How would you like to receive a personal note when you check into the hotel or receive a gift and a personal note because you tweeted the hotel? That is what Four Seasons Hotel did.
How would you like to receive personal gifts from a company, because you tweeted something? That is what KLM did
Can you imagine flying back to your home, missing the eve of Christmas, and when you came down to collect your luggage, presents with you name on it comes out? That is what a Spanair did.
How would you like to be pampered like a KING? You would love that don’t you? Marketing stunt? Ways to build loyalty? Honesty and sincerity? Those are the mixed feelings that people are saying. My opinion? I can’t judge it. I just think it’s nice.
In my marketing class, we’re often reminded about the 4P’s in marketing and how it’s the most important P’s in marketing. In my opinion, the 4P’s seems so small in marketing today compared to when it was created in the past and the “millions” of P’s that came after. Often times we concentrate so much on the 4P’s that we forget about the people. We don’t spend much time in class talking about creating value in people. Most times, we talked about creating a product, innovating a product, pricing a product and spent time talking about promotions like advertising etc.
Today, in the social media context, 2P’s stand out more than the other 4P’s.
People and personalization.
Marketing is about to get fucking hard, it’s about really getting one on one, it’s no longer super easy to stack it high and let it fly.
Says @garyvee who used to spend 13 hours a day replying tweets on Twitter when he monitored key terms, like shiraz and merlot, and responding to questions like what is a good merlot. Rather than saying visit my blog…. He responded with the answer and with whatever they want to know.
With so many businesses coming up each day, it’s about doing something that your competitors can’t do or won’t do. I bet you, no one would spend 13 hours a day on twitter responding to tweets like @GaryVee.
What KLM, Four Seasons hotel, Spainair and Gary Vaynerchuck had in common is that they concentrate on the people, and having a personalized message or gifts for the people that could add value to them.
KLM generated 1,000,000 impressions through Twitter alone by handing personal gifts to its passengers for several weeks. Just by adding a small personal touch to their after-sales service (I assume they did not spend much) and they were able to generate one million impressions just on Twitter.
Thomas Marzano wrote about his experience with Four Seasons hotel at iStrategy Conference blog and received nearly 200 retweets in just under a day. There were a lot of conversations going on Twitter about Four Seasons and they even dropped by and left a comment on the blog post as well.
The post even hit the top tweet on Twitter with the terms “four seasons”
Are we in the era of relationship marketing where it plays a more important role?
Is mass marketing about to “die”? Have you had any great experience with companies using social media? Share your thoughts below. Love to hear from you.
photo credits: by laRuth
Adding the personal touch in marketing -title
Is marketing about to get a whole lot harder? – title
How would you like to receive a personal note when you check into the hotel or receive a gift and a personal note because you tweeted the hotel? That is what Four Seasons did.
How would you like to receive personal gifts from a company, because you tweeted something? That is what KLM did
Can you imagine flying back to your home, missing the eve of Christmas, and when you came down to collect your luggage, presents with you name on it comes out? That is what a Spanish airline did.
How would you like to be pampered like a KING? You would love that don’t you? Marketing stunt? Ways to build loyalty? Honesty and sincerity? Those are the mixed feelings that people are saying. My opinion? I can’t judge it. I just think it’s nice.
In my marketing class, we’re often reminded about the 4P’s in marketing and how it’s the most important P’s in marketing. In my opinion, the 4P’s seems so small in marketing today compared to when it was created in the past and the “millions” of P’s that came after. Often times we concentrate so much on the 4P’s that we forget about the people. We don’t spend much time in class talking about creating value in people. Most times, we talked about creating a product, innovating a product, pricing a product and spent time talking about promotions like advertising etc.
Today, in the social media context, 2P’s stand out more than the other 4P’s.
People and personalization.
Marketing is about to get fucking hard, it’s about really getting one on one, it’s no longer super easy to stack it high and let it fly. Says @garyvee who used to spend 13 hours a day replying tweets on Twitter when he monitored key terms, like shiraz and merlot, and responding to questions like what is a good merlot. Rather than saying visit my blog…. He responded with the answer and with whatever they want to know.
With so many businesses coming up each day, it’s about doing something that your competitors can’t do or won’t do. I bet you, no one would spend 13 hours a day on twitter responding to tweets like @GaryVee.
What KLM, Four Seasons hotel, Spanish airline and Gary Vaynerchuck had in common is that they concentrate on the people, and having a personalized message or gifts for the people that could add value to them. KLM generated 1,000,000 impressions through Twitter alone by handing personal gifts to its passengers for several weeks. Just by adding a small personal touch to their after-sales service (I assume they did not spend much) and they were able to generate one million impressions just on Twitter.
Thomas Marzano wrote about his experience with Four Seasons hotel at iStrategy Conference blog and received nearly 200 retweets in just under a day. There were a lot of conversations going on Twitter about Four Seasons and they even dropped by and left a comment on the blog post as well.
The post even hit the top tweet on Twitter with the terms “four seasons”
Are we in the era of relationship marketing where it plays a more important role?
Is mass marketing about to “die”? Have you had any great experience with companies using social media? Share your thoughts below.
Kathy DalPra says
I love this Aaron. The 5th “P” of marketing. It’s the most important one their is. I have a feeling you’ve just inspired a new blog post out of me…
Aaron Lee says
Thanks Kathy, so glad I could inspire you a new blog post. Do share with us when its ready. Certainly love to read about it.
Robert Garcia says
It maybe harder initially to invest the one on one time but I believe the rewards will be far greater.
Aaron Lee says
I agree Robert, its tough and yes the rewards are far greater. Good thing about that is, since its so tough, not many people are willing to do it. Only a few will survive 🙂
CamMi Pham says
Great post Bro…….Investing in people will give back the biggest return …..
CamMi Pham says
Great post Bro…….Investing in people will give back the biggest return …..
Aaron Lee says
Indeed it is, something most marketers missed 😉
Graham Phoenix says
The magic you talk about is about giving. It’s about the company opening itself to give itself away to people. If you aim to give more than you receive then you will grow like wildfire. That’s what gary V did. In the end he can’t give enough away. It’s wonderful. Thanks for highlighting it.
Aaron Lee says
Hello Graham! I was at your blog earlier, saw the 40 days blog post. Glad we’re part of a great group.
Yes, I was talking about giving and adding value to people. Gary is doing an amazing job.
Thank you so much for dropping by,
See you around.
Aaron
Danny Iny says
Hi Aaron, it’s my first time on the blog, and I’m happy to be here.
I agree with you that connecting with people and personalizing your message, so that it really is a REAL connection, is critically important.
That being said, this all falls under the Promotion P… 😉
Blair de Jong says
Hey Aaron
Thanks for sharing this link!
I agree with ya 100%! Sometimes we forget about the personal touch and thing too broad about whole audience. I can definitely see social media trending towards the People and Personalization to be truly effective.
Blair
Thomas Marzano says
Aaron, great post as always.
Indeed people should be at the center of all we do as marketeers, branding experts, designer and overall business professionals.
I highly recommend reading Marty Neumeier’s ( http://twitter.com/MARTYneumeier ) deck called the Brand Gap on slideshare… as he talks about why any marketing starts with people.
http://www.slideshare.net/antisubliminal/the-brand-gap-presentation
thanks for mentioning me in this post! always appreciated!
Aaron Lee says
Hi Danny,
Thank you for dropping by and sharing it. Glad to see we’re both part of a great group.
LoL, indeed somehow it may seem as a promotion, promotion comes from the people who experienced it. Just like Thomas or people at KLM. Not the company 🙂
Cheers
Aaron
Aaron Lee says
Hi Blair, thank you for dropping by.
Indeed its leaning towards people and personalization as social media continues to grow. Good news is, not many companies are willing to do so much. A great door for smaller businesses to take the charge and build a strong community.
thank you for taking the time to comment.
Cheers
aaron
Danny Iny says
Actually, it’s funny that you should mention KLM, I used them as a contrast to a terrible experience that I had with Delta! You can read about it here, if you’re interested: http://www.firepolemarketing.com/blog/2010/11/30/four-customer-service-lessons-from-delta/
Aaron Lee says
Thank you for dropping by Thomas,
It was a great post from you and it was meant to be shared. Often time I think we forgot about the people and concentrate too much on our stuff. The story you share with us on Four Seasons and KLM brought us back on what we should be concentrating 🙂
Thanks. Will definitely check out the book by Marty Neumeier.
Cheers!
Aaron
Tim says
Treat other like you’d want to be treated.
I’ve stayed in certain hotels for over 100 nights and they are still trying to tell me where the elevator is on check in. You would think it would be pretty simple to have a few of my requests saved for a later date.
Aaron Lee says
Thanks Denny, checking it out now as we speak.
I just downloaded your interview with Guy Kawasaki, will comment on your blog soon! Cheers!
Aaron Lee says
Tim,
That was funny, if I was them, I would check the amount of time you’ve been to the hotel and upgrade you to a suite or something. Its part of what Seth Godin talks on rewarding your best customer. If i were to work in a hotel, I’ll contact you for sure 🙂
Aaron
iconic88 says
Great post Aaron!
Mass marketing should’ve died the day businesses utilised databases and started mining. It’s all about relationships now and if its not, those that are focusing on this aspect of marketing have a tremendous advantage. Tighter relationships = opportunity to increase long term customer value
As for companies utilising social media well here in Australia, not many in my opinion but if I do think of one, I’ll let you know 😉
Oh iStrategy is on the up! 😉
Aaron Lee says
Nice to see you down here, I could use some ice cream.
Yes! its about relationship now, its good to see not many companies are doing that, like you said. Gives a lot of people an equal advantage to start today. Most of this is long term which is something that businesses would consider.
Aaron
iconic88 says
I think one of the things I notice now is too much marketing and less people’s skills. Up the people’s skills (social skills) with a little bit of marketing nouse = advantage.
You’re right, ” its good to see not many companies are doing that”….that equals OPPORTUNITY!
Thanks IP Man!
Aaron Lee says
You’re right Bruce Lee!
Up the people skills and a lil marketing nouse = Great aura!
Hopefully more case studies on this in the future.
Dragoman 0206 says
The Luxor in Vegas comped me a show because I tweeted I was staying there…made me a customer for life….cost them virtually nothing but will pay them back for years.
Aaron Lee says
Wow! thanks for sharing that amazing story. Indeed its a great story to share.
thomasknoll says
Love your attitude and approach to this question. I certainly *hope* marketing continues to get harder and harder. Building personal relationships should not be automatic or easy. I have literally hundreds of personal stories along these lines from zappos. One of personal favorite experiences was when I valeted at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Vegas. While we were inside at the bar, they washed the car, and put water in the open cup holders. The cost to them was minimal, but the experience was memorable.
Paul Flanigan says
This happened to me today. Someone asked a question on Twitter that was easily worthy of a “call me and we’ll talk” or a “visit my blog!” Instead, I just answered it. Another person jumped on the tweets. After 30 minutes, we had a full-blown conversation that I think benefitted not only those involved, but anyone listening. Was it individual? Very much so, but it was also transparent – a benefit to those around us.
Aaron Lee says
hello Thomas
WOW! that is an amazing experience indeed! Wondering if more businesses are doing such great thing and putting in much thought into their business. I heard amazing stories from Zappos, one of the best was a women who bought shoes for her husband, before it arrived, her husband passed away and she called zappos to return them. Zappos took it back without questions asked and send her flowers.
Zappos rocks!
Aaron
Aaron Lee says
Thank you for sharing Paul! indeed its an great story and how twitter can easily build relationship and benefit everyone, thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
Cheers!