One of the industries greatly affected by commoditization is Airlines. No matter how cheerful the flight crew or how innovative the airplane is, they’re considered buses with wings.

Travelers spend many frustrated hours choosing between products they see as similar because brands are not useful to distinguish and select among available choices. By leveraging the same suppliers and adopting fast-follower approach, airlines have created undifferentiated customer experiences. Marketing messages are not distinct enough to resonate with target consumers.

What sets them apart is the service. Robert Cipriano, president and founder of Aviation Marketing Consulting believes that Airlines could communicate services by using on-board meal strategy.

Several airlines include Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Air New Zealand advertise their onboard meals. This product based feature should not be the sole focal point that differentiates an airline from the other. Journey based elements such as ease of check-in, access to flight information, proactive and responsive staff, minimizing connection times, coordinating with other partners to prevent multiple check-in are what matters most to travelers.

Low-cost carrier such as AirAsia doesn’t provide free flight meals, but the company still manages to sell its seats. As most airlines use the same strategy, the gap between low-cost and premium airline brands tends to fade away. Settling on in-flight food is definitely little perceived difference between competing brands.

“Social Media is About People, Not Logos.”

-Jay Baer, The Now Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social

“A blog is only as interesting as the interest shown in others.”

-Lee Odden, Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing

“The next step in the process is to measure the impact that these increases in reach have on your number of new transacting customers. The secret to a company’s reach strategy lies in the program’s ability not only to acquire fans, followers, subscribers and connections, but to convert them through its use of social media into transacting customers.”

-Olivier Blanchard, Social Media ROI: Managing and measuring social media efforts in your organization

“Social media spark a revelation that we, the people, have a voice, and through the democratization of content and ideas we can once again unite around common passions, inspire movements, and ignite change.”

-Brian Solis, Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

“But the truth is that the world has changed. And not participating in the conversation is a loud statement of its own to your customer base. You can’t control your branding message in any case because your customers are already talking about you online. The best you can do is to participate.”

-Vanessa Fox, Marketing in the Age of Google: Your Online Strategy Is Your Business Strategy

“Listening is one of the most important things a brand can do online. If your brand is just broadcasting its own agenda, it isn’t truly engaging in a conversation.”

-Jeremy Goldman, Going Social: Excite Customers, Generate Buzz, and Energize Your Brand with the Power of Social Media

“We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it?”
― Erik Qualman

“You as a brand have to be completely confident about your position, because you will get criticism. You will have a negative reaction. If you didn’t get a negative reaction, that means you’re standing neutral and you have no point of view. Who wants to participate in that?”
- Frank Cooper, Pepsico

“Why are we trying to measure social media like a traditional channel anyway? Social media touches every facet of business and is more an extension of good business ethics.”
– Erik Qualman, Socialnomics

“Those who ignore the party/conversation/network when they are content and decide to drop in when they need the network may not succeed. It’s pretty easy to spot those that are just joining the network purely to take – not to give. Therefore, be part of the party/conversation/network before you need anything from anyone.”

– Jeremiah Owyang, Web-Strategist.com

Each of us holds onto some things that hold us back and limit ourselves, if you have experience these moments at some points in your life, rest assured that it is perfectly normal. We all do have those moments that we are unwilling to let go and afraid to move beyond those barriers that are holding us back.

Everyone has a story. The story of your past may be interesting, challenging or disheartening. The journey we take and the roadblocks we encounter are the things that shape our character. The truth is, most of your perceived limitations are created by you or by someone important in your life. What we become largely has to do with the people and beliefs we were exposed to. So how do you decide when it is the best time that you need to let go of the things that hold you back?

Things will never get better, no matter how hard you try

You put in extra hours, deliver better results than expected, accept more responsibilities, but your values or contributions are often overlooked. These aren’t dead ends, but also something that would not improve over times. Most of us are stuck in this phase. We become so comfortable because it has a zero risk. We often resist being treated as constant because we believe each of us has a unique destiny, a mission and purpose for our existence.

Perceived weaknesses overshadow strengths

Admitting your weaknesses is good and trying to improve them may benefit you in the long run. But do not allow your weaknesses to take more control of yourself. Putting more time and efforts in enhancing your strengths will yield better end results and productivity. We are so much focused on trying to figure out our shortcomings and improving things that do not please us. Performance reviews often focus too much on the weaknesses of an employee while disregard his/her strengths. In fact, there is a fairly heated and philosophical debate going on in management circles. The question is this: should organizations focus on their employee’s strengths or weaknesses? If strengths are the secret of happiness, shouldn’t we all be focusing on them and not wasting time with all the other bits?

Indecision cripples self-confidence

We all suffer from indecision at times. Indecision is caused by uncertainties about the outcomes. These uncertainties are largely derived from the lack of faith in accomplish something. When you doubt your abilities and skills, you are suffering from low self-confidence. Self-confidence is often a more important asset than skill, knowledge, or even experience.

Burning desire beginning to suffer

We are often motivated by tangible and intangible rewards. While tangible rewards could be fairly important, your passion and burning desire are often the most important factors that motivate you to take actions. Burning desire is what gets you through all the perspiration necessary to overcome the inevitable obstacles along the way. If you find yourself lack of burning desire, it is probably a signal for you to move on to new challenges and new ideas.

Rise of Pinterest

Pinterest is an image sharing site and has become a huge phenomenon. It is an online pinboard to collect and share what inspires you. According to stats from ComScore, Pinterest attained 11.7 million unique monthly visitors in the US where its core user base are largely comprised of 18-34 year-old women.

Rise of Pinterest

Online protest against Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

The controversial anti-piracy bills namely SOPA and PIPA were greatly discussed on Twitter, where the #sopa hashtag was tweeted 2.2 million times. Many big sites like Wikipedia and Reddit went dark for 24-hour in protest against the bills. People that opposed the law believed that stronger enforcement of Internet content would restrain freedom of speech.

Image credit: Games.com News

Patent battles between top tech giants

Throughout the year, we have seen the top 2 technology companies, Apple and Samsung, engaged in crazy patent fights over smartphones and tablets. Apple was awarded over $1 billion in damages against Samsung; however, in the recent patent case, Apple’s request for US ban on Samsung smartphones was denied by judge.

Image credit: joyoftech.com

Death of singing superstar Whitney Houston

The world mourned over the death of pop music superstar, Whitney Houston. Some of her popular hits, including “I Will Always Love You” and “Saving All My Love For You”.

Death of singing superstar Whitney Houston

Facebook IPO plagued with series of problems

Facebook, the leading social networking company initiated its public offering in order to raise $10 billion, where pundits predicted that it would be the largest tech IPO in history. The trading was delayed on the first day because of technical problems with the NASDAQ exchange. The IPO listing quickly turned into a disaster because the share prices dropped.

Image credit: Techi.com

NASA’s $2.5 billion rover landed on Red Planet

NASA’s Curiosity rover has successfully landed on Mars and scientists are eager to discover any signs of life. NASA had a meeting to discuss the activities of its rover on Dec 3; however, NASA officials had warned that rumours and speculation that there were major findings that force humanity to rethink its place in the universe were incorrect.

The Earth Survived Doomsday

NASA has dismissed predictions that the world would end on Dec 21, 2012. The statement on NASA’s website says “the burden of proof is on the people who making these claims” while no scientific evidence validates the claims. Hollywood disaster movie 2012 would now be classified as “comedy”. I am writing this article on Dec 27 simply proved that we have officially survived the Doomsday.

2012 London Olympic as World’s First Social Game

According to Twitter, 2012 London Olympic generated 150 million tweets. Usain Bolt was the most discussed athlete of the game along with Michael Phelps. The top game discussed was Football driving over 5 million tweets. Top brands that generated the most buzz during the game was McDonald with 159, 410 mentions followed by Coca-Cola and VISA.

2012 U.S Presidential Campaign

Social media played a huge role in shaping voters’ sentiment during the Presidential election. Obama maintained a substantial lead in both Facebook and Twitter over Romney. According to Socialbakers, Obama’s Twitter followers grow three times faster than his Facebook fans while Romney’s engagement rate is 18 times higher on Facebook than on Twitter. The most retweeted was an image of Obama and Michelle, accompanied by the message “Four more years” accounting for more than 700,000 retweets.

Viral K-pop song “Oppa Gangnam Style”

The Gangnam Style video has become the most viewed video on YouTube after reaching 1 billion views. If everyone who viewed the 4 min 13 seconds long video watched it to the end (which of course some didn’t) that would mean that we’ve spent 253 billion seconds on Gangnam Style, or 8,022 years.

The phenomenon has been fuelled relentlessly by conspiracy theorists and Internet doom-mongers. Even Hollywood got into the trend by releasing a movie that was named as 2012. Both astronomers worldwide and NASA have dismissed such allegations and posted several posts on its website to debunk the myth.

For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.

NASA has also dismissed false rumours circulating on the Internet where a total blackout is predicted to occur on Dec 23-25. Now you might be thinking if NASA claims the allegations of the end of the world are false, then why so much attention was given to the topic.

The ideas thrive because people feel marginalized or alienated from the society. Such predictions exist for centuries, and the Mayans were not the first one to make the claim. We have heard of Nostradamus theories, the so-called future World War III, melting of polar ice and so on.

People look everywhere in search for answers. We are so compelled in looking for the truth and just keep reading. Curiosity and the need for answers are parts of human desire. Believing the world will ends creates a framework of meaning where we would see at some point of time; our own personal lives hold some kind of significance.

The belief persists because some retailers are profiting from the hype. In the US, companies that are selling underground shelters have seen their businesses explode. The people of the Republic of China were rushing to buy candles because a post on Sina Weibo predicted that 3 days of darkness would occur.  Mexico’s tourism agency has launched Maya themed events where it expected the number of tourists arriving to have doubled this year. It’s all about business.

Pushed by pain or pulled by possibilities, eventually you will be compelled to pass through the door called “uncertainty”. The doomsday fear is nothing more than reflections of uncertainty toward life and society. People hate uncertainty not just on gut level but also at a deep neurological level. We must live with fear because it would pop out from time to time. It’s a standard programme that comes pre-installed as part of being alive.

2012 represents the end of one cycle, and the beginning of another. It’s very much the same way people look at the end of year and embrace another year where we would reflect upon the things that happen during the year, and considering our future direction.

This case serves as an important social media lesson for us. Users need to be more careful when they post their rants or complaints on social media channels. In the social media world, everyone is becoming their own brand now. Your friends and public judge your personality based on your status updates, pictures and videos you posted on your Facebook account. It could either uplift your credibility or damage your reputation.

Some industry experts have commented that companies need to train their teams on ways to communicate through social media channels and to put in a social media policy for their employees. I find this point is interesting as it shows that a blurred line is created between personal Facebook account and the official company Facebook pages.

Although opinions posted on individual Facebook accounts usually reflect personal views, our conversations on these channels also indirectly represent the companies we work with. This also raises a red flag on how much personal information we could hide on the Internet. The lesser personal information you include in your “About” section on Facebook, the better you are in safeguarding your privacy level.

Some might argue that if all of your posts are set to private, you could reduce the risk of your actions being discussed by millions of netizens and ultimately read by a news presenter. It still does not entirely protect your privacy as you may not know if someone among your friends could potentially capture and post a screenshot of your post.

Think before act is probably something you have heard over times, the saying is so much true nowadays especially when we spend most of our time interacting online. Respect your audience and refrain from touching on sensitive issues.

The precursor to social networks was the ability to engage with others around the globe, where people interacted through avatars they’d created that often bore no resemblance to the real person they represented. However, what you do in social networks doesn’t involve playing a role. And the implications are much greater than winning and losing your poker chips. Privacy is likely to be a high valued commodity in the future.

People have an underlying, on-going anxiety and angst about almost everything -from the news they watch, to the food they eat, to virtually everybody from whom they get advice, services and products. It’s known as “defensive driving.”

Many of us left our houses’ doors locked; we lock our cars when parked out. We feel a level of unease, threat, outside and even at home. We know we are trusting people and things unworthy of trust. We are very often disappointed, sometimes harmed and we expect more of the same. We are not just defensive drivers; we are defensive, period.

But few advertisers and marketers focus on this advantage. Instead, they rely on cute or humour based advertising ads, lower and discount positioning, or classic product-centric presentations.

The Defensive Drivers to Consumer Trust

• Is this guy for real? (Authenticity)

• Is he knowledgeable and competent? (Credibility)

• Is he listening or just peddling? (Customized Solutions)

• Do I understand enough about what he’s going to do for me? (Familiarity)

• Am I making the best choice vs other choices? (Superiority)

• Am I paying A Fair Price? (Value)

In a world this complicated, it is hardly surprising that experts have become our guides, shaping our buying habits, health decisions and public policy debates.

A third party endorsement can position a new brand that it’s poised for growth or, conversely can blunt a serious problem before it gets out of hand and proves disastrous for a particular product or for a company overall.

Danial Edelman

The harder the trust is to get in the first place, the more vital it is within that community, and the more valuable its viral nature is. This is why it is a worthwhile to scheme to gain the trust of key centers of influence within any target group in which you seek to develop a clientele.

Being strategic starts with the base understanding that how do we maximize the benefit, the payoff and the return on those limited resources. The vision, the goal and the target you’re trying to achieve also about how you leverage those scarce resources in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of effort and at the same time with the highest level of certainty.

What often gets in the way of people is that they’re being opportunistic in trying too many things. They’re going to try 10 different things as opposed to one because they believe that somehow it would be a better approach. The truth is, they’ll fail at all then, and they would have done much better focusing on just one only.

If they’d had a higher level of commitment, they’d get it done faster and less overwhelmed and overloaded.  When people are hyper-opportunistic, they’re totally focused on payoff and they haven’t even considered that there is a trade-off.  The least number of things that we need to do to get to that final result, leads to a much more focused, much more strategic approach.

If someone is trying to do all the different swimming strokes at the same time he or she will probably drown. You have to pick an approach, pick a style. You have to stick with that style long enough to get feedback to judge if it’s working or not. You don’t have to stay with that forever. But you have to commit to it now, and you have to commit to it long enough to see whether the results are what you hoped for.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It takes time to build that kind of trust and influence. Fortunately, there’s already a group of people out there who have earned the respect and trust. These people are likely authors, speakers, entrepreneurs or bloggers. Their words carry a lot of weight and able to deduce an impact with your target market.

Influence marketing is a marketing practise that targets and builds relationships with key individuals that have influence over your target segment. These key influencers are such as writers in popular publications, industry analysts, thought leaders and senior managers from key organizations.

So how do you build a business of influence?

 Deliver customers a consistent experience in each time 

Understanding of customers’ needs and appealing to customers’ emotions helps in building the trust and bond. People buy based on the emotional experience they had when dealing with you. If the customer encounter unpleasant situation, he or she is unlikely to ever come back again. That’s human nature. We try not to indulge in something we’re not happy about as we try to avoid from suffering the pain. But if you’re able to deliver a consistent and pleasant experience, they will come for me.

Be clear about the value proposition

You must be able to articulate what you are offering to your customers. Ask yourself these questions: What do you want to be known for? What qualities do you want people to associate with you? What is the first thing that would pop in their head when they hear about your name?

Continuously improve the process

Customers feedback’ is a valuable tool to measure how well you’re doing in your market. Any company should be thankful if the customers are telling you what’s working for them and what’s not working for them. That’s because it eliminates from wasting your time and resources to find out how your products are working to them. They valued and appreciate your brand by believing that it could better position your products to remain relevant in the industry. Take critics positively because it helps you to improve the current product to stay competitive in your market. Too often, companies don’t value feedbacks and only hold on to what they think is great for the customers. This could result in a huge flaw to your business.

That’s indecision. The simple avoidance from making a commitment.

“There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.”

William James

The reality of the life is, one can’t comprehend all the facts about every decision and there’s unlikely one key that switches on the light bulb. And in spite of this, you still have to make decisions and I mean decisions that carry a lot more weight than what to have for lunch.

Indecision is nothing more than procrastinating. You refuse to make choices. You put off making a decision. And habitually, you do it for literally without any reasons. You can have all the facts in front of you and you still decline to make conclusive choices. Indecision is about keeping as many options open as possible while decisions are about making obligations.

When you’re working on your own and you don’t make a decision, nothing gets done. It restricts your ability to carry out any task. It downsizes your ability to grow. It takes a huge chunk out of your self-confidence. And when you lack self-confidence, it makes every decision feel like a life or death battle. It actually makes you question your own abilities.

If you find yourself putting off making a decision for no good reason:

1) You understand the purpose of the decision that needs to be made…
2) You have all the facts you need at your disposal…
3) You understand their potential impacts…

Decision making is a learned behaviour. When you do it often enough, it becomes second nature, a behaviour you do almost unconsciously. It boosts your confidence and the confidence of everyone around you. Whether it right or wrong, you are taking an action. When we take action, we get a sense of accomplishment. We feel good.

Making a decision is a question of commitment. And to be successful, you have to be able to commit to a course of action. There are always going to be risks involved in every decision you make.

If you make a mistake, you have to adjust. That’s a simple fact of life. Something you learn from. But in the meantime you must swallow your discomfort and make a decision.

When you overcome your resistance to making a decision, you immediately start to build more confidence in yourself. Confidence that grows with every decision you make, with every action you take.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net