The Engaging Brand

Monetary Bribes do not Customer Service Make...

I have just spoken to my best friend who has had a dreadful time with Carphone Warehouse on her mobile contract. The bill has consistently been incorrect and not to the contract price...she has now come to the end of the contract so went into store and said that she wanted to end the contract.

The store offered a couple of great deals to try and keep her but she said that no money would change her mind because she wanted to be treated as a valued customer i.e she wanted service not freebies. The man asked her if someone could ring her and she said yes....True to their word they phoned. A Carphone Warehouse guy said "Ok what will it take to keep you?" She explained it was not about money, it was about being listened to, about receiving acceptable customer service....guess what happened next?

The guy promptly put the phone down! Clearly he did not have a superb contract deal that would solve that problem :)

She said she was so frustrated that when she met her friends she told them, she told me, she told her family - (imagine how many people's perceptions of that brand have been affected this weekend?)......in this modern world, advertising is the price of having to cover up for the actual brand experience.

The interesting part for me, was that she wanted to be valued, she was not money focused..in fact what she was saying was "I don't want free as that gives you an excuse for unacceptable service..I want to pay but in return you value my custom..."

Brands are not and never will be built on who has the largest advertising budget, they will be built on who has the ability to deliver consistently on their brand promise in store, not on paper.

Show # 133 - Age of Conversation and Collaboration

Show 133 of The Engaging Brand  podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download if you are new to podcasts, all explained at the end of the post.

Today I talk to two people who I have a great deal of respect for - Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton who saw an opportunity of bringing together the blogosphere and the ability to raise money for a childrens charity.

In 2007 they raised over $11,000 through a book called The Age of Conversation which was a global project bringing together over 100 bloggers worldwide, to write their thoughts on what the age of conversation means to them. How did they engage people in the project, what lessons can we learn from this project, how are on line tools helping with global collaboration and how can you market on line?

The book will launch in Amazon in January - I will let you know when....

If you have feedback on the show, feel free to record an audio message by clicking on the recorder on the side of the blog, e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand.

How can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here and it will take you to the podcaster news page. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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Healthy Customer Service

Still in hospital, however I have had some great learnings from cutomer service.

I look forward to nightshift. These wonderful nurses come and speak to you, ask how you are, laugh with you...make you feel special. I asked one about her appproach and she said she sees herself as an illness holiday guide.

Don't be side tracked by where the pain is often the problem is deeper. So true with employees don't forget to find out the real source of their unhappiness not just what they are telling you.

People need communication even if it is we don't know! When you get nothing you fill in the gaps and feel "unloved".....when you feel isolated you stop communicating as well.

We wil see what today will bring but I hear through the grapevine of nightshift after 6 days I may be heading for operation. Cannot thank you all enough for your warm wishes x

Thoughts From the Hospital

I would like to thank you all for your well wishes. no news yet on full diagnosis but should find out tonight after latest tests.

I have been laid here for 4 days watching the nurses find out by letter that their ward is closing and after years of working together will be separated. over xmas I was the only person on the ward and was expecting full attention....mmmm
1) keep people busy during change otherwise no work gets done.
2) don't believe there are any secrets...people cannot keep it to themselves during change. Without information formally those secrets become even more important.
3) be careful where you talk you never know where there is a blogger lurking!
4) people attach themselves emotionally to their teams not just their job. listening to 4 days of chatter I realise that they are suffering a kind of grief...
5) never deal with employment change by letter.... people going through change need human contact.

oh and a happy birthday to my nan today who is 98!

Thank You

Thank you for your lovely wishes. I came in on Sunday and have had loads of scans etc as yet though undiagnosed. Tomorrow more scans should tell if it is an ulcer or gall stones.

note from patient....when nurses want to feed you to keep your body and mind going it is via drip. Leaders could learn a lot from the drip by drip appproach than by a dambuster approach to strategy, learning and branding!

I can only use my mobile so sorry if this is not written too well!

A Very Different Xmas

Last Sunday I was rushed into hospital and I won't be going home before the end of this week at the earliest. This has taught me a few things
1) no matter how bad the tv is it is better than being by yourself in hospital!
2) never take anything for granted
3) how lost I am without the internet!

I hope your xmas is going a little better than mine and apologies that I cannot get out the age of conversation podcast. It will be up once I get home.

Show #132 - Marketing Your Brand in Facebook

Show 132 of The Engaging Brand  podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download if you are new to podcasts, all explained at the end of the post.

Today I talk with the Facebook Enthusiast, Andy Kaplan. We talk about how to use facebook, marketing tips within Facebook and how to create engagement within Facebook. You can find Andy's Facebook page here and also the Wiggly Wiggler group that I talk about on the show.

If you have feedback on the show, feel free to record an audio message by clicking on the recorder on the side of the blog, e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand.

How can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here and it will take you to the podcaster news page. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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Are you inviting people to your brand party?

I often get asked by clients "How do you create a community?" I don't believe that you can manufacture a community - a community is not a car, it is not a sausage (!)....there is no production line that will automatically drop out a community at the end of your work.

However, I do believe engagement with your community does comes from invitations and delivered promises.

Invitations
Reach out to people with similar values, similar interests and invite them to join with you to create a brighter future. You can invite them to try out your brand promise, invite them to allow you to create value in their lives. To invite successfully and create the right environment, you need to understand who will benefit from your community, who is it that you are trying to create value for?

Delivered Promises
People may accept the invitation, if it looks of interest to them, but will only start to move to engagement when the promises you made start to become reality. Whether you deliver or not, people will talk about your invitation. So for me, it is important that you deliver against your promises, so that they talk about a positive experience with their friends, family and colleagues.

The spread of the pride of being associated with a brand that delivers consistently it's brand promise, with a brand that puts them at the heart of the promise, a brand that exists to create value for them....creates the community. A community is a powerful, free salesforce  - all it asks for in return for all this wonderful free work they do on your behalf, is to be respected and for you not to break that trust.

Could you podcast for 24 hrs?

Well Todd Cochrane, of Geek News Central Podcast and the Blubrry community,is going to try this Friday/Saturday!

He is podcasting for 24 hours to raise money for the One Laptop Per Child initiative.
This is a wonderful cause and if you want to find out more click to One Laptop Per Child, here is the essence of what they are trying to achieve

"OLPC is not, at heart, a technology program, nor is the XO a product in any conventional sense of the word. OLPC is a non-profit organization providing a means to an end—an end that sees children in even the most remote regions of the globe being given the opportunity to tap into their own potential, to be exposed to a whole world of ideas, and to contribute to a more productive and saner world community."

Todd has put together a great schedule of guests which includes me, Anna Farmery and I am proud to be part of such an initiative. I believe that this is another illustration of how the social media community can really make a difference in the world and what a wonderfully giving community the on line world can be.

If you would like to donate to the cause then you can by emailing Todd at podcast@podcastconnect.com

Getting into the Spirit of Christmas

The tree is now up and the holiday season is approaching so it inspired a thought about how to think about life - not that I am encouraging drinking, just adding flavour to the post!

• Be whiskey - embrace a little risk in your life. You may not always succeed but at least you have tried.
• Stop wining about what is wrong and take steps to change what you don't like...
• Remember the champagne moments and celebrate the progress that both you and those around you have made.
• Punch higher than you think possible....dreams are there to motivate you, what are your dreams that you want to make reality
• Beer giver! Remember the more you give the more you will receive
• Sherryish the talent around you - never fear talent...embrace it.

Remember you life is a cocktail of dreams, of people, of hope, of inspiration....

Anyone got any to add....