Marketing Home Products

Customers Are Forever Interacting, Forever Online

According to trendwatching.com, there is an emerging trend of heightened online interaction, dialogue and conversation among customers and brands. Called “foreverism,” the trend is defined as the:

“Many ways that customers and businesses embrace conversations, relationships, and products. Driving its popularity is technology that allows them to find, follow, interact and collaborate forever with anyone and anything.”

Although this concept is not new, the online phenomenon is nevertheless still astounding, and will “forever” impact the way brands communicate with their core audiences from here on out.

Forever Online and Forever Interacting

From Facebook and MySpace to Twitter and LinkedIn, people around the globe are continuously updating their statuses and profiles and expanding their online footprints. As such, this provides a rare yet ample opportunity for brands to interact, in real-time, with their valued customers.

Below are some noteworthy stats from trendwatching.com:

• Facebook reached 200 million active users in April 2009. More than 100 million users log on to Facebook every day, while more than 20 million users update their status at least once each day.
• As of May 2009, MySpace boasted 130 million members; LinkedIn more than 40 million; and Twitter more than 30 million members. And China’s Twitter, TaoTao, now has nearly 50 million users.

• Overall, the share of adult U.S. Internet users who have a profile on a social networking site has more than quadrupled in the past four years and now stands at 35 percent of the population. (Source: Pew Internet, January 2009.)

These online footprints will live on forever because the Internet is a “massive caching machine” and most importantly, because the younger demographics will never stop communicating online.

According to social media guru Jeff Jarvis, as reported by trendwatching.com’s foreverism report,

“Thanks to our connection machine, they [young people] will stay linked, likely for the rest of their lives. With their blogs, MySpace pages, Flickr photos, YouTube videos, Seesmic conversations, Twitter feeds, and all the means for sharing their lives yet to be invented, they will leave lifelong Google tracks that will make it easier to find them. Alloy, a marketing firm, reported in 2007(!) that 96 percent of U.S. teens and tweens used social networks—they are essentially universal—and so even if one tie is severed, young people will still be linked to friends of friends via another, never more than a degree or two apart.”

Further validation of this theory includes the January 2009 Pew Internet study that found that 75 percent of adults aged 18 to 24 and nearly 100 percent of tweens have a profile on at least one social networking site.

With the trillions of people online, it’s no surprise that there are increased interactions between brands and their customers, and that they will be “forever conversing” on the Web. As a result, it’s critical for today’s businesses to adapt to online platforms and direct Internet-based, real-time communications with their target audiences.

For more information and for examples of big name brands communicating online, view the complete trendwatching.com “foreverism” trend brief here.

Surprisingly, the awareness of pollutant-free indoor air is not as prevalent as other green issues today. According to the World Health Organization, deaths related to indoor air pollution are much higher than those linked to outdoor air pollution, even in the most contaminated cities.

Other research conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the majority of Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors, meaning polluted indoor air is a common health hazard and is vitally important to your health. This information is just as important to those in the home and building channel, especially when marketing green products.

Check out the seven tips we’ve listed below to safeguard the home from adverse effects of poor indoor air quality.

1.  Know what’s going on in your home
At-home test kits help determine the average temperature of your home, carbon monoxide levels, humidity and air movement. Carbon monoxide exposure indoors at home is annually responsible for more than 280 American deaths and 9,000 emergency room visits. Purchasing a carbon monoxide detector is the best way to make certain you’re protected from the invisible killer.

2.  Maintain a spot free, sanitary home
Dust and dirt are the most widespread origins of poor indoor air quality. That means you must frequently clean all areas of your home, especially windows, air ducts and ceiling fans.

3.  Circulate your home’s air
Keep indoor air moving. Stagnant air means harmful pollutants can get embedded in clothing, carpeting and furniture. Installing a ventilation system helps improve airflow, subsequently enhancing indoor air quality. But remember, allowing mold and mildew to grow within your in-duct HVAC systems will increase pollutants if not kept clean and well maintained.

4.  Keep away wetness
Mold and mildew growing from excessive moisture will decrease the air quality within the home. This is most prominent in bathrooms, kitchens and basements because these rooms are easily heated and collect the most moisture. Properly ventilate these rooms with a fan or ventilation system.

5. Purchase an air purifier
These eliminate both odors and chemicals from the air. Just like a ventilation system, an air purifier must be frequently cleaned and well maintained to maximize effectiveness and not cause reverse effects on the quality of the air you breathe.

6.  Choose reduced VOC products
According to treehugger.com, indoor environments are where volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are most dangerous to us. They are often found in household products such as paint, wax, varnish and cleaning products. Researching alternative products that have low or no VOCs is the best way to limit the amount in your home.

7.  Be knowledgeable about your indoor air
Playing an active role and becoming educated about what you can do to improve your indoor air quality will pay dividends in the future. Implementing some of the suggested tips above will allow for immediate health benefits for you and your family. It’s worth it.

Seven Ways to retain the best of the best

An effective team is the heart and soul of any successful business. Keeping the best staff and cultivating their talent for long-term growth with your company is a vital component to sustainability and forward motion.

How do you keep your employees content in a tough economy?

(1) Establish an open line of communication
Frequently ask your employees their opinions on the business and work environment. Most importantly, inquire about their professional goals and work/life balance objectives. Employee-retention expert Leigh Branham states that performance coaching and feedback are essential for employees because they answer four questions:

• Where are we going as a company?
• How are we going to get there?
• How do you expect me to contribute?
• How am I doing?

(2) Give praise
Acknowledging the excellence or exceptional effort of your employees doesn’t have to expensive, but it should be recurrent and personalized. Give kudos to an exemplary employee during a company-wide meeting or send an e-mail (or better yet a handwritten note) of gratification.

(3) Let them work in their PJs
Reward employees with the option to telecommute once in a while. Offer a flexible schedule based on an expectation of performance that will alleviate commuting cost or even just the related stress. Rewarding top performers with a level of trust can be a powerful motivator.

(4) Evade burnout
Top performing employees are generally those who stay late, putting in the extra effort to make sure that a major presentation will go just right. Your best players are also most likely to carry the biggest loads and are least likely to complain during crunch times. Insist on giving them time off, and try to staff the busiest times adequately.

(5) Encourage collaboration
Competition among employees can be healthy and stimulating, but it can also be detrimental to the happiness of your most valuable employees. Provide a working environment where your staff can work as a team toward success instead of against one another.

(6) Lighten up
Have a little fun. The workplace doesn’t have to be stressful or silent to achieve profound results. Have a barbeque in the parking lot, send your employees to the movies in the middle of the workday or provide lunch in the conference room where your employees can interact.

(7) Stimulate your staff
Top talent wants to work for top companies which are forward thinking and dynamic. Improving your company profile, recognition, reputation, brand and product offerings shows a commitment to being on the cutting-edge and keeps teams interested and enthused. If you work to elevate your business to the highest standards you will attract and retain quality employees.

Bottom Line

A company that makes the effort to sustain its top performers will experience greater revenue, elevated market share, team spirit and general business success. Today’s pool of employees is gifted. Keeping that talent under your roof is a worthwhile goal.