Can LinkedIn Really Help with New Business Development?

I am determined to figure out the best ways to use LinkedIn for marketing. As a PR and marketing consultant, social media is a great tool for me. Many consultants swear by LinkedIn as a way to find new contacts, build networks, share information and generally just make yourself look smart.

But can you get business from it or is LinkedIn just the world’s largest database?

The answer is I really don’t know. I have used LinkedIn successfully in the past in several ways that are helpful:

Team Building – When I need to put together teams of people to go after large contracts, and I am missing a key team member, LinkedIn has provided a resource for finding new talent.

Prospect and Database Development – I network a lot and each time I meet a new contact, I send an invite to join my LinkedIn database. This is part expediency (it’s easier than inputting cards into my system, and people respond quickly and remember you), and part a way of connecting that is not a direct request for business.

Building Attention for Blogs and Other Writings – I belong to many LinkedIn groups, actually I think I’m over the limit, and a handful I monitor regularly. I have several blogs and posting a link and note on a group that may care about what I’ve written drives traffic to my spaces.

Twitter and Facebook for Business Associates – I tweet about all sorts of things – from Paul Simon’s performance of Sounds of Silence at Ground Zero to how hard it is to teach my 15 year-old son to drive. But on LinkedIn I can “tweet” the professional stuff that interests me and not worry about the entire universe seeing it.

Keeping Up With Journalists – I am connected to many journalists on LinkedIn and I can keep up with them this way without reading endless Twitter feeds.

Monitoring the Conversation – Some LinkedIn discussions are pure drivel, others go on forever, and others I’ve learned from. One conversation on How do you know if someone really doesn’t understand marketing? resulted in a blog post, that resulted in a news article, and the conversation is still ongoing.

Much of the talk is about stuff I already know but it’s good to be reminded and I have learned some new things.

Looking for New Work – I’ve had former clients (and unfortunately boyfriends) find me on LinkedIn, and sometimes when I get wind of a new project I can look up a person from that company and ask for help connecting. This seems to work well. Of course you have to pay a fee to use the InMail function but it’s worth it.

But can LinkedIn be used for Marketing?


I digress. Can LinkedIn be used for business development? I am trying. For the last couple of months I have been going through my list of 600 or so LinkedIn connections and getting in touch with those that I think I could partner with or help. I’ve met with about a dozen of them for coffee or lunch, depending on how well I know them.

I’ve found a lot of job seekers who I’ve helped more than they’ve helped me. But I’ve also gotten some leads. Stay tuned for an update. And feel free to comment and offer your own advice.

6 Warning Signs a PR Firm is Not What it Seems

There are a lot of bad PR people out there, as there are in any industry. If you are trying to hire a PR agency and notice any of these issues run like hell.

1. A Room with a beautiful view – I had a colleague who was convinced PR agencies used the same tactic as pharmaceuticals - hire a lot of young, beautiful women to sell their products and services, because let's face it the majority of doctors are still men. There are some extremely bright and attractive young people in the PR business. But PR is also famous for bait and switch. If the agency gray hairs do all the talking in a room and you have a handful of young, very attractive people who only say a few scripted remarks, chances are those are your new account executives. Ask how many vice presidents the PR agency has who are under 30? That’s a good way to check what’s really going on.

2. That’s a brilliant idea – You’re not hiring a PR agency to tell you what you want to hear. If your ideas are so great you would just implement them yourself, right. I had a boss once who would sit in a room with our CEO and repeat back exactly what he’d said a few minutes earlier in different words, and glow when he praised her. She had grown up in a Fortune 500 company, and was very good at it, but if you were paying attention you would notice she had nothing to say.

3. We know him, her and every journalist in your field and they take our calls This person is lying. Media has gone through so many upheavals in the past few years that no one knows everyone anymore. Name dropping in my opinion, is just obnoxious, unless it is done very sparingly and only to emphasize something you are already saying. Fortunately we live in the age of easy search – get a client list and Google recent stories about some of their biggest clients. Ask for the Today Show or evening news clips, articles about their clients by the famous columnist they know well, and that NPR story they are so proud of.

4. An outdated web site – If the PR company you are talking too has case studies from 10 years ago, no video or visuals, inactive social media spaces, no blog or a just plain outdated web site run like the wind. I've heard the excuse I'm too busy to redo my site many times but you know what, we're in an image business. Your web site is your image as are your social media spaces. What matters is the quality and currency of the information they put out there. We live in a very fast moving world and if the PR company hasn’t updated their look, materials, etc. they don’t live in it. What kind of message does old stuff send to a potential client?

5. You don’t need media training – Everyone needs media training before starting a campaign, no matter how big their ego or how many interviews they’ve done. I had a client once who used the exact same quote in every interview he did, and thought he sounded young, hip and brilliant. There are benefits to sticking to your messages but he came off as having only one thing to say which when you searched his interviews didn’t make him look very smart. The media training doesn’t have to be a full-blown, multi-tiered, many thousands of dollars deal, but at the very least – no matter how small the budget is – new messaging and mock interviews are really important.

6. Our expertise and role in the formation and dissemination of messages to all stakeholders is of value across the spectrum of traditional media as well as increasingly called upon by numerous new media options. English please? This lovely sentence came off the web site of one of the biggest PR agencies in the world. There are just way too many people out there that hide behind big empty words that don’t tell you anything about them. Many people are comfortable with that, it sounds like they write I guess. But the fact is if you can’t tell me your point of difference, then you don’t have one.

No One Reads Email Anymore - Deal With It

Two years ago you could send an email to a journalist or a business prospect and expect that they would read it and you might even get a response. Today I would forget about that.

I used to have a lot of luck with email media pitching. I would spend time creating these perfect pitches - I came from the freelance writing world and editors actually read them then. Today I have to assume that no one reads anything - because I really don't. And if they do it's on a mobile and more than a sentence or two gets deleted.

I worked for awhile with a woman who would send out email queries to get people to participate in projects. They were people who had signed up and at some point were engaged. If she didn't hear back she wouldn't even email again. Yes she was in her 20s and email was the only way she'd ever really communicated. She never even thought about doing it another way.

Another former client of mine sent out mass emails expecting responses. She had long lists and would send them from an email address that wasn't even a business. Then she would get frustrated when I would pick up the phone, call the person and get in touch with someone she'd been trying to reach for weeks.

The bottom line is - the telephone is really the only way to know that you've connected with the other person. If you leave a voice mail you know they got it. If they blow you off - at least you know they got it.

But we have to send email too because that's how our world communicates. So here are some simple tips:

Your subject line is your marketing tool - It's your headline, it's your sales message, it's the only thing they are going to read. Make it connect directly with the person that you're trying to reach and address a clear cut need that you can help with. For a product it's basic marketing - think what will make them take action. For a reporter it's why should I write about this - how will it help me impress editor, keep my job, get my next one?

Your email address is everything - If it comes form Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, or one of the other services that people use for personal email not only will the spam filters knock it out, the individual who sees the address will rarely open it.

So find yourself a business email address - even if the only person in the company is you. Set it up so it's linked to a web site that exists and is current.

Set up a Gmail account - It's always good to have a fallback position. I love Gmail because the Google folks know how to get around the spam filters and Gmail accounts don't get a lot of spam. So I use it as a back-up for everything I do. The email may not get opened but I know it got there.

Don't send attachments unless you know the person and even then do it sparingly. Many spam filters are set up to knock out attachments - particularly if it's from an unfamiliar account. This is a particularly big deal in PR - if you cannot include your information in the body of an email you are wasting your and their time. It's an extra click and if there's interest a link is better and it also gives them a reason to get in touch with you.

Keep it short I cannot repeat this enough times or put enough emphasis on it. People today don't read. If you can't distill your information into a couple of sentences you shouldn't be sending it. So many business people rewrite, add, edit, change - lengthen - it's crazy. Your email is your elevator speech cut by half.

The Wisdom of Staying Relevant

Will Social Media Kill Traditional PR?

That’s a question posed by a consultant who thought of a great headline and hit a nerve. 98 people posted mostly defensive diatribes about how PR is so much more than just media – its strategy, its image control, branding, marketing, lobbying, etc.

The most recent person to write about this – in Ad Age today – discussed how social media is often an add-on these days – the advertising agency does all the creative work and then someone goes into the kids’ room and asks them to add something about social media. http://adage.com/digitalnext/article?article_id=143040

I used to work for a PR agency that was like that about graphic design. Their idea of visual branding, identity and messaging was “Make it pretty.” I wish I was kidding – but I’m not.

That’s kind of like the ad agencies cry of “Add something social.”

All of this is marketing. Marketing starts with the computer generated human who answers most phones at businesses these days and ends when I read your podcast. Ogilvy had this big campaign for awhile called Touch Point.

Every point at which you touch, reach, meet the consumer is a place that makes or breaks your brand.

In my experience – the bigger the company, the worse the branding experience. People hide behind info@gottohell.com. I like to write back to the computer generated responses which always come the first time you ask a question. Far better the chat rooms where real people actually discuss your problem. If I wanted to read the FAQs, I wouldn’t have written to you.

Anyway, I veer off course but my point is this. If PR people are any good at what they do they understand and keep up with all of it – marketing, sales, PR, promotion, advertising, customer service, social media, traditional media – because they know they have too. If they don’t, their businesses will die.

As their friends retire, their accounts will disappear. And the 20 something they are asking at the last minute to contribute a social media component will be their boss.

The DC Addy Awards - Where Have All the Creatives Gone?

Went to the DC Addy Awards last night. Usually I go to these things for creative inspiration - but you know the work was really pedestrian. I was really surprised.

This video of Mad Men is really kind of appropriate - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1gorEa-RKA

Oh the event was nice - at the Carnegie Institute on the second floor - up a gorgeous staircase, large, airy, room, great ceilings, pretty window dressing girls in short, strapless outfits and 4 inch heels. People wore cool glasses. They clustered and watched each other.

The food was your standard fare - prosciutto, cheese (baked brie was a surprise), passed sushi and crab cakes, decent wine. Oh and the scary looking sandwiches which I convinced myself would not be served if there was something really wrong with them - I did get sick to my stomach an hour later. Can't blame the wine either because I only had one glass.

The most creative ad I saw was on a cocktail napkin. Seriously. Remember when we used to scrawl phone numbers on a bar napkin and give them to boys - then worry about whether or not they'd call. In the age of cell phones, Facebook, etc. they had taken the napkins you get with your drinks and turned them into little ads.

There were 3 in the series - One said - My name is Sandy, my phone number is. . . , my LinkedIn profile is. . . etc. Another said - We met at the Bar & Grill and had space for your name, website, blog, and awesome tattoo. The third was about your Facebook page, name, etc. If I owned a bar - I would steal that idea immediately.

The winners were mostly the Arnold and Ogilvy type firms except for the napkin people who I had never heard of. Since there was no hand-out and I didn't write their name down - I apologize for not honoring you.

Saw some interesting retro design in the print - black and white line drawings - a few representative of how people who don't really draw do it which had a kind of gritty feel to them, some colorful blocky design that got my attention for a name that I can't remember.

Here's the schocker No Internet ads. Can you imagine? Not a single social media, Google or other ad that runs online was featured. I cannot believe that it wasn't a category. The girl I tried to ask questions of at the table upstairs said she had no information and I had to find Doug. She didn't offer to help.

I walked through the winning ads twice. The broadcast took too long to rerun and I can't remember any of it. The radio you couldn't hear. And not a single headline or product stood out. These are the winners!

So what is happening? I know the advertising industry has been hit really hard but come on all of you. If I can't remember a single ad except for the napkin people and I went there to look at them, what does that say? Aren't we supposed to get more creative when a recession hits? How can you sell your ad agency's value if you can't create ads that are even interesting?

Anyway they said all this stuff will be up on line in the next day or so which knowing the Ad Club DC could be a week. There should be photos, video and the ads. Please let me know what you think. Keep checking www.dcadclub.com

The Snow is Melting and Marketers are Hiring Again

According to a February 2010 study by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business -nearly half of the CMOS polled in its 2x a year marketing survey say they expect to hire new marketers during the next six months. Survey respondents were 612 marketing executives in small to large companies.

60% plan to hire new marketers in the next year and almost 90% over the next two years.

So expect an 8% hiring increase in the next six months, 13% during the next year, and 24% over the next two years.

But you’d better get your Internet and social media skills up. The areas of growth are marketers with skills related to Internet marketing, innovation and growth, as well as customer relationship and brand management.

And I have to admit, some marketers - at least here in the DC area - have changed their company branding to become Social Media Gurus. But are they?

I think they know more about the architecture than I do and they track recent developments which are sometimes written in a language that I can't follow.

But have they really figured out how to market effectively in the Social Media space? I'm still seeing a lot of consultant presentations on Creating a Social Media Policy. What does that tell you?

Overall B2B Product Marketing will be Up the Most and B2B Service Marketing is Up the Least. The good news for consultants is B2B services marketers report the highest expected increase in outsourced marketing activities. Translation: They need marketing help but aren't willing to hire permanent staff to do it. It's called hedging your bets.

Some key data from the CMO Survey –

Overall marketing budgets will increase by 5.9% this year. Traditional ad spending is still in the negative but the losses are smaller than a year ago.

How will the marketing budget be spent? Here's the breakdown Fuqua gave us.

Market penetration strategy – 44%

Market development strategy – 18%

Product service development strategy – 26%

Diversification – 13%

For the complete study go to www.cmosurvey.org

Six Great Ideas from the ASAE Super Swap – January 2010

This new ASAE format had six Idea Swaps in four hours and I attended one on membership marketing and another on social media. The most useful advice was about boosting member attendance at meetings – a big issue these days.

Association professionals estimated their annual conference attendance is down 20-30%. So what are they doing to get more people to come? Here’s what I heard:

Try Going Regional - One association professional said she went from holding one annual conference attended by about 10,000 people, to four regional ones and each regional had 3500 people. Obviously, the regional conferences are cheaper to put on.

Rethink Marketing of Regional Conferences – Focus marketing to areas that are within easy driving distance to the conference – but further than you might have done in the past. Send driving directions from your office to the conference center with email marketing and point out driving highlights along the way to make it interesting and fun. One association told members about the World’s Largest Ketchup Bottle and a lot of people went to see it and talked about it when they got to the conference.

Using Facebook to Help Attendees Cut Conference Costs – With costs for travel and rooms at a premium, one association created a special Facebook page for ride sharing and room shares – kind of a buddy up site for the conference. Not only did members use it – they networked on it – and it drove attendance to the conference web site and increased the number of people who came.

Using Twitter to Share Conference News – A number of associations are tweeting to industry bloggers during their conferences. Many bloggers can’t attend but will re- tweet highlights from sessions. Some have created special hash tags on Twitter for their associations’ meetings and are telling members about them in other promotional materials and newsletters. This has boosted followers.

Finding the Optimal Marketing Mix for Conferences – One person said she cut out all direct mail and increased attendance by 7% through other means. Consensus was you need a mix depending on what your members respond too. Some tactics: Revisit your email opt-out list and open rate before you make your marketing choices. Older memberships still respond to faxes – one association is sending a fax one week before to boost attendance and its working. This was a medical society with a specialized physician membership.

To Theme or Not to Theme – Consensus was that no one chooses a meeting because of a theme and it's more of an industry/management choice. Many associations have moved away from the big picture themes and use a theme for the annual conference that stays consistent year to year. These are benefits driven.

Marketers: Failure is Merely a Dress Rehearsal for Success

I have worked for a lot of entrepreneurs and am working for two right now that I have enormous respect for. Often they see something in me – perhaps how badly I want it and how hard I will work to make it happen. I’d like to think they see smart and creative.

Many PR people and consultants can’t work for entrepreneurs because they don’t like having to quantify what they do. They follow formulas not ideas. And they don’t do the work themselves but hand it off to junior people who bill less. Bad idea. Most junior people are lousy strategists - they don't have the background for it. They need you more than you wish they did.

I worked for a company once that ate its young. Senior people always knew better than everyone else. They let you do all the work while they made nice with clients, went out to lunch a lot and expected you to wait around until office hours were over for them to review your work and pass it on to the client as theirs.

Whatever you told them, whatever you suggested, whatever you wrote, it was never as good as what they could do. The good news was if you made them money they left you alone. For awhile.

So what happened? They stopped leaving us alone. All of the people who were really talented left because they put in reporting systems and structures that took the entrepreneurial spirit right out of the company. Oh they went out and found new people and they are still doing fine. But they never got past their comfort zone. That’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a middle manager who got lucky. Don’t ever forget that.

I was just watching Larry Bock, a bio-tech entrepreneur and inspiration behind the USA Science & Engineering Festival give a commencement address to Berkeley. The address is from 2007. But what he says is so smart and so inspiring all of you should watch it. He talks about five things that Berkeley students should remember as they go out into the world. One of them is the headline of this post.

So after I watched the video, I thought about what he said and what I’ve learned working with entrepreneurs. For what it's worth here are my five characteristics of what makes a great entrepreneur. All five are also what makes a great marketer. Not just someone who makes a lot of money but someone who also makes a great boss and a great leader. Take from it what you need.

1. They look for people not projects. People are what make a venture work – smart, driven, creative people who want it to succeed. Without that, you have a shell.

2. They don’t tell you what to do but listen to what you say and let you do it. True entrepreneurs know they can’t do it all by themselves. They acknowledge that people they hire know what they’re doing – and they hire them to do it. So they give them lots of rope and let them figure it out. They are the encouraging voice behind you.

3. They combine chutzpah with humility. Bock said this and I agree. There are plenty of people who start believing in their own mystique. Look at celebrities. They start to make it – then surround themselves with yes people who say it’s OK to fly sushi into the desert because they have a craving for it. Who treat them like they are better than everyone else.

We’ve created a culture of celebrity love in this country – especially through reality TV – that is truly scary. The basic message is simple. We are all people – we break, we fix things, we love, we get mad and we live and die. In the grand scheme of things – we are all pretty similar. So keep that humility - it will make you a better person and a much better entrepreneur and marketer.

4. They understand the value of PR but measure it in dollars not hits or clips. Entrepreneurs want value from the people who work for them. They don’t measure it in amorphous buzz words.

Sorry folks but today there are tools that let your clients figure out exactly what they are getting from you. The smart ones are using analytics – most likely Google because it’s free. How many people are going to their website because of the coverage they’re getting? What’s driving their sales figures? Is it your work? They will measure and they will make you measure too.

5. They work their asses off and expect everyone else will too. The difference is that they do it right alongside the people they’ve hired.

I am clueless to why the YouTube direct link doesn't work. But if you go to the site and search Larry Bock - his Berkeley address is the first listing you get.

Wild Wild West of Internet About to End

Today was a win for PR people, reputable journalists and those with ethics. I cannot count how many bloggers out there refuse to cover the clients I pitch (even when they really are different and useful).

Why - because they live by "pay to play" a form of marketing that fools the masses into believing that the products they are covering - and what they say about them - is an honest opinion. But the truth is these blogs and their writers are for sale. If you pay them, they will write about you. If not, well shrug, shrug, shrug.

Reputable journalists hate this because they are bound by ethics and rules. They can't take gifts. They can't take money. And most important, they try not to be sleazy.

Recently I realized just how bad it had gotten when I got an email from a personal finance blogger who just flat out said, “Tell your client to spend some of the marketing budget they are spending on you here on my blog and I’ll write about him.” WOW.

Sorry bloggers but your reign of ethics free writing is taking a big hit. According to an article in today’s New York Times, the F.T.C. said that beginning on Dec. 1st, 2009:

Bloggers who review products must disclose any connection with advertisers, particularly if they are paid for placement.

Celebrities will need to disclose any ties to companies, should they promote products on a talk show or on Twitter.

Advertisers are losing the ability to gush about results that differ from what is typical — for instance, from a weight loss supplement.

The important thing is that the government is beginning to impose rules on the Internet, similar to the same sorts of regulations that other forms of media, like television or print must live by. They must have some powerful lobbyists out there.

Marketing with No Money

Jason Alba of Jibber Jabber an online executive recruiting firm, gave the best talk I’ve ever seen on social media marketing. He was fired from his job a couple of years ago and launched this company, authored the book I’m on LinkedIn – Now What? and is finishing a second book on Facebook.

Despite his rambling, self-deprecating style Alba is very smart. He lives in Utah and built a nationally known company by sitting behind his computer.

And he did it without spending any money on marketing. Bravo Jason.

Here are four ways that Jason marketed his business without spending a dime:

1. Built His Network

As an executive recruiter network building and relationship management is Alba's specialty. He says the idea behind social media marketing is to create a network of evangelists – people who love you – people who will recommend you – people who will say great things about you.

Research says people have to see your brand at least 7X before they recognize it. So the strategy should be based on getting it in front of them in the most ways possible.


Alba's social media network includes Multiple Blogs – LinkedIn – Company Newsletter – Facebook – Communities/Groups – Twitter – Books - Articles

Your network should be built carefully and nurtured. It’s the guts of your business.

Alba recommends using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to track all of your contacts, many of whom are in different parts of the social networking sphere.

Segment your contacts and send information out to them regularly both by putting it in their in-box and having them come to you.

2. Used Email as a Branding Tool

You want buzz – people talking about you so you should generate interest in every way you connect with people. One place people forget to pitch their brand is in their email signature which should be used as a billboard for your company.

Figure out what message you are sending with it now (Do you have one?) and if not add one that distills your sales message into a sentence. Mine is now “Sharing health and science with everyone.” It’s not perfect but at least it says what I do.

Remember you can also paste your email signature into messages to communities, your LinkedIn, Facebook and other networks, and other places where you answer questions or participate in the discussion.

3. Got His Name Out There All the Time

Brag – Make a video, PowerPoint or slide show about your business. The presentation can go up on your LinkedIn page, your web site, and on other venues like Facebook. It will humanize your business and let everyone quickly get what you do and what your edge is.

Join groups – Alba says he’s found Yahoo Groups most active. The community groups are better because they are centered around a specific topic. The PR value of having someone post a positive experience with your business is priceless.

You can also give webinars that will make you sound smart and help others understand how smart you are.

Alba says at last count he had 7 blogs – some of which are written by others. He’s a devotee of blogging every day so people see your name in front of them every day. I have three blogs and strive for once a week. There’s only so much a busy entrepreneur can do.

He also regularly leaves comments on other's blogs and has built a network of links from his blogs to others.

3. Focused on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)


Alba’s growth strategy is blogging to build links and traffic to his site, other blogs, pages, etc. He started by developing a network of bloggers he could have relationships with – those who would link him, mention him or write an entire post about him. He always makes them aware of new and enticing posts. A recent one that got major attention: Depression in the Job Search.

Of course it’s great to be covered by the mega bloggers but getting their attention can be very hard. So start by building a large network of people who each have tiny audiences or you can start your own community and invite others to join.

(This is from me - many industries that I work with have online lists of the top 100 or 200 blogs in their area of expertise. The lists include names, contact information, etc. It's a great way to find out who's talking about your client's business - what they are saying - how they position themselves - and get a free up-to-date media list).

Twitter is also a great way to promote your blog - you have to strike a balance between too much tweeting your own horn and what works but once you find it - it's a great way to build readership.

You have to give your blog readers the ability to sign up and receive your blog via email – it gets your message in front of them if they don’t come to you.


4. Lead the Conversation

Alba says if you want to build your company then write a book. These days anyone can author a book and e-publish it. If you write a book about what you do, with a compelling title and smart advice people can learn from and it will help your business a lot.

Why? One reason is that most media programs – TV in particular – like authors. They can hold the book up in front of their audience. It makes them look smart to have read your book. And everyone sells more books.

If you write an e-book use online video, web sites, blogs, news programs, etc. that will link back to your book. An e-book can really help your clients understand what you do and how you do it well, as can white papers.

Should you charge for the e-book? Probaby not for the first one.

This is Your Brain on Brand Loyalty

A new study just came out on how we make choices in the March 25 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The brain research has major implications for marketers.

The original study, done in 1956, showed that after choosing between two similar home appliances, women claimed that the one they picked was better and the one they rejected was worse than they originally thought. But no one really understood why.

Now new technology that allows researchers to look into peoples’ brains and study its parts as they are making decisions, can help us better understand how people make choices.

The research was done twice, once while people were deciding what vacation destination they preferred (Greece or Thailand), and after they chose Greece as where they wanted to go.

As the research participants were mulling over their choices, the candate nucleus or part of the brain that attaches emotional significance to things, became much more active. After they had selected Greece people were asked to view both options again. When they viewed Greece, the candate nucleus became even more active than before. But when they looked at photos of Thailand, the brain's activity slowed dramatically.

What the heck is she telling me this for? Because we are marketers. People make decisions every day about whether or not to buy our products or services. We try to convince them to choose us. But if they don’t choose us, this research shows that the case against us they made during decision-making strengthens. It’s a normal effect of human brain processing. The dating implications are huge – but that’s another story.

This research strikes the very core of brand loyalty. When a customer chooses our brand she decides she likes us more than the other choices. And she convinces herself (or at least her brain does) that she's made the right choice. The brain sends out all these signals making her believe her choice is by far the best product out there.

So as marketers we need feed that choice when it's originally made and nurture it. And show this customer our love. Because if she chooses another product, which is unlikely unless we really screw up, she will repeat that same investment process again. And bringing her back is really, really hard.

Remember touch point marketing? That 90s term invented by some advertising or marketing guru who said at every point we interact with the customer we have to deliver the same level of service and quality to keep her loyal to our brand. That wasn’t just a catchy slogan. He or she didn’t know it, but that’s how our brains work. We are loyal because once we make a decision we convince ourselves that the decision is right.

So if someone calls your company and goes through computer hell to get an answer to a question – hello every automated customer service department or one that is located on the other side of the planet – it chips away at that loyalty. If our product doesn’t work right the first time it chips away at brand loyalty. If tech support doesn’t call you back within 24 hours, or ever, it chips away at brand loyalty. And when our customer decides to leave - despite what her brain originally decided - it's a done deal.

Here’s my story. I really like Verizon Wireless for my cell phone service. Everywhere in this country that I go except at the top of the La Jolla canyon and on a mountain in Yosemite, my cell phone has worked. Others have failed when I cross from Maryland to DC. Or go to a different state, etc.

And the Verizon Wireless people are really nice to me. I was supposed to get $150 worth of rebates on two Verizon phones and I never got them. So I called Verizon Wireless customer service and within seven minutes they took $150 off my phone bill. And said they were sorry. Turned out I wasn’t the only one. And every time I have dealt with them they made me feel valued. Every time.

So then I decided to switch everything to Verizon Fios – Internet, cable, land line (yes I still have one). And Verizon Fios really, really screwed up. Two days before I was supposed to transfer my service they shut off my old Internet which was also through Verizon. And I’m a home based business. Two full days.

So I spent the better part of the first day trying to get Verizon to turn my service back on. And I spent two hours going from person to person until I finally ended up in India yelling at some poor guy I could barely understand who read to me from his service manual. Another 2.5 hours later after being put on hold countless times while he called America, he finally concluded that they couldn’t turn it back on. So I told him to cancel everything.

And then the Verizon Fios people showed up at my door two days later because the guy in India has no power whatsoever - even to tell them to stop the service call. And once a month after that for about six months some Verizon Fios guy would show up at my door to change my service back.

But I was done when I finished with the guy in India. I called Comcast who came out the next day and turned all of my service back on. And I converted everything in my house to Comcast. They also explained that Fios (even with its commercials that have spooky houses and people with no service who go with other companies) isn’t really all that different than they are.

But I still kept Verizon Wireless for my cell phone service. Because when I deal with them, my brain tells me again and again I've made the right choice. And I will never, ever in a million years switch to Fios because when I even think about that situation my brain shuts off.

My candate nucleus made that choice. Then it validated it. Over and over again. And that is what brand loyalty evidently comes from. It’s primal and it’s a survival thing. It tells you to move on and stay with the decision you made. Try convincing someone to switch brands if they’re really loyal. Doesn’t work.

That’s my post for the day.

Branding in the Age of Social Media

Did you know that many companies handle online and other media as separate functions that don't even talk to each other?

That they have one brand image in print and broadcast media, and another online?

That as search capability expands from text based documents to videos, blogs, news and other forms of communications your brand image can become totally fragmented and the way you describe it in different media can make it murkier?

These are all challenges brought up in a white paper from iCrossing, a search engine optimization firm, that works with companies to create enterprise level campaigns maximizing their brands across all platforms - or as some ad agencies call it - customer touch points.

In an interview with EMTET, Rob Garner, director of strategy, reminds us that the age-old principles of branding apply just as much in new media as they do in old.

Garner says companies need to examine all of their marketing and communications - in all forms and types of media - to insure that they tie back to the brand image they want to convey. He says the mistake many firms make is they jump into social marketing and set up a separate department to address it, because they want to be forward thinking, but haven't thought through how it reflects back on the brand and positioning they already have.

Two issues to think about -

1. Now that you're blogging how will you respond to negative comments online? Will it be the same way you do it on a toll-free number or when a customer writes in? What will you do when someone writes something bad on their Facebook Wall about you?

2. How do you integrate the PR you are doing in print and other media with the marketing you're doing online?

In short, many of us need to go back to basics. We need to think about what our brand stands for and how it is presented and responded too in all forms of media. For every company - the solution must be linked to business goals and brand franchise.

The white paper was co-written with Gabe Dennison of Pluck, a social media company.