Travel Industry Focuses on User Generated Content

I found an article reviewing the EyeForTravel’s Travel Distribution Summit North America. One of the conference’s 2008 projections is that word of mouth will be key to the travel industry in the future. This caught my eye particularly because I will be doing a project this semester that markets for Easter Island. Therefore, any and all travel industry happenings are notable to me.

The platform for growing word of mouth in this industry will be through electronic conversations or user generated content, such as social network connections on programs like facebook and also by individuals relaying feedback by leaving comments on sites like blogs or company websites. Trends show people trust this form of communication much more than advertising messages given to them.

Many companies are trying to expand on this trust by creating an online presence. Also, travel sites that are based on user generated content that weren’t initially successful are beginning to take off due to the growing market. Sam Shank, the vice president, General Manager of travelpost.com, sidestep discussed his companies past, present, and future endeavors, "SideStep has several popular Facebook applications that combine travel planning and advice tools with the Facebook social graph. Our goal with these applications is to introduce a whole new audience to the SideStep brand and services."
Keep a look out for an Easter Island facebook group in the near future. My group and I will be starting one up in order to get some user generated content flowing about what people think about it as a travel destination.

http://www.eyefortravel.com/index.asp?news=58122
http://www.womma.org/blog/2007/10/word-of-mouth-and-viral-marketing-definition-faceoff/

Spirit Airlines

After my professor reviewed my post on exceptional customer service from Zappos, she tipped me off to a story that is of a complete opposite nature. Word of mouth works both ways. The culprit at hand was Spirit Airlines. Now, this entire conversation has stemmed from a blog post (just as with Zappos) and it has gotten just as much coverage and talk as Zappos. However the “spirit” of the conversations is quite different. The writer of the blog said to please not comment on his blog without proper knowledge of the situation at hand. Therefore, I’m taking this into account as I write a post for my own blog and will try not to be too critical.

It all began with Alex Rudloff having a very bad experience with Spirit Airlines. His personal blog gave a play by play of what happened. You can find the story here. As a result, past complaints have been highlighted. These include awful stories about baggage check-in fees, customer service, and airways club. Not to mention the some 100 comments made on Alex’s blog. These comments are mostly sympathetic ones or exclamations of “Thanks for the warning.” Alex also points us towards an article written by the Orlando Sentinel, which highlights the shocking story of how Jim and Christy Boswell received an email from the Spirit Airlines CEO that was not intended for customer eyes.

The overview of Alex’s experience stressed me out. It sounded terrible. I am typically a person who finds the cheapest flight and buys it. However, at this point Alex has changed my ways and I would change my routine if the outcome turned out to be Spirit Airlines. When I’m traveling it feels like I’m spending enough time organizing and money. To have my flight plans be skewered and asked for additional money to check a bag, basically, would cause me to need a flight straight to the Caribbean.

I feel this is a vital moment to plug-in for a good airline I’ve experienced. I was traveling in Australia last year and I did a lot of my flying via Quantas. Overall my flights were superior to ones I’ve had in the U.S., a lot less hassle and better services. Once, 5 hours before a flight, a Quantas representative called me and said they had overbooked my flight and that if I was willing to take one just 40 minutes later, I could fly first class the whole way home. Don’t have to ask me twice. It was great that they had an incredibly easy and wonderful option already prepared for me when they called. Maybe Spirit Airlines should take a tip or two from the land down under cause right it looks like WOM is dragging them under. Never underestimate the power of an unsatisfied customer.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/opt_out/read-before-you-click-spirit-airlines-signs-you-up-for-club-membership-and-travel-insurance-283968.php
http://stuckonthepalmetto.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-spirit-airlines-sucks.html
http://consumerist.com/consumer/lawsuits/woman-sues-spirit-airlines-in-small-claims-court-and-wins-279202.php
http://www.alexrudloff.com/2007/08/04/do-not-fly-spirit-airlines/
http://www.alexrudloff.com/
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-spirit2407aug24,0,6113192.story

Zappos Gives Comfortable Feet And Something To Talk About

Customer service is one of the best ways to get people to talk about your business. Happy customers want to tell people about how happy they are. In fact, I myself just had a late night Dunkin Donuts run because I was completely parched. The man made me my iced coffee then turned around to grab the donuts I had ordered. By the time he turned back around I had drank ¾ of my coffee. He said, “Dude, you need a refill.” And he refilled it free of charge and I just wanted to scream how terrific it was. A refill was exactly what I needed! It’s actions like this that make people feel honored as customers. It was so great that I just wanted to tell somebody, “Just because Dunkin is a giant corporate chain doesn’t mean they can’t have the personal touch!” So anyways, when I came home I ran across this customer service story in my WOMMA newsletter and thought it was too good to pass by. It’s about Zappos.com. The story is so touching it has been covered by some very big blogs including the consumerist.

Zappos.com has a good reputation. They realize that shoes are a hard item to order over the internet because you never know if they are going to fit. You potentially could end up paying twice as much for the shoes due to shipping charges as you attempt to find ones that work. As a solution, the Zappo’s policy is that all customers always get free shipping and handling. Shoes can be sent back and forth 18 times and it’s free for you all the way. Trust me I’ve done it.

This policy makes them a very customer friendly site. However, their nice front doesn’t end at this policy. The company has shown that customer relations is a quality they carry throughout all actions. The story I reviewed oringinally came from her blog found here. This woman ordered many pairs of shoes for her mother hoping at least a pair or two would fit. Her mother passed away and she failed to return the shoes her mother had not wanted within the 15-day window period. Zappos contacted her via email about the return. The woman replied what had happened and that she would get around to it when she could. Zappos replied by saying they would personally send UPS to her house and take care of the shoes so she wouldn’t have to leave the house. Then not too long after this the woman returned home to a beautiful arrangement of flowers from who else but Zappos.

This company went far beyond what could ever be expected of a large, busy business. A quote from the Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh , “Customer service is an investment, not an expense.” I think it’s wonderful that Zappos acts as a real person would and knows that a bouquet of flowers is so much more than just a bouquet of flowers.

http://www.getelastic.com/good-customer-service-still-the-best-word-of-mouth-marketing-strategy/
http://www.zazlamarr.com/blog/
http://multichannelmerchant.com/news/zappos_08072007/

Cellphones Aren't Just For Word-Of-Mouth Marketers Anymore

This Tuesday I attended the Adweek Media Interactive Marketing Virtual Conference and Trade Show. I attempted to watch the live showing of the keynote speaker at 11 a.m. but the quality wasn’t to specs and I couldn’t get much out of the presentation. Therefore, I waiting for the archived versions of the presentations to come out and I watched the one titled “Harnessing the Latest Tech Advancements to Reach.” The topic discussed was about mobile phone advertising. There were three speakers present and they each discussed different aspects that were accompanied by slides.

The first speaker was Brian Morrissey who is the Digital Editor for Mediaweek. He gave a lot of general overviews that set a platform for the other two speakers. This included introducing mobile phone advertising as the most upcoming form of media. People who use their phones for anything more than texting or calls is hoped to grow with incoming generations and developments. Statistics show that not many people trust this form of media advertising and this is a huge issue. However, 89% of major brands say they will be taking the challenge on within the next year. Popular forms of advertising with this media are search engines, video networks, and applications marketing.

The next speaker was Nicholas Covey, the Marketing Analytics and Development Manager for Telephia Research. He displayed a lot of statistics for mobile usage. Mobile video is the fastest growing niche. Areas such as texting are the highest used cell phone features. As far cell phone users, a high percentage finds mobile advertising unacceptable, as a solution to this a slightly large percentage said they wouldn’t mind the advertising as long as they were receiving something in return. A disturbing user statistic was that a very low percentage says they expect to see more ads on their phone. In light of many companies’ intentions, these people are likely to be blindsided. Covey also showed a lot of mobile statistics as they relate to television. Channels like sports, weather, comedy would be popular mobile presences. The shows Deal or No Deal and American Idol were top players in currently advertising via text message.

The final speaker was Kevin Perkins, the CEO of Greenlight for Neilson. He focused on the challenges mobile advertisers currently face and will face in the future. Right now banner and advertising is hardly making any sort of profit. Clear, effective communication must be made if a consumer is going to respond. Guidelines for ads are very restrictive. Advertisers have to be creative in order to work with these measures. In order to get a response ads will need to be easy, use a pull method that lets users initiate contact, and be relevant to what the user wants.

Overall, the presentation was enlightening and ran well. I felt like I gained a fair amount of knowledge. Being in the field of marketing, it always feels good to discover something new and upcoming.

IN RAINBOWS

The release and selling strategy of the latest Radiohead album “In Rainbows” isn’t revolutionary, it has been done before. However, this time around the idea is creating a lot more buzz than previous attempts. Perhaps because this band is a lot more popular. An article by The Times Online that I read actually labeled them as “one of the most popular bands in the world.” With a title like that, anything they do can make a buzz I suppose.
So what did they do? You can visit www.inrainbows.com to see for yourself, but I’ll tell you what it means. In response to free music downloading putting a major slump in the music industry, Radiohead took matters into their own hands. The band is no longer under a record label so they were able to have freedom with the release of In Rainbows. Their solution is to let their fans put a price on the music. Assuming that these people value the talent of Radiohead, they won’t mind paying an amount that they see fit and be ensured it will go directly to the band. You can see on the site that there is the option of buying a disc box for 40 euros or downloading the album for an undetermined price.

The band let the word of the release method spread virally. They had to hope it would fly. During it’s first week of availability it has sold over 1.2 million copies. When you’ve got the name Radiohead, your voice is heard, and also respected as the numbers show.

I think this is a valiant effort on Radiohead’s part. They are walking on unsteady ground, but their popularity allows for them to, so why not give it a shot and see how it goes. A lot of people agree with me and also have some other good input:

“But if successful, In Rainbows could lay down a marker for other established artists to follow, and pose serious questions for the music industry establishment. ” -Stuart Dredge
http://techdigest.tv/2007/10/opinion_radiohe.html

“You can pay whatever you like for the download version. Which on the one hand is forward thinking, anti-capitalist, intelligent, bold and wise but on the other hand is a little smug.” http://jonnyopinion.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/in-rainbows-more-information/

The album itself has gotten mixed reviews. Most people agree it's not their best. But I recommend you listen for yourself, it'll only cost you as much as you want and it's for a good cause.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2602597.ece
www.inrainbows.com

Where Did the Nalgene Come From?

I was searching for some articles about the latest and greatest WOM products when I realized there was one that I have often pondered long before WOM became my twice a week reporting habit, the Nalgene bottle.

Maybe it’s because I hang out with an outdoor oriented crowd or maybe it’s because I live in the EMS/ Birkenstock/ Hiking capital of New York, Ithaca. But just about everyone I know has a Nalgene. I have three. Two small ones, and a large Ithaca College one. We use these containers for everything from working out to shaking cocktails. However, they have NO traditional advertising. No magazine prints, television ads, radio spots, nothing. So where/when/ who/ how did we all come to have Nalgenes? They aren’t that perfect of a container. They don’t keep things cold or hot. They say they’re unbreakable, but that has only set us out to prove that that isn’t true what so ever. The video below shows just how unbreakable they aren’t.



Nalgene has a great website located here. When you search through it the realization of the depth they have taken containers to is pretty crazy. What I thought would be a simple wide mouth or small mouth designed bottle is really a number of options ranging everywhere from flasks to baby sip cups. The site tells about the rise of Nalgenes and how they came to be. They were actually developed by Emanuel Goldberg who lived in Rochester, NY, which really isn’t far from Ithaca. He developed the Nalge company that was later turned into Nalgene by Marsh Hyman who quoted, upon his discovery of Nalgenes, “Spread the word to outdoorspeople all over! Tell them about this new line of high-quality camping equipment.” A true buzz marketer right there. And it looks like he really knew what he was talking about.

BzzAgent

Traditionally word of mouth marketing is an outlet that is hard to measure. Businesses don’t always know who’s doing the talking or how much these people talk. A revolutionary new platform known as BzzAgent is harnessing this phenomenon and helping us find out more about how a buzz evolves.

The company runs on the basic concept of “Bzz Agents.” These are real people who volunteer. Each agent is profiled and put into various target audiences. Therefore, when a company wants a product to reach a certain type of person BzzAgent can fit them up with many potential quality matches. There is no pay because this would be likely to create bias. What agents do get is the first look at new products, services, books, and just about anything else. Then they start spreading the word to everyone around them. The average WOM conversation about a brand lasts roughly 10 minutes. Therefore, the company is looking for outgoing, personable individuals who are enthusiastic about the overall Bzz concept. The agents also report back to home base about what they thought. BzzAgent can then give the scoop back to the product’s company.

I just signed up to be an agent and haven’t heard anything back. My hopes are high though. It would definitely be a quality way to immerse myself in WOM beyond this blog. I’m already spreading word about BzzAgent itself to many people. With that said I think I would be a good candidate.

The Voice Heard Across the Land

Most people listen to their peers for information about products. Sometimes they regard their parents and relatives, or maybe even a respected celebrity as source of information. However, above all these people there has risen one individual that when they speak we listen. Her voice is like a signal of what to buy, what’s cool, good, and popular. It has more product push behind it than a Billy Fuccillo ad. This person is Oprah Winfrey.

Many people have termed the influence of Oprah’s word-of-mouth marketing as the Oprah Effect. Basically it means what she says sells. Everyone has heard of the Oprah Book Club. We’ve come to take this club’s recommendation more seriously than a Nobel Prize winner. It’s become a fact that if a book makes this club, it makes the best seller list. The Book Club has helped some authors get higher up than probably ever would have been considered possible without this recommendation. During 1996 she started the club and had been releasing two books a month. She has begun making her choices more exclusive after the premiering year. In turn, even more hype comes with every book.

It’s not just books that are big with Oprah though. She’s touches on everything. There are tons of Oprah success stories out there. Even for burgers. A prime example of the Oprah Effect is The Counter. This is a small town burger place in Santa Monica, California. It runs on the concept of BYOB, build you own burger. Oprah mentioned the establishment on her show in February of 2006. After this the Counter went from a $40,000 a month business to a $245,000. They now have plans for 60 new locations throughout the country.



People are another area Oprah covers. One researcher for UCLA today wrote about Oprah and other talk show hosts influencing politics. He says "For politically inattentive individuals, watching political coverage in such soft news outlets such as "The Oprah Winfrey Show" can make the difference between voting one's convictions and not."

For a marketer or a student of marketing such as myself, the power of Oprah is astonishing. It's almost scary. What some companies spend millions on and I spend years studying, she can in accomplish in two simple words.. Buy This.


http://www.today.ucla.edu/news/061106_oprah-effect/ http://www.slashfood.com/2006/08/30/the-oprah-effect-on-the-counter/ http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/08/oprah/index_01.htm