Fanminder Blog

When a fan joins your mobile list from their phone, they instantly receive back a welcome message text from you. Well actually, we send it automatically on your behalf. Due to popular demand, you can now customize that message with our new Custom Welcome Message feature. This is really cool because you can create an instant incentive for your fans to join your mobile list. For instance, check out the custom welcome message Chef Tony created for Visions Restaurant in Bethesda, MD. Just pull out your mobile phone and text the word “seafood” to the number 244326. He’s currently offering $10 off your dinner bill just for joining.

Why would Chef Tony offer such a great incentive? Because he knows you can’t beat the response rates of mobile marketing and he wants to grow his mobile fan club as fast and as big as possible. People read EVERY text message they receive and typically within 15 minutes of receipt. No other marketing channel will get your message read EVERY time.

To set up your Custom Welcome Message, sign in and click the Programs tab. If you need some help, just ping me at tracy@fanminder.com.

Want another cool feature? Email iwant@fanminder.com and let us know.

Summary: a) Place Mobile Fan Club signs in your customer flow, right in the places where your fans look. b) Create interactivity using text-in contests and other ideas to spark true engagement and therefore, sign-ups and sales.

The Story:

I recently visited Psycho Donuts to see how our mobile fan club was faring with its customers. Sign-ups weren’t yet what we had hoped for, despite the wonderfully creative signage plastered all over the place (disclaimer: Signs were in place for just a few days so perhaps my expectations were a wee bit high

I brought a clipboard, a customer questionnaire, my eyes and my two (big) ears. It was a busy Saturday morning and the store was hopping – an ideal environment to observe the store’s fans.

After an hour of watching, listening, and conversing with customers, I learned that few people even saw the signs, despite their perceived prominence by me. Why? Well, the store is a visual delight for the eyes, with gorgeous, mouth-watering donuts and artwork all over the place competing for the attention of the store’s fans.

I watched what patrons did in the store. In order they:

1. wait on line (if there is a line) and gaze at the artwork on the walls
2. Peer intently at the donuts in the donut case
3. Look at the cashier while paying
4. Then leave with a bag or a box, with a few sitting down at the four counter stools.

Nowhere in this flow were our signs scrutinized. So I learned mobile fan club promotions need to be in the flow of where customers look. Once we realized this, Jordan and I began brainstorming all kinds of interesting placements: stickers on boxes, place cards in the donut case, being on the menu, etc. Not precisely rocket science, but then again, lots of little ideas become…The Tipping Point where lots of little things can make a big difference.

I also observed our sign is very promotional: Sign up, get specials. That’s ok and important. But Jordan has done an amazing job of grafting entertainment with donuts. So the store has great artwork by local artists, an Ad-Libs contest, a padded cell, and of course, those eye-popping donuts.

So, Jordan and I asked What if…we had a “Vote for your favorite donut” sign next to each donut in the donut case, where each vote is an entry into a contest to win artwork every X months? Or turning the paper Psycho-Libs game into an instant text-version? I could go on, but you get it: use the phone’s interactivity to power a higher level of customer engagement.

As I left Psycho Donuts Saturday morning, I felt like the time spent in the store, “in the trenches”, was time well-spent. As usual, there’s no substitution for getting out there and being on the front lines. And Jordan and I have an emerging plan to gobble up Mobile Fans.

In a future post I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I’m thrilled to share our newest customer, Visions Restaurant in Bethesda, MD and its social whirlwind of a chef, Tony Marciante.

Guess how we met? Yep. Twitter. I followed Tony, he followed Fanminder, a few direct messages later at 1am and voila! the two of us are gabbing like little schoolgirls over Skype, screen sharing, and recording it all for posterity in Jing.

What a completely new world we live in eh?

So besides being thankful to the Twitter Gods, I’m also thankful for meeting Tony. Tony is an inspiring concoction of top-notch chef, restaurateur, and social media god. And since two of my favorite passions are social media and food (Rita, Tracy, don’t go there!) you can bet Tony and I are fast becoming buddies. I fully expect our two companies to chart new paths for other local, small businesses to blaze with us.

On a more mundane but equally exciting note, Tony is excited to use Fanminder to text specials and other announcements for his restaurant to compliment his other forms of social outreach, cable TV show, and advertising.

Welcome aboard, Tony!

We’d like to extend a zany welcome to our newest customer, Psycho Donuts, in Campbell, California.

I recently sat down with Jordan Zweigoron, CEO and Chief Psycho and the story he shared with me made me think he’s ready to plead the insanity defense (ok, i’ll stop it.)

He relayed to me how he was just “sittin’ around” dreaming up ideas and of course, he was doing it in a donut shop and presto! – why couldn’t donuts in California be re-invented just like frozen yogurt, or cupcakes, or other treats?

He lighted on the theme of “crazy” donuts and Psycho Donuts was formed. Evidently, there’s been much controversy since the theme of the shop elicited strong, negative reactions from mental health advocacy groups.

All this controversy has of course proven the old adage “All publicity is good publicity” and Jordan and his store have been profiled by ABC News and Fox News.

My own take is that ridiculing people with mental illnesses is not something funny – nor do I believe Jordan takes it that way. I’d like to think we all have room in our hearts for attempts to lighten the seriousness our daily crush, and Jordan’s insane donuts are playing a small role in that.

Psycho Donuts plans to use Fanminder to bring more repeat business from the hipper, younger crowd and also to engage his customers in some of the more fun/unique aspects of his store – such as contests and musical thematic elements. For instance, Jordan will be texting “Come in with your crazy story and get a half dozen free donuts”…things like that seem super-cool and fun and we can’t wait to make it happen for him.

And if you get a chance, stop by the store, it’s bursting with original ideas from an over-imaginative Jordan.

We’re happy to welcome the sweetest addition to the growing Fanminder family of customers – Sweetriot.

Sweetriot has both an awesome mission and awesome product. They’re “working to fix the world” by creating and offering all-natural chocolate treats called ‘peaces.’ The company’s website lays out their mission, products, and lots of other fun facts in a lively, fun, and ultimately authentic way. I see them as a paragon of the new, socially-responsible (yet highly irreverent) small business model. Can you tell we’re in love?

Clare Simone Nehra is the Catalyst of Cool Outreach (what a title!) who’s been working with us. She’s most excited about sending specials and coupons to their customers, as well as notifying retailers, customers, and others of their numerous events such as visiting stores that distribute their product.

Interestingly, I met Sarah Endline, CEO of sweetriot, through the new American Express OpenForum. OpenForum is a new social networking tool with a mission to connect small businesses, and in this they haven’t disappointed! Thanks AmEx!

Welcome to sweetriot.