Social Media: Outdoor Product Companies Building Online Communities

Outdoor product companies are flooding the web to take part in social media in hopes of building online communities to build their brand, engage their customers and create new levels of brand loyalty. Unless you have been out on the trail or high in the hills for the last several years, this is old news. With the help of Twitter, Facebook and/or blogs, you have seen this take hold and evolve over in recent years. Below are some striking examples of how this medium is turning into a game changer for companies selling products to get people from behind their computers and into the great outdoors... ironic as that sounds.

- IF Bikes did a major site overhaul last year in an effort to better serve its customers and position itself as a clear leader in the custom bike world. So far, they have been successful in this effort. Their blog site that has garnered significant attention, as well. Over 15,000 people are visiting the blog each month to learn more about the build process, see new bike pics and hear about where IF is showing up to promote their brand the cycling community. This is just under half the number of total visitors to the main site. Most impressive.

- Tecnica and Blizzard are two well known international ski brands. They combined forces to create TecBlizzBuzz.com this fall. The blog was launched in early October and received 653 visits. That number has increased 25% in month two. This is off to a strong start as they create this new platform to communicate with their customers and dealers.

- While Cascade Web Development is not an outdoor product company, we too have put more attention to our social media efforts. As a reward, our blog traffic has increased 40% in recent months. We are finding that more like minded people and organizations are following us on twitter and facebook. And the most exciting result of all is the increased number of inbound inquiries for web solutions. Hard to argue with the merit of those results.

The rate of evolution in the social media realm is often mind numbing, but with results like these, its hard to argue the value of these efforts. We're all learning valuable lessons with each new post and review of analytics. One truth is that customers like to participate in the conversation. Its now up to brands to create and lead that charge. Stay tuned as the experiment continues...

Here's why Portland inspires innovation

I am headed to PDX last night with my mother in law to pick up my nephew. We pull into short term parking and there is this little sign that says "follow the green light." First, there is a little digital board above your head as you drive under the all to close concrete beams. The sign has a green number for the number of open spots in that row. Yes seriously. Then you keep driving and there are these little green and red lights above each spot. Clearly, green light means the spot is open; Red means, well get the point already I presume.

Simple, not in your face and fun to interact with. We strive for the same thing when designing our applications, but I humbuly admit that we probably don't get it this simple and this easy very often.

Cutting Edge Cycling Manufacturer - Cutting Edge Web Presence

I recently visited Serotta Competition Cycles (if you don't know about Serotta, they make handmade, custom-fit bicycle frames using titanium, steel, and carbon fiber) at their Saratoga Springs, NY Headquarters to kick off the strategy phase our web development effort to provide a more dynamic web experience for current and potential customers and for dealers.

First Impressions - I've never met a more passionate team dedicated to providing its customers with the most technically advanced cycles for road and track through the use of cutting edge production technology, fitting methodologies, and materials.

The visit only added to our excitement about this project, which we are hoping to launch in the January/February timeframe.

Each member of the Serotta team that I met with has a vested interest in the project...

Amy Roxin (VP of Operations) - How can we use this technology to showcase our cycles, develop a community for customers and communicate better with dealers?

Paraic McGlynn (Director of Applied Cycling Science) - How can we convey our message that the very best of materials, technology, and fitting go into making a superior cycle?

Jared Porter (Production Manager) - How can we keep dealers informed of where the bike is in the manufacturing process?

The following pictures were taken during my Factory Tour:

Every frame build starts with a fitting using Serotta's Size Cycle



My Tour Guide Jared with customer bikes returned from accidents for repair



Frame during the build process



Frames being prepared for paint



Final polish



Customer frames ready for shipment

From Good to Great with Live Video

How does your agency stack up against Ogilvy, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and AKQA?

"Good" agencies move into the ranks of "Great" with ideas, smart risk and execution. Great clients help too, but that is a chicken and egg discussion.

I believe Live Video presents a unique platform for new ideas. Clearly I am not the only one (ADWEEK article "Marketers Get Real"). The best agencies and brands in the world are experimenting with live video. Diet Coke interviewed actor Ed Norton. Burger King broadcasted Tony Stewart taking a lie detector test professing his love for the burger. Nordica got 'face time' with 130 retailers, 3,500 miles appart in one hour. (A CWD project)

I think we are onto something here, the right mix of a great idea, risk and execution.

The idea: Create a live video platform that is dead simple to use, high in quality and scalable. Video itself is the ideal communication tool; if a picture tells a 1,000 words, a video explains a million. Surround the video with core brand messaging. Then incorporate a chat function that allows hundreds of viewers to communicate in a way that makes them feel connected.

The risk: Cost must be considered in today's world. We solved that, starting at $5,000 even smaller brands can dip their toe in the water. Time is also valuable. What does it take to produce a live video? Well not nothing, but if you KISS it the product will probably be better and it will take less time. Basic lighting and audio needs to be tested but all things can be overcome. Monetize it. If the goal is large audience communication, there is a risk that people will not show up or find value in it. I think that risk is just about gone, video is the hottest thing on the web right now.

The execution: It is all about having the right people or knowing the right people to be able to execute. At face value this stuff looks simple, but there are very real technological hurdles you need to get over. If you want to mitigate some of the risk find the right partner that has proven the execution.

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Where I am coming from:
Cascade Web Development is a Portland and Boston custom web development firm. We support advertising agencies across the US. We have developed a module for live video communication called Brand.Live on our platform Evergreen, a content and data management system.

Transparency + Efficiency Through Web Applications

A common challenge among companies is increasing information flow while decreasing the 'noise' that gets in the way of that flow. Typically, companies are tracking information needed for effective process management. That said, many times that information is not easily accessible by many interested parties. Part of this is by design, but ultimately knowledge is power.

This lack of access to information can result in huge volumes of phone calls, emails, faxes and unnecessary data entry. The goal of this blog is to share some ways we've seen companies use web applications to increase transparency and communication. Here are some examples of challenges we've overcome on behalf of our clients.

• A long time food/restaurant industry client has over 1,000 franchises around N. America. Each week, they receive sales information on volume/units used. This used to require a manual process of phone calls to each franchisee by a corporate staff member that filled out a paper form. That form was faxed to corporate headquarters where it was then manually entered into a computer program. CWD made the input form available online so each franchisee could fill out sales data each week a d submit it directly to the database that previously took multiple steps. This freed up the corporate staffers' need to be involved in the process. It also reduced the data integrity concerns of having data entered twice by corporate staff. This was a powerful upgrade, no question.

• A footwear and apparel client of CWD was experiencing challenges with communicating quality control issues between international retailers, distributors, corporate and manufacturing in China. There was a imperfect method of reporting these issues and lots of potential for reactions that did not fit the challenge. By taking this detailed process on line, the information flow and response to quality issues has become much more efficient for all parties involved.

• A custom bike builder client keeps close watch on where each bike is in the build process using an internal spreadsheet detailing progress. This information is critical to running a smooth and efficient business for them. Their customers (bike shop retailers) also want this information so they can report to their eager customers about bikes on order. We are working to make this (currently) internal information available through a secure dealer area on their site. By simply making existing data available to a broader group, the level of service offered by the bike builder will dramatically increase.

In all these cases, there were significant shifts in who/what does the work, while also increasing transparency.

• This can cause discomfort because sometimes we don't want certain players to have all the information on a situation. It can be embarrassing when things do not go as planned. (Though we can manage who sees what based upon user profile settings.)
• Also, some members of the team may fear that their value to the process is being replaced by technology. A shift like this definitely cuts both ways.

At the end of the day, efficiency and accountability are both increased. In today's fast paced work environment, these are all positive.

e-commerce software: Pro's and Con's

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When evaluating e-commerce software the options are endless. Paypal to Shop-a-tron; Amazon to Volusion, Custom to Evergreen? Recently we traveled down a few different paths and this is what we learned:

Volusion:

• Pro: Endless off the shelf solutions (live chat, inventory, affiliate programs, refer a friend, ect.)
• Con: VERY limiting on design. Even a custom template is miss-leading because it is far from the custom I know. 

Evergreen:

• Pro: Customized look and feel; configurable to any business process.
• Con: Middle range upfront cost and longer development timeline when compared to turnkey. 

Paypal/Google Checkout:

• Pro: VERY easy to implement and integrate; brand familiarity for users checking out.
• Con: Their brand must live along side your brand.

Shop-a-tron:

• Pro: Provides manufacturers with a clean way to manage their retailer channel and capture direct sales.
• Con: Time consuming to implement and pricing is based on % of sales. 

Check a few screen shots from the various applications:

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CWD client promo on 60Minutes

It would be great to say Cascade Web Development was on 60 Minutes, but we can't. The next best thing? One of our clients gets a little promo from the media giant. Last night on 60 Minutes, JT Holmes, a premier athlete with Nordica was interviewed for his INSANE human flying adventures. There is simply nothing that does this justice other than video.


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