of our careers, balancing personal finance, healthcare, education, and leisure worries as we take care of children ranging in age from toddlers to teens and young adults (the boomlets) and parents (boomers) who approach retirement in the middle of the greatest recession in 50 years.

Bottom line, for marketers Generation X is an interesting psychographic insofar as we’re bearing a heavy brunt of today’s kitchen table issues. Those brands who can use social media to engage our kitchen table issues have a great opportunity to engage us.

Whole Foods Market has hit our 4-way test out of the ballpark. The company lays out their values, shows action and is constantly interacting with & reaching out to people.  Their campaigns reach a variety of kitchen table topics including poverty, environment, education, and of course health- all while utilizing social media.

A+ for Authentic. What I love about these guys is that they not only spell out their values (check out bullet 4- very honest), they say how they are accomplishing them and what actions they are taking.  These actions are generally campaigns that support the values + different communities.  A lot of brands get lost, don’t stick to their values and get knee deep in campaigns that don’t make sense (and don’t add as much company value).  Here the brand focuses its do-gooding efforts on campaigns that make sense for a high quality natural & organic food chain such as a local producer program, seafood sustainability and taking a stand against genetically engineered food.  They also have different layers of campaigns from local communities to a world campaign to “alleviate poverty”.  Even the use of “alleviate” is more authentic than the generic campaigns boldly (and unrealistically) stating to end world poverty- unfortunately there will always be poverty.

A+ for Inclusive. Generally, brands score weaker in this area but I think Whole Foods has this one down.  They have all the big “social media outlets” including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and a company blog- and they are using them well.  On Twitter they reply to people, addressing concerns and questions. What’s more is they have sub-accounts for specific stores, topic or metro area.  On Facebook they post news, contests, blog posts, articles, pictures, video… and so on.  Overall it seems very systematic (most companies struggle with this) plus all the different parts work together to send traffic back and forth- helping the user get the info he/she wants.

A+ for Constructive. Here’s where the campaigns come in again. Plain and simple: through these causes Whole Foods helps others.  They give donations, have a foundation, support local buyers, and provide a ton of information on just about everything you need to know about organic and natural foods.  Whole Foods is constantly educating people about healthy eating through tips, recipes, comparisons, articles, even hosting cooking classes.  The company supports sustainability through the relationships it establishes and making decisions based on the guidelines laid out here.

A+ for Mutually Beneficial. When you add up all that I’ve talked about above you get a better consumer-brand relationship.  Not only that but Whole Foods keeps it real; one of their values is to make a profit.  Companies need money to survive + grow, there is now shame in that!  As a result Whole Foods is opening up new stores in troubled times (= jobs), while gaining followers (@WholeFoods +854,000) & fans (+91,000 Fan Page).  In return the community receives support, knowledge and a chance to have their voice heard- at least by Whole Foods .

Even businesses whose core function isn’t as “wholesome” as this, can take social media notes from Whole Foods and how they’ve developed their online presence. Some good news for you local Greater New Haven folks, there’s a new store opening up in Milford, CT.

SendOutCards (SOC) helps you send real cards via that “old school” US Postal Service, but with a new-age twist. Through their website you can select, design and personalize cards as well as get reminders on important dates (Mom’s B-day?). It’s a way to keep in touch, connect or reconnect when the moment strikes you- for personal or business. Here’s the breakdown:

• Authentic A-.  Its simple, you pick or create the card, write a note and SOC handles the rest.  That is what they are about and don’t try to be anything more, you can add a gift to your card but that’s all they sell.  A true credit to the company is its sales force; independents who are advocates for the product.  It fits a fundamental of marketing- get your customers that love you to sell you (I suppose the caveat to that is getting them to love you first).  Advocates can start their own home-based business as a distributor and earn money.  The only thing that may shy visitors away is cards are bought through a points system and to join you have to buy a package.  The numbers themselves may look a little daunting to a someone using just for personal use and would probably enjoy a pay-as-you-go account.  I’d get a much better feeling here if they laid out ]the packages and pricing with full descriptions and made it clearer what you are actually paying and for what.
• Inclusive B+.  Advocates as sales people allows people to participate in a way most companies miss out on, the customers become word-of-mouth marketers for the product.  SOC is tapping into social media through their blog and Facebook group.  However the communication mostly consists of company updates and news.  On their main site they have some testimonials to introduce you to the product but it’s a static page and who knows how old those are or what inspirational stories people may have to add.  My recommendation here would be to make submitting testimonials as easy as sending cards, provide a tool that lets people easily share their stories.  It also wouldn’t hurt to start a few discussions on their Facebook Fan Page and get their community talking whether its asking for suggestions, exchanging tips or running a contest they could really engage their loyal community members.  All while making SOC better.
• Constructive A. Plain and simple SendOut helps people grow relationships through a single tool to send cards.  They have a clear call to action: make a difference by sending a card.  The founder pops up as a video-guide to create your card and introduce you to how it works (only thing about the video is it keeps popping up every time you reload the page).  There are a lot of tutorials/videos in addition to this one loaded on the site to help you out if needed.  The site isn’t completely open for anyone to check it out, you need a sponsor ID to really check it out or contact them for one.  However if you Google SendOutCards and look at some of the lower links, it’ll get you to a distributors page where you might be able to try it out for free.  Maybe we have some friends out there that can leave a link to their page?
• Mutually Beneficial A.  The brand grows through independent distributors, people that use the product so for the brand that means some pretty loyal customers.  The service opens up a job opportunity for people to become distributors and get rewarding for helping spread the product.  On the consumer side the bulk prices breakdown into a good deal per card (as low as $0.62 for the post card) if you don’t mind a monthly fee.  The founder, Kody Batemate, lays out their mission pretty well on how much sending a card can make a difference to someone.  SOC also hosts events and training, like their Treat ‘Em Right Seminars, for their distributors and seem to put effort into foster the right, positive mindset.  Top three to me: making someone’s day, networking with a new friend/associate/mentor, and being reminded about dear old Mom and Pops’ anniversary!

SendOutCards seems to have an authentic message and mission of making a difference through a the simple act of sending a card.  There’s room for improvement on being more inclusive and there’s some simple things they can do to get the ball rolling.  What I like best about this company is they have a clear call to action that’s understandable to anyone.  They’re clear about what they do and aren’t stretching themselves in a million directions. I’ll send out a little love with an A- on the 4-way test.

So far no one’s fallen below B+. We too nice?

• A for Southwest Nuts Blog
• A for New Hampshire Scavenger Hunt 
• A- for Lenny & Joe’s Charity Carousel
• B+ for Stop & Shop Free Drugs
• B+ for Atticus Recesion Coffee

The point of our 4-Way Test is to show what’s exemplary. What to do more so than what not to do. We’re interested in what brands are doing great, and thus what we might all emulate in terms of being:  authentic (vs. highly spun); inclusive (vs. one-way); constructive (vs. noise-mongering); and mutually beneficial (vs. imbalance between company and consumer). 

Naturally, you’ll read about the good apples, the As and Bs. But it’s the component grades that really matter, where we can draw the lessons. So, Stop & Shop got a B+ for giving away free antibiotics, but got a D for not being inclusive. you couldn’t find the consumer voice anywhere in their campaign. 

Occasionally, where there are great lessons to be learned, we’ll also write up F-grade campaigns. But as a rule our philosophy is: talk about what we can all emulate. What to do more than what not to do.

Southwest Airlines (SWA) created Nuts About Southwest blog way back in April of 2006 to give people a chance to learn more and interact with the company.  The blog itself is a start but it’s the other efforts by Southwest that push them to an “A”.

• A for Authentic As much as I try to be a stickler about this topic, SWA is doing this by posting opposing comments, offering a wide range of media (video, podcast, blog, etc), and most importantly laying it all out there.  It’s plain spoken, simple language that doesn’t seem to be hiding any tricks.
• A- for Inclusive  Being able to post comments, pics and the like is good for opening the conversation.  The blog itself doesn’t allow users to really start any conversation, so its completely guided by the company.  I don’t have any issue with this since it provides a needed structure but what SWA could do is emphasize their Facebook fan page more.  Here there’s more of a conversation.  On the blog there are links at the bottom to SWA’s Facebook, Twitter, etc. They push the Flickr but not Facebook.  Also their Facebook page doesn’t mention their blog, at least in the info section they should fill in a little more info at with their blog link at the very least.
• A- for Constructive Feed back is a wonderful tool.  Opening themselves up for comments and even posting not-so-desirables, allows SWA to grow + learn from consumers which equals brand builiding + loyalty. Consumers in the meantime get to have their voice heard and concerns addressed.  Not all concerns will be addressed but the major ones are important to take care of and keep the conversation going.  On the downside, SWA needs to do a better job with their flow between and across sites.  As mentioned above they need to develop more seamlessness between their blog and social media sites better.  This will help consumers to piece together SWA’s view and voice with the more consumer sided voice from their Facebook page.  A stronger connection between the voices will help make the relationship more constructive.
• A for Mutually Rewarding  Airports can be a pain in the butt, it’s apart of the nature of travel: stuff happens.  Also- big surprise here- companies make mistakes!  Having outlets for consumers is important to taking the temperature on what’s happening.  Southwest has basically given itself (through Facebook) a way to test out new ideas, poll travelers, gather testimonials and maybe even learn something they never thought of.  The company knows what the consumers want and can act on it.

New Hampshire wants you to visit – and is luring you with a Dream Vacation Scavenger Hunt. There’s one grand prize winner and 12 sweepstakes winners, but the real prize may be sheer thrills. Entries accepted up to August 16, 2009. 

Here’s how I graded NH Dream Vacation on our 4-way test:

• A for Authenticity! NH knows what makes a genuinely great vacation. The promise, the idea, the images, the memories, the whole experience. They capture all that in a good old-fashioned game that’s a natural fit for the activities and itineraries you’d be doing anyway. Their scavenger hunt has you taking pictures at more than 50 points of interests all across NH. Submit your pics to the game site and get the public (your friends really) to vote. The top 25 go to a panel, which picks the winner based on creativity (50%), quality (25%) and originality (25%).  The prize is a $2500 vacation package covering lodging, dining, activities. Treat the family on a pretty luxe weekend. Very timely considering the bad economy (still), rising gas prices (again), and summer junkets (always!). But the $2500 prize is not mentioned at all in the marketing (only in the fine print). NH understands the prize is not the lure. It’s all abut the fun. 

• A for inclusiveness. This is where brands almost always fall short – and kill whatever inroads made on authenticity. Not NH. Where most brands advertise one-way messages (what the messager has to say about itself, obviously self-serving), NH says almost zero about itself. Instead, they give the stage to visitors – to showcase the best of NH. Where most brands don’t even use social media, NH shows them all up with savvy use of Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, mobile. In contrast, another New England State tourism site had that ca. 99 look, complete with the governor’s official pitch. Yuck. NH’s use of tech is light years away, and yet it isn’t just tech for the sake of. NH’s is a pretty ingenious word-of-pics campaign, where the state’s best sales pitch comes from the experience of its visitors as told in picutres. 

• A for constructive. They don’t just message you, they get you to do things! Even those nagging photo opps (curious source of tension in my family where the women want to take pictures at every turn and the men don’t) suddenly take on new meaning. Maybe it’s just what guys need to get the competitive juices flowing. Most important, NH gets you to get your friends in on the whole experience. Classic FGF (friend-get-friend) program, except there’s a natural impetus here to share your photos and get friends to vote you up.

• A for mutually rewarding. NH makes it fun, draws you in as an active participant, instead of just doling out hackneyed and self-serving spin. And when you’re there, it reshapes the experience – adds fun, competition and connectedness to the vacation experience. You won’t believe the price tag for NH. Almost zero. Total value of prizes is $3,100, most of which is subsidized by sponsors. Standing ovation on the cost-benefit when you consider the impact on visitor traffic and revenues! Bottom line, win for visitors; win for NH.

Only reason I’m not giving an A+ is I haven’t actually done this scavenger hunt and therefore can’t vouch that the doing will be as good as the idea. And I’m a sucker for classic New England seaside and NH has barely a coastline. But that’s not their fault. Bravissimo, NH!