Educational Videos

I had some conversations with friends about all the products available today, everything from mobile devices, laptops, tablets and video games to credit cards and insurance.
What was interesting is, a lot of people don't truly understand the full utility and features of products/services prior to purchasing and surprisingly even after they purchase.
For me, I still get confused as to how I get points on my credit card or exactly what my co pay is for a doctors visit.
The mother of a good friend of mine also had similar issues. She had a Blackberry, but didn't really know how to use it outside of making phone calls or sending the occasional text message. She wanted to do more with her BB, but just didn't know how.

Whether it be confusing marketing speak, lack of any clear instructions or the fact marketers assume customers understand their products, there seems to be a need to better inform customers.

A good example of how to address this is creating educational videos. To me, videos do a great job of simplifying product benefits and demonstrating the full utility of your product or service. I see this beneficial for both acquiring and even more important, retaining customers.

Some marketers that have gone this route include Google which made a video for Chrome (See my post on 12/21) and this video from Microsoft for Xbox, which has 3.3 million views on YouTube. Both of these focus on acquisition, but could be tweaked for retention.




I really like how it demonstrates everything you can do with the Xbox. It is simple and easy to understand how you can:

Use your body as the controller
Use your own gear
Use facial and voice recognition
Connect and Share

Videos like this could be applied to nearly every product category, and hosted on company websites, or specific product microsites. Although YouTube is still primarily seen as an entertainment destination, that seems to be changing and seeding this on YouTube or creating a channel for your product on YouTube would also be beneficial.

Understanding is essential to purchase and retention. Look for videos to help articulate this.

Tasti D Twitter

One of the common themes I have been posting about in my blog is how marketers can effectively use Social Media to add legitimate value to their brand. Here is a good example of how Tasti D Lite has created a Loyalty program that integrates Twitter and FourSquare.

http://www.tastidlite.com/index.php/Home/treatcard.html

I think this does a good job of leveraging social media and providing legitimate value to both the customer and Tasti D Lite. A customer can opt in their Treat card (giving them extra points) and TDL will automatically tweat on their behalf and check them in on Foursquare.

As of now, this is what the message would say: “I just earned 5 TastiRewards points at Tasti D-Lite Columbus Circle, NYC! http://myTasti.com.”

Tasti D Lite is also looking to hear back from customers to evolve the messaging. This shows they are actively listening to their customers and looking for ideas to better enhance the program.

So not only is Tasti D Lite rewarding existing customers, it is also reaching out to everyone following their customer on Twitter. I am sure just a few people that will end up seeing that on a given day and will end up stopping at Tasti D Lite. Not a bad idea! So, I see some real acquisition implications at play!

Another important aspect of Social Media this addresses is accountability. As we move forward,the one aspect that will continue to be questioned regarding the use of Social Media is how you can measure ROI. This will become very important as marketers determine how to allocate their dollars. By registering their Treat card w/ Tasti d Lite they will be able to track their social media effort and put a true dollar amount on their efforts.

Nice Work Tasti D Lite!

Is your Website Mobile Friendly?

If not, should it be? Do smartphone users make up a good percentage of your customer base? What are your competitors doing? With the growing number of mobile users on the rise, these are questions you should be asking...I know from personal experiences enough marketers aren't doing this. It takes me a long time to find information I want on my blackberry causing great frustration. I have also talked to my iPhone friends, who also spend far too much time zooming in and out to find pertinent information. This translates to a poor customer experience.

The numbers are staggering. US Mobile web usage will reach nearly 100 million unique users a month in 2010 and grow well beyond that in the coming years. Further 50% of campaigns will direct users to a mobile site and 35-40% to a custom mobile application.*

Is your site mobile friendly? Or is there a dedicated app customers can use to assist in the user experience? Though applications are growing by the day, from the looks of things, many sites aren't mobile friendly as you can see from this link. Pretty short list!

http://www.palowireless.com/wap/portals.asp

What you need to do is determine if there is a need for your brand: Understand if and how your site will be used on a mobile device. Will an app suffice? Or do you need a specialized mobile site? Most people will be checking your site for one of the following reasons:

1. Find store locations (where is the closest Gap so I can get a new shirt?)
2. Research Prices (can i get this shirt cheaper someplace else?)
3. Find any discounts (what retailers are providing a discount on a shirt?)
4. Make an actual purchase (if I want, can I just purchase the shirt from my device?)

Here is a good example of a site Ralph Lauren specifically designed for the web:
(check it out on your phone for the full effect)

http://m.ralphlauren.com/default.aspx

There can certainly be uses beyond retail, but I think the point is clear.

Mobile Usage is only going to increase, especially with all the devices available now between Blackberry, iPhone, and Google Android enabled phones; so it is very important you evolve with it and provide your users with a seamless mobile experience!

*source: Millennial Media