Customer Advocates: Something a Brit Different

Leave it to those wacky Brittish to create a web site that draws us into their, uh, peculiar way of life.

Smart marketers should look to their best brand advocates for unique promotional opportunities — past customers who have graphic personalities, surprisingly colorful stories and experiences that trumpet the passions of your organization. Here’s one example, well told, Old Chap.

We StumbledUpon an interesting web site the other day, BeABritDifferent.com — an innovative microsite created by Britain’s national tourism agency, VisitBritain. This decidedly subtle site showcases what it’s like to live in — and travel within — Great Britain from the perspective of a handful of its very outspoken citizen advocates.

Consider the story of Jon from Wellington, who spent two years of his early life living in a caravan without running water or electricity. He’s a fan of Pink Floyd, Charles Darwin and “making cool stuff happen in Shrewsbury.” Or Liz, a married mom of three adorable kids who like to surf, watch the kids “play rounders” and wrote a recent blog post about touring the pubs of Cornwall by train. Ah, those Brits.

Apple’s Location-Based Content Patent: One Step From “Minority Report?”

 

Imagine your favorite cup of coffee waiting for you as walk in the door -- location-based services allow your relative location to be detected and your phone to serve as the interface.

The Apple universe was abuzz in a minor way mid to late last week with news of patent that was published in December 2007, but now somehow arrived on the radar of the Apple/iPhone faithful. One of the best examples can be found at popular rumor site, MacRumors.com (see story here), complete with a mockup of an application from Starbucks that can be used to order your favorite coffee beverage without ever interacting with one of their staff!

The gist of this patent is that sometime in the future, your iPhone will be able to detect when it is within range of a special application server and that same server will be able to interact with your iPhone. In the example given, you can custom-order (and, presumably, pay for) that latte just the way you like it without going to the ordering counter. Your order is taken and processed via the special server and your order is announced for pick-up a few minutes later.

Chrysler’s Gas Price Lock: Strategy for Other Businesses?

Some companies are actively searching for the silver lining in depressing economic news and turning American consumer’s frustrations and doubts into an effective marketing campaign. Can other industries take a page from Chrysler’s game book and brew sweet lemonade from sour lemons?

Beginning today and lasting until June 2nd, Chrysler is promoting their newest incentive — Let’s Refuel America, a rather experimental strategy to get you to purchase one of their new automobiles, SUVs, crossovers or trucks. 

Under this plan, Chrysler guarantees the price you’ll pay for a gallon of gas at $2.99. Anything above that, they pay for it (within limits and terms, of course). The price guarantee covers an annual allotment of gallons based on 12,000 miles divided by the average mileage per gallon of the vehicle purchased. Thus, as the price of gas increases, so do your savings.

According to Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com, “[any topic] that has gas in it gets attention nowadays from consumers, so it’s a smart strategy.”  Chrysler executives were quoted last week as saying that the nation needs high gas prices to encourage consumers to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles, and Jim Press, Chrysler’s president and vice chairman stated that the program “puts money in your pocket today, and allows our customers to better manage their fuel expenses.”

Some might say that Chrysler is making lemonade from lemons by taking advantage of consumer’s growing aggravation with now skyrocketing gas prices. That oil prices at the wellhead are increasing at an even higher rate than pump prices can only bode ill for the future — should a barrel of oil be priced at $200 within the next two years as some analysts say, that $2.99 per gallon price lock will look very attractive.

So how can other industries take advantage of bad news and work it to their advantage? Chrysler did it by acknowledging that gas prices are rapidly increasing and that there’s nothing anyone can do about it. There tact in subsidizing this cost is a great market ploy and they’ve smartly put some controls in to limit their exposure (in fact, some analysts are saying the cost for this incentive could be lower than their typical rebates and interest rate buy-downs).

The challenge is to find a way to make a new, better tasting lemonade from the lemons the current economic state is giving us. Smart marketers need to embrace bad news and look for that silver lining — who would have thought an automobile manufacturer would use the bad news of increasing gas prices as a positive marketing message?

All Things Seth Godin

I’ve been a huge Seth Godin raver for years even though he does have a tendency to hawk his wares a bit too blatantly for me. Imagine my delight (I would say “surprise,” though Seth, integral to the site I’m about to mention has to love what someone did!) when I wandered around Squidoo (which Seth started back in 2005) and found this little gem.

 

Enjoy!