Restaurants & Hospitality

To Answer or Not to Answer… That is Apparently the Question for Some Businesses Online

By Kristi On May 11, 2012 In Customer Experience, Restaurants & Hospitality, Social Marketing With 1 Comment

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So this morning I had kind of an interesting, annoying, local small business fail. I’m in the country for the weekend – many of you know I live in KC and Garnett, which is a rural Kansas town of about 3500 people and about 20,000 cows. My mother is here for Mother’s Day and there is a surprisingly attractive spot here that serves brunch on weekends. (A miracle in a town this size.) So on Facebook, which is where they are, I asked them if they’re open on Mother’s Day for brunch… pretty much a very basic, yes or no type of question that can be easily answered.

They Liked it.

And that was all. No “yes, we are” or “no, we’re closed” not to mention “thanks for asking.” Just a thumbs up to the question… I guess?? How utterly frustrating and kind of a time-waster all round. Naturally, I told my Twitter friends about this unexpected sm fail, and some of the replies were quite amusing…

@KrisColvin maybe they thought it was a great idea but they don’t exactly…do it…
— Marjorie Clayman (@MargieClayman) May 11, 2012

@KrisColvin So go, enjoy an expensive meal, and when they bring the check, just give them a thumbs up, and walk out.
— Mike Conaty (@mikeconaty) May 11, 2012

@KrisColvin @margieclayman I think you should go & print a screen capture of the page, leave it for the owner w/your card.
— Pam Moore (@PamMktgNut) May 11, 2012

“Good question, @KrisColvin , we’re so glad you asked us that”?
— Oystein Lund (@OysteinLund) May 11, 2012

@KrisColvin Some people are great at social media! #sarcasm
— Derek Rayment (@PRspcDerek) May 11, 2012

So… they never did answer. They’re kind of the only game in town, so I will have to keep laboring to get the answer, and I just wanted to point this out to make you think about your own social media use when it comes to customer or prospect questions. Are you using these channels as a place for push marketing? Or as an easy customer service hotline. You should be doing BOTH, if you’re on Twitter or Facebook at all. To blast out stuff you want people to buy, do or share, yet ignore basic questions from people following you is quite crass. To “Like” a question, but not deign to answer it is just downright strange! Don’t be strange, crass, or stupid. Use social media like the person you are, act the way you’d expect others to act if you interacted with them, and let’s make the online space a better place! Pushing Like is easy… but so is answering a simple question or connecting the person with someone else in your company who has the answer or can help. Now, to sort out that Mother’s Day meal… le sigh.

Are You Checking Out When Designing Checkout Online?

By Kristi On May 1, 2012 In Customer Experience, Ecommerce, Human Factors, Restaurants & Hospitality, Retail, User Experience With No Comments Permanent Link to Are You Checking Out When Designing Checkout Online?

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This is an awesome video, shared by our friend Mr. Blanchard via Facebook the other day. If you own an ecommerce site or business, you need to watch this and realize that pure and utter disgust happens even faster on your own sites if the buying experience is not efficient, non-painful or the best case scenario: surprisingly delightful in comparison to other online purchasing experiences.

Want to do something fun and informative with your staff? Stage your own “checkout in real-life” and follow the process your buyers go through – this works for retail checkouts also, or phone purchases… no one should know before you do the problems, glitches and workarounds it takes to buy something from your company. Tape it to share and remember later, and once you make improvements, you can do this again and see if there really is a significant change for the better – or just a minor one that’s not going to really impact sales.

If you’re a company that needs help with this, give us a shout! We do user experience assessment and virtual visual merchandising as well as ecommerce site design. Go sell!

Should You Try Using Different Words to Tell Your Story?

By Kristi On February 1, 2012 In Advertising, Brand Experience, Restaurants & Hospitality, Retail, Social Marketing With No Comments

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This simple, but poignant video might help you think of new things to try and do for your business if you’ll sit back and think about where you could say things another way, or give your customers the unexpected.

What words are you using to tell your story?

Thanks for sharing this with us, Jake! (Our client, owner of Pandolfi’s Deli.)

Client Happenings

By freshid On November 15, 2011 In Fresh ID, Life Online, Restaurants & Hospitality, Retail, Sports With No Comments

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As we enjoy this beautiful fall, we thought we would take a moment and share all the great things happening with our clients this season. We are a blessed company to have the opportunity to work with some of the most generous, fun and innovative companies around. They also love their clients as much as we love ours and as you will see below, they know how to take care of their customers, fans, and patrons. We are thankful for their business and appreciate all they do!

Local KC Businesses

Trezo Vino, an Italian Bistro in Leawood, KS recently announced a new lunch special they will offer Monday – Saturday. Get one of their fabulous lunch entrees and a beverage for only $8.50. If you are looking for a great stocking stuffer gift be sure to check out their holiday gift cards. They also offer monthly wine tastings and have special events planned for the holiday season. Located in the Park Place shopping area with the only outdoor skating rink in Johnson County, Trezo Vino is a great place to enjoy a meal, cocktail or simply to take a break during the season. Associated Plastic Surgery, KC’s Cosmetic Surgery Center, is your resource for all the latest procedures, including Slim Lipo. Also known as Lazer Liposuction, this procedure is less invasive then traditional liposuction and still effective at contouring the body. For more information on this and other cosmetic procedures check out their blog. Direct mail has been very effective for Sole Patch. This local Barbershop, located in Prairie Village, has seen an increase in their business since starting their direct mail campaign. We are very excited to see their business grow. Guys, if you haven’t already be sure to check out Sole Patch for a unique experience.

Kansas City Sports

Congratulations to Sporting KC’s CJ Sapong on wining the MLS Rookie of the Year! Sapong was drafted to Sporting as the #10 pick and made his debut in their first game, March 19th. The rookie forward has had a great year with Sporting KC taking their season all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. Season starts up again March 2012.

The Chiefs are busy on and off the field. Watch your team take on the Bears, in person! Like the Chiefs on Facebook for your chance to win two round-trip tickets to Chicago, two nights hotel stay and two tickets to watch the Chiefs take on “Da Bears” December 4th.

Are you the biggest Chiefs fan ever? Prove it! Enter the Ultimate Chiefs Fan Photo Contest for your chance to win a Motorola Xoom Tablet! In the spirit of football, the Chiefs are celebrating local high school football coaches. In both Kansas and Missouri, vote daily to select the coach you feel deserves the title of High School Coach of 2011. Don’t wait, voting ends November 21st!

New to Twitter

Welcome to Twitter! We are very excited that Tippin’s Pie and Summit Marketing have started to “tweet”. Award winning Tippin’s Pies are a Kansas City tradition. Their hand crafted pies can be found at any Hen House location or by ordering online! Follow them on Twitter for pie specials and coupon offers. Summit Marketing uses their M4 Marketing Process for commercial, government and non-profit clients. Follow Summit on Twitter for more information.

Ready to Launch

It’s that time… New websites for AuctionAnything, QuickieChick, PurseBlog and Spa Insight Solutions. AuctionAnything, an online software, uses their expertise to help other organizations. Find them on Facebook for tips and launch date information.

Need daily quickies? Check out QuickieChick’s new tumbler and wordpress site. Laurel House shares her expertise on fashion, food, work and workouts and and life in general. You can also see her new brand proudly displayed on her Twitter and Youtube accounts. PurseBlog is your online resource for designer handbags and will be rolling out their new site within the month. This online magazine provides daily editorials about, you guessed it, designer handbags. Check out their new site for monthly giveaways!

Our friends at Spa Insight Solutions also recently launched their new website just in time for the 2011 ISPA conference they attended this month. A company that is dedicated to improving the spa industry through spa consultation and strategy, we appreciate the services Spa Insights provide their clients.

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Are You Checking Out When Designing Checkout Online?