Virtual Lines
The upcoming release of the iPhone 4 has me thinking about how insanely long the lines will be for the early adopters who pre-ordered Apple’s latest “it” product. The formation of physical lines seems so 1995 with the technology we have today. Here’s an idea I came up with that just may work to resolve queuing up outside the Apple Stores the night before June 24th.
The idea will work with location based services like foursquare or Gowalla. Rather than lining up and waiting for things like the iPhone, you’ll simply check into a virtual line.
Make It “Like” This
I think the process of becoming of a fan, or “Liking” a brand on Facebook is too simplistic. While I understand making processes simpler is of value (as opposed to more complex), I think the “Liking” process can be tweaked to enhance the segmentation of fans (or is it “likers?” - so awkward!) by adding one additional step before becoming a fan.
The additional step I recommend for Facebook to implement deals with segmenting who fans are. For example, you can simply click “Like” followed by “Be a Fan of [insert name]” or you’ll be able to click “Like” followed by a step to insert another code or answer another question. The ability of the second step will allow brands to have fans sign up who will either have a certain code to insert (maybe for a secret promotion) or a question to answer before becoming a fan.
To give an example, we’ll look at Starbucks, a brand that has a pretty tight grasp on social media. They have just over 2 million fans for the Frappuccino drink alone! While Facebook will show you where these sugar loving fans live by region, it won’t show you fans by location. So if the Starbucks in Union Square (on 17th St. & Union Square West) wants to know who considers that store their “home Starbucks location,” allowing the person to tell you upon becoming a fan is a huge help for Starbucks. Once the Facebook user answers the question of their home location they will be placed into a micro fan page for that location while still maintaining their fan ship for the overall brand. So there may be 2,000,000 Frappuccino lovers, but only 1,531 of them enjoy the drink at the Union Square West location.
With that information, Starbucks will be able to engage with certain individuals based on their location. If they want to run an in-store promotion in certain locations but not in others, telling their 900,000+ followers on Twitter isn’t effective, but telling their local fans on the micro pages will be effective.
Location is not the only way the second step can be used, but it is perhaps one of the more important segmentation factors for tons of brands, especially national or global brands. The micro pages created as a result will allow fans to connect and communicate on a more local level to rival the location based service, foursquare.
The Caring Mistake
Earlier today, I ordered a pizza to be delivered to my apartment. Oddly enough, the delivery itself spurred on today’s post, and not just because I was so hungry before the pizza, I could not seem to write one. When the pizza I ordered was delivered, the delivery guy did not have exact change, so I was semi-forced to give him the $20 in my hand and have him keep the change he nor I had. While the $2 extra tip is hardly a big deal, it was a reminder of my reading of Danny Meyer’s book, Setting the Table. One thing I recall taking away from Setting the Table is how Danny talks about dealing with mistakes. The delivery guy not having change was probably a mistake (or a clever move in hindsight), but mistakes are the easiest ways to show you care. Making mistakes is part of what makes a person or a brand human, so it is likely they’ll occur at some point or another. How a brand, for example goes about handling mistakes can make a world of difference. Had the delivery guy taken my money, went back to the pizzeria, pulled some change from the register and returned to my apartment door with it, I for one would have been surprised. Would I have taken the $2 back? Absolutely not. But would I be a customer who is likely to continue tipping well and returning often? Absolutely. One simple misstep like the delivery allows a person or a brand to do something extraordinary. The ability to show you truly care is one of the last factors going unnoticed with brands and is also one of the last factors that can uncommoditize (I think that’s a word) a product/service in a category full of similars. The act of caring is free and usually yields high returns. A walk back to my apartment with change: free; being loyal to the pizzeria and tipping well: high returns. It is hard to deny the overall power of caring in people, brands or even TV for that matter (it was why Vinny Chase fired Ari). While the delivery faux pas didn’t result in the pizzeria doing something extraordinary, it did result in a valuable business lesson reminder about caring.
