Ryan Wofford

Image by sarniebill1 via Flickr

I’m not really one of those people who is big on New Year’s resolutions, or who came into the first few weeks of January talking about how this was going to be a great year, or a decade of change. As a matter of fact, I probably downplayed it, if anything. I’ve had a lot of change in my life over the past year… my mother passed away, I was forced to move houses, I got engaged. And, I was aware of some change coming my way in the new year… the company I’ve worked for over the past 9+ years is going through a merger and while I wasn’t happy about it, I was interviewing for a new job, we’re hoping to buy our first house this year, and more. My point is–change happens. Like many, often I find myself resistant to it at first. Then, it happens. Something changes. And the only thing you can do is adapt.

Sure enough, after months of discussions and a turn of events, I was offered a Director of Marketing position with a local SaaS company, which by all accounts appears to be a wonderful opportunity for career growth and to practice what I have a passion for, which is developing marketing strategies to attract and connect with customers on an intimate level. This opportunity is really what sparked me into launching this blog and getting better about documenting and sharing knowledge with my peers (and friends or enemies or frienemies or whatever you call our twisted relationship), and make more of a conscious effort to write more. I’ve even dusted off the ol’ screenplay, as well (but we’ll leave that for another discussion)!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

So, here we go into a new year. A new era. A new decca (as Flavor Flav would say), and I look around and I have to say… the winds of change are ‘a blowin’. I’m leaving behind almost 10 YEARS with my current company (that’s almost unheard of these days!). I’m officially starting my new job on Feb. 1st. I’m crossing into a completely new vertical industry. I have a LOT to learn. And, I’m scared.

I actually recalled another time in my life when I was exposed to change and someone lent me a copy of Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D.. I had given the book back, but wanted to read it again and needed instant gratification so I purchased it on iTunes so I could listen to it while I cooked dinner that night. I realized again that it was okay to fear change, whether you understood it or not. Life begins when you react to that decision. I think I made pork chops with apples and kale that night. I made the decision the next day to take the offer.

So, here I go… about to embark on a new phase in my life and I can only hope it proves to be as enriching and self-defining as I believe it has potential to be.

Stay tuned to this blog as I hope to keep you posted with how things are going, new developments in my personal and professional journey, and of course my experiences with developing and executing marketing strategies using today’s (and tomorrow’s) new technology!

How will you foster and embrace change this year?

Here’s a quick gripe / calling out of a few certain companies that apparently don’t properly sync their databases prior to sending an email campaign.

Having been the Director of a firm that manages email marketing for clients for many years, I understand the importance of these things and probably pay closer attention than most, but here’s how things went down…

I was forced to spend several hours yesterday updating all of my online accounts to change from my work email address to my personal address. Seems easy enough, but we’re talking almost 10 years worth of subscriptions to places, so it was a bit daunting.

Today, as I sit at my desk, I notice some emails coming in from various companies and I start to panic a little thinking “I swear I updated that email address yesterday”. So, I actually double-checked. What I found confirmed that I did in fact update my account. So, what gives?

Image via Wikipedia

It seems to me there are some companies out there not following best practices when it comes to email database marketing. We’re not talking about small mom and pop shops, either… we’re talking BIG companies (I’m pointing the finger at you Delta, Marriott)! One would think two of the biggest rewards programs in the world would be on top of this with nightly syncs and back-ups at minimum, but apparently not.

Get with it folks!

iconic Maker's Mark bottle

For any of you who follow me on Twitter (@djinc), for better or worse you probably know by now that I drink a good bit of booze. Along with wine and scotch, another thing I drink a good bit of these days is Maker’s Mark whisky. (Yes, I noticed my spellchecker just prompt me for the missing “e” in whisky, but that’s how the American government actually declared it spelled in 1968).

Now, I don’t profess to be all-knowing about the stuff, I’ve just loved the taste of it since my grandfather used to ask him to run into the kitchen as a 7 year old child and pour “this much” Canadian Club in a glass with “this much” Sprite.

For those who don’t know a lot about whisky (or whiskey) or “bourbon”, it’s kind of like the Champagne of the South. I don’t just mean that in a point-at-the-rednecks-and-laugh kinda way.

I mean that supposedly, if it doesn’t come from Bourbon County, Kentucky, it ain’t really “bourbon“. Though, unlike the AOC laws in France, it doesn’t technically have to come from that county to be labeled “bourbon”, just fit the government-mandated criteria, and be from anywhere in the US.

And, that really brings me to Maker’s Mark. Although it’s seeped in Kentucky tradition, it’s just kind of a brand that goes against the grain (or rye *cringes coyly at bad pun*). It’s not made in Bourbon County. Unlike a lot of other popular American whiskies of the era, there’s no rye in it. They are one of the few American bourbons to take the US government declared, albeit Scottish-influenced spelling of “whisky”. And, they don’t just seek consumers, they turn them into brand Ambassadors.

So, through the work I do I had the fortune to meet Barry Younkie, Global Marketing Director at Maker’s Mark, some years back. Barry, one of the brains behind Maker’s Ambassador program, was helping us on a project that was geared around creating a brand community of our own for a client. Barry helped me understand the often immeasurable ROI value of converting your customers into your biggest fans, and your biggest fans into your biggest brand ambassadors. These consumers will go beyond the average use case and actually carry the torch for your brand. They become evangelists. They spread the word.

What Maker’s Mark does with their Ambassador community shows a commitment by continually investing to provide the members of that community tools to help spread the brand message. Along with monthly email updates containing info like recipes (both drink and culinary), updates on the status of your personalized barrel of Maker’s Mark–you get your name on a barrel when joining and the opportunity to visit it or purchase a bottle from that batch, and more; the brand also follows up with direct mail pieces like pictured below.

Each year around the holidays, they send out some special promotion to help you spread the word and share with your friends and family.

2008 Direct Mail Package: Your own personal Maker’s Mark stamp like they make the iconic bottle top with.

personal Maker's Mark seal

2009 Direct Mail Package: Gift wrapping materials

Maker's Mark gift bags

This sounds to me like a brand with a sense of Community to me.