We owe Christopher Beam, a journalist with Bloomberg BusinessWeek great applause for his story, Ancient Branding Secrets of The Shaolin Temple, that provides the core of today's episode on The Heart of Marketing.
Jayme Soulati and John Gregory Olson take a reverse look at media relations from the perspective of the journalist as he shares the story about Shi Yongxin and his escapades to turn a small monastery in China, The Shaolin Temple, into a tourist attraction in Australia.
The commercialization of culture could be the crisis communications story because Yongxin does everything wrong and gets caught in the process (yet his plan continues). The story is so fascinating and Jayme intended to share the elements of national news you need to know before earning a story in BusinessWeek or the Wall Street Journal.
This episode shares more tips for companies and business owners about the pitfalls of being targeted by media to tips for preparation should it happen. Jayme, a former media relations agency pro in Chicago's PR firms, talks about story elements, whether the media can be trusted, how social media is a negative during scandal, and more.
Resources
IKEA and the New Rules of News
Take a seat, because you're in for a fast ride as John Gregory Olson permits Jayme Soulati to cut loose and ponder the brand.
That's a loaded sentence and when you listen, it applies, absolutely. It's a fast-paced episode about who's behind the brand and what is personifying the brand image and whether the call center even plays along.
The impetus for this topic we owe to Adam Toporek of Crack the Customer Code podcast and Customers That Stick. He began a discussion about whether brands can have a relationship with customers and especially millennials.
This led to a lively back and forth about who's behind Twitter. Is it the CEO or just a social media pro keeping the messages alive. If you interact with a brand, do you get to speak with a person? Should you?
In this episode, we talk about Chipotle, VW, Adam Toporek, Saks Fifth Avenue, Babolat, and more.
Today marks the first edition in our new Go for Heart program in which John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati feature heart stories from marketers making connections with customers.
What sets Katie Kiyo of Big Hug, LLC in Detroit apart from peers in her space is her natural desire to build an enduring relationship with her clients. She welcomes any complaint as a gift, and she gets very few, but it's how she handles them that differentiate her.
Big Hug, two powerful words that honor the gift giver and gift recipient, puts special touches on every gift that flows through the company. Katie, a former advertising executive, ensures that she stays fully connected to her clients. She listens to what they want and strives to create more innovative gifts to honor people and pets.
The Go for Heart program seeks heart stories like Katie's. The program launched to commemorate the first anniversary of the Heart of Marketing podcast and to recognize marketers and entrepreneurs in small-to-medium enterprises who deliver heartful marketing every day.
To submit your heart story, please visit http://getheartmarketing.com/go-for-heart-program.
Ahh, that always-headline-bait 'dead' thing everyone likes to toss out works, right? When you listen to The Heart of Marketing with Adam Toporek, author of 'Be Your Customer's Hero,' and podcaster on 'Crack the Customer Code,' he said so, for realz.
And, then he didn't.
Just because a Customer Service Expert says customer service is dead you need to listen twice and read more to ensure that someone isn't joking around, like Adam, the jokester.
Customer service is an investment, and the reason it may seem dead to many is due to the fact that there are bigger monopolies and consolidations in industries (again) and the largest corporations don't have the competition that requires them to invest in customer service and play nice with we who pay their bills.
Adam says that customer service is also a great equalizer. It allows the small-to-medium enterprise to compete for business from the big guns and retailers that command the largest market share.
Adam addresses a magic pill which may be very much like building a bridge to the customer experience.
Think about that.
When was the last time you got great customer service?
For me, it was when the smallest business and solopreneur called me to thank me for joining their digital community.That was Adrienne Smith, the consummate community builder and pro blogger.
Or, when the new email service provider we just got for The Heart of Marketing called to ask if everything was going well and did we need any assistance. That was Get Response, the best provider for customer service.
Adam lives and breathes customer service. He's a franchise owner, and MBA, and a really smart guy. We encourage you to get his book and listen to his podcast, too; after you listen to ours first, ahem.
Thanks, Adam! You're #RockHot!
Resources
http://twitter.com/AdamToporek
'Be Your Customer's Hero' by Adam Toporek
Crack the Customer Code on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and elsewhere
Congratulations to The Heart of Marketing with Jayme Soulati and John Gregory Olson! We are officially one-year-old, and to celebrate our milestone, we're announcing today our brand new...wait for it...Go For Heart Program!
The Go For Heart Program
We realized along the way as we perused 'podder' (that's podcast fodder) to create content for our episodes that rarely do we see the good in marketing. We're aware of the crises, the mishaps, the negatives, and problem solving that goes on in the boardroom with little positive fanfare.
Our Go For Heart program is about those marketers who are delivering value, engaging with customers in a heartful way, and adhering to the 5 Pillars of Heart Marketing that John and Jayme created.
We want to find the daily goodness and really positive heart stories to share with our listeners, and to do so, we need your help. While this program celebrates our anniversary, it also celebrates you, your client, your volunteer organization, your community, your small business, and more.
When you head over to the Go For Heart Program on our website (right here), you'll see more detail about what we'd like from you. Complete the form on the page with your idea and your heart story will be considered.
We want to give back and recognize marketers who attack the day with heart and deliver results with positive flair. Will you help us celebrate our one-year-anniversary and help us grow beyond, too?
You can always send an email to us, as well, because we're never disconnected.
John Gregory Olson -- john@jgodigital.com
Jayme Soulati -- jayme@soulati.com
GO FOR HEART!