We’ve all heard the claims; “Cured my cancer!” “I am now off all of my medication!” “My Diabetes and depression are both gone!”
Without calling them out on this blog, there are several large and successful MLM companies that seem to have very loose compliance departments.
I am always shocked when I see a YouTube video made by a distributor that makes outrageous product or compensation plan claims. Maybe I shouldn’t be.
The surprise is from the lack of action taken by the corporation to enforce their terms of use. There have been many MLM companies that have been shut down by the FCC for misrepresentations on the part of the distributors.
A good MLM corporation does two things…
1. Educates their distributor force on what…
I am sure most of you have seen the post on Mashable by Adam Ostrow about MLM Invading Twitter. I recently set up the propelhq twitter account. If you are here you know that we develop social tools for the Direct Sales industry or MLM.
Once I created my new twitter account I instantly began to receive spam followers and messages. People that I initially thought would be interesting to follow soon began to spam me with direct messages and a slew of spam tweets. Working as a Social Media/Technology vendor in the Network Marketing industry for the last few years I have spent a lot of time getting to know the industry and how social networking fits in. Spammers and…
Loved reading this article about Stewart Cink taking Twitter by storm. I’d love to get in-tournament commentary to my phone from Cink. I’d feel like I had the inside scoop, much like when Ryan Seacrest tweets during commercials (or so I’ve heard).
You can follow cink on Twitter @stewartcink
The ability to connect with people (fans) is what makes Twitter an excellent tool for deepening relationships. Follow us @ignitehq
What is PropelHQ you ask?
Simply put, PropelHQ is the top destination for Direct Sales professionals, their teams, customers and prospects. It is a place to network, collaborate, help people and have fun. Some of the highlights include:
- Live updates – connect to Twitter and other popular microblogging site
- Facebook Integration – Keep your Facebook friends up to date with your business without being annoying
- Competition Engine – The tool you have all been waiting for. Create a competition for weight loss, cholesterol, miles ran, calls made, or anything you want. Create competitions for customers, prospects or your team. We will talk in more detail about this in a later post but this is a great and fun way to interact with all your friends…
If you ring up what it would cost to do research for your target audience through focus groups and surveys your budget would frown and the response rate would haunt you in your sleep. How do you get good solid information and even get a content bonus on the side?
On the Livestrong site there is a Share your Story section that allows your LIVESTRONG story to be shared with other readers. I am not sure how long the option has been running but 5673 sounds like a pretty good response rate to me. For the Livestrong Foundation whether they know it or not, but they now have 5673 different entries of what it means to overcome difficulties.
Benefits of Customer Stories
We always hear that communication is key. Internal communication can make or break a customer experience. The worst is jumping on a promotion and then asking an employee about it and then you get the response, “No, I haven’t heard of that. I can’t help you.”
A lot of value can come from meeting regularly with your employees and discussing new procedures, products, promos, etc. You should also keep it candid. Don’t try to rule the conversation. Chances are your employees have tons of questions and concerns. The last thing you want it conspiring behind cubicles. Keep it open. Keep them happy.
Customers often have questions and concerns if they visit your business often. Suggestion boxes are great but where is the…
I think sometimes companies get so worked up with out of the box strategies and ways to reach their customers that they forget the basics of personal communication. I learned back in kindergarten that if you make a mess it is best to fess up. In your customer contacts, it is best to be up front and honest. Anyone can and will see through false social smoke and mirrors.
Honesty
The thing that comes to mind right away is product recalls. If you know faulty merchandise is in the hands of your customers you need to get on the ball and start sending some emails. If you hope the problem will go away and that no one will find out, don’t…
Lately I have been seeing my Facebook friends donating their statuses to certain causes.
John Doe is the 1,345,489th person to donate his status to support saving the tuna.
I think it is great to make people aware of your cause but as far as getting real results I would hope organizations dig a little deeper into their strategy. I worked with a business who insisted on using Paypal “Donate” buttons on their website. There is some debate with using Paypal. Personally I think if you want to make it ultra easy for someone to make a donation it is a solid choice.
Most people I have talked to have a Paypal account, even my mother who struggles with the right-click. I have…
The Oscars
This last Sunday night I was drifting in and out of sleep during the Oscars. The phrase “Slumdog Millionaire” kept sounding in my head as I was nursing a Dr. Pepper. After about the 7th award or nomination, not sure, I finally searched the trailer on my iPhone.
I’m no movie buff but has anyone else noticed a huge shift in movies? These producers obviously rolled with the market on this one and absolutely ruled the awards ceremony. Ahem…best film…or something like that?
Hard Work
When you talk about social media and drawing in customers you can use all the twitter feeds and blogs and facebook groups(careful, these can come off annoying) to listen and interact with your customer. But unless you…
Ok I’m addicted to my iPhone. There I said it. For long periods of time I just stare at it. Last week I got some water damage and now it won’t turn off. Maybe it has made a love connection with me and wants to stay on all the time? If your an ‘iPhoner’ you may be suffering from the current addiction I am.
I feel like a 14 yr. old girl. Constantly checking for texts, looking at my iPhone when people are talking to me. But here’s the deal, easy touch screen is ultra awesome to use and quick to type out emails. The app store is great, I currently have 3 twitter account on my iPhone rather then confining…
