You’ll get to learn about martial arts, keeping yourself in shape, and which training discipline is best for your business.

Lots of networking, and you’ll learn a lot about this great Lincoln business. BTOBS!

Just like the locavore movement, every brand has it’s “brandavores,” diehard, loyal customers, who live, breathe and evangalize for you.  Seriously?  Yes, of course.   Every day, a small group of your customers are out singing your praises, telling their friends that they should be buying from you.  I nearly jumped out of my skin recently when a man came bounding up to me to talk about my Saab and tell me about the six Saabs he had owned.  Does Saab know who he is?  I certainly hope so.

Your database can help you find these people, and when you find them you can treat them with extra special attention.  Keeping these people enthusiastic about your brand is extremely important to the health and profitability of your brand.  Does Apple know how to do this?  Absolutely they do.  Apple customers feel very special, and they make sure that everyone knows how special Apple is, and how special they are, because they are Apple people.

This is a very core group within your customer base, they need to be 1) identified, and 2) treated with kid gloves.  Recognize them, thank them.  Very often that doesn’t even include discounting.  We want to be appreciated above all else.  My personal experience is with the Yves St. Laurent cosmetics counter at Saks Fifth Avenue when I lived in LA.  I was an extremely loyal customer and used their entire line of skin care products, bought whatever they recommended, and influenced my friends to buy their products.  What did it take to keep me loyal?  A hug — I actually got a hug from the salespeople when I visited the store.  And, they remembered me, and called me to invite me to special events.  Now, I hate telemarketers, but I actually would return the call if it was from YSL.  They’d have my order ready so that I could walk in, pick it up, sign the reciept and walk back out.  Yes, they did let me know about special offers, but typically that sale included something I was already buying at full price.  The experience and service was far more important to me than the discount.

So, peer into those databases.  See how you can find your brandavores.  Then, love them like crazy and keep them coming back.

But it’s not really new to me at all as I equate it to database marketing.  As part of our strategy, we peer into our crystal ball, aka database, and continually identify new ways to touch our customers.  All of which add up to a positive brand experience.  Our databases allow us to welcome our customers, say thank you, and to invite them back.  They don’t have to introduce themselves to us every time they buy something, we can say, “Thanks, glad you came back, see you soon!”

You have to get it right, and you have to do it consistently.  I’ll never forget when I bought a car, my second in a luxury vehicle line (a brand that has never been my client, I must add).  When I opened my beautiful Welcome Kit, it welcomed me to my FIRST purchase in the brand.  Really?  Had they ignored me all those years?  Obviously I’m still stinging over it.  And, if you only call me when you want me to buy something I’m really onto your game.

It’s great when a brand does it right, knows who I am and sends a “touch” my way once in a while.  It’s a bit of an interruption when the restaurant manager stops by the table and asks how we are enjoying the food.  But the overall effect is a good one — everyone feels good when someone says, “Thank you.  We’re glad you’re here.”

That’s an important piece of a database marketing strategy.

The BBGS team showed the group how a database marketing program is just like running a great coffee house.   Starting with a great concept, it greets its customers by name, welcomes them back, and thanks them for their loyalty.  And we love nothing more than to be appreciated.

If you haven’t been to a Small Business Networking event, mark your calendar for the second Friday of the month, and check out the Chamber website for the location.  See you there!

In Lincoln

Restaurants:

• Fuji Sushi and Grill
• Duggan’s Pub

Biking:

• The Harris Overpass to the Mill
• The Salt Creek Levee Trail to the Bison Trail, through Pioneers Park

Food:

• Community CROPS — A fresh vegetable surprise every week!
• Open Harvest for great fish

On Maui:

• Sansei Seafood for Sushi
• Longhi’s in Lahaina for Breakfast
• Nohonani Condo #204 was wonderful

Since leaving that company, I’ve reflected on the question.   It still comes up when the Database Marketing/CRM becomes a strategic company priority.  And the conclusion I come to now is that the question itself is inherently flawed.  It’s not a matter of where the bill gets paid.  It’s a matter of understanding what a marketing database really is, having the right resources in place, and, most importantly, retaining people with the right mindset.

A marketing database is extremely different than a transactional or operational database.  It’s all about the data, getting it right, massaging it, understanding it and making it grow.  It starts with messy data provided by us messy consumers.  We move all the time and forget to tell you, so you have to run NCOA.  We expect you to know who we are, so you have to share data with Call Centers and websites.  We buy things and then stop buying things and don’t tell you why.   We do things that change our buying habits completely — things like geting married, having babies and retiring.

The technical team supporting the marketing database needs to know all of these things, and know how to deal with them.  NCOA is a common term surrounding the marketing database, and outsourced providers know how to manage data in and out, and have the vendor relationships set up.  Predictive models make us smarter every day, and in order to be effective they need to be as closely connected to the database as possible.  Triggered marketing programs need to be there when the customer is interacting with the brand, not prioritized in a development cue behind the financial system.

The mindset of the IT group is very important.  Do they value data?  Do they understand why the marketing database is so important to the organization?  One of my greatest meetings recently was with an IT Director who wondered why his organization wasn’t maximizing the opportunities to increase revenue from the existing customer base.  I wanted to hug him.  Wow, this company can have a successful Database Marketing program because the tech team GETS IT!

So the real question is, “Do we have the right skill sets in place to build and manage a marketing database as part of our internal IT infrastructure?”

A successful marketing database is never done, there are always more applications to be built, more models to be refined, more digging into the data.  If you have an internal IT team that can embrace that dynamic, then you have the resources to build a Marketing Database internally.  If your IT team heads for the hills when they hear the Marketing Department calling, it might be best to consider an outsourced solution.

Smart phone use is growing
More and more we’re going to be living on our phones rather than our computers. Smartphone production is expected to double by 2014. Much more of the information carried over the Internet will be delivered to the consumer by looking at their phones instead of their computers.

If you are a brand marketer interacting through computers alone and not phones, you will be increasingly left out. Brand marketers should consider how can they interact with their customers through mobile phones as well as computers.

Now is the time.
The time to test the waters of smartphone applications is now. Grow with the technology rather than have to jump in later and figure out how to catch up. Technologies tend to be more forgiving while they are newer. Whatever mistakes you make will be easier to correct now than later.

Developing an app is not very expensive. There are software developers all over who could create a test application for less than $20,000.

Is it for me?
Consider whether your customers are likely to use mobile apps. Look at how your customer is using applications on the web. If your customer base is young, they’re likely to do a lot more on their phone than if they’re of retirement age.

Explore small test applications that drive people to interact with their phone and look for technologies in the future that will support that. If your customers are interacting with you on your website, add to that interaction by giving them the option of using their phones also. See how many people opt in.

A good app is relevant to the relationship, valuable to the user, and integrated with your existing customer activities.

Relevant
The app also has got to be relevant to the relationship of the consumer and the company. For an automotive company, an app that involves cars or car maintenance is effective.  Sports with fan bases are a no-brainer.  Other types of marketers might have more of a stretch, but it’s still a good idea to investigate.

Integrated
Don’t abandon the relationships you have built through your website, coupons, cards or other means. Integrate the mobile app into your existing programs. Let your customers bring the relationship into the new space.

Valuable
The application the company provides has to be useful or entertaining to the customer. In return, the company gets an opportunity for a long-term relationship and can build long-term customer value. Through that relationship, the consumer gets more relevant information and useful tools delivered to their phones.

Mobile apps that promote the customer relationship fall into at least three broad categories: Operational apps, marketing apps, and loyalty program apps.

Operational application
Operational applications let the user access or manage the product or service you provide. Online banking for the phone is an example. Banks were early to test mobile online baking and ever more banks are following. Banking on the phone follows naturally from banking online. The consumer now can get to the information and the service any way they want to.

Marketing application
As a hypothetical example, if your company makes baby food, you could build an app that accesses a database of questions new moms ask all the time. It could be m.kidinfo.com. (What do I do if my baby has a fever? When should my baby start eating beets?) Moms would download a useful app. The baby food company could then deliver useful information and also promotional offers to build a customer base through the phone. The company that built the app will have an ongoing relationship with the customer.

Loyalty program application
You can create a loyalty program where customers sign up and rewards coupons are delivered right to their phones. This would be a good mobile app for a coffee chain, for instance. When they go in for coffee, all they have to do is press a button on their phones and the cash register can read the discount or reward for that day.

Classic database marketing
All of these applications provide a chance to collect and analyze data. If you deliver a link to an app user, you know whether or not she clicks on that link for more information. Therefore, you can also deliver information based on past interaction. You probably know where she lives. You send more relevant information and your app becomes more useful to that customer. You can be smarter in your messaging. Not only can you say “try this diaper”, you can tell them what nearby store sells them. “They’re on sale. Check it out.” The interaction becomes much more relevant and useful to the application user.

This collection, analysis and use of data is just classic database marketing taking place with the aid of a new technology. I love collecting and analyzing data. It’s fun. I’m excited because mobile phone applications could bring more new opportunities for data analysis than anything since the Internet.

Facebook is cool and fun and it can be a great tool for business. But it’s not right for every business. Before you decide to with use Facebook, ask yourself a few questions about your business and your customers:

Who is your target audience is?
Who you are selling to? If you’re trying to reach a consumer audience and expand your customer base of consumers, then Facebook is probably a good place to be. However, in general, Facebook doesn’t offer a lot of value for business-to-business marketing. BBGS chose not to have a Facebook page, relying on other social networking sites in its online strategy. Facebook is also not a great way to reach buyers of products considered commodities, except perhaps where there are specific events that can drive traffic. (Are you a fan of your toothpaste? Probably not.)

Do your customers use facebook?
Typically you think of Facebook users as a younger audience. But that’s not always the case. Put some of your customer’s names through Facebook’s search function. See if they are using Facebook already. Also, search for businesses similar to yours. Are their pages active? Have they won a lot of fans? Are they getting messages across? If your customers are already there and talking, it might make sense to join them.

Will your brand be helped by creating a fanbase?
You don’t have to be a sports team to have fans. If you have loyal consumer customers who like your brand, they can become your fan base on Facebook. And if you want to influence the friends of people who are your fans, Facebook would be a good place to do that.

For example, Colby Ridge Popcorn started their Facebook page just a month ago and already has over 500 fans. People like traditional local brands like Colby Ridge and will sign on to be fans. Whenever one person becomes a fan, dozens of their friends will see that person becoming a fan and hear about Colby Ridge. This is great exposure and it comes from a trusted source.

Do you sell products in relationship to time?
Using Facebook is a really good way to promote your events and special sales. Do you do Mother’s Day specials? Do you host special events at your business? Facebook’s News Feed can help you with any kind of event-driven selling.

My niece Erica, for instance, is a photographer who puts on group photo session events. When one of her scheduled photo sessions wasn’t completely booked, she ran a special on her Facebook page and quickly filled up the empty time slots.

As with any business decision, consider the realistic costs and benefits before starting with Facebook. While social networking appears to be an inexpensive (did someone say FREE?) way to reach customers, consistency and involvement are the keys to making it work.  Be sure to plan the time and messaging strategy as part of your overall marketing plan.

Facebook is a tremendous communications site that helps us stay in touch, have fun and build brands.  Now is the time to decide if it’s right for your brand and jump in and test it.  Where will it go?  Nobody knows – that’s part of the fun of the ride.