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Customers

Nike, I thought you knew me

Catie S.
7.27.2011
7 Comments

Historically, I’ve been a fan of Nike. Since taking up running, I’ve practically lived in their mesh shorts (at least for warm runs). I sport a neon Nike gym bag when I go to spin class or to zumba. Their sneakers make for great cross-trainers, and the new Nike+ SportWatch is on my wish list for my birthday.

But when I came across this recent ad to the left, I had to question my relationship with the brand. Run away from it all? Nike, I thought you knew me.MORE…

Posted in connect | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Netflix price increase social media firestorm: A case of too little customer intimacy?

7.14.2011
7 Comments
Chris O.

On Tuesday, Netflix announced price changes and a change in the structure of their DVD-by-mail and movie streaming plans. For all intents and purposes, the “changes” were increases – separating the delivery methods and making customers pay almost as much for each as they were previously paying to get both.

Right afterwards, the universe exploded.MORE…

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What Are Brands Really Risking with Online Research Communities?

Manila A.
6.9.2011
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Not much. While online research communities (also known as MROCs) seemingly bend many rules of research, brands actually risk more with traditional methods that fail to surface the “whys” behind the numbers. Quantifying research results does not make them actionable; and brands unwittingly hazard a great deal when they base business decisions on information obtained from a generic sample of unengaged, unmotivated respondents.MORE…

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Social Media Market Research: More than just “listening”

6.8.2011
4 Comments
Chris O.

When Communispace first started building private online communities, using social media for market research was far from an inevitability. The connections that social tools have demonstrated the power to forge—bridging a digital chasm to link people from all corners of the globe and all mindsets—and the power they give people to create and share, have since become instrumental in businesses’ understanding of their customers … and their prospective customers.MORE…

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The Cost of Creating Brand Affinity with Social Media

Kaitlin M.
6.2.2011
2 Comments

Creating brand affinity using social media is cheap and easy. All you need to do is throw your logo into a Facebook profile page, create a Twitter handle, get an intern to write some content and you’re good to go, right?

Actually, that’s not the case. While at the outset of the social marketing boom our lack of discipline and understanding may have made this seem true, customers are far more savvy and nuanced than that.MORE…

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Integrated Marketing Campaigns and Pink Ponies: A John St. case study

5.27.2011
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Elisa C.

More and more marketers today are striving to create integrated marketing campaigns. A favorite example is Old Spice’s The Man Your Man Could Smell Like campaign that combined TV ads, tweets and YouTube video responses to consumer questions. Within a span of two weeks everyone was talking about the Old Spice guy—the campaign worked.
MORE…

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Project Neighborhood Credit: How can Zipcar (and other brands) apply the lessons of a co-op cooking experiment?

Chadd H.
5.26.2011
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With over 500,000 members, Zipcar—America’s largest car-sharing conglomerate—is still in the hunt to become profitable. The answer? More customers. According to CEO Scott Griffith, a larger customer pool allows for operating costs to be “distributed more broadly,” as membership and rental fees would offset lower additional per-vehicle gas, insurance and maintenance costs. However, while this solution may bring increased profits to Zipcar, it neglects Zipcar’s greatest asset— its customers. MORE…

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Craigslist: Quite the Crummy Community

5.17.2011
3 Comments
Richard W.

In light of a recent move, I’ve been trying to offload elements of my post-college bachelor pad to the throngs of Internet buyers awaiting my posts on to one of the Web’s biggest communities, Craigslist. The task, I thought, was simple: sell some of my old, but well treated furniture on Craigslist to ease the burden of my new furniture bill. Over three months, I discovered that this was a bad idea. Let’s backtrack as I share with you the four types of experiences (and my typical responses) I participated in countless times over the period:MORE…

Posted in connect | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments