Don’t ever assume that your customers are the exact duplicate of you. Chances are, they aren’t.
There are so many reasons why they may be different. Human beings are such complex creatures that entire disciplines like anthropology, sociology and psychology have evolved in desperate bids to understand their behaviours.
Corporate Storytelling should be as alluring as the Dance of 7 Veils (courtesy of rjg329)
One of the things which I have been wrestling with lately is this:
How can I keep my customers continually keen in my products and services beyond a short-lived campaign?
More importantly, can we sustain their interest over a longer time span and find different ways to build on it?
Yesterday evening, as I was going home from work, I was handed a packet of free tissues outside City Hall MRT station along North Bridge Road. Considered one of the oldest promotional gimmick in the book, it came from QB House – famous for its 10 minute haircut costing $10 – which recently opened a branch at Basement 2 of Raffles City.
Despite the small rectangular area of the tissue, the company has cleverly done a few things right:
Last night, at the kind invitation of Liana Tang (@spoonrabbit on Twitter), I participated in the first #nlbmeetup (issue #1) organised by the National Library Board. Happening at the lovely Esplanade Library, the Meet Up was a good chance for me to catch up with social media buddies and to witness the evolution/revolution of Singapore libraries from Paper Books to Facebook.
Of course, our libraries aren’t strangers to social media, as my buddy Rambling Librarian (aka Ivan Chew) would testify. They have blogs for almost anything under the sun, a Twitter account, a Facebook fan page, an electronic encyclopedia (Infopedia), as well as other social media tools. Being a great fan, I can attest to their extensive efforts in using web and social technologies to improve the entire book borrowing, reading, fine paying (it happens!) and information gathering experience.
It was great to know that Siva (or @sivasothi), a long-time friend, former biology tutor, Friend of Yesterday.sg, and eco activist extraordinaire, would be speaking about his experiences as one of the pioneers in embracing social media for teaching and other purposes.
Last night, my family and I decided to venture on the new and improved Jewel Cable Car ride from Mount Faber to Sentosa. Living just a stone’s throw away from the Jewel Box (with the view of Mount Faber from our window), we were really looking forward to going on our latest aerial adventures, suspended on a cable.
Revamped at a cost of some $36 million, the new cable car rides boasted of 67 sparkling new cabins done in a modern metallic black and chrone design which boasted of large panoramic view windows. The flip-up seats were more comfortable, and the internal ambient lighting helped to make it less pitch black at night. Having experienced the old cable cars before, I must say that this recent upgrade is a major improvement to the overall experience.
Source: www.workrfun.com
Do you know how you can increase your productivity?
Do you know how you can do more with less (time)?
Source: Frat House Sports
By now, almost everybody plugged into social media (including my friends Ivan Chew, Kevin Lim, Siva and Lucian) would have heard of how Old Spice, a heritage toiletry brand (used by one’s granddad) managed to reinvent itself through the Old Spice Man Youtube channel. The idea was developed by marketing agency Wieden + Kennedy and involved the shooting of real-time marketing videos while leveraging on social media networks.
Here’s an example of the commercials which have been circulating on Youtube and garnering massive views:
Courtesy of Life’s a comic strip!
In the world of User Generated Content (UGC) on social media platforms, a common question always arises for those whose job involves blogging, facebooking or twittering.
How do we separate our personal and professional selves? More importantly, are we able to do that in the first place?
As I was walking to work recently, I couldn’t help noticing the following workplace safety advertisement on a bus stop shelter (I have a peculiar habit of noticing outdoor advertisements of all shapes and sizes):
Put up by the Ministry of Manpower’s Workplace Safety and Health unit, the poster had a simple and succinct message reminding everybody to be careful and to take care of themselves. This is important as some 29 per cent or 3,000 workplace injuries last year were from non-factory industries like retail, entertainment and services.
Source of image: Mind Revolution
What is the most difficult task as a manager in a corporate organisation?
a) Finding a way to fund your projects, justify ROI and achieve your KPIs?