Engaging Baby Boomers in the Groundswell

Social Media Monitoring Part 2: Competition with the Pumpkin Spice Latte

Last post I shared with you all my love for Starbucks and their famous fall drink, the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). Now I want to chat a little more about two other specialty drinks that Starbucks sells at the same time as the PSL- the Salted Caramel Mocha (SCM) and Toasted Graham Latte (TGL). Personally I think these drinks are delicious, but wonder if they steal some of the lime light from the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Let's take a look at these fall treats as they go head to head!

      VS. 

VS. 

Thoughts from the Groundswell:

Over the past few weeks Starbucks has been hard at work with energizing the groundswell through its promotion of sending knit PSL sleeves to dedicated groundswell customers. And it certainly worked! Customers began using their "word of mouth" power to share their excitement over the gift from Starbucks...unfortunately, that excitement was short lived...

Starbucks knows that the key to gaining regular customers is giving them some Starbucks swag. They did just that a few weeks ago by sending PSL coffee cup sleeves to dedicated fans. Unfortunately this fan wasn't too impressed.

Starbucks can post about the PSL and TGL all they want, but they can't stop the groundswell from loving the SCM!

What I find interesting about these posts and the hundreds of other like them, is that Starbucks isn't doing anything to change their marketing strategy based on what their hearing from the groundswell. If people want more of the SCM and TGL, then why not play into the hype your customers have already started to create? 

The authors of Groundswell, Li and Bernoff state "Your brand is whatever your customers say it is," and I think that Starbucks is having an issue with that here. The company clearly wants the Pumpkin Spice Latte to maintain its status as the most popular fall drink, but if your customers are going out of their way to share thoughts that vary from this track, why not go with it? There is no risk here- all of these drinks are selling successfully, so why not take a chance and let your customers do some of the heavy lifting?

PSL FAIL #1:

Starbucks tried to start a competition using #PSLHeaderChallenge to get fans posting creative pictures of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Sadly it didn't go so well...

...Here is the only relevant response to date...

PSL FAIL #2:

Quick save by the PSL, but this happened to more than one PSL fan. These negative posts aren't going to work in the drink's favor when we look at the stats...

The Stats:

Social Mention:

There really isn't much variation between the results of the three drinks. HOWEVER, the PSL's scores appear to be lower than the other two overall. Sentiment is very high for the Salted Caramel Mocha and Toasted Graham Latte- I wonder if the missing sleeves in the Pumpkin Spice boxes had anything to do with the lower number of positive comments for the PSL. 

Google Trends:

Despite the hiccups we're seeing for the PSL, it is still clearly the front runner compared to its sister drinks. It is interesting though to see a slight decline in chatter around the PSL and a slight increase in the Toasted Graham Latte. Poor SCM remains steady, but very low in mentions.

MeltWater IceRocket:

The Toasted Graham Latte was launched on September 23rd, so that accounts for the spike during that week. Sadly, Starbucks hasn't been talking about the Salted Caramel Mocha all that much, and neither has the groundswell. While there is some mention of it, it is clearly taking 3rd place in this social media race.

Conclusion:

So if these three drinks can live harmoniously, why not create some healthy competition between them? I think Starbucks would be pretty successful creating a competition where fans can vote for their favorite drink. The winner could win some sort of discount or sale on the drink. That would definitely create some buzz around whichever drink wins! Starbucks was pretty successful with this competition model over the summer during a Frappuccino competition, so I don't see why it wouldn't work here.

Until the day Starbucks decides to step up a competition between the three drinks, it seems that the PSL is the one true love of the groundswell. Who know, maybe over the next few years as the TGL and SCM gain some momentum they could be the new top runner; but for now its looking like the Pumpkin Spice Latte is here to stay.

Just one more adorable example of the groundswell giving the PSL some love!

BJ's Wholesale Club: Learning to Hand the Reins Over to Customers

Last night I had a craving for gelato after dinner, and decided to go to BJ's to pick up my personal favorite Talenti Peanut Butter Cup Gelato. As I was heading towards the register I heard an announcement over the loud speaker that BJ's has a new blog that customers can read for the latest information on deals. I consider myself a bargain shopper and love checking out deals, so naturally I went home and tried to look up said blog...

To my surprise and disappointment, it was not a blog at all! The BJ's Journal is a page with various posts about holiday savings and game day prep coupons. While I found these posts to be helpful and interesting (they all and with a link to more coupons, and who doesn't love that?!), there is no place for customers to leave a comment or engage with the posts. The closest opportunity the site gives customers to leave comments or feedback is located at the very bottom corner of the page in this very small box:

:( Customers need more than this to communicate how much they love your brand!

BJ's is dealing with the challenges common to any company that is learning how to connect with the groundswell. For a company that was founded in 1984, it can be hard to give up commercial/marketing power and hand it over to your customers. But for companies like BJ's whose target customers are families, it would certainly be beneficial to allow the stay at home parents to do some of the heavy lifting for BJ's when it comes to marketing and sharing information with other customers. 

So if the change would be so beneficial, why not just into the groundswell head first? The key to this challenge is time. As Li and Bernoff explain in their case study on Unilever, "leaders built Unilever's confidence in the groundswell bit by bit, each time loosening the control reins a little more." In this case, the company would try dipping a toe into the groundswell (ie allowing their product to be advertised on The Apprentice) and let that sink in for a bit before diving further into the groundswell. 

So back to BJ's... I decided to check out BJ's Facebook page to see if any more conversation was encouraged between BJ's and its customers. I was impressed with what I found. BJ's responded to most posts. I would get nit-picky and say that they should be responding to all posts, but for now they are at least responding too all complaints and questions. For a company that is not that large and most likely does not have the bandwidth to hire a person to solely watch over their social media, this is still a great start.

Here are two posts that I thought you all would appreciate. 

The Complaint:

The Appreciation:

I do want to point out that some customers have demanded control from BJ's by creating their own blogs about the company. Take Tasia's blog for example. This young mom keeps her blog up to date with best practices for using coupons at BJ's. Sadly, her site also does not allow for visitor comments. What is it with BJ's and it's customers not wanting to engage in conversation?! 

A sneak peak at Tasia's blog.

All in all, BJ's is following Li and Bernoff's suggestions to "take small steps that have a big impact." However, I would love to have the opportunity to look under the hood and be able to ask BJ's if they "have a vision and a plan", and what that might look like. I also have to wonder how much of upper management is on board to join the groundswell. I couldn't find any information regarding this on their website, but based on Unilever's experience we know that the people at the top need to play a major part in joining the groundswell. 

Li and Bernoff say it best when they explain that companies need to "embrace emerging media and give the consumer a voice in the brand." There are definitely BJ's customers that want a voice in the brand- isn't it time for BJ's to give it to them?

Starbucks Energizes its Customer Base Close to Home

Starbucks has been an active participant in the groundswell for quite some time now. Die hard customers can interact with Starbucks via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, as well as on the Starbucks website. But there is a very large customer base that you wouldn't initially think to separate out from the general crowd of Starbucks addicts...its own partners (what Starbucks calls its employees)!

I have worked at Starbucks for the past 4 years and can openly admit that being a barista is not the easiest job. BUT, Starbucks is an amazing company to work for and does a lot to support its employees. Starbucks is so dedicated to listening to the part of the groundswell that is their partners, that they even have Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat social media channels dedicated specifically to partners! So why does Starbucks care about what its partners have to say about the company? Because Starbucks partners are probably the most enthusiastic group of people I've ever met. 

Me with my store manager, Sheri, and fellow shift manager, Courntey celebrating National Croissant Day!

In Li and Bernoff's book, Groundswell, the authors describe energizing as "finding enthusiastic customers and turning them into word-of mouth machines." Starbucks does exactly this with their partners...Let's take a look at a recent example. 

2015 Partner White Cup Contest

Starbucks held the 2015 White Cup Contest amongst partners to create the best design on a plain white cup. The winning designs would be made into reusable cups and sold at Starbucks stores across the country! To enter the contest, partners had to design a cup and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #PartnerCupContest. 

In allowing partners to enter their designs via social media, Starbucks was doing what Li and Bernoff call "energizing the base," which is a group of your most important customers. The authors also explain that when a company energizes the base, "It expects you to listen." So the company not only viewed all of these partner's posts, but they also responded by selecting winners AND selling those designs in their stores!

Needless to say, this contest went viral, with partners blowing up Instagram. The brilliance of having partners post on Instagram is that their friends will also be able to see the posts- this does 3 things: 

1. It's the perfect reminder that Starbucks is a cool company.
2. It is free advertising for new cups.
3. It makes you want to go to Starbucks and buy a coffee.

Just look at how much conversation this post is generating!

This is a great example of what Li and Bernoff call self-spreading: "if a product is worth using, its word of mouth generates more word of mouth in a cascade that's literally exponential." The word of mouth that is created by this contest reinforces people's positive feelings towards Starbucks, which creates new customers and keeps them coming back!

Needless to say, Starbucks is truly a supportive company that encourages a symbiotic relationship with its employees. This relationship energizes employees, and keeps them feeling enthusiastic about their job. In return, Starbucks gets free advertising and a strong team of employees. I am proud to be a Starbucks Partner!

P.S. Curious about the results? Check out the winners and runners up here!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Reality TV Groundswell Edition

From the best that reality tv has to offer to the worst, everyone is part of the groundswell these days. Let's take a look at the best and worst reality tv has to offer!

The Good- Caitlyn Jenner's Outreach to Transgender Youth

Caitlyn Jenner's new show "I Am Cait" has taken on a life of its own, and its all thanks to the groundswell. Caitlyn's fans have been over the moon about her dedication to helping the trans community and they've been talking about it via all types of social media. 

Below is a screenshot of Cait's Twitter feed. There are all sorts of tweets at her, and even the hashtag #IAmCait. Basically, this girl is killing it when it comes to marketing her brand!

Cait's fan's have even created their own fan page on Facebook to acknowledge the good work she is doing. It is safe to say that Cait's brand is exactly what her fans say it is! 

    The Bad- Howie Mandel’s Bulimia Comment on America's Got Talent

Howie Mandel (or at least his people) listened to the groundswell on August 25^th when Howie Mandel decided to make a joke about bulimia on a live broadcast of America’s Got Talent. No sooner was it out of his mouth that the Twitter feeds starting blowing up. 

                                           

Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/08/25/howie-mandel-bulimia-comment-americas-got-talent-apologizes-twitter/

By the time the show came back from a commercial break, Howie was prepared with an apology for his bad joke.

 

Source: https://twitter.com/howiemandel?lang=en

This video shows Howie’s insensitive comment and his prompt apology to angry fans.

                                     

Following this incident there has not been too much buzz around the issue. Could it be that the groundswell helped keep this under control? In chapter 5 Li and Bernoff discuss the benefits of listening to the groundswell. In their list of 6 reasons to listen to the groundswell, reason #5 is to “Manage PR Crises.” The authors warn that “In these situations, hours can count,” and in today’s world it is even arguable to say that minutes count!

The Ugly- Invasion of the Kardashians Apps

Not to bring up more Kardashian drama, but you knew it was coming right?! If we didn’t already know too much about the Kardashian clan before, we can be certain we do now. As of September 14th, Kylie, Khloe, Kim, and Kendall all have their very own apps.

Source: https://instagram.com/khloekardashian/

While the Kardashian invasion is a bit scary, I do have to give them credit for their ability to use the groundswell to their advantage. As per Li and Bernoff's descriptions, the girls do have a way of "Talking" to and "Energizing" their fans.

For you Kardashian fans out there, can you think of any other ways the Kardashians have used the groundswell to their benefit?

Nothing Like a "Kickstarter" to Get People Crowdfunding

Kickstarter has found itself at the epicenter of the groundswell with its crowdfunding platform being generated almost exclusively by its users.

So what is crowdfunding anyway? For those of you like myself who have very little experience with the groundswell, crowdfunding is a new financing practice where entrepreneurs (or anyone, really) can raise money from a large number of people (typically online) for a potential venture. 

Specifically at Kickstarter, regular people can peruse through hundreds of projects in 15 categories. If they discover a project that strikes their fancy, they can choose to become a backer and either contribute a donation or offer to pay a certain amount of money in return for a gift that is determined by the campaign creator. 

Watch the video below to learn more about the nuts and bolts of Kickstarter.

What we’ve learned so far is that Kickstarter is allowing the average Joe to become the fancy venture capitalist he’s always wanted to be. The site is user friendly AND its helping entrepreneurs make their dreams a reality. So far so good right? What could possibly go wrong with this type of app?

People lie, that is what can go wrong…Kickstarter has been getting a lot of heat lately for its campaign creators who haven't been keeping their promises to crowdfunders. One recommendation from BostonInno that could prevent this problem in the future is regarding the lack of rating on the site. Unlike Ebay where all users can be scored and rated following all transactions, Kickstarter has no rating system for its campaign creators once their project has been funded. The risk here is that someone can take off with the money, leaving backers high and dry. No matter how terribly a campaign creator screwed their backers over, they can’t be publicly criticized on the site for their failure to keep up their end of the deal. And what’s worse, they can continue to take people’s money without following through with their promises if they create multiple profiles under different email addresses.

For me personally, this type of app is too risky. If I am looking to help someone start a venture, then I want to meet them face to face and see physical evidence of their project. 

I appreciate the benefits and simplicity of Kickstarter. If I were to someday start a project that I needed funding for, I would certainly consider Kickstarter as a platform to use. I don’t see any risks for campaign creators. If they get 100% backing, then they are funded, if not, they can revamp the project and try again.

Meme courtesy of: http://www.finsmes.com/2012/09/meme-day-dealing-crowdfunding.html

My question to you all is, would you consider using Kickstarter? Would you use it as a campaign creator, backer, or both? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!