Posts Tagged ‘Snowsports Industries’

A Cause

Sep 20, 2010 | tags: , , , , , , ,

This is a three-part series that I am writing on the importance of finding the Purpose of Your Company…the Cause. I first tackle a growing problem in social media…pumping up traffic by using the wrong tactics.

Channel Signal is picking up more and more evidence of companies building traffic by using hashtag Twitter and then incenting people to join by offering the chance for new product.

This is “discount-linking” and it doesn’t work. Companies doing this are attracting sweepstakes sites (sweepstakes bots), discount sites, link farms…all retweeting and retweeting about what?About your discounted products.

Is that what a company wants to be known for? This is like throwing a cocktail  party and advertising it by posting free drink notices in all the local dives. You’ll get a crowd all right, but you’ll have no silverware at the end of the night.

So companies are lowering the barrier to entry, incenting, and building traffic. But it is the wrong traffic. These people don’t really care about a company’s products. They won’t be having adventures in these products and then writing about them. And they won’t be telling their friends about the quality of the products and suggesting a buy. They only want to broadcast the discounts.

The upshot. These people come for the discounts, and quickly disappear when there are none.

Now, maybe one person in 30 buys a discounted product, starts hiking, loses weight, and becomes an enthusiast. Fine, but that is one out of 30. Not good odds.

At Channel Signal we have extensive filtering hooks that grab these sites and knock them out of the search. Companies should increase their value-propositions by complimenting good product with good content.

Building traffic the fast and easy way, through discounting, is not a sustainable strategy.

And be known for something.

More about that next time.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

All of the Noise

Apr 19, 2010 | tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

noiseChannel Signal has been bombarded lately with noise. Now, part of our job is to filter noise and there is much to filter: worthless posts like “Just on my way to work. What a beautiful day. Wearing my brand sandals.” or “50% discount here on all brand product. Buy. Buy. Buy.”

I would say of the 400-600 posts a day that we receive for each of our clients about 80% is noise.
And when we send it through our second “human” filter we filter out about 80% of that and deliver only about 20% of that to our clients.

Recently, there is a new type of noise, and it is just confusing the issue. This noise is all about the new software coming online to help companies sort through new media, help them develop content, and then help deliver content. Soon, there will be software that will write the content for you and all the brand needs to do is put its name here.

This improved software will help a company make new media easier, faster, more efficient and cost-effective.

Don’t believe it.

It’s just like the great Smith-Barney ads used to proclaim at the end of its thirty-second spots.
“We make money the old-fashioned way. We earn it.”

And you must. Brands must earn the respect of the Influencers in new media. Must earn a loyal following. Must earn a strong community. Sure it starts with the product; however, it doesn’t end there. That is only the beginning.

It’s the communication and feedback loops that you must now build. And yes, software packages can help; however, the basics can not be ignored. Here are some of the basics.

1. Pick just one channel and do it well. Not just by getting yourself up on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr…and saying, “well, that’s that. Let’s talk about our product and see if we sell more.”

2. Sorry about this, but it needs to be said…because this is the phrase, “shit in, shit out.” Searching and receiving raw new media data, and not filtering and accurately assigning sentiment means a brand is getting crap. And now crap is being analyzed. And the analysis is crap. And management decisions are being made based on crap.

Channel Signal delivers “finished” data and this is data that is relevant and worth consideration by our clients. We then analyze that data, and measure it. Now management (and its pr/marketing partners) have clean data, a clean report, and good information to consider.

3. Engage. I come from a family of talkers. My Mom always used to say, “well Paul, if you aren’t listening and talking, then how will you know what others are thinking?” Brands must first listen, and then talk. Engage with good content, and then enter the conversation that it sponsors. And if doesn’t sponsor any talk, then change what you are writing about. Get them talking.

Publish and talk. Don’t be shy. New media is not the place for wall-flowers.

And, ignore the noise. An old African saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Take this in bites. Choose a channel. Concentrate on it. Make it successful. And then use that knowledge to build.

And believe that this will be hard work. Building content that attracts a strong community starts with knowing your voice, your audience, and what they want. And that’s where “finished” data comes in. It is the feedback loop that allows you to accurately gauge, and correct.

It’s your compass in a whacky world.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Astroturfing and Flogging

Sep 20, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , ,

From Wikipedia-Astroturfing is a word in English describing formal political, advertising, or public relations campaigns seeking to create the impression of being spontaneous “grassroots” behavior, hence the reference to the artificial grass, AstroTurf.

And flogging is a new word that is basically fake blogging.

Astro-turfing and flogging are mirages with fake authors, intended to mislead, and written to create a false impression of popularity.

I had a long conversation with new media lawyer Andrea Anderson of Holland & Hart recently about flogging and astroturfing. She made an excellent point. If a company hires floggers or astroturfers to seed the blogosphere with false impressions of popularity, and if one of those authors states a fact that is false, then the company sponsoring the campaign is liable for false advertising.

Companies should drop the use of these people, authentically engage in the online conversation, and attract solid influencers who have real followers for a reason. They are good. They know their facts. And they provide great information.

Astroturfing and flogging should disappear. But alas…as long as there are bad marketers we will have to live with bad marketing.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Sales Meetings

May 28, 2009 | tags: , , , ,

It’s that time of year when brands spend an enormous amount of time preparing and presenting new product, sales material, and shifts in strategy to the sales force. It’s also a good time for building positive momentum that carries into the market place.

I’ve been to many of these and have always been struck by, in general, how well the event was managed. It seems to consume all facets of the company, including the top. Recently I’ve been communicating with executives and they have all been saying that “for the next two weeks I am out of pocket. Have the sales meeting coming up?

I have a suggestion on how to further leverage all those dollars invested in sales meetings

The Sales Meeting is still aimed at Sales Reps and their organizations. Not to minimize reps, but there are other forces at work besides the reps. Your online retail partners, powerful bloggers, athletes…all of these have growing influence in New Media.

Bring all of these forces together at once. Have each entity present to the group. Choose a rep to talk about challenges and potential solutions as they present, sell and clinic in the traditional distribution system. Have that rep talk about what rep orgs are diving into new media, and the results. (Pemba Serves comes to mind here.)

Also have a major blogger/influencer in the new media outdoor space address the group. One who is on board with the brand and its products. Have him or her talk about the trends…what’s working for brands and what isn’t. Give examples.

Same with a traditional retailer and an online retailer. Have each address their markets and what they are seeing.

Give each group 1/2 hour. Then at the end of the sales meeting set aside two hours for brainstorming about the brand and what it should be doing the following year. Have brand leadership in these meetings and taking notes.

Now, you have a sales meeting that is addressing the ever growing distribution system.

And leverage? All will be talking, blogging and tweeting about the exciting future of the brand.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Facing Forward

Apr 6, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

The last day of the OR Show is basically a throwaway. Many retailers are gone. Senior management is gone. Those still at the show are shopping for discounts and all are just waiting for three o’clock to break down the booths. Let’s open the Show to the public for the final day. Invite all of the bloggers, the influencers, and the public. Charge them 5 bucks at the door to see the new stuff. And then watch what happens. 

It will be jammed. Traditional media will cover the event, in advance, due to the newsworthiness of admitting the public.  Booths will be crowded with consumers asking questions. Athletes will be on hand to talk with the public and pose for pictures.  Bloggers and influencers will be asking questions, taking notes, and preparing to write reports as soon as they get home. And traditional media will be doing reports live from the show floor. The energy of Day 1 and 2 will not only have been restored, but doubled. 

And what about the retailers? They should be smart about this. Take the opportunity to invite all of their customers to the show for this final day.  Will customers get on a plane and get to the Show? Doesn’t matter. The very fact that retailers are inviting them as their guests on the Show Floor will only increase customer loyalty. And why not take the five top customers to the show as guests of that retailer? Work out the travel and lodging in advance. Make it work. Then take pictures of the customers on the Floor. Put it on the web site. And do you think those customers will talk about their experiences when they got back home?  Oh, and one more thing. Work a deal with the brands so that you can bring back some new product so all of your customers can get a sneak peak at next year’s offering. Make the OR Show a storewide event. 

Buy in from the companies will be automatic to this public day. Why?  Because it is their chance to talk directly with consumers. And consumers are direct customers because companies are now selling to them online. Influential bloggers should be identified in advance and personally invited to the booth for a product line review. Companies should know which of their best retailers are bringing guests to the booth and senior management should be on hand to greet them. Management, reps, pr, product development and marketing should be engaged all day long. Why? Because this is monster leverage. A company can create more marketing momentum in one day then in the previous six months. 

And OR? Its pr effort ought to be in high-gear pre public day. And then it should have the common sense to get out of the way. Let it happen. And then post public day, report the results. All good for OR. 

So, it’s time for all of us to face reality. Retailers can own the show for the first three days. On day four, open the doors and let the great unwashed in. The time for exclusivity is over. Over. The time for inclusion, openness, and a new business model is here. Every one of us will benefit.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

The New Consumer and the Outdoor Industry

Dec 15, 2008 | tags: , , ,

Just read a great piece of research called Grounding the American Dream. Put together by Context Based Research Group and Carton Donofrio Partners, Inc.,  it makes some strong points that outdoor recreational businesses ought to examine.  Here’s a short entertaining video on the Grounded Consumer.

 

   

 

Here’s my take. 

1. “What you buy is not who you are.” Consumers are now realizing that purchases don’t reflect personal identity. So, purchasing is going through a tougher filter.

2. “Living on credit sucks.” Consumers don’t want that monkey on their back anymore. Enough and be gone.

3. ” Me is okay, we is better.” Consumers are beginning to balance what is good for them with what is good for others in their lives…family, friends, and social issues. 

4. “Too much stuff.” The late George Carlin had a great bit about “stuff”. Everybody needs places to put stuff. Well, consumers are realizing they have too much stuff. It costs money and much of sits idle.

5. “I want to change, but keep the stuff that is important.”  All of the above points lead to consumers making major decisions about lifestyle, personal identity, and social causes. 

What does this mean for the outdoor industry? Some good things, I think. People will take their recreational pursuits seriously. And they will continue to purchase outdoor recreational stuff because that part of their identities will stay in tact. They like that about themselves. 

In fact, Snowsports Industry of America is reporting that sales figures are up over last season: 6% for integrated ski systems and 8% for winter apparel. And the Outdoor Industry Association reports that October core store sales grew by 8% over October of 2007.

New media is helping here. Thousands and thousands of consumer reviews are being read every day by thousands other consumers. This viral link is driving consumers into brick and mortar or online and giving them the confidence that the product is a good buy, and well worth it. 

Another good thing. Our industry has over designed and over-enginnered the crap out of our hard and softgoods for so long that we don’t know any other way. We have two different technologies in our socks! So…our stuff is good stuff and it lasts a long time. 

Now, we need to go sell that through the new media channels. Why? Because that’s where many of these new consumers will interact about an important part of their revamped lifestyles.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal