[*Read to the end of the post to find out how to WIN A FREE copy of Greg’s new book!]

When I found out last summer that my friend Greg Verdino was writing a book, I thought “Finally! A chance to get inside of that brilliant mind of his!” And trust me when I say, microMARKETING does not disappoint.

And when I heard about the “lots and lots of small reviews” experiment, I invited myself to the party (thanks again Aaron & Greg!) and asked to blog about Chapter 9.

Just know, I did it for you dear readers! I was going to write a review of Greg’s book anyway (because I had already bought it, read it, and loved it), but this way I could score a FREE book to give away to one lucky micromarketer!

Success through the Right Small Things

“…the concept of the global microbrand—the seemingly humble small business that gets big results by thinking and acting small—not only isn’t oxymoronic; it is actually perfectly in synch with the times.”

Chapter 9 of microMARKETING spoke volumes to me. Not only because it brings together the seven shifts that Greg discusses throughout the book, but because it’s an example of a customer-centric business that proves you can put your customers or, ‘friends’ (as Lauren Luke calls them), at the center of your business and still generate revenue.

Before we dive into the story of Lauren Luke, let’s quickly look at the seven shifts (click for a  chart):

• Resonate with masses of communicators;
• Tap into pass-along power and peer-to-peer potential of the network effect;
• Deliver mutual value through two-way interactions;
• Make a commitment to engage people directly in real time;
• Build meaningful relationships;
• Earn attention; and
• Have success through lots and lots of small things.

The Cinderella Story

Lauren Luke is one of the world’s best known makeup artists. You can find her product line, By Lauren Luke, at Sephora. But that wasn’t always the case. She started small. Very small. You see, Lauren was a single mom selling makeup products on eBay. To actively promote and drive traffic to her eBay store, Lauren started sharing photos of herself with various makeup looks along with the makeup kits she was selling. With that one change, Lauren started receiving correspondence from customers who wanted to learn her tricks of the trade. Being overwhelmed with requests, Lauren thought it would make more sense to just share her tips on YouTube. Video-after-video Lauren taught women how to apply makeup just like famous actresses, musicians or makeup seen in ads (a micromaven sharing microcontent).

And with time Lauren built up a base of fans (microculture) who watched her videos, learned how to do makeup and requested more (over 417K subscribers to date). Then on one fateful day, Lauren did a requested video showing how to do a Leona Lewis’ makeup look from her video Bleeding Heart (today Lauren’s video has over 3,672,922 views!). A video that eventually garnered the attention of an agency by the name of Anomaly (ironic in the beauty industry, if you ask me) that helped set Lauren off in the direction of her own product line.

Lauren is now an author, has appeared on multiple traditional media interviews and even has her own TV pilot.

Cinderella Kicks the Beauty Business in the Smokey Eye

On the day of unveiling her new product line, Lauren didn’t invite traditional mass marketing outlets. Nope. She did a few other things. First, Lauren made a video of her excitement to see her new product line so that “people who can’t come will still be able to see what I am seeing.” See, it wasn’t about garnering press. It was about being able to stay connected to her friends that had been with her from the beginning of her journey. Second, she invited a handful of bloggers and about 500 friends. And why not? Doing so opens the flood gates to thousands of pieces of microcontent from people who actually like you: Flickr photos, blog posts, tweets, Facebook wall posts, MySpace status updates…

Even today, years later, there are continued two-way interactions between Lauren and her friends.

“While the packaging bears Lauren’s name, the line itself is shaped (even defined) through the input from the community that Lauren has fostered over time.”

And these three things, my corporate marketing and agency friends, are exactly what makes this not only a micromarketing story, but a customer-centric story.

The beauty industry has NEVER been able to pull this off kind of branding, community, marketing or loyalty. Want to know why? Read Greg’s book! (I’ll give you a hint…they think BIG.)

Seriously. I didn’t give you all of the details here because Greg truly will walk you through how to use micromarketing for your own business. You’ll even get homework, er, I mean a worksheet, at the end of the book to help guide your efforts.

*Are you a Micromarketer? Prove it!

If you’ve made it this far, you certainly deserve a prize! Ready?

Share with us why you think you are a micromarketer (I think there is enough information floating around for you to figure out if you are a micromarketer or not) and what successes you’ve achieved and I’ll pick the winner. The caveat? You need to write a post about the book when your done. You know, to keep the small things going.

Simple, right?

No rules. It’s my blog, right? So discretion of picking a winner is all mine. Be forewarned, I am picky.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of microMARKETING from Powered, Greg Verdino’s employer. However, I purchased my own copy to read and this review is based on that purchase (Greg's worth the $14.82 Kindle price, don't you think?). Don’t believe me FTC? Read this review.  If you win the free copy of microMARKETING it is your job to disclose that you received the free book from Powered and me. Deal?]

[Images: Greg Verdino, Lauren Luke]

Yeah, you. You’re the genius I am referring to!

In all the years of blogging here at The Harte of Marketing, I haven’t really asked for much, but I need your help.

I am looking for examples, case studies (I dread using that term, trust me), or even bread crumb trails that might lead me in the right direction. I’ve been digging around for examples of smart integrated marketing and customer-centric organizations to shine a spotlight on here at The Harte of Marketing.

While exploring the depths of the interwebs (my friend Tish Grier says it’s akin to spelunking), I have found some great articles, examples, interviews, but I know there is more to uncover.  I am looking for examples where companies have…

• Integrated social media* into any part of the marketing mix (product development, distribution, etc.)
• Integrated social media* into promotional campaigns (mixing social media with other channels)
• Used data to interact (digital) or message (traditional) customers/prospects based on previous buying habits
• Put their customers at the core of their business through customer service or social media (e.g. customer-centric organizations like Best Buy, Zappos, By Lauren Luke, FedEx)

[*The concept of social media or social media tools]

I’m not picky. I am looking for all sorts of examples! Large companies. Small companies. B2B. B2C. B2B2C. Music. Travel. Sports. Consumer Goods. Food. High-Tech Products and Services.

If you’re the genius behind an organization’s success at making customers or stakeholders happy by not bombarding them with marketing messages but by giving them what they want or need when they need it (or you’ve helped a client to do the same), let me know?

Want to contact me privately? Understood. Reach out to me at beth [at] theharteofmarketing [dot] com.

Thank you in advance!

I can’t think of a better way to kick off a book that’s not about today’s latest buzz word or tomorrow’s new shiny object, can you?

My friends over at Brains on Fire know better than most that it’s about people. They are the experts behind some of today’s notable and successful word of mouth movements. Their new book, aptly titled “Brains on Fire” (written by Robbin Phillips, Greg Cordell, Geno Church, and Spike Jones),  graciously shares ten lessons when it comes to creating and sustaining a movement.

Movement? You’ve Lost Me.

Most marketers think in terms of campaigns. The problem with that thinking is that campaigns are short-term and are usually created with one purpose in mind: lead generation. Once the funnel is full and sales stops complaining or the sales quota has been met, it’s time to move onto the next campaign and product or service push. Come on; tell me you don’t live in that world? Say no and I’ll call you a fibber.

Campaigns are not sustainable. They burn out quickly. And with marketers pre-conditioned to think in terms of campaigns every new cool tool or trend becomes a new reason for yet another boring campaign.

Campaigns rely on traditional media (even social media) where cash buys the platform to talk about oneself in order to create awareness. Movements rely on word of mouth where others talk about you and real passion can’t be bought.

A movement is not a trend.

According to Brains on Fire, “A movement elevates and empowers people to unite a community around a common cause, passion, company, brand or organization.”

If this sounds like social media to you, you’d be wrong. Read on.

Lessons in Creating Movements

“Marketers have been brainwashed,” says Brains on Fire. The Four P’s, The

Value Props, The Out-of-the-Box Thinking, The Processes…

Ouch! But they are right. While I am a marketer that loves theory (heck, I teach it!) my head hurts from thinking about how truly programmed I really am. Does yours?

And that’s why we all need to read this book! I won’t give away all of the brilliance that lies between the covers, you’ll just have to snack on the below list of movements until you pick up a copy. But I will say this book will forever change how you feel about marketing and your customers (or stakeholders or clients or whoever it is that you are passionate about).

Without further ado… 10 Lessons in Movements:

1. Movements Aren’t About the Product Conversation; They’re About the PassionConversation
2. Movements Start with the First Conversation
3. Movements Have Inspirational Leadership
4. Movements Have a Barrier of Entry
5. Movements Empower People with Knowledge
6. Movements Have Shared Ownership
7. Movements Have Powerful Identities
8. Movements Live Both Online and Offline
9. Movements Make Advocates Feel Like Rock Stars
10. Movements Get Results

Yeah, Movements Sound Cool But What About Making Money?

Glad you asked.

The BOF book covers many word of mouth movements, but the one movement that I refer to over and over is Fiskars and the Fisk-a-teers community. Why? Because it’s sustainable, it’s about people (i.e. customers, stupid!), and because they haven’t gone out of business yet by being customer-centric.

Get it? You CAN be customer-centric AND make money. Seems like a no-brainer, but so many organizations struggle with this concept.

If you haven’t heard about Fiskars, I’ll make it short and sweet for you (get the book for an in-depth look into the Fiskars word of mouth movement).

• Product: Scissors (the orange-handled ones we all love)
• Value Prop: Boring
• Movement: Scrapbookers
• Result: A community of over 6,000 evangelists
• Value to Fiskars: New product ideas, loyal customers, revenue

Is Your Brain on Fire?

When is the last time you were passionate about your customers? Seriously, I mean passionate. You know the kind of passion that makes your brain burn with ideas, thoughts and solutions that just won’t go away or the high that you get from seeing some monumental happen. Yeah, that kind of passion.

At the end of the day we should all have passion for one simple thing: Our customers.

[Disclaimer: I was provided an advanced free copy of Brains on Fire, devoured it in two days (rare for me), and learned a heck of a lot more than I knew the two days prior. I can only recommend buying this book if you are tired of your marketing campaigns not working, you are open to new ideas and you aren't looking for a pretty book to fill up your bookshelf.]

[Images: Brains on Fire Logo, Brains on Fire Book Cover, Fiskateer]

I don’t know if you’ve notice, but over the past few weeks I’ve been commenting on Twitter about self-promotion and the need to bring it back. With the impetus of social media being towards limited, if any, self-promotion (unless I missed the memo that it was okay), I’ve notice that the pendulum for people engaged in social media has finally swung from 100% to 0%. 

I don’t know about you, but I have about 5-8 people nationally that I feel confident referring for marketing, PR or social media consulting. Locally, it’s even less than that. For all the people I know on- and off-line, it’s a little sad that I have such a small pool of people to refer. And isn’t that the point of social media to build relationships that could potentially lead to referrals? That’s what we tell companies all the time, right? 

What’s the issue? Sure, we all follow the social media “rules” and we try to build relationships with people first and foremost and that’s great…but then it falls apart. 

The people that I feel comfortable referring are people that I met online first, then offline, and then they’ve shared links to their client work or have outright been a part of their clients’ campaigns online. I’ve been able to see their campaigns and get a 360 degree view of the person, how they think and their abilities.  I’ve also had conversations with some of them about their campaigns or projects. 

There are people who I follow on Twitter or Facebook that I that feel comfortable saying I know them pretty well, but honestly I have absolutely no clue where they work and/or what they have done as marketing, PR or social media professionals that would deserve a reference. 

I have people asking me all the time to refer consultants, agencies or speakers on particular topics because, in their minds, I am “well connected.” And I am consistently drawing a blank, which, needless to say surprises most people. 

Honestly, I have to question this “no self-promotion” rule and why we all (I am guilty of it too) make people feel SO uncomfortable to do so. It goes back to my favorite adage “people don’t know what they don’t know” and right now I don’t know what you all do. 

I am not talking about blatant, outright self promotion…I hate that as much as the next person. But once we have gotten to know someone, haven’t they earned the right to share online with us the campaigns they are working on or a project they are proud of? 

And yes, I get it…sometimes there are NDAs or confidentiality issues. But find a creative way to let us know what it is you are working on or what benefits you might provide a potential client/customer. 

I’d like to be able to refer all the smart people I am connected with…but I need more than just knowing what you share on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or your blog to be able to do that. I need some kind of evidence that you are strategic, tactical and deliver results so I can feel comfortable telling people to give you a call. 

Please, help me out. I’d like to be able to provide references for you or your business. If we know each other and have connected either here on my blog or on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn let me know what you’ve been working on or share with me some of your recent campaigns/projects. 

Anyone else having this issue? What can we do to help people get business or job referrals? Is the lack of self-promotion actually hurting us?

[Image: iStock]

While at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum I attended Sandy Carter’s packed session on Marketing 2.0: Integrating Social Media into Your Marketing Mix. This session was an in-depth look into how IBM integrated social media into their traditional marketing mix/plan to engage with an active online SOA (Software Oriented Architecture) community. For this particular case study, we learned that Sandy and her team used social media to continue building the community, get feedback on their sMash beta, share information on an event and for lead generation.   

One of the really interesting aspects that Sandy talked about is how they engaged the community for their sMash software. IBM reached out to the online community to get software requirements for developing the software, test the software, provided feedback, re-test and even for the product name.   

Sandy shared a story that at one event the 13 sMash developers were asked to stand up for a round of applause and over 1,000 people in the audience stood up! Truly amazing! 

From a B2B perspective hearing a case study like this is truly inspiring to say the least. Having been a technology marketer for 15 years, I’ve always tapped into customers for alpha and beta testing, but in a more traditional manner (usually a phone call and meeting). 

Based on my experience, I’d like to warn marketers out there that tapping into social customers is a lot different than offline customers. Why? 

Well, let’s think about this from a dating perspective… 

Remember when you were in high school and you really dug a girl/guy and all your friends knew about it? Then that one special day said girl/guy comes up and flirts with you, your friends see it and you all think “Wow! See that he/she is interested…when’s the first date?” 

But in reality, they aren’t really interested in you, who you are, or what you have to say nor do they have plans to ask you out on a date. When you realize that there’s a feeling of embarrassment, anger, mistrust, humiliation, etc.

The social web works in the same way in some aspects. When people (customers in this aspect) are used to being heard, sharing their thoughts, getting respect and feedback from others in the community…they don’t like to be played.

If you are a B2B business considering tapping into an established online network of customers, you really need to be sure that you have the internal mechanisms to implement what the community shares or wants. Because if you pick and choose or just ‘flirt’ to look good, you can cause more damage in the long run. 

IBM was successful tapping into the community because they were willing to listen, incorporate the feedback (many, many times!), have the internal mechanisms and buy-in, and let the community build sMash. They didn’t say well, we’ll listen only to these 5 people because their suggestions are convenient and already fit into our already established software requirements and release roadmap and we’ll ignore the rest until “we’re” ready.

While this is an example social media being used for software development, I think my analogy lends itself to any social media campaigns. 

So, are you a tease or planning on being one?

[Image:iStock]