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Research Trends to Prepare for the Upswing

Three-legged Stool of ResearchIn the last two blog posts, we covered market research tools and methods for Customer Intelligence and Competitor Intelligence. Today we add a third leg to the proverbial stool by listing website resources for gathering trend information to inform business strategy.

1. What are the most popular searches on the web right now or over some past period of time? There are countless tools and methods to gather this information but if you want to capture a snapshot “pulse” of the web, here are a few suggestions.

Explore real-time hot topics and hot searches with Google tools such as Google Trends. For more advanced analysis from search data, try Google Insights which provides drill down capability by category, geography, seasonality, and properties of search.

SEOmoz has comprehensive tools for search engine optimization but for the purpose of trend monitoring, there are several free keyword tools that can help you with trend research. SEO Book and WordStream are also SEO tool providers with a variety of keyword research, competitive research and web traffic evaluation capabilities. I won’t speak to their respective strengths and weaknesses but offer these tools only as a means to monitor current trends.

2. What is the buzz on the blogs, forums, and social networks?

Blog Pulse : gives you a real-time snapshot on the hot topics being discussed in the blogosphere. In addition, a searchable archival database of topics over the past 180 days can be used to research on any topic and provide popular blog pots on the topic based upon user engagement.

Social bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon and Delicious show popular content such as articles and blog posts submitted by and voted on by their respective web communities.

What the Trend provides information on top trending topics on Twitter as well as trends over the past 30 days. Twitter keeps a running log of the top trending topics worldwide and in selected locations. Twitter Search provides real-time hot topics and advanced search capabilities to find tweets on any topic you choose.

Biz Sugar provides social bookmarking focused on small and medium business information. As with other social bookmarking sites, content is submitted and voted upon by the community but in this case, the community consists mainly of entrepreneurs like you.

3. My personal favorite places to follow trends combine the wisdom of the crowds with analysis from professional trend analysts into a combination of real-time aggregators and analyst reports (free and fee-based) covering every conceivable social, economic, and political trend.

Trend Hunter: You could lose days in this community of over 30,000 scouts who contribute real-time trends to this site which analyzes and aggregates the data on 100’s of categories of trends. Once you find your way through the site, subscribe to the newsletter or create separate subscriptions and notifications based on your topics of interest. (I continue to recommend Exploiting Chaos as one of the best books for business inspiration I have read – please check it out!)

Trend Watching : Great free and subscription based reports with analysis of key trends from 100’s of trend watchers worldwide. I subscribe to their newsletter and find it an invaluable tool.

Poll Daddy : Not only does Poll Daddy offer widgets you can embed in your website or Facebook page to poll customers but the company provides an amazing searchable database of millions of active and archived polls and their results.

Trendpedia : Check out popular current topics from the blogosphere, along with top trends from the past week and month. In addition, compare the relative buzz on several topics and gage interest on those topics in the blogosphere.

Following the trends provides inspiration for new product lines as well as ideas for re-positioning existing products. Many of the tools noted above have more advanced and professional versions available for a subscription fee. I suggest you begin with this list of tools and subscribe to those which provide the most insight for your strategic thinking process.

Again, this is simply a short list of web-based resources I utilize. What are you using to keep abreast of the social, economic, and political trends?

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Build a Customer Feedback Loop

In our continuing series on how to Prepare for the Upswing, we discuss several low cost options for inclusion in a customer feedback loop. Recession or not, gathering customer feedback is always a great idea as the best companies are distinguished by exceptional customer service. During a recession when there are fewer disposable dollars, small business owners may question whether general economic trends or business specific issues are keeping customers away from spending. Here are a few suggestions to adopt which can answer your questions as well as help you prepare for the coming growth cycle:

1. Customer Surveys: While you can ask as many questions as you like, ultimately the questions you want answered are: How was your experience? Would you buy from us again? Would you recommend us to a friend?
Web-based survey tools such as www.surverymonkey.com and www.surverygizmo.com offer you the ability to create a survey, distribute it via email and analyze results. Most web-based tools provide excellent resources to help you design effective survey questions for actionable results.

2. Initiate a Customer Experience Team: Invite a sample of customers to map your business from the customer’s perspective and look for ways to create a remarkable customer experience. Customer Experience Teams do not have to meet in person as you can use web conferencing technologies to collaborate and meet while minimizing the time commitment requirements from participants. Your customers will love the opportunity to help you design an exceptional customer experience, investing them even further in the success of your business.

3. Do you have a project that needs customer feedback such as the introduction of a new product or a new website? Provide an incentive and ask target customers to participate in a Project Team. Again, web conferencing technology such as www.gotomeetting.com and www.webex.com are among the leaders but there are a host of other options that may suit your needs, with affordable packages available on a per use or subscription basis. I have created “practice teams” to review classes before I offer them to the general public. Usability Teams are teams which are often created to evaluate the intuitiveness and navigational ease of websites from the customer experience.

4. Do you want to modernize the customer suggestion box? Create an Innovation Community using social networking platforms. Using a platform such as Ning or Facebook, create a closed forum where you can share product concepts and gather reactions. Similarly, you can ask customers to contribute product development ideas. I have used Ning to create private communities and find it takes an afternoon to create a branded community with custom content such as documents, websites, recorded video and audio, message boards, private messaging, connection and community capability. For inspiration, check out Dell’s IdeaStorm where, since 2007, Dell customers have contributed over 13,000 ideas and Dell has implemented over 400 suggestions.

Connecting with your customers in a new way, especially during the low economic periods, lets them know you care. Provide your customers with some kind of incentive for their participation and show your appreciation for their time. Follow up on the feedback you receive and demonstrate how you give serious consideration to their suggestions. A well executed customer feedback loop will not only enhance customer loyalty but inspire ambassadors who spread positive word of mouth about your business.

What tactics have you used to gather customer feedback? What has worked for you and what hasn’t worked for you?

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Customer Loyalty: Tires and Steak?

Beef PromotionI went to the freezer the other day to find something to cook for dinner and saw a box of steaks I didn’t recognize. – Top Sirloin Steak with a Les Schwab sticker on the box. Huh? Tires and steak? I don’t get it. Why would a tire company give away free beef with a set of tires? I did some digging and here’s what the Les Schwab website says:

“The History of our Free Beef Promotion
It’s that time of year when your Les Schwab Tire Centers offer their own unique way to say thank you to their customers. How? During February it’s Free Beef time. In the early 1960s, Les Schwab was looking for a way to promote his business and to also help support some of his customers. In the early years, the local farmers and ranchers were the backbone of his business. He came up with Free Beef as a way of supporting an important industry and saying thank you to his customers.”

Still not convinced that thinking of tires while chewing my steak is a good idea, I decided to check in with the official tire consumer (and the real steak lover) of my family – my husband Bob.

Was I in for a surprise when I asked my husband questions about the meat! I fully expected him to say “I don’t know. I bought some tires and they gave me some meat. It’s free….what’s the big deal?” A native Northwesterner, my husband knew the full story of Les Schwab and could recite the origins of the annual beef giveaway. He’s a loyal Les Schwab customer, thinks the promotion is catchy and could recite past TV commercials with the founder in his cowboy hat. It seems this promotion has become like country lore in the Northwest area where Les Schwab originated and is highly celebrated for ongoing dedication to the Oregon cattle ranchers who helped him build his business.

My husband is the Les Schwab target customer, not me. Would he have bought tires somewhere else if Les Schwab wasn’t giving away meat? No. Les Schwab had the best deal. Will he only buy from Les Schwab the next time he buys tires? More than likely. Does he have any issues with eating meat he received from a tire store? Heck no – fire up the grill!

What do I like about the February campaign? The program recognizes the foundation of the Les Schwab business and the legacy of its founder while acknowledging the importance of its customers. The campaign recognizes the value of local business networks, how local businesses help one another to grow. It is a memorable promotion, one that cements the vision of the brand and the legacy of the company with the consumer. It is unexpected and unique – not the typical loyalty program with little business cards and point systems. I am not a big beef eater so I am not sure if I will be able to get over my initial reaction to seeing the Les Schwab sticker in my freezer. That being said, will I remember Les Schwab and his story now every time I pass their tire center? You bet!

What do you think? What can you apply to your small business from the Les Schwab story? What could you do to recognize customer loyalty that is unique to your brand and to your target markets?

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101+1 Small Business Marketing Questions…With a Sense of Humor

woman at desk laughing uid 1053967 This is the time of year when I encourage entrepreneurs to begin planning for the New Year. Planning can be a positive and reflective process. It can be inspiring to look back over the mountains you have climbed in the past year and look ahead with optimism to the journey ahead.

Thanks to Scott Blitstein of eSeMBe, I found 101+1 Small Business Marketing Questions For People Who Don’t Speak Marketing which is a humorous twist on serious marketing questions every small business owner should ask. I agree with Naomi Dunford’s suggestion to choose 25-50 questions and come back to the list periodically. I generally suggest every entrepreneur block off one full day to create a plan for the coming year. If you are unable (or resistant?) to give yourself the gift of a day to reflect and plan for the upcoming year, give yourself the gift of an hour a week for the next 8 weeks as we head into 2010.

Begin with your vision, this list, and a sense of humor…entrepreneurship can be fun!

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Got Social Media Strategy?

Social Media is no longer optional. Including video, audio, and communities along with interactive and sharable content within your marketing strategy is required if you want to remain competitive in this business climate. A social media strategy is not a plan for collecting 1000’s of friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter. It is a well-defined series of campaigns planned to meet the needs of today’s customers who are ever-connected, ever-social, and ever-engaged. A winning social media strategy leverages the right combination of technology and content to create a unique customer experience with “buzzability”.

It’s not about the technology. It’s all about the customer!

1. They Are Looking for You. 4 out of 5 buyers are using the web to locate business and product information before they make a purchase yet less than half of small businesses can be found on the web. The location options for web real-estate are numerous, including platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and a variety of other directories and communities. Your plan must ensure you can be found by your target market who wants to read and hear testimonials about your offer. Potential buyers are more likely to trust a business with customer generated reviews and ratings than one without endorsements. Your strategy must include a plan for generating fresh content with the purpose of educating the consumer and informing the buying decision.

2. They Want an Experience with You. You have less than a minute. Prospects will abandon your website or business profile within seconds if they are not engaged. Create engaging and informative content with the aim of evoking a response from your customers. Multimedia and interactive content such as pictures, video, podcasts and product reviews is affordable and easily created by businesses with modest budgets and minimal technical expertise. A planned series of campaigns which include a call to action and which integrate with traditional media (newspapers, radio, etc) will create a community of loyal supporters among your customers.

3. They Want to “Buzz” About You. Your customers want to spread the word! A growing number people on the web share content such as video, articles, audio, etc with their friends. Over 90% of people trust the recommendations of friends when making purchase decisions and less than 15% trust advertising so give them something to buzz about! Generate participation and enthusiasm. Create a call to action. When you create a buzzable social media strategy, prospects become customers and customers become loyal evangelists.

Creating a social media marketing plan is like creating a special family recipe. It is not accomplished with “out-of-the-box” solutions. Every social media marketing strategy includes a vision, brand message, web and social platforms, a content strategy, and a buzz plan. Be prepared to actively listen to your customers and allow them to co-create with you. Ultimately, creating a unique social media mix tailored to your customers will keep your evangelists buzzing and your business soaring.

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