Facebook Cover Photo Features Webconsuls Team

Two weeks ago I talked about adding some finishing touches to your Facebook business page. In particular, I urged you to create your business Facebook "cover photo" and to think through what message you wanted to send with that photo. Of late, I used our Webconsuls Facebook page to feature our clients' Facebook cover photos. All the while, I was working with our Webconsuls' team members to determine what our cover photo should say about us.

Here is a little of how this process went: We are not a traditional brick and mortar business, so we knew we wouldn't present a photo of our storefront. We also knew that our team members live in five different states and three time zones, so getting together for a group shot was not going to happen. Additionally, we felt that taking the approach that we use on our Twitter page, that is listing our services, would not really make us unique or tell our story.

So how do we tell Webconsuls' story? What makes us unique?  I remember when Dick and Dennis first decided to form Webconsuls. They went back and forth about what to name their business, how would they convey their vision.  The good news is they committed this history to a press release and here is what they wrote November 16, 1999.

'The name Webconsuls was chosen very deliberately. A consul is an official appointed by a government to advance the commercial interest of its citizens in a foreign country. Webconsuls is conceived as describing "a firm which advances the commercial interest of its clients on the World Wide Web." As Dick Fay recently remarked, "Web sites do not automatically produce dollars. Success is realized when web sites are carefully marketed and targeted, those activities being integrated into a tailored, well–orchestrated business campaign."'

And so, between a few emails and phone calls the Webconsuls' team decided our cover photo should be a collage of the team members. It is not about being techies or understanding all the latest software and tools, but more about being people who work with other people to promote the success of our clients' businesses. It is a collaborative process and we think that is what our current cover photo says.

Webconsuls' FACEBOOK Cover Photo April 2012 - click on it to enlarge!

What do you think? Notice I said current, because we can refresh it and keep it vital. Like any collage it tells a story...Dennis, Judy and Dick meeting 31 years ago at an ARCO training seminar, Malik's college graduation and enjoying a California sunset, Heidi receiving her master's from NYU and "horsing around", Alycia and Bill celebrating their wedding in Hawaii, Dick supporting his beloved DUKE and the Phillies, Dennis meeting with clients, Daniel working with animals and 'dressing to the nines', Keith enjoying life and supporting the Toronto Blue jays...the story goes on.

We look forward to your comments or stop by our FACEBOOK page and "like" us.

Social Media TRUST Is Like Wearing A Lapel Pin

Last Friday Jay Baer published a post "Speak No Evil - Why Trust Isn't a 4 Letter Word in Social Media." I came across his piece as I have "social" friends that follow Jay; I saw a Tweet and took a break to read the post. Maybe you read it, maybe you commented -- I will say this, the conversation got pretty interesting. If you have ever been an employer or employee you might want to add your two cents. Here is mine!

Circa 1979 Crocker National Bank AVP

Two years ago I touched on my corporate career, writing a piece for my company's blog. If you read this blog with any regularity, then you might know about other jobs I have held since 1968! I once wrote a whole post about my adventures of being a Sears' employee.  OK, suffice it to say I have been in the work force for 43 years. I have seen a lot. That is why I was taken aback when Jay said: "The belief in decentralized social media and every employee being in marketing is taking root in America." I believe that for decades, maybe even approaching a century + companies have known that every employee is part of marketing. This is not NEW!

Companies may take a different approach now that we have "social media," but it is really not very different than the days of lapel pins and/or uniforms.

Weren't we always social? I think so. 40 plus years ago the banking industry dreamed of eliminating tellers by introducing Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), but they soon discovered that customers still like and need to go into a bank office and interact with bank employees and why not have that be a teller, as opposed to a marketer or Vice President. According to Wikipedia: "Tellers are considered a "front line" in the banking business. This is because they are the first people that a customer sees at the bank and are also the people most likely to detect and stop fraudulent transactions in order to prevent losses at a bank." Given this definition you'd think it was a pretty high paying job...but the median income for tellers is about $22,000.

Jay is correct when he concludes that "common sense and good judgment is not the sole property of a department" such as marketing, but I disagree with Jay when he says that "it's just that social media missteps are public," as if news media has not always been public.  Jay suggests (I am sure tongue-in-cheek) that companies might consider reading employees' emails or listen in on their phone calls. These two activities have been part of the corporate world for a long time. And when the corporate world was less technically mature, we had mimeograph machines, steno pads, the Recordak machine, microfilm, multi-line phones and employees' memories.  I think what Jay might have meant to say is that today's social media missteps are immediate. They were always PUBLIC.

Ernest Hemingway once said: "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." Trust is a two way street and it doesn't take long for an employee or employer to know whether they can trust each other. Think about the lapel pin. Recognizable logos! As soon as the employee is seen in PUBLIC wearing the company pin they are part of the Social Media department. When a company hands the employee the pin or supplies a uniform or logo embroidered polo shirt they have broadened the employee's role to include marketing. The employee's social audience has broadened further than one might imagine.

Last year at BWE10 I heard Jeffrey Hayzlett remark that the "customer owns the brand;" today's board rooms and senior management would do well to remember that every employee really is and always has been part of marketing. I have some great lapel pins to prove it!

Go ahead click the photo. How many of these companies can you identify?

Do you have any lapel pins? How about polo shirts? I would love to know what you think...

#LeadershipChat Meet Gert Boyle

Image by Jason McHuff via Flickr

Every Tuesday evening 8:00PM EST @lisapetrilli and @swoodruff co-host a live Twitter chat called #leadershipchat. It is always an interesting exchange. Tonight they plan to talk about The Accidental Leader. This chat may deal with political leaders or business leaders, but I thought today might be a good day to introduce my friends to Gert Boyle.

Do you know Gert Boyle?  I bet you know her company. Does Columbia Sportswear ring any bells? I would like #leadershipchat to meet Gert Boyle. Her colorful life story reads like a movie script and I hope you will read the full 2003 CNN Money article, but suffice it to say she was a stay-at-home mother and on December 4, 1970, her husband (then President of Columbia Sportswear) suddenly died of a massive heart attack.

"I had to go to work the next day. It was the fifth of December, just before Christmas, and we had all these deliveries to do. I was afraid all the seamstresses would quit. It was hard to find good seamstresses! We had just taken on an SBA loan. The government said that if you don't pay us back, what are you going to give us? Well, my husband had said that we'd give them our life insurance. He was 47! We'd also give them our house, our mother's house, and our beach house. How am I going to say to my mother, "Hey, you know that house you've been living in? It's gone." I couldn't do that. If you stay home and cry all day long, it isn't going to change stuff. And poverty was really not something I was looking forward to. So I went to work."

On January 27, 2011, Gert Boyle, now nearly 87(born around 1924)and still Chairman of the Board, participated in the conference call to announce Columbia Sportswear posting double-digit gains in quarterly, yearly earnings.

Maybe you are wondering why I even know about Gert Boyle. You see I first moved to snow country (read Alaska and then on to New Hampshire) in 1983. Until that time I had never seen snow fall. I had to learn quickly how to dress for the cold and lucky for me it was in 1986 that Columbia Sportswear introduced the Bugaboo Parka (a 3 in1 jacket).  The one you see in this photo was purchased in 1986 and you should know that just two weeks ago when the temperature in Tucson dropped to 18 degrees my husband was wearing this Bugaboo Parka.

But there is more to my story with Gert and her son, Tim Boyle. In 1983 they started an advertising campaign: "Before it passes Mother Nature, it has to pass Mother Boyle."  It was part of their entire campaign, even on their merchandise tags. It was the sort of campaign that stuck in your head. One day winter 1993 I drove to Attitash Ski Resort to pick up my two sons from a alpine ski racing event. It was a bitter cold day and I had to walk a long way from the car to the ski lodge. When I finally located Aaron and Daniel they were ready to go home, ski bags in tow.  We started towards the door when one of them discovered they had picked up the wrong black Columbia Sportswear ski bag. Now you can imagine trying to find the right bag in the confusion of a race day, many little boys and girls all with their black bags. One thing was missing from the bags...an outside clear pocket for a name and address card.

The next day I wrote a letter to Tim Boyle. It was a nice letter, I simply asked him if he were sure Mother Boyle had "passed" on the ski bags.  And guess what...about two weeks later Tim Boyle called me long distance, all the way from Oregon to New Hampshire. He liked my letter and he liked my suggestion. He also had a good laugh about how his mother might have reacted to a bunch of little skiers all with the same bag and no noticeable way to easily pick out their bag in a crowd. He said he was going to send my idea to his research and development department.

Columbia Sportswear Company is now in it 73rd year. I am pleased to introduce Gert Boyle to my #leadershipchat friends. Let me know what you think and in the meantime you can enjoy a photo of Dennis and me taken in Butte, Montana in front of the Berkeley Pit October 1997. Dennis is wearing the polar fleece inner jacket of his Bugaboo Parka!

Judy and Dennis October 1997

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Other interesting links about Gert...

Columbia Milestones (Here you can see a sample of one of their ads)
Our Company, Ourselves (April 1, 1998)
Gert Boyle Has a Vested Interest in George Bush's Fishing Fortunes (September 18, 1989)

Related articles

• Columbia Sportswear's 'Tough Mother' Outsmarts Attacker (inc.com)
• Five Reasons Why You'll Love LeadershipChat (brandimpact.wordpress.com)
• The (Mis-matched) Accidental Leader (brandimpact.wordpress.com)

You'll Love It At Levitz!

I originally planned to write this blog two weeks ago, but it so happens that just about the time I was snapping the photos you now see on this post the Tragedy in Tucson was beginning to unfold two miles east of the Sam Levitz Furniture store where Dennis and I were shopping. 


So I am here today to share with you a personal story of why I love it at Sam Levitz Furniture. I want to go on record that I personally do not enjoy shopping and I find shopping for furniture to be a very difficult task. In fact I could write multiple posts about my furniture buying experiences. There are  questions of style, quality, fabric, leather, pretend-leather, small print, real wood, chrome, glass tops, free delivery, mechanical furniture, stain resistant, size, warranties, guarantees, etc...believe me the list is endless. I am reminded of visiting a friend’s parent’s home. This was about 36 years ago. I was invited for dinner. The parents were both physicians and their home was in Beverly Hills. I walked in and the living room and dining room were furnished with what looked to be expensive patio furniture. I was taken aback...so I said to my friend “I don’t understand the furniture.” To which he replied: “When my parents first married and bought this house they could not afford real furniture. So they bought expensive patio furniture, thinking that as time went by they would move the patio furniture to the patio and buy real furniture. But then the kids came along...and here we are 25 years later!” Enough said.

Now back to Levitz. This story really begins 32 years ago. Dennis and I were newly married and we had just purchased our first home. We needed some furniture so we went to the local Levitz Store. That day we purchased a casual dining set, an étagère and a recliner. (See the slide show) We had the dining set and the étagère for 19 years.(I don't want to talk about the recliner!) For most of those 19 years we never shopped again at Levitz because we did not live near a Levitz store.

In 2008 Dennis and I relocated to Tucson, AZ. The home we purchased has a beautiful large master bedroom suite. We knew we wanted to get a new king size bedroom set. And lo and behold there was a Levitz store a few miles from our home. It is now called Sam Levitz Furniture. We went shopping. We found a set that we loved. Very simple lines, dark wood, king size bed, two night stands, and a six drawer dresser. Furniture was delivered and for six months everything was fine.

Then one day we noticed that the mattress was sagging on one side. We called Customer Service and they scheduled an inspection. Inspector arrived and determined the mattress was faulty. Mattress was replaced. Six month later the new mattress began to sag. We called Customer Service, they scheduled an inspection. Inspector arrived and again deemed the mattress was faulty. Mattress was replaced; however, this time I picked one that did not have a pillow-top.

This past Christmas Eve a piece of support wood on the side rail gave way and three screws holding this support wood broke off. Dennis and I took the mattress and box springs off the bed, moved the bed to the other side of the room and waited until the Monday after Christmas to call Levitz.  When I reached Customer Service the lady kindly informed me that the bed was out of warranty, but I pleaded successfully for her to at least send a furniture technician to examine the bed to determine how it might be fixed. She agreed.

In the meantime, I started reviewing my receipts and tags from the original 2008 furniture purchase. I noticed that the king size mattress information indicated that the mattress needs to be supported by five hardwood supports.  I looked at our broken supports and realized there were only three!

The service man arrived and carefully examined the bed. He called customer service and described the condition of the bed and what needed to be done to fix it. They indicated that it was out of warranty and they would not approve the repair. I thanked the service man and he left.

The next day Dennis and I went to Northwest Tucson Sam Levitz Furniture store, receipts and photos of the bed in hand. We asked to speak to the store manager. Two minutes later we were introduced to Tom Scott, the store manager. This is where the “guest experience design” began. Tom invited us to sit down at a beautiful wicker patio table set. He encouraged us to tell our story. And Tom listened with big ears.  He heard us and we all came to certain conclusions.

1. It seemed the king size bed had a design flaw - three width support slats instead of five.
2. The king size bed that had been delivered to us in 2008 was missing the middle head to foot length support slat (which would have been the fourth slat).
3. It seemed the 2008 delivery team did not notice the missing slats, perhaps there was a parts box missing in the shipment.
4. The subsequent mattress inspectors did not lift the bed to determine that there was insufficient support.
5. Levitz no longer carries this bed.
6. The manufacturer no longer makes this bed.

So now we know the facts, what do we do about it? Given that it was New Year’s Eve Tom asked us to give him a few days. He wanted to review this with his Vice-President on Monday. Good enough for us. We shook hands.

The following Monday Tom called. He was sure he had a solution. In their warehouse they still had queen size versions of our bed and he was going to send out technicians to replace the side rails, add five width supports, and the missing length support. Perfect. On January 7th the technicians arrived, but we had an unforeseen problem. Everything would have worked fine, except the queen width slats were not wide enough for the king bed! The technicians left and we called Tom to report what happened.  He asked if he could send out another technician to install non-factory slats. We agreed. But as the technician was finishing up we all realized this just was not going to work. We called Tom and explained the condition of the bed. He told us to simply thank the technician for his help and he invited us to visit the store on Saturday to pick out replacement furniture. He would give us a full credit for our original purchase!

John Russo, Dennis, & Tom Scott at Sam Levitz Furniture

So now you know why I love it at Levitz. On January 8, 2011, Dennis and I went to Levitz and met with Tom. He introduced us to John Russo in sales who took us on a tour of the showroom. When I explained to John that I like really simple lines and wanted dark wood he realized that he should take us into the Gallery at Levitz. He introduced us to Leon Asp an interior designer who showed us the Four Hands Old Java bedroom set. We loved it even though we knew we would have to pay the difference between our credit and price of this set. Before I agreed, I got down on the floor and looked at the bed support system - 10 widthway hardwood slats and two lengthway hardwood slats. SOLD!  

I hope you enjoyed this story and my slide show below. I was happy to learn more about Sam Levitz and Levitz’s long history in Tucson. The point of my story is that customer service is a two way street. It is important to be a good customer (save your receipts, ask questions, read) and at the same time the business needs to employ good “listeners”. Tom Scott is a good listener and I like to think Dennis and I are good customers.  

Today’s lesson: take the time to state your case and tell your story...before you tweet or blog about a business. There are usually solutions and that is the magic of guest experience design with a community minded corporate citizen.


How about you?  Bought any furniture lately? 

Does your front-loading washer stink?

Image via Wikipedia

Yes, I said "stink". And, I mean "stink" literally. If you don't own or use a consumer front-loading, high-efficiency (HE) washer, then you probably think I have lost my mind. But if you do use an HE washer, then there is a pretty good chance that you know what I am talking about.  

About a month ago, my oldest son was standing in my laundry room and he pointed out that there was a strange odor coming from my Frigidaire Full Size Tumble Action Washer (manufactured December 2006). Then he pointed to the mold or mildew that was growing on the "flexible gasket".  This was not a good bit of news, but I promised I would check it out. 

So my mission started. I Googled "front-loader washer smell" (I was being polite using the word smell as opposed to odor or stink). What do you know?  About 39,000 search engine results. Now I knew I had been living in the 'dark' (no pun intended) and apparently had 'grown' accustom to the odor, as all species will do over time.  

I now know that this problem is not unique to my brand of front-loading HE washer and this is not a new problem. It has been going on for many years. But what amazes me is that consumers are tolerating what can only be described as a design flaw. Yes, I have now learned there have been class-action suits that have come and gone and been settled for those who were lucky enough to be in the class. But still I want to know why are we not up in arms about this potential health danger lurking in our houses, apartments, dorms, etc?

Let's think about this: home kitchen appliances might include a refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, oven, microwave, washer, dryer, and garbage disposal. Of these, the refrigerator, dishwasher, front loading washing machine and garbage disposal each have some kind of rubber or plastic covered gasket.  Of these, how many of these gaskets do you routinely wipe down every day or after each use?  You get my point.

For the record, last month I immediately went to ACE Hardware and purchased Iron Out® Washer Magic ($6.99) and Smellywasher.com® Cleaner ($16.99). I read a lot of on-line articles that advised me to clean the washer with a cleaner, wipe the gasket dry after each use, and leave the door of the washing machine open when not in use!   

Here is what I know:

1. In my lifetime I have owned three washing machines, two were top-loaders and my current one, which came with the house, is a front-loader.  
2. I have been doing laundry for 40+ years, I have never had to leave the door or lid of a washing machine open when not in use, for any reason. 
3. My Frigidaire Full Size Tumble Action Washer Use and Care Guide says: "Do NOT leave the washer door open. An open door could entice children to hang on the door or crawl inside the washer. Note: If there are no small children present, leave the door ajar to prevent odor build up and to improve venting of the unit."
4. HE machines are typically more expensive than top-loaders. Frigidaire front-loaders range from $549-$1149, while Frigidaire top-loaders range from $499-$549.
5. HE stands for High Efficiency and you must use HE products in a front-loader.
6. HE products are typically more expensive than regular washing products.
7. A new gasket costs about $300 installed.
8. Tide now offers a new product Tide® Washing Machine Cleaner. Three pouches for $7.99, According to ACE Hardware's site this product "removes odor-causing residues that builds up in HE (High Efficiency) machines." 
9. Routine and regular cleaning your HE machine will cost extra money: Hot water, empty load, cleaning product, your TIME.
10. I live in the desert. Very dry climate, low humidity. Air conditioning pulls moisture out of the air.

This week people are convening in Las Vegas for the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show #CES and I believe that Samsung is there previewing their WF448 Front-loading Washing Machine. Maybe some of my Twitter friends will stop by the SAMSUNG booth and ask about how to avoid front-loading washing machine odor.

I would like to know what you think. Have you had experience with this problem? How did you resolve it?

View of mold growing in the washer gasket!

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I invite you to check out these sites/articles regarding Front-Loading Machines.

The clothes are clean...but what's that smell?

Front Loading Washing Machine Investigation 

Mold can be a problem for some front-loading washers - Consumer Reports

The Hidden Cost of Going Green - Wall Street Journal

What I Learned from Julie and Julia

Exactly two months ago I wrote a blog about Twitter and the things that I learn from Tweets. That day I made the following observation:

"Here is some other interesting news I picked up by following Rick Klau. On March 11th Blogger announced a new Blogger Template designer. The reviews so far have been very exciting. I am thinking of trying it to create a new personal blog. What do you think of that idea?"

Guess what? Not one of my Webconsuls' readers offered any feedback about me creating a personal blog.

Quite unexpectedly on June 5th, I watched the movie Julie and Julia. Have you seen the movie? What I love is that it tells a true story and allows us to eavesdrop on the lives of two couples from different generations struggling with identity and goals.  And of course, it also tells a successful story of a BLOG.  So, as the movie closed, the wheels were spinning in my head. On Sunday June 6th I joined in a #blogchat and the rest is history.

I invite you to visit Judy's OP-ED blog, particularly the About Judy's OP-ED page where you learn how #blogchat influenced my decision.

But today I would like our clients to mull over these facts:

• Webconsuls has many clients and a good number of these clients have great blogs. These blogs have been customized to match their websites. They actively post interesting news about their business or their industry. You can see these clients on our Blogroll (in the left margin.)
• Many of our clients look for guidance about blogging, both technical and creative guidance 
• Creating a personal blog can serve as a training ground for your business blog, allowing you to get comfortable with the software, adding images, videos, links, etc.
• A personal blog can be a virtual family scrapbook. You can 'turn the lens on your family', involve other family members to participate with comments, be guest bloggers, etc. 
• You can keep your personal blog private, only share it with designated readers. 

I want you to know that I built my personal blog by myself. I was tempted to call Malik Moosa-Soomar, but I felt strongely that I needed to learn how to do this by flying solo. 

Now I hope you will read it, ask questions, post comments, and join in the fun.

And here for today's fun is a trailer for Julie and Julia.