Trending Tuesday: Trends I can't explain

Sometimes, I just don't understand trends. I'm not supposed to admit this; after all, my job training is to spot trends in the market place before they become mainstream. However, there are several major trends that have floated right by me, and I cannot understand them. I wouldn't advise you to rush right out and invest in any of them; the trends are on their way downhill and out the door.

First, it's mustaches. No one really knows where this trend came from. In 2006, the Seattle Times noted that mustaches were a form of humiliation, linking them with Saddam Hussein. In January 2009, the New York Times reported that mustaches were on their way back. By October, the Boston Globe reported on the mysterious exile of the mustache. The Globe said that mustaches were just a comedy bit; the mustaches had not regained their status as a true sign of machismo. StyleList wondered aloud - is it really a trend, or is a fad? Could mustaches really stick around through 2009? But it was obvious by the end of 2009 that mustaches had regained some sort of status, even if it was as a whimsical attention-grabbing stunt. The hipster world had latched on, and mustaches made appearances in weddings, on Etsy, and at Octoberfest. For your guide to mustaches, check out your guide to mustaches vs. beards. Just please, please, don't grow one.

Second: cupcakes. Most likely a sign of our formerly overly-indulgent culture, cupcakes made an appearance as the star of boutique bakeries in 2007. Celebrities picked up on the idea, and started incorporating cupcakes in lieu of wedding cakes. By 2009, the trend had worked its way into mainstream wedding culture as cake trees became all the rage. Next on the agenda for the cupcake is the Middle East, where the trend has arrived full-force as some American brands are making an appearance.

Finally, the recent appearance of "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters. A resurgence in nostalgia for the time of (most of) our grandparents, the poster gives us strength to keep going in a time of economic uncertainty. It also gives us a way to express ourselves, as seen by the hundreds of parodies floating around the web. My favorite thus far? "Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake," as seen in Barnes & Noble's Valentine's Day display.

Don't skimp on the ketchup! Media Monday: Word of Mouth

Wendy's, I have a beef with you.

Today, I went through the drive-through. I was in a hurry (thus, the drive-through and the fast food indulgence). I ordered chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. As I am pulling out of the parking lot and into the lane for the expressway, I realize you have neglected to give me ketchup and a straw. Around the block I go, sitting through three traffic lights and pulling back into the very crowded parking lot. I popped out of my car, walked into the store, stood in line, and requested ketchup and a straw. All I got from your clerk was attitude. Sorry, but what exactly did I do wrong? You might note, this is the third time you've skimped me on ketchup.

Here's the thing. Because of several screw-ups on the part of your staff, you have now dented your brand. Maybe, in my case, it is only a slight bruise. But what if I were Kevin Smith, with his 1.6 million Twitter followers? Your brand could be on the national news, in PR crisis mode, defending your customer service policy.

Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to share their negative brand experiences than their positive ones. A 2006 Wharton study found that of 100 consumers who have a bad experience, a company stands to lose 32 - 36 customers. More importantly, 48% of shoppers say they have avoided a store because they learned of another person's poor experience. A third of those who had the negative experience will never return.

Here's why:

Paula Courtney, president of The Verde Group, says the exponential power of negative word-of-mouth lies in the nature of storytelling. "As people tell the story the negativity is embellished and grows," she says. For example, the first time the story is told, it might be about a customer service representative who was rude. By the time the third or fourth person hears the story, the customer service representative becomes verbally abusive. "To make a story worth telling, there has to be some entertainment value, a shock value," says Courtney. "Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers."

Not to mention, storytelling makes for great news stories. And when you provoke a storyteller like Kevin Smith, you're going to get more stories than you really want to deal with.

Online sellers tend to rely on Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing. We actively encourage our customers to re-tweet, share our Facebook updates, and participate in our blog comments. What we can easily forget is that every aspect of our product experience is shared. Cutting corners and taking shortcuts may help your bottom line or make it faster for you to list an item, but eventually those routes will come back to hurt you. A customer may not bother to fill out a negatives seller rating - but they will share that experience with their friends. You'll then have to work twice as hard to correct your brand image.

So remember: don't skimp on the ketchup.

Preparing for the Upturn

Right now the upturn sounds like a mythical creature - it lives out there with unicorns, dragons, and the loch ness sea monster. But it is coming, and it might arrive sooner than you think. At that point, your business needs to be ready.

First, keep a positive outlook in your brand communications. People are tired of hearing about the recession. They are more than ready for recovery, and at this point, they are just waiting for businesses to pick up. The more you remind them of the downturn, the more they are going to avoid your brand.

A few top advertisers have already begun to avoid the hum-drum in their commercials. Hyundai, known for the return-your-car-if-you-get-laid-off-promise, has begun talking about improving life for everyone. Allstate reminds us that one day, we will talk about "The Great Recession" in the past tense. Macy's has begun to make small changes to each local store, in order to better meet the needs of customers; they recognize that they can offer more value to a customer instead of lowering their price.

Second, prepare for the upturn by keeping prices fairly steady. Don't discount for the sake of discounting; it will ruin your brand reputation. Customers who are used to lower, recession prices will expect you to keep those prices in an upturn. When your material costs go up, what will you do? Holiday sales and clearance sales meant to remove excess inventory make sense. Sales to get sales do not.

Finally, take this time to fine-tune your business. Figure out what marketing works for you business. Work on innovating your products or expanding your product line. Build personal relationships with your existing customers. Smooth out any existing quirks in customer-service. When the upturn arrives, you're going to grateful you did.

Shop Critique: BridalJewelry4u

I'm a bit hesitant to step out with a shop critique today, after all of the ruckus in the forums about fonts and banners. My goal here is to teach the basics of advertising and brand building; if you have the ability to implement these ideas in your shop, fantastic. If not, I'm not going to hold it against you. My shop does not meet all of my own branding standards; there is always work to be done, and there is always room for improvement. Our goal in this blog is to incrementally improve over time.

Today's seller is BridalJewelry4u, a small studio run out of Stuebenville, Ohio. Our seller was the first to contact me in the forums regarding a shop critique. BridalJewelry joined in September 2009; she first sold everyday jewelry before venturing out into wedding jewelry. I thought this was smart; she found a niche market that worked for her and has stuck with it. (Read her profile for the entire story.)

Previously, we discussed building a brand image - I'd like to talk about the elements that go into creating the overall brand. On Etsy, it is primarily banners, avatars, and tag lines.

At the most basic level, a banner should give your customer the name of your shop and some idea of what you stand for. BridalJewelry4u does give her name and a tag line for her shop. However, because of the layout of the banner, it is a bit hard to instantly obtain this information. We have to physically look to both the left and the right to get the information.

When designing a banner, keep in mind focal points. Our banners main focal point rests in the center of the banner, as shown below:

Focal points can also be to the left or to the right of the banner, also show below as black dots.

When using left or right focal points, make sure the eye is drawn to the point by natural lines, shown above as dotted lines. For example, Embe draws the eye to the left by using a brighter color on the left, a shadow with a line that flows to the left (see the flower stem shadow), and flowers on the right that curve naturally to the left. No matter where your eye might fall on the page, you are going to be sent directly to her shop name.

BridalJewlery4u should remove the rose from the center of the banner; it is the focal point of her banner, and the item least relevant to her shop. I recommend using the logo as a center-focal point, with designs on either side, such as CandaceKane.

As to whether or not to keep the rose theme, I'm divided. One one hand, it is a nice change from the over-used wedding symbols of veils, white, and dresses; on the other hand, it may not say enough about wedding jewelry. If the rose stays, it should be integrated throughout the shop. Shoot product photos by hanging earrings off of a rose bud or stem, or laying a necklace over top of a blossom. This is subtle branding that will help connect the rose to your shop. BridalJewelry4u might also be willing to change her avatar to one of the new photos, so that she can show her product through her avatar.

For avatars, there is some debate on Etsy whether to show a shop item or a brand logo. I recommend either. What I would avoid are generic pictures or pictures of yourself. I'm sorry, but most people look creepy that close-up! Let's see your logo or your handiwork before I see you. If you really want to show your picture, show it to me on your blog.

Finally, we get to the tag line. Currently, BridalJewelry4u has "Jewelry that will help you get ready for your special day." Good attempt, but we can write a message with more punch. To brainstorm, steal from poetry. Use rhymes, alliterations, and other literary techniques to pull together words. Creek Bed Threads has a great descriptive line - Pillows, Pouches, and Purses. A nice alliteration helps it flow smoothly, and you know instantly what she is selling. Flutterbudget has a nice tag line - "Vintage Made Modern." The best tags are usually three words or less, i.e. Just Do It. Open Happiness. Maybe it's Maybelline.

For BridalJewelry4u, even shortening the tag line and adding an alliteration can do wonders - i.e. "Designed with Your Day in Mind." That tag still needs a lot of work, but it has a bit more punch than before. BridalJewelry4u does have a great advantage in that she knows what her business stands for; if you are still in the business of not knowing what business you are in, I'd recommend you ignore the need for a tag line for awhile.

Small, little elements like focal points, short tags, and avatars can make a large improvement in the overall appearance for a shop. The trick is to know what changes to make, and to make then consistently, to improve the overall image of your brand.

Day Off

Hey all,

Sorry no blog today. I had a job interview and it lasted most of the day. Check back tomorrow for a shop critique!

Good luck to those in DC area - I do not wish more snow on you!

Trending Tuesday: Blippy

We've all heard of Twitter, but have you heard of the latest spin-off, Blippy? The start-up caught national media attention in late January when it launched its website. Blippy users register their credit card; for every purchase made with that card, a real-time status update is sent back to Blippy. You can see that JoeSmoch bought $20 at Starbucks or that Fred signed up for a NetFlix account. Users can "like" a purchase, similar to Facebook's "like" status, and comment on purchases made by their peers.

While the national media has largely focused on the implications for consumers, such a data security and the impact on social circles, they've overlooked the potential power for brands. Blippy users can control which brands are published in their updates and which brands are kept private. A user may publicly sign-up for Netflix and ignore the local video rental store. For the consumer, it is the ultimate image-shaping tool. For brands, it could be the ultimate brand-killer. If your brand doesn't imply status or help the consumer shape his or her image, you might just be out of luck. Worse yet, consumers will know if you are the high or low priced item on the market. Imagine if you purchased a $50 Wii game at Wal-mart, and later saw on Blippy that the same item was only $45 at GameStop. It could kill Wal-mart's low-price image in a heartbeat.

Amazon is the first retailer to limit Blippy's access to consumer data. While it isn't clear why they asked to be removed from Blippy's brand list, I suspect it is because they understand the negative impact Blippy could have on a brand. It will be interesting to see how brands handle their image on Blippy; some will surely find ways to beef up their brand, while others will surely lose a bit of status.

Media Monday: Developing content for the web

Are you interesting?

According to AdWeek, one of the most important marketing principles for 2010 is to be interesting. AdWeek states that a key to branding is to generate conversations - not by talking about your brand, but by giving consumers information to share with each other. Today's brands cannot stand up and say "notice me!" but can subtly share information that drives traffic back to the brand.

As small-business advertiser, we know the general advice is to be on Facebook, Twitter, and to blog. The trick is knowing what to say and how to say it effectively.

First, set relevant goals. A recent study by research firm Forrester found that many large corporations fail to set goals for what their social media accounts should achieve. The result is a scatter-brained approach to marketing online. Honda allows dealers to tweet, but lacks a centralized Twitter account. Each dealer has a different online brand identity and the Honda brand falls to the wayside. Your brand, even if operated by one person, can have the same identity crisis. Decide what your goals are for your brand online - is it to connect with customers/fans? Or is it to collect new ideas for your business? Or is it something entirely different?

Once you've set your goals, decide who you are talking to. In December, Facebook released its demographics for the first time. It has grown into a diverse connection point for millions of people. Twitter, on the other hand, is largely a playground for marketers; over 60% of new users quit within the first month. If you are tweeting, you are probably tweeting to other small business owners. We're all still waiting for the general buying population to show up.

Keeping in mind your audience, adjust your messages according. While it is ok to tweet your promotions constantly on Twitter, bugging your Facebook fans with obsessive status updates will only drive them away. I love this recent spoof - it shows precisely all the ways you can kill your reputation on Facebook.

Determining what to say might be a challenge. There are only so many days in a row that you can advertise "10% off" or advertise a new item listing. Get creative with your media messages. Try filming your customers comments at your next craft show. Start interactive dialogue with how-to-guides. Talk about a topic where you have expertise. If you are really stuck for ideas, get on a chat room and brainstorm with your peers. Just be careful - I was once told to blog about pillows. Now, how interesting would that have been? "Here is the stuffing. Here is the cover." Don't be the stuffing-cover person with your products.

Most importantly, operate with a double click mentality. If your customers cannot reach the coupon, promotional code, or item within two clicks, you're done for. Make your content shareable by breaking down any barriers - set up RSS feeds, avoid blocking comments, allow anyone to follow you on Twitter, and be searchable in Facebook. Keep a running list of any time you are blocked from content in your own searches, and then go back and fix those same blocks on your own site. With a little luck, you'll find your content is not only relevant and accessible, but interesting.