Early Adopters Have Significant Influence on Brand Success
March 16, 2010
A new white paper from Advertising Age (sponsored by Yahoo!) called Shiny New Thing: What Digital Adopters Want, How to Reach Them, and Why Every Marketer Should Pay Attention reinforces the idea that people who are quick to try new brands, products, and services, are influential both online and offline.
The statistics for early adopters tell us:
- 62% of early adopters are more likely to upgrade a mobile phone as soon as a new model becomes available.
- 68% are more likely to have purchased three or more computers in the past two years.
- 58% are more likely to have purchased three or more flat-screen TV’s in the past two years.
Not only are they quick to try new products and brands in the technology industry, as revealed in the statistics above, but they’re also more likely to talk about those products and brands on the social Web where many early adopters have established followers. That means the opinions of early adopters can be very influential on a broad scale.
In other words, the opinions of early adopter are no longer confined to the neighborhood or office. Today, early adopters are vocal about their opinions and they share them freely using the tools of the social Web such as Twitter and Facebook.
As the Advertising Age report reminds us, “early adopters sway the early majority, and those groups can account for half of a new product’s sales.” Clearly, this is a group that you want to connect with on a positive level, and what better place to find them and build relationships with them than on the social Web? If early adopters can talk about your brand and products online, thereby influencing a large audience of consumers, then you can use the social Web to influence early adopters. However, your influence should be indirect. Strong arming people with sales messages on the social Web is a surefire route to disaster. Instead, be patient, build relationships, and your efforts should be rewarded with brand advocacy in the future.
The Advertising Age report also reminds us of the three motivating factors that define early adopters, which you can use to help you find early adopters on the social Web and more effectively communicate with them in a language and style they’ll respond to positively:
- They aren’t afraid to take risks.
- They enjoy gathering and sharing information.
- They like to research products and tell other people what to buy.
- They are status seekers.
While the Advertising Age report focused on technology early adopters, the lessons can apply to most industries. This is a customer group that bores quickly and is constantly looking for the next great thing. The worst thing you could do is ignore them. Instead, you need to deliver great products, earn a solid brand reputation, and build positive relationships with them.
Undercover Employee
March 15, 2010
I haven’t seen the new television show Undercover Boss—but the idea seems almost irresistible. Who wouldn’t want to see executives slogging around in the trenches?
However, I have done several stints as an undercover employee. Way back when I wanted to get out of academia and learn about the business world, I found it was easy to get temp jobs because I could type really (really) fast. So I got to snoop around a dozen or so companies, seeing how they were organized, how people behaved, and so on. The companies were in different industries, and the work cultures were superficially different. But what I learned in my adventure was that they all had the same problems.
Fast forward to today. I’m currently undercover again, this time because I wanted an inside view of a very famous employer brand. The “undercoverness” is not that no one knows my real identity–it’s that no one has the least interest in who I am. My role is to get X amount of stuff done in Y amount of time, and enter my hours into the appropriate project slots. As long as I do that, no one will pay any attention to me. I am a worker bee.
But I do get to see (or at least hear) how things run in one group. I won’t reveal my “findings” until I’ve finished the project and departed the company. For now, I just want to share this observation . . .
Probably nothing would be more help in improving the employer brand than finding out what new employees actually experience as they go through the hiring process, go through the onboarding process, try to do some work, and try to find their place in the group structure. How many companies substantively interview new hires and actively utilize feedback?
Come to that: How many companies provide ongoing support and resources for new hires? How many managers have the time, skills, or inclination to effectively integrate new employees? And how many Careers sites talk about the hiring and onboarding processes, or include interviews with newly hired workers as well as career employees?
Last question. How many corporate recruiters actually know what becomes of candidates after they get hired?
When you think about it—every new employee is “undercover.” Secretly observing, forming opinions, drawing conclusions. And those early observations will shape the relationship between employee and employer for a long time.
Check out the fantastic (seriously) New Hires site at Stanford University for some ideas. Especially impressive: a series of Manager Checklists that cover the first days, weeks, and months on the job.
(Thanks to Eric E. Castro for the original “Shhh!” photograph. It’s been reworked a bit here.)
The "New" Fortune List: Part 2
March 12, 2010
More observations on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, 2010 . . .
A Lesson from the List: Right-sizing the Corporate Careers Site
Given the fabulous workplace at SAS (see Part 1 for details!), we can surmise that the main challenge for their recruiters really is tracking down those perfect passive candidates and luring top talent through the gates of paradise. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the SAS Careers site is truly minimal—just a (long) list of benefits and some job search tools. That’s all. No videos, testimonials, day in the life, social media. Just the opportunity to apply.
Over at Publix Super Markets, on the other hand, where many prospective employees can expect to work long hours stocking shelves or filling prescriptions, the Careers site has every conceivable bell and whistle. Publix has almost 140,000 employees compared with not quite 6,000 (U.S.) positions at SAS, and as of January 2010 they were looking for 1300 new employees, while SAS was in search of 52.
Point: In considering what is “best practice” for a corporate Careers site, we really need to look at the context. Arguably, SAS doesn’t need a state-of-the-art web presence. Publix does.
A Question about the List: Is It Still Relevant?
A few years ago, the Fortune List seemed to be investigative and informative. It offered examples of what worked in the workplace, and showed off companies that had built solid employer brands. Getting on the list was a valuable achievement, and falling off would presumably be a disgrace.
When you look at that set-up, it becomes obvious that the list is not likely to change much. There are only 100 spots, and once you’ve identified 100 companies that meet the criteria, the quota is full. New places will only open up when a listee messes up seriously, goes out of business, or gets bought up. So by now the news is not who’s on the list, but whether they rise and fall in relative rankings.
This year SAS vaulted from a respectable Twenty all the way to Numero Uno. Why? No way of knowing. Fortune doesn’t explain its rankings. But some suspect that companies figure out the secret of improving their rank and deliberately work their way up. I.e., they study the test.
This year I spotted five newcomers: McCormick, FactSet, Mercedes-Benz, LifeBridge Health Care, and DPR Construction. There are probably more, as I didn’t make an exhaustive comparison—but I’m pretty sure I recognize 90% of the companies as perennials. Given that 353 companies competed . . . the apparent conclusion would be that at least 248 competitors (2/3 of the set) fell short of whatever it would take to dislodge an incumbent.
Point: Maybe it’s time for Fortune to shake up this drill. What about categories for small, medium and large enterprises, to establish a more level playing field? What about special recognitions for innovators and most improved companies? What about breaking out the citations for listees in terms of (a) tangibles like pay and perks, and (b) intangibles like respect, fun, loyalty, etc. And what about adding a new point of view, so the Great Place to Work Institute is not the sole arbiter?
Just some thoughts . . .
Repackaging Campbell’s from the Top Down
March 12, 2010
Have you ever stood in the soup aisle at the grocery store and been faced with a sea of red Campbell’s soup cans, but you simply cannot find the flavor you’re looking for? We’ve all been there, cursing to no one in particular but desperately wanting to find that can of tomato soup so you can get out of there as fast as possible. Fortunately, Campbell’s heard our cries.
Using neuromarketing research results, Campbell’s has redesigned its soup can packaging from the top down. No longer is the red Campbell’s logo emblazoned across the top of Campbell’s soup cans. The neuromarketing research determined that having the red band of color along the top of all Campbell’s soup cans made it more difficult for consumers to find the specific flavors they wanted. Consumers became frustrated with the too consistent packaging of Campbell’s soups, so the logo has been relegated to the bottom of the can.
Based on the company’s research, the iconic Campbell’s soup can that’s been the subject of everything from Andy Warhol’s artistic eye to comedic skits has been replaced. Not only has the Campbell’s logo been moved, but the soups in the Campbell’s product line have been categorized and color-coded to save you a few minutes (or more) on your next trip down the grocery store soup aisle.
Check out some of the additional changes to the Campbell’s soup packaging shown in the image below:
What do you think of the new Campbell’s soup packaging? I don’t think repositioning the logo will affect the brand identity negatively, and I think the new packaging does look more modern. I also think the color-coding is a big improvement and will surely save me some time in the supermarket, but I don’t think I would have ever noticed the additional steam or lack of a spoon in the picture. How about you?
Image: Campbell’s via LogoLounge
The Positive Effects of Corporate Media Blogging
March 11, 2010
Corporate blogging is a technique and marketing tool that is slowly but most assuredly catching on in the corporate mainstream. Corporations are starting to see the inherent value of a solid blog that speaks directly to their audience. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of corporate blogs that address everything from media relations to social responsibility. This is a very good thing, and a sign that corporations are making concerted efforts to decentralize and universalize their communications target markets.
Social Media Contact
Corporations that give attention to the merits of social media are undoubtedly paying off. One such example is the case of the Jet Blue Airlines from a few years ago. With the help of seasoned writer and blogger, Debbie Weil, something that could have been potentially harmful for the company worked out very well.
Debbie’s book on professional blogging and social media outreach offered insight to the company about the need for them to make a corporate statement and the need for them to take advantage of social media.
By doing so, the company accomplished several things:
- A new presence in the world of social media and blogging. Debbie’s book was a welcomed tool for the company and they used her suggested practices right away, resulting in positive desired effects.
- Being proactive in offsetting any potential ill-feelings that consumers would have had about their service. This went a long way in ensuring repeat business from some of those same customers.
- Understanding the importance of establishing themselves in the online social world. Once they recognized the impact that social networking had on their business, they began to utilize the service more to their advantage.
- Implementing a dedicated department to handle social media issues. This is important when social networking is at the crux of any business. In order for that phase of the business to thrive, it needs dedicated manpower to ensure that the resource is being fully implemented.
Implementing Campaign Strategies
Corporations are starting to embrace the valuable merits of social media and networking. They see it as an alliance to the marketing efforts that are already in place, and are using it to its maximum capacity to work productively for their company. What are some things that your corporation can do to enhance its corporate media relations campaign? Here are a few suggestions:
- Realize the importance of interacting with readers. Almost everything written on blogs is done in real time, therefore readers are updated almost instantly on news, developments and changes within a corporate structure.
- Dedicate the time that is necessary to make the campaign productive. Invest both time, money and manpower to ensure that the campaign has what it needs to operate effectively.
- Be realistic in your expectations. Your corporate blog may not attract readers right away, nor will it appear as if it is even being read. But take heart; be diligent in growing the blog by being consistent, factual and interacting with the readers at every available opportunity.
Corporate blogging and social media efforts definitely have their place in the corporate structure. With a well-devised strategy plan and a commitment to watching it grow, corporations can become just as involved as social media individuals and garner the attention they seek for their online business.
Image Source: sxc.hu
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