Here’s a scary thought: What if your content marketing actually works? What if you get all the clients you want? Will you be able to handle them? Those are important questions every service provider needs to answer honestly because there is often a disconnect between what we say we want and the actions we take.
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The post 10 Service Business Essentials that Help You Win Clients with Confidence appeared first on Copyblogger.
Makers of Modern Marketing: Bence Gazdag
Welcome back to the Makers of Modern Marketing at Oracle! A new blog series dedicated to the drivers, architects, and risk-takers behind marketing at Oracle to give readers a peek into how they are applying our own products to drive innovation and build the future of digital marketing.
This week we got to chat with Bence Gazdag the Senior Director for Global Marketing Demand Center and Technology at Oracle about the many shifts he has witnessed in data-driven methodology and customer-centric marketing over his nearly 19-year stint at Oracle.
Since coming to Oracle in 1999, Gazdag has had the unique opportunity to watch the company grow and evolve from the inside. Today, he oversees a team of 170 employees running the Global Marketing Demand Center, a shared services function that provides support globally to marketers facilitating the seamless execution of campaigns. This team spans the globe—from India to Argentina to Bozeman, Montana—covering over 40,000 execution pieces per year.
In addition, Gazdag’s team runs technology and data, customer tools and development, as well as, innovation, which means they are charged with building their own tools to power their products and systems and that they run their own databases, including the Customer Experience Database. To say Bence Gazdag is a busy man would be an understatement, but after close to two decades, Oracle’s ever-changing environment has a way of always keeping him fascinated.
“[Your customer] shouldn’t feel like they’re talking to a different person every time they pick up the phone.”
Customer Data Quality BoardWe touched on the importance of quality data over sheer quantity with Patrick McGavock last time, now with Gazdag we are able to delve into who determines the standard for data quality.
Around 2005, Gazdag saw an opportunity for Oracle to gain a greater, more consistent understanding of how data is categorized across the company for improved business alignment. His solution? The Customer Data Quality Governance Board, which set up the standard against which data is ranked at Oracle. In his words it is “a cross-functional governance board at Oracle that has owners from finance, support, sales, marketing—basically, all LOB's come together to agree on common data quality standards, common data definitions.” As the Founder and Chair of the CDQ governance board, Gazdag facilitated the creation and maintenance of this “master” record of rules and standards for different data attributes. Though he has stepped down from his role as Chair, Gazdag remains an active member and is still heavily involved in what the future of data quality will look like.
Gazdag guides us to the larger view of this endeavor: personalization. Providing an outstanding customer experience hinges on a deep understanding of customer behavior, in order to supply content that is timely, relevant and attractive:
“People have a shorter attention span and when they are engaging with content, then they want to engage with a lot of content and they want to binge on the content right there in the moment vs waiting on delivery the next piece.”
It is no longer enough to just get prospects to click on an ad or email, they need to be given the option to engage immediately, then once they are customers they must be treated respectfully as an individual. “You have to merge your customer support, your sales, your marketing interactions, and engagement points so that you can have a confluent view and experience...[your customer] shouldn’t feel like they’re talking to a different person every time they pick up the phone,” says Gazdag, tying it back to the business alignment he envisioned when he founded the CDQ board.
Shortly after joining Oracle, Gazdag got his first taste of Oracle’s propensity to embrace new tech, “Our CMO back then said, basically from one day to another, ‘We’re going to stop doing all direct mail and traditional marketing and advertising and we’re going to switch over to this thing called e-mail marketing.’” And with that, they switched in a matter of weeks.
Now, with a keen eye on the horizon, Gazdag is excited about the possibilities AI, machine learning and predictive intelligence hold for the future of modern marketing. The latest step in Oracle’s journey is using machine learning for lead scoring purposes, leveraging marketing and sales data to optimize lead scoring for conversion. “That’s been proving very promising results,” says Gazdag, his sights already set on scaling this and other burgeoning platforms.
Gazdag has also been monitoring the progression of predictive intelligence, which activates both external and internal data sources. There are three key components in effective predictive intelligence platforms, according to Gazdag: fit, intent and engagement. In short, they gather and analyze data to determine key indicators for each point, then overlay that data to find out exactly when and which products to approach a prospect with. “We’re seeing two to four times increase in win rates.” As both account and individual digital footprints swell in size, Oracle steps up with computing power, keeping in mind data privacy restrictions that are under constant re-write with each change in the market.
These concepts can put some marketers on edge, though, will there be a point when machines can do it all and us marketers are obsolete? Gazdag isn’t worried, “Machine learning is a tool to help you digest and understand vast amounts of data and provide you with recommendations and decision points that can empower you as a marketer, to be way more nimble and way smarter with your marketing strategies. It's a tool that you need to be able to use.” It behooves us marketers to strive to understand all the different kinds of tools out there now, while the technology is in its infancy, to maximize our own capabilities.
“You don't have to be a PHD data-driven scientist to be a good marketer who's using data or machine learning…but you need to understand the concepts and how to leverage it as a power tool.”
A Marketer’s Tool KitIt takes a versatile, ambitious and open-minded person to survive with one company through its many ebbs and flows (or downright tidal wave shifts), Gazdag has done it with marked success. He is a strong proponent of agile marketing, in fact he was featured in the book The Agile Marketer, which details a style of working that emphasizes flexibility and an openness to change within projects and plans. Gazdag suggests having a constant feedback loop with your customer to understand what they want and ensure that you are delivering on that, then adjusting regularly to provide the best results and experience.
Gazdag encourages marketers in this data-driven world to broaden their scopes and gain at least a general grasp of data analytics and statistics, “You don't have to be PHD data driven scientist to be a good marketer who's using data or machine learning…but you need to understand the concepts and how to leverage it as a power tool.” It is essential both for understanding how best to leverage data in unique situations, but also how best to ensure that we are using customer data respectfully.
On a personal level, the freedom to function in this way is one of the main things that has kept Gazdag with Oracle for so long. It also helps that the technology stack he has access to “is a modern technology marketer’s dream.” The constant change in technology allows him to be forever learning and growing and innovating.
Besides these, perhaps, more obvious up sides, Gazdag sites another reason he has stayed put: the people. Recalling some of his first meetings back in 1999, “eight out of 10 people would be from a different country, had a different accent. They were all incredibly smart. That was just so impressive to me at the time, still is, that you've got some of the best and the brightest people from all over the world at the company that you can work with on a daily basis. That's pretty amazing.”
Are you ready to get the most out of your data but don't have a data management strategy? Download Maximize Your Marketing to learn how to use the right data at the right time to drive real results.
Polish up your apples for another week of content marketing school. 🙂 This week combined ways you can excel as a writer and a marketer. On Monday, Stefanie Flaxman wrote about a seeming paradox — how can we be prolific enough to succeed as professional writers and continue to improve our craft at the same
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This year, Mother’s Day falls on May 13. As we all prepare to celebrate the special moms in our lives with flowers, Sunday brunches and heartfelt cards, business owners have one extra item on their to-do list: planning Mother’s Day email campaigns.
If you’re starting to prepare your marketing strategy for the holiday, you may be wondering what a great Mother’s Day email looks like. What should it say? How can a brand get its message to stand out when subscribers’ inboxes are flooded with similar promotions? To help you design your emails and create content that gets noticed, here is some Mother’s Day email marketing inspiration.
While stock photos and graphics are certainly useful when designing emails throughout the year, you can take a more personal approach with a holiday like Mother’s Day. Incorporate pictures of your own mom into your email or put out a request on social media for customers to send in photos of a mother they’d like to have honored in your next newsletter. This email from Life is Good uses a photo of one of the company’s employees and her daughter to promote products that make great Mother’s Day gifts.
Finding the perfect gift for mom isn’t always easy. Give your customers a hand by creating a guide. This playful email from Mouth offers suggestions based on personality type. One of their subscription boxes is great for “moms who love to explore,” another for “moms who keep their gin up” and yet another for “moms who like to nosh.”
In a pinch, a simple “Happy Mother’s Day” message can work just fine. But if you really want your email and brand to stand out, put some thought into your email copy. Why is Mother’s Day important to your company? How are you celebrating? Why would your products or services make an excellent gift? Try to answer these questions for your readers in a few sentences.
You may choose to write something funny or something sentimental, but don’t worry if you aren’t a master wordsmith. Just make sure that your business’s personality comes through in the copy. This email from Alamo Drafthouse theater chain uses alliteration (“movies, mimosas and memories”) and movie references to bring the message to life.
Holiday emails are an excellent opportunity to stretch your creative muscles and have some fun with your readers. So don’t be afraid to veer away from the conventional “Happy Mother’s Day” email. Have a Mother’s Day mother lode sale, create a funny CTA button or celebrate the holiday in a silly way that hits home with your niche audience. Bark, for example, sent out an email in honor of “dog moms.”
Once your message is ready for the special day, you’ll need to come up with an eye-catching subject line to make sure your subscribers open the email. For inspiration, here are a few of our favorites.
Whether you’re planning a sale, throwing an event or simply saying “thank you” to all of the moms who have contributed to your business’ success, Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to reach out to your customers.
Join 140,000 small business ownersGet expert tips and email inspiration biweekly. Subscribe today and download our FREE Guide to Email List Management eBook.
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© 2018, Amber Humphrey. All rights reserved.
The post 20 subject lines + 4 tips for Mother’s Day emails appeared first on Vertical Response Blog.
44 million Americans reportedly have a side hustle.
It seems like just about everyone is looking to get a piece of the gig-economy action.
And it’s no surprise why.
Running a side-hustle can give you an incredible sense of freedom.
You can be your own boss, bring in some extra income, and work on projects you’re genuinely passionate about.
Unfortunately, it all takes time.
If you’re not strategic about how you run your e-commerce side hustle, it can actually feel restricting.
Growing an online business is no simple task.
But when you’re trying to balance it on top of a full-time job, it can easily become too much to handle.
However, you don’t need to give up your e-commerce dreams just yet.
If you know how to make your side hustle work for you, you can achieve full-time results in part-time hours.
In fact, you can run a successful e-commerce business in as little as 15 hours a week.
Here’s how.
If you want to be a business owner, you have act like it.
Although you may not be running the next Amazon (not yet, anyway), you need to treat your e-commerce business like a full-blown selling machine.
That means creating a business plan, establishing a timeline, and setting goals – and sticking to all of them.
Let’s start with the business plan.
According to the Harvard Business Review, having a business plan can actually make you more likely to succeed.
Your e-commerce business plan sets the foundation for how you’ll run your business.
It not only outlines what you’ll sell but how you’ll sell it.
It covers how you’ll ship and deliver your products, what pathways you’ll take to promote your items, and how you’ll price each product so that you can gain a profit.
Take a look at this example of a one-page business plan from The $100 Startup.
This easy-to-create business plan for your e-commerce business forces you to sit down and think of the big picture.
Not only does it give you a direction to move, but it lays out how you’re going to get there.
Establishing this roadmap early on in your e-commerce business allows you to reduce the time you spend guessing what to do next – meaning you can work more efficiently during your part-time hours.
You can also ensure that you’re running a sustainable business, taking some of the pressure off of you as you move forward.
To create your e-commerce business plan, you first want to start with your business model.
If you’re looking to run an e-commerce business part-time, you’re probably going to want to consider dropshipping.
Here’s a breakdown of how Selfstartr describes dropshipping.
Dropshipping is the least hands-on form of e-commerce, making it the perfect option if you’re looking to reduce the amount of time you actually spend on your business.
With dropshipping, you simply act as a middleman between the customer and the supplier.
The customer orders from your store, you alert the supplier of their order, then the supplier sends the order directly to your customer.
This means you don’t have to worry about inventory or creating products.
Hover, it doesn’t work if you’re looking to sell unique products. In that case, you’ll need to work with either private labeling or white labeling.
Here’s how each works.
With private labeling, a factory makes products specifically for you. When a customer buys, it’s your responsibility to send that product to them.
White labeling is similar, except that the products aren’t entirely unique. Instead, they just come packed with your branding and logo.
Each of these options can give you more control of your products, but they require a larger time investment – which can be a challenge if you’re only putting in part-time hours.
Finally, create some long-term and short-term goals.
Document where you’d like to be in one month.
Then one year.
Then five years.
Don’t be afraid to think big when creating your goals.
Use the SMART goal method to refine your goals as much as possible.
Give yourself due dates, set metrics you’ll measure your goals by, and explain how you’ll measure each goal.
Sound obvious?
The key to a side hustle is getting revenue off the ground. So you need to set the end goal or target and work backward.
Only then can you break down your business plan, timeline, and goals into some actionable items.
Take a look at the short-term goals you’ve set.
Outline what you’d need to accomplish to make these goals come true.
Turn these into their own mini goals. Assign them realistic due dates and metrics to measure them by.
Then you’ll want to create a master calendar.
Here’s an example from Search Engine Journal.
This kind of bird-eye-view look at everything you need to accomplish for the next few weeks, month, or even the full year can help you stay focused and on task.
Using these due dates, the marketing and posting schedule you’ve established, and your business commitments you outlined in your business plan, you’ll want to lay out what you’re responsible for every day of the month.
Creating a visual like this can allow you to see not only what you need to accomplish that day, but also in the days ahead.
It can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed with responsibility while also ensuring you stay on track.
Finally, for each day, you’ll want to designate a specific time to work on your e-commerce business tasks.
You can easily add time blocking to any calendar app, such as Google Calendar.
Block out designated chunks of time that you only use for that day’s side hustle commitments.
Avoid the TV, turn your phone on Do Not Disturb, and tell your kids, significant other, roommates, or friends not to bother you.
To help you stay focused, take advantage of timers.
The Pomodoro Technique is one way to keep focused on the task at hand.
You simply set a 25-minute timer. As long as that timer is on, you’re working distraction-free on your to-do list.
Once that times up, you take a short five-minute break.
Then you repeat until your task is finished.
You can set goals for how many 25-minute sessions you’d like to complete each day, ensuring you track the time you’re actually spending on your side-hustle.
This can help you avoid multitasking, which can make it much more difficult to get things done in a timely manner.
Finally, you can keep track of your plan through using a simple CRM. You don’t need Salesforce or any other thousand-dollar options initially.
You just need something simple to start tracking your repeatable milestones or activities. Pick something simple that already works with your current setup.
For example, SalesMate has a free plugin that will sync everything under Google Apps. That means you can use Google Sheets to track deliverables, Docs to track notes, then and attach them to individual email contacts for your next Google Calendar meeting.
Nothing falls through the cracks when you’ve brought it all under one house. Especially if you can then use this foundation to start automating your recurring tasks.
Unfortunately, you can’t just hit pause on the e-commerce business while you’re away at your day job.
Even though you’re not there to keep an eye on it, it’s still running.
If you’re not providing some solutions for your customers, you may lose them.
However, using automation tools can allow you to run your e-commerce business while you’re unavailable.
Automation works like a robotic assistant.
It can take over some of the tedious, daily tasks that you need to perform yet may not have the time to do.
It can also work for you in the background to sell, provide customer support, and monitor shoppers while you’re focused on other tasks – like your full-time job.
Automation is frequently used in e-commerce marketing and sales to schedule social media posts, send emails, and even respond to customer questions.
You can take advantage of all of these systems with your own e-commerce business.
Let’s first take a look at email automation.
Here’s a breakdown of an automated campaign from Automizy.
Not only does automation allow you to send out email blasts to large groups of people at one time, but it also allows you to share specific messages depending on your user and what actions they perform.
For example, you can send a welcome email when you gain a new store lead.
Let’s say you have a pop-up on your site offering a discount to users who submit their email address.
In our example, this would be the “Fills out Form” box.
Using automation, you can automatically send a welcome message to this customer – even if you’re far from your laptop.
From this example, you can also see that the next steps your campaign takes will depend on how the customer reacts or responds – without you needing to manually check in.
You can also use automation to send out reminders of an abandoned shopping cart.
Here’s an example of an abandoned cart sequence from MailChimp.
This can help you make a second contact with interested shoppers, increasing your chances of getting new purchases while you’re away.
Another way to automate your emails is to send a post-purchase follow up.
Following up with your shoppers after they’ve received their purchase can help you keep customers happy while showing you care about them.
However, to track and send these messages manually can be incredibly time-consuming.
By automating, you can schedule your follow-up message to get feedback or provide customer support without even needing to hit a button on your end.
Email isn’t the only way you can take control of automation.
Automation can also be used for your social media platforms.
You want to be posting on social media a few times a day.
However, when you’re busy at a full time position, it can be difficult to sneak away to get a Tweet or Instagram post ready.
Automation allows you to schedule those posts in advance, so you don’t need to worry about them.
Here’s a look at how Sprout Social, just one of the many social automation tools out there, allows you to schedule your content.
This calendar view allows you to see what you’ll post, what time it will post, and the platforms it will be shared on.
Once a week or every couple of days, you can craft your social messages, schedule them into your automation tool, and wait for them to get set out.
But you’ll need to be careful when using automation on social.
You want your posts to seem like they’re thoughts, blending right into your audience’s timeline.
If they seem too robotic, then your audience will be quick to notice, and they won’t engage.
Take these comments on Instagram, for example.
While they may seem innocent enough, these kinds of low-quality engagements are usually powered by a bot.
For the most part, these comments are fine – but they do have some potential to get you in some awkward situations.
Evan LePage at Hootsuite tried to use Instagram automation to boost his online following but ended up commenting “Damn!” on a bride’s photo – not the best impression you want to be giving.
Bot tools that automate likes, comments, and follows can also get you in trouble with different social platforms.
For example, bots violate Instagram’s terms of use, meaning it could get your account shut down.
Instead, focus on creating unique, organic, and personality-packed posts specific to your audience.
Take a look at these Instagram comments in comparison.
The user 1wanderlustsoul picked something unique in the image, commented on it, and asked a question.
This kind of real engagement can show your audience that there is a person behind the accounts and you’re prepared to get to know your customers and clients.
One final automation tool to cover is chatbots.
When an online shopper makes a purchase, they want to know exactly what they’re getting.
This means they’ll probably have a question or two that need to be answered before they pull out their credit card.
Unfortunately, if you’re only available for your e-commerce business a few hours each day, this can leave shoppers waiting long periods of time before they get a response.
By the time you answer, they’ve moved on to a competitor.
Chatbots can help you solve this problem.
Here’s an example of a chatbot from HelloFresh.
A chatbot can be there to answer basic questions, provide feedback, and handle certain requests while you’re away.
Shoppers can use a chatbot to complete purchases, get recommendations, or even get updates on an open order.
Using a chatbot can help to take some of the pressure of off you.
In HelloFresh’s case, they were able to increase incoming messages by 31% and decrease their response time by 32%.
This means more satisfied customers without needing extra time from you.
Chatbots can also alert you to when there is a situation that they’re unable to handle.
You can then jump into these conversations or return messages to customers who might be looking for a more detailed response – ensuring everyone gets the information they need.
Marketing is all about connecting with your target audience.
While there may be list after list or guide after guide of appropriate ways to market your e-commerce business, none of it matters if your target audience isn’t paying attention.
When you’re trying to run a full-time business in part-time hours, every minute is precious.
This means you can’t waste time with marketing tactics that are going unnoticed.
However, you can work around this by curating content from your shoppers.
Take a look at Aerie’s Instagram page.
Mixed in with their professional, branded images, they have content from their shoppers.
Not only does this mean Aerie marketers can save some time producing new content, but they also get their shoppers involved – making the process more exciting for them.
They also partner with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) to help raise awareness about eating disorders.
By supporting a cause, they’re able to gain free publicity that can garner even more attention from shoppers.
Asking your shoppers to show off using your products or items through a unique hashtag can help you enhance your marketing strategy without needing to add more time to production.
You’ll also want to get picky about the way you promote your products.
There is no reason you need to be on absolutely every social media platform.
As an e-commerce business, you want to consider which can bring in the most traffic that will ultimately convert to sales.
Think about who your target audience is and where they’re most likely to spend their time.
For example, if you’re trying to attract women between the ages of 18 and 29 in urban areas, Instagram might be the right platform for you.
However, if your audience is more women between 30 and 49 in suburban areas, Pinterest might be a better target.
Focus your efforts on these platforms while ignoring the others.
If your audience doesn’t use Twitter, don’t waste your time writing and scheduling tweets. Likewise, if they’re not using Instagram, don’t waste your time.
You want to focus on getting the message in front of your audience in the most efficient way possible.
Another way to do this is with affiliate and influencer marketing.
Affiliate and influencer marketing are similar, although they work a bit differently.
With influencer marketing, you’d pay a celebrity, blogger, or another individual with a large following to talk about your products on social or their website.
However, they must post that the content is sponsored.
Here’s an example of a sponsored Instagram post from Chris Pratt and Michelob Ultra.
This can help build trust and get more traffic to your e-commerce store.
However, affiliate marketing works by allowing other individuals to sell your products for a cut of the profit.
Here’s an example of an affiliate post from blogger My View in Heels.
For every item they sell, they’d make money.
This encourages them to push your product, giving you additional marketing channels that you don’t need to work for.
For an e-commerce store owner looking to grow their business with minimal time investment, creating an affiliate program is a great option.
Affiliate programs are also great for smaller store owners.
Because you only need to pay for each item the affiliate sells, you can maintain a high ROI and reduce risk.
Sometimes, you just can’t do it all.
And that’s perfectly fine.
You shouldn’t try to do it all – especially when you have limited time.
Stretching yourself too thin can leave you overworked and stressed while the quality of your store suffers.
If you’re unable to give something your full attention, consider outsourcing.
Hiring a virtual assistant is one way to take some tasks and responsibilities off your plate.
Here’s a look at some virtual assistant profiles from Upwork.
Outsourcing the tasks you don’t like doing, you’re not good at doing, or you just don’t have the time to do can not only save you time but increase your bottom line.
When deciding what to outsource, first take a look at the tasks you struggle to complete.
If you don’t know how to write successful social media copy, outsource it.
If you don’t have the skill to take high-quality images of your products, outsource it.
If you can’t create product videos in the time you’ve allotted for your side hustle, outsource it.
Choosing to hire a professional may be more costly than just doing it yourself, but it can actually help you bring in higher returns.
With better quality copy, images, videos, or other forms of content, you can attract more shoppers and sell more products.
Take Justin Alexander, bridal collection retailer, for example.
He chose to outsource development of his website.
By hiring developers to work on his site, he was able to create a high-powered page that attracts over 30,000 visitors per month.
While it may cost more money in the beginning to outsource a project, it can also bring you higher returns on investments.
Not only will you have a better finished product, but you’ll have more personal time to focus on your career, family, or hobbies.
Stop thinking you need to hustle just to have a side hustle.
It’s totally possible to have a full-time career, side gig, and social life – you just need to be strategic about the way you go about it.
By using proper planning, automation tools, and scheduling your time appropriately, you can see your e-commerce business take off – even if you’re only able to dedicate 15-hours per week.
What side-hustle tricks have you found to get more done in less time?
About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.
Every company makes mistakes every now and then. It’s inevitable. Whether it’s a marketing campaign that falls flat and generates backlash, a serious collapse in services or a faulty product, it’s bound to happen sometime. Careful vigilance will prevent many of these disasters before they explode, but eventually one will get through and everything will go wrong. And once crisis strikes, no matter how you’ve defined and cultivated your image over time, confidence in the brand is going to take a hit. It doesn’t last forever, however, and it’s certainly possible for a brand to fully recover from such a crisis.
Being able to recover from a brand crisis or a public relations disaster requires distinct actions in three phases. It helps to have an active reputation management system working before the crisis itself, it requires a measured response in the immediate aftermath of a crisis, and it depends on a longer-term strategy afterward for the recovery. You should take the crisis seriously and make an effort to honestly and transparently listen to customers and respond. For the long-term strategy after the crisis you need to be patient and careful about going back to marketing-as-usual, and you need to take real action in the long-term to prevent similar crises.
Some companies even consider re-branding entirely, although this may look suspicious to consumers if it attracts attention, and it has the potential to backfire. It might help to look at a few examples of how companies have handled this recovery for better or for worse.
Takata Airbags and AutomakersWhen something serious goes wrong with one brand, it can have dramatic effects not just on confidence in that brand but on all brands that are linked to it. The Takata airbag recall is the biggest car recall in U.S. history, and it involves airbags in vehicles from 19 different automakers. These airbags have the potential to malfunction in the event of a collision and explode upon inflation, shooting deadly shrapnel around the inside of the vehicle. In the United States at least 15 deaths have been linked to Takata airbags as well as hundreds of injuries. The recall is still ongoing, meaning that many of these cars are still on the road. The problem is that there are so many airbags that Takata and automakers are not able to rapidly provide fixes.
For car companies including GM, Mazda, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and more, however, this is a dangerous brand crisis that came about through no obvious fault of their own. But compared to these auto-makers, Takata is a relatively unknown brand that consumers will rarely interact with directly. Takata may have a long way to go to win back confidence from car manufacturers, but those car manufacturers will also have their hands full rebuilding their brands with upset consumers.
In a crisis like an automotive recall, the recovery from the brand crisis depends a lot on the immediate response. Some automakers are getting little to no press attention on their brand and have had few or no reported accidents so far that can be linked to them. For them, dealing quietly and effectively with the recall and then waiting for the media coverage to pass is the best thing they can do. For the car companies getting more attention, however, their image depends on the quality and speed of the recall and their service to affected customers. This isn’t going well so far for many of the car companies, which may make for a long recovery and a drop in sales and loyalty, at least among affected customers.
Chipotle and the E. Coli OutbreakPopular Tex-Mex restaurant chain was hit by a serious string of E. coli and norovirus outbreaks in 2015 in locations across the United States, producing a serious drop in confidence in the brand. After many locations closed and customers in seven states reported getting sick after eating Chipotle, Chipotle’s sales dropped 14.6 percent and its income dropped 44 percent in the final quarter of 2015.
This outbreak became a serious issue for the Chipotle brand because of how widespread media coverage of the issue was, and because the problem seemed to clash so directly with Chipotle’s existing brand identity. The quality and integrity of the ingredients of their food has always been one of the core values in Chipotle’s marketing, from the ethical sourcing to the way the food is prepared. This led to an even greater drop in consumer confidence after the crisis, and it created more media interest and thus widespread coverage.
In the wake of the crisis, Chipotle temporarily closed many restaurants and put some operations on hold. They returned to business as usual by December 2015, but largely kept their heads down in marketing and public statements. Several months after it was over, they closed Chipotles across the country for a morning of training and planning. That event, plus an open letter to the public from the CEO, marked Chipotle’s attempt to begin moving forward and leaving the crisis behind them. Not only did the letter accept responsibility for the food safety failure, but it promised a wide range of specific measures they were taking to improve food safety.
After these statements and actions addressing the crisis, Chipotle almost immediately started a new marketing blitz to encourage customers to return to Chipotle, including promotions for free entrees. Several years after the crisis, Chipotle has now fully recovered and restored their brand to what it was before without falling into another disaster since.
Restoring brand reputation starts with rebuilding trust. There is nothing more important than creating exceptional customer experience to help rebuild trust and build a strong brand reputation. Download Customer Experience Simplified: Deliver The Experience Your Customers Want to learn how to craft an outstanding experience for your customers.
