“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Charles Dickens
From Starbucks With Love
“Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible. Care more than others think wise.”
Howard Schultz, CEO Starbucks
Gordon & I probably talk about coffee, espresso and Starbucks way more than most people, but hey, when you love something so much, you feel compelled to share it with the world. Oh yea, it’s called customer loyalty, happiness and word of mouth. Sound familiar?
I felt compelled to write on this topic after an experience I had at “my Starbucks” last week. I call it my Starbucks as its my main spot I have been going to, nearly every day, for the last decade. Do you have a “my Starbucks”?
It’s All In A Name
They know my drink (talk about creature of habit), they know my name, they know my sister, my Mom and my brother. They even know when someone comes in and orders my drink, almost always asking, “Is this for Nina?” Talk about customer care. I have a bond with them, a relationship, a trust that is priceless.
Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?
They know when I have not been in for a while, they know my business, my hours, when I have gotten a new tattoo. When I moved away from LA for over a year and came back in, they welcomed me home. They remembered me, and my drink, even after a year had passed. They missed me, and I felt it, in my heart.
Please Don’t Go
So last week, I made my daily visit to my happy place, where the baristas make me smile. One of my fave baristas told me he was moving to the East Coast for a new opportunity. My heart sank. I could not even believe that I would not be seeing his kind smile, genuine interest in how I was doing or enjoy the perfect Venti Black Ice Tea in a Trenta Cup Extra Ice Unsweetened drink he has made me thousands of times. I grabbed my drink, hugged him, wished him the best, told the gang to have a great day, and walked out the door. And cried. Yep, that actually happened.
So I began to think about other companies I do business with, and began to wonder if I would cry if one of the team members left, or worse yet, if the business closed down. I am not saying that having customers cry is a good thing, but what I am saying is if they do, it says a lot about the depth of your relationship with them and how much they care about your people and your business.
So now let’s talk about you. How much time and energy are you putting into building relationships with your clients, both online and off? Can they “feel” how much you care? Will they cry when you are gone? Some very important things to consider when evaluating your team, your systems and your customer care.
(shared with LOVE from your Starbucks loving passionista Nina)
PS: If you are ever in LA, be sure to visit the BEST Starbucks on the planet located at 7122 Beverly Blvd.
Connecting Social Pages to YouTube How-To
“Life without you is like; Facebook without friends, YouTube without videos, and Google with no results…”
Unknown
YouTube is changing the way we view and consume media, for better for for worse. And beauty and YouTube go together like peas & carrots, peanut butter & jelly or hairdressers & coffee. You get our drift. Over 1 million results come up when searching beauty, hair and hair how-to, is one of those search results your channel?
If you have a YouTube channel for your brand or salon, there is one really important step you must take to ensure all of your social channels are connected, which is a big part of discovery on the social + digital web. Meaning, where else can people engage with you.
Here is a simple How-To. Enjoy.
Step One
Log onto your YouTube channel, go to your “home page” and click Edit on the right hand side of the screen.
Step Two
A box will appear at the bottom of this area. Type in the social or digital platform name you want to add. Then type in the URL (web address) where you want the link to take people. (be sure it’s your unique URL address i.e. www.facebook.com/passionsquared, not just www.facebook.com)
Step Three
Once you have added the Name and URL, simply click Apply. It’s always good to test the links just to be sure you are connecting everything to the right place. And if it got messed up, no biggie, just click on Edit, delete it and begin again.
Congratulations! You now are officially more connected. It’s time to get busy liking, favoriting, and creating video content for your fans & followers.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
Monday Cyber Monday
“Build it, and they will come” only works in the movies. Social Media is a “build it, nurture it, engage them, and they may come and stay.”
Seth Godin
Happy Giving Tuesday, yes, that is the new term being used after the shopping frenzy’s known as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday and a day dedicated to giving back to those in need through charitable donations. Very important indeed.
Today we wanted to focus on Cyber Monday as we see a huge opportunity for salons to become part of the estimated $1.42 billion dollars spent yesterday. How you ask? Well let’s first take a look at the stats in this awesome infographic.
Now lets talk about how you can be part of this online shopping frenzy, not only to increase revenue but more importantly to offer value, convenience and options for your clients.
One of the coolest trends we see is the shift towards gifting experiences over “things”. And what better gift is there than an experience in your salon or spa?
So we gotta ask…
1. Do you offer Online Appointment Booking?
2. Do you offer Gift Cards (that are able to be purchased online?)
3. Do you offer Series or Packages of your services (that are able to be purchased online?)
There are several ways you can begin to engage in the online sales world, not just for Cyber Monday, but 365 days a year to increase engagement, traffic and ultimately sales.
One small business we work with offers packages to their clients, available for purchase online, and ran a special between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and sold $8000 in packages. Yes, you read that right. Wow.
Did you offer any Cyber Monday specials? Are you considering offering online sales in the future? Two very important questions to ask yourself as we move into 2013.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
Instagram Badges and Other Cool Stuff
“When Instagram was down, I ran around town shouting “like” at flowers, dogs and expensive hamburgers”
via @laurenlaborde on Twitter
It’s clear that Instagram continues to be the latest social obsession. Over 10 million photos mentioning Thanksgiving were shared on Instagram on Thursday, a new record, WOW!
In a blog a few weeks ago, we shared about the new Web Profiles, one step closer to connecting your Instagram creations with the world. Now they have added Badges, to connect your Instagram Web Profile to your website or blog site, which will increase your engagement + connections.
How To Add the Instagram Badge to Your Site
Step One
Go to your Web Profile by typing in the URL www.instagram.com/your Instagram name here and click on your name, then click Badges.
Step Two
Click on the Badge you would like to embed into your site.
Step Three
Copy the code and embed it into your site. If you do not know how to embed code on your Blogsite or Website, ask your Webmaster, IT guy/gal (smart person), or whoever in your world helps you with this kind of stuff.
This is what the Badges look like once they are embedded. Cool, right? Click on the Badge and see where it takes you!
To learn more about Instagram Web Profiles, check out our previous blog on the topic, then go check out your page, and start sharing the love with your community.
We are still using Statigram on our site, which is awesome too. We have also claimed our Webstagram page, also awesome.
Running Instagram Contests on Statigram
On a total side note, if you are interested in running a Photo Contest on Instagram, Statigram has a super easy Toolkit to help you run contests, which can increase the fun and engagement of your community. Go to Statigram to learn more.
