...continue to read "Future Now’s 2007 Retail Customer Experience Study"

Often we relate stories here on Grok about conversion missteps or persuasion challenges facing companies on- and off-line. Today, I’d like to relate a success story!

An Open Letter to Andrew Cosslett, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group:

Dear Mr. Cosslett,

As a business traveler, my needs are simple and predictable: I just want some restful sleep, power outlets numbering more than one, and an internet connection that works. Now, in the last 90 days, I’ve spent more than a third of those nights…

...continue to read "“No, but I did sleep at a Staybridge Suites last night… “"

Fed up with the state of online advertising, Denny Hatch wants to know “What happened to the final ‘A’ in AIDA?” Referring to the classic sales formula (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), Hatch pours through several recent examples of advertising campaigns that aren’t accountable to minor details like, say, revenue.

So how does one go from AIDA to ROI (return on investment) without action? And isn’t there another important element for the consumer? How about “satisfaction”? After all, that’s what keeps customers…

...continue to read "“Action” Missing from Online Ads? Be like Nike"

Delta’s latest marketing campaign has been focused on how much the airline has changed. Although marketing has surely been told to make sincere promises, it seems the business has no intention of keeping them.

While reading the news on Yahoo! this morning, I stumbled upon this ad for Delta. I’m a frequent Delta flyer and I’ve seen some small, directional changes — but they have a long way to go. They’re going through the motions of realligning and rebranding, but new tactics…

...continue to read "Can Delta’s Blog Really Deliver A Change?"

Hunters face many of the same challenges as marketers. Preparation is everything. Once you’re out in the field, you can’t just go in for the kill right away. You have to be patient or you’ll scare the deer. If you don’t have the right bait, the right technique, you can kiss your bass goodbye. Such are your customers online. Try to make them “Buy Now!” when they’re not ready, and they’ll scatter.

But that’s where the analogy ends. When marketers don’t…

...continue to read "Screencast: Hunting for Early Bird Persuasion, Part 1"

“What’s the #1 complaint about point-and-shoot digital cameras?”

That was Bryan Eisenberg’s morning riddle today. It’s a great question, and one I was sure to answer incorrectly — Bryan isn’t known to ask rhetorical questions without punchlines.

Now, before you read my response, close your eyes for a moment and think of three possible answers.

Seriously, stop cheating and humor me…

Eyes back open? Good. It’s easier to read that way.

I guessed:

Shoddy image stabilization — With all the hype over new image-steadying technology,…

...continue to read "Digital Camera Shops Miss the Big Picture"

Reuters reports on a University of Michigan study suggesting that Yahoo is slightly more satisfying than Google:

Data from the University of Michigan American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) showed Yahoo had seen its customer satisfaction score rise 3.9 percent from a year ago to 79 out of 100 points, while Google’s rating fell about 3.7 percent to 78 points.

While Google remains the dominant Web search engine, Yahoo’s Internet presence is gaining user approval for its network of Web sites, e-mail, social networks and other…

...continue to read "Yahoo Beats Google in Customer Satisfaction"

It’s Friday night, and I’m sitting in the corner booth down at Deaf Lennie’s, sipping warm suds and wondering why I keep coming to this joint. The place isn’t exactly welcoming – it’s the kind of dive where you want to wipe your feet before leaving, where the floor plan is more like an obstacle course, and where you’re lucky if you get your drink by closing time.

It’s the sweet end of a week that sucked like a vacuum cleaner…

...continue to read "“The Haves and The Have Nots” — From The Grok Archives"

Every piece of jewelry tells a story. Ask any woman about a piece of jewelry she’s wearing and you’ll hear a tale of romance, travel, adventure, friendship, celebration or personal epiphany.

I got this in St. Martin. I looked at it in the store and I loved it. My husband snuck back the next day and bought it as a surprise.

Jack bought this for me when he was in Asia. It’s Burmese jade. It’s a really powerful stone. The ancient Chinese…

...continue to read "Marketing Jewelry to Women"

I grocery shop once a week and, although I’m never without my grocery list, there are always impulse items I buy for various reasons. There are also those items on my list that I simply have never thought of purchasing online instead of at the grocery store; cleaning products, bath towels and light bulbs, for instance.

Now, I’m big on environmentally friendly products and I recycle as much as humanly possible, so I’d easily be attracted to a product such as…

...continue to read "Are Your Visitors Searching for Your Products?"