Here’s a big ol’ repost on the potential power of Twitter, thanks to a head’s up from Josh Kuss. Building his own brand – distinct, deliberate, and chock full of value.
What’s a Dry Cleaner Doing on Twitter?
via OPEN Forum by American Express OPEN by Ann Handley for Duct Tape Marketing on 6/30/09
Most of you have probably heard about Twitter [http://www.twitter.com], the social networking and micro-blogging service. It can be a great tool for building buzz, fostering community, connecting with customers… all that stuff businesses should be doing. But I’ve always thought it best suited to certain kinds of businesses over others.
Then, the other day, I got a notification from my own active Twitter account that @TheDryCleaner [http://twitter.com/thedrycleaner] was now following me, at @marketingprofs [http:twitter.com/marketingprofs]. I found that a little curious. Wait a sec: What’s a dry cleaner doing on Twitter?
I thought of the place where I take my own clothes, a tiny little outfit staffed only by its Korean owner. As social as she is, I still had a hard time picturing her on Twitter. What would she say? “Found some gum in a jacket pocket again — EWW!” “Wondering whether I should tell his wife that I found another hotel receipt in his pants pocket? That scum!” “Wanna know the secret to removing that red wine stain? Ask me!” I think of dry cleaning as an inherently local thing, so I was intrigued by the notion of one on Twitter, a worldwide social network.
It turns out that @TheDryCleaner is Jerry Pozniak, owner of four dry-cleaning shops, and, according to his Twitter home page bio, “Dry cleaner to the stars.” Jerry has ambitious plans for his business and himself, and he talks about how Twitter figures into both here. His advice is interesting for any small business owner wondering about Twitter or how to leverage the platform to accomplish specific goals.
What follows is the exchange Jerry and I had on Skype, via instant messaging.
[3:31:03 PM] Ann Handley says: So I was so surprised to see “TheDryCleaner” follow me on Twitter today! Are you the only dry cleaner on Twitter, do you know?
[3:32:33 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: I think so, I did a search and I did not see another.
[3:32:46 PM] Ann Handley says: What made you join?
[3:33:47 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: I am working on a buzz marketing campaign and I thought it would be best to get my name around on Twitter. I also search for “dry cleaning” and try to respond to some Tweets.
[3:34:33 PM] Ann Handley says: But isn’t dry cleaning an inherently local thing? What’s the advantage for your business, on Twitter?
[3:37:05 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: I am a bit of an authority on garment care, so national exposure is a good thing. My Jeeves of Belgravia brand does shipping throughout the US.
[3:38:41 PM] Ann Handley says: So you offer a sort of valet dry cleaning throughout the US?
[3:40:44 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: Jeeves has clients all over the US for its exclusive services. When a client has a “over the top” wardrobe and wants the best possible care for her clothes she’ll ship her items to Jeeves for cleaning and return shipping. It is usually the client who cannot find that kind of garment care near where they reside.
[3:42:03 PM] Ann Handley says: Is that what you mean by “dry cleaner to the stars” (as it says in your Twitter profile)?
[3:43:45 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: Yes, I have take care of garments for Demi Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tilda Swinton, Eva Longoria, Tony Parker, LIndsay Lohan and others.
[3:44:59 PM] Ann Handley says: But it sounds like you also want to be known as a sort of expert on garment care… not just a dry-cleaner. And Twitter helps you position yourself as that on a larger platform?
[3:47:01 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: Great choice of words! I do get calls from all over the US from my traditional public relations which has generated articles in magazines. Many times the calls are from retailers who have a garment issue and need to understand if the cleaning or the garment itself was at fault.
[3:47:33 PM] Ann Handley says: I see. And I’m guessing your business benefits — because it raises your profile and increases the exposure for your business, as a result.
[3:50:34 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: Dry cleaning (or as I like to say, “garment care” is a very personal service for some. The higher the level of trust and credibility I have, the more it will benefit the company. Also a buzz about having your clothes taken care of by the same people who take care of Demi’s and Lindsay’s isn’t bad either.
[3:52:41 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: I am kind of new to social networking and on line [Word of Mouth] so I am getting my feet wet. Traditional WOM has been very kind to my company. Also being very good at what we do also is a huge help.
[3:54:01 PM] Ann Handley says: It’s interesting that you are really focusing on your customer in your marketing: You aren’t just getting your name out there by talking about yourself, but you are asking: How can I help them? Essentially, you are positioning yourself as a trusted resource – so, bravo.
[3:55:03 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: It’s not about what I want to say, but how it will benefit the client.
[3:56:48 PM] Ann Handley says: Exactly… so one last question, which I’ve always wondered about: Why is it that my shirts cost more to dry clean than my boyfriend’s? It ticks me off. (Do you get that a lot?)
[3:57:21 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: Great question, what size shirt do you wear?
[3:58:01 PM] Ann Handley says: Size 2 or 4, depending. Or a women’s Small. He’s an L. What gives?
[3:59:59 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: You shouldn’t pay more for dry cleaning. But more than likely he is having his shirt “laundered and machine pressed” for under $5 per shirt and it may be as low as $2. This service is done on automatic pressing equipment that produces about 75 shirts per hour. Small sized shirts (including boy’s shirts) won’t fit the equipment.
Your shirts are done by hand and thus cost more.
[4:00:33 PM] Jerry Pozniak says: It’s a big problem, because most women see it has a gender issue, it’s really a size issue.
[4:01:23 PM] Ann Handley says: Ahh… Mystery solved.
—
So what do you think of Jerry’s strategy? Are you on Twitter, or is your company using it to market to your customers and prospects? If so, how? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Photo Credit: frankh
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I love this trend in packaging and branding to make junk food appear healthier by cutting out all of those nasty additives and preservatives and the Obama-vilified corn syrup.
I went to Albertson’s just now to buy sour cream and ground beef for tacos and ended up bringing these home. (see pic)
Yep, “all natural” chocolate chip cookie dough (and peanut butter flavor too). I rationalized the purchase under the guise of investigative journalism but really it’s just slightly alleviated guilt. Like with that Haagen-Dazs Five sub-brand.
Way to go Pillsbury! Nestle, you have some product development to catch up on.
I recently spent some time in Paris and was amazed at the attention to detail everywhere I went.
This is how my coffee was delivered to me. Always.
With a little chocolate on the side and a silver dish of sugar cubes (white and brown).
These are all the shirts (each a unique color and/or pattern) in my exact size at the shirt shop Charvet.
They’re arranged by hue and pattern and there’s a nice big rack of generic shirts in all sizes and cuts so the salesperson can fit you without disrupting the perfection of this display.
In our rush to commoditize every thing and every experience we’ve lost sight of what makes each thing remarkable. Seth Godin gives a great TED talk about the concept of “remarkable” and it’s the missing ingredient in many a marketing campaign.
Starbucks, there is much to (re)learn about the European coffee experience. Nordstrom, there’s much to (re)learn about the importance of tailoring and educating the male business customer. And the devil is going to be in those details if you want to regain your status as remarkable brands.
I love this story.
A 22-year-old designer, Dustin Curtis, proposed a site redesign for American Airlines before giving them the heave-ho as a customer. Yes, that’s right, a customer solved the UI issues surrounding their awful booking site, something that a staff of 200+ couldn’t do. (to be fair, that may be more of a function of bureaucracy than talent)
The full story is here http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=107119.
The pictures are below.
Interesting bit of brand trivia popped up this morning. In 1929, Bill Dreyer and Joseph Edy invented a new ice cream flavor with marshmallows. They named it Rocky Road to “give folks something to smile about despite their financial woes.”
Now Dreyers is using this bit of history to launch a new marketing initiative. For more, check out: http://bit.ly/Ij1S9.
Jonah Bloom’s written a great little article in AdAge titled “Before Marketers Ask for Trust, Perhaps They Should Apologize” (http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=136827). I won’t regurgitate or pontificate, but I highly recommend this article. Especially to marketers working in the finance industries.
“Americans get mistakes — they just don’t get or like coverups.” – Doug Wojcieszak, author of the apology-strategy book “Sorry Works!”
Believe It or Not: Redneck Bank
May 26 2009
Posted by Fo in Inspired Marketing, Market Segmentation |
Well, it was only a matter of time before that last bastion of stuffiness, the banking sector, fell prey to humor. Welcome to Redneck Bank, “where bankin’s funner!” No, I am not making this up. Thanks to the folks at AdAge, I am now aware of this new Internet banking brand and I have to say, I think it’s kind of genius.
Yes, people take their money seriously. But they have also lost trust in a lot of the big brands they once trusted. For a particular demographic, Redneck Bank might be just the thing they’re looking for – a bank that offers straight talk to them, in a language and experience that resonates emotionally. Right there on the homepage is “Flat out free checking,” “Mega Money Market.” and “Yep we’re a real bank!” The first thing I thought of when I found out about Redneck Bank was “I can’t wait to tell my Aunt Nancy.” And, no, she won’t take offense to that. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they transferred some funds. It’s FDIC insured and they’re sticking to the basics, so I’m not sure there’s much at risk here from the consumer side anyways.
I’d like to know how Redneck Bank is doing over the coming year, including their advertising outlets and customer growth. The WOM campaign is built right into its name. If anyone has an update, please send it on.
According to Sarah Mahoney’s article in Marketing Daily [http://bit.ly/kgLGx - sorry, WP links still not working], Target is beginning to swap its familiar bullseye icon for an arrow design on many of its private label merchandise. The arrow design will mark a move to the newly relaunched Target-branded products “Up & Up.”
Is this a good idea? I’m not sure.
On the pro side: I appreciate that they are trying to give their private label products their own identity. The “Up & Up” theme is certainly optimistic which is all the rage right now. The new branding is easy to identify and clearly differentiated on the shelves. And the name & packaging don’t scream “cheap-skate.”
On the con side: It’s a non-sequitur with the master brand. The first impression I had when I read the name “Up & Up” was “raising prices.” The first impression I had when I saw the new logo was “diapers.”
Though I’m pretty ambivalent about the brand change, preliminary results in 3 test markets are positive. I think the secret to their success is in the overall packaging. If you look at the image of the Up & Up trash bags above, there’s a handy reference to “Compare to Glad.” Smart move. Give the consumer the brand name to reference as “equal to,” and provide a positive association. Target is communicating: “You’re buying this generic product because it’s just as good and that makes you a smart shopper, not a tightwad.”
Safeway’s private label marketers should take note. Private label doesn’t have to be dowdy label.
I’m working on both Twitter search and an SMS ad campaign for a client and it occurred to me what’s so great about these communication mediums. The constraints it imposes on its users.
Wordiness has been a bane of my writing since grade school and now I’m being forced to limit myself. Now I sit with a single sentence for five minutes at a time and tinker with it until it’s under 160 characters. Twitter and SMS are actually changing the way I write. Soon we’ll all be talking as if we’re advertisements. Short, to the point and, hopefully, with a sense of humor.
