Straight Talk Blog
Ted Rubin
The Most Overlooked and Critical Component of Customer Experience
In quantum mechanics there is a rule: when particles are observed, they behave differently. We found out in the late ’90s, via various experiments, that electrons act as either particles or waves, depending on whether they were observed. What does that have to do with...
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Business Cards Present a Great Opportunity for Connection
Business cards present a great opportunity for connection. Pity so many foolishly think they are outdated.... but as always with something overlooked, a great opportunity for those who understand the value. Always look for opportunities to set yourself apart. ...
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The Arrogance and Hubris of so many Executives…
I have come to form an incredible distaste for the arrogance and hubris of so many executives. The courtesy of a reply to an outreach, from someone you know, is just not that difficult. Just a simple acknowledgement is not that hard and really should not be too much...
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Retailers: Discounting Your Way Out of Trouble Is a Death Spiral
Why ditching the discount and dialing up the customer experience (with a focus on flexibility) is more likely to deliver success. When a marquee brand or major, traditional retailer releases a disastrous earnings outlook, what is the first thing they usually do in an...
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Why The Future Of Retail Is Not About The US
Think America is the be-all and end-all of retail? Think again. Ted Rubin, acting CMO of Brand Innovators and co-founder of Prevailing Path, explores why we need to look further than the States to understand where the future of retail really lies. Ask the average...
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A Network give you Reach, BUT a Community gives you Power!
Networks Connect… Communities Care A small, passionate community of like-minded people can often accomplish far more than a larger, less-connected group working on the same challenge. Building a dedicated community takes effort, but it’s one of the most effective ways...
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Relationship Building at Scale, Ted Rubin: Transforming Marketing into Building Brand Community ~via @jeremyryanslate
Ted Rubin is a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Speaker, CMO of Brand Innovators, & Co-Founder of Prevailing Path. In March 2009 he started using and evangelizing the term ROR, Return on Relationship, hashtag #RonR. Many people in the social media world know Ted...
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Independence Day… MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Independence Day brings to the forefront the current frightening political environment, world environmental, economic, and most importantly and relevant today that represents freedom... the challenges immigrants, and those seeking asylum, have been experiencing more...
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Simplicity Is The New Everyday Low Price
Consumers have always valued simplicity, in part because it's often not so easy to find with the retail experience. Think about how complicated it was to order something before the digital age, and how much waiting was involved. Anyone who has ever ordered something...
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Ted Rubin Talks 2018 Retail and Shares a Little TMI ~via @WhatsGregDoing
The customer experience matters. Don't think so? Just ask Ted Rubin. All he wants to do is buy a pair of jeans, but one store's online experience and not-so-customer-friendly policies keep preventing him from closing the deal. For this episode of The Commerce Marketer...
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Walt Disney World Puts the Experience in Experiential Marketing
Guest post via John Andrews Walt Disney World Astounds Its Visitors With Experiential Product Marketing I began my business career as a Dominos Pizza manager in Maine. One of our marketing efforts at the local level was calling around 10 customers a night to see how...
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Think Twice and Be Nice: Letting Little Things Go
Recently I was watching a short, information-packed video posted to LinkedIn by a CEO, who was sharing his expertise on a variety of leadership topics. It was short, maybe two minutes, tops, but it was good enough that I stopped to watch it a few times before diving...
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A New Book is Coming with co-author John Andrews… Retail Relevancy
The world of retail has been shifting beneath our feet – and it’s doing so because the digital age has fundamentally changed everything about how we live. It’s changed how we communicate, how we work, how we travel, and how we buy things. And just like the digital...
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Closing Time: 20 Major Retailers That Likely Won’t Exist In 10 Years
Visit your favorite shopping mall – if you still have a favorite – and you can already see the seismic shift in retail taking place across the country. When was the last time you visited a Sports Authority, or RadioShack? What about bargain retailers like Payless...
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Fake News Is Nothing New, So… Important to “Learn to Discern”
Favorite athlete gets in trouble at a nightclub under nebulous circumstances? Fake news. Politician acts directly against the interests of his or her base, but it's a politician the base happens to really like? Fake news. Respected writer makes a detailed, fact-based...
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Being a Father Transcends How We Feel Moment-To-Moment
Being a father transcends how we feel moment-to-moment. We have to remember that everything we do is being observed, recorded, and processed by our kids, and is important to their emotional development –– perhaps even more so for children of divorce. They're always...
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OMG, Facebook Used My Data!!! Now What?
The scare-mongering that’s going around today about data usage is driving me up the wall. When I see people having meltdowns about Facebook using their data to deliver content to them, I’m thinking: “WHERE THE F*** HAVE YOU ALL BEEN, under a freaking rock???” Would...
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Enough Is Enough: Why We Should All Throw Our Support Behind the #MarchForOurLives Movement
Look back throughout history, and ask yourself where the big, meaningful changes in society come from most often. Is it the people who are invested, often for many years, in the status quo? The folks who are piling up profits thanks to the current system, whatever it...
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What #FollowThePath Means to Me… and Can Mean to You
Sometimes, your favorite concepts take on a life of their own, and #FollowThePath definitely qualifies for me. It's an idea that encompasses much of what I believe is important in business and in life – so naturally it's based on the ideas that have stuck with me most...
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My Not-So-Great Guild and Yelp Experience: You’ve GOT to be Kidding Me…
You would think, given everything that has transpired regarding restaurant reviews in digital media over the past decade, that restaurant managers/owners would take the hint that the customer’s experience at their restaurant IS their brand. However, I guess there are...
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Evolving Digital Self Podcast with Ted Rubin ~via @2BalanceU and @ForbesOste
Our guest Ted Rubin and host Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste talk the journey through evolving tech, keeping our humanity and reaching customers. Ted Rubin is a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Photofy CMO, MC/Host of Brand Innovators Summits, and...
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How Simple Self-Awareness Makes a Difference
One of the secrets about just being nice is that it can be pretty easy when you make it a focus at the start of each day. There will always be people who test your limits, but you'll also get a ton of positive feedback from people who appreciate common courtesy. But...
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Planning: Prepare for the Future, but Expect to Be Surprised
Planning will always be an important part of achieving any major goal, but it's never as simple as putting a plan on paper and watching while everything falls into place. Life is way too unpredictable, which makes it easy to lose sight of our goals, or plan...
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Video Content for Social Media – How Crucial is it For Your Marketing in 2018?
With the addition of live streaming we now have the ability to share all video, AND “all content,” in so many more ways, via more apps, with story-telling and engagement at the core. I find that I need to use this ability more, but also see so many using it way too...
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Why You Should Never Let Your “Bubble” Burst
Whether you've got a handful of dedicated, vocal connections or a large, diverse group of followers, every single one of us has a “social bubble,” a finite group of people who connect with you and stay connected to engage in some way. The size of your bubble depends...
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The Future of Small Business: How Online Mega-Retailers Can Help You Grow Online
We already know that small businesses will have opportunities to adapt, grow, and thrive when large, traditional retailers falter, but what does that process look like for small businesses? Since adding a digital component is so important for small business success in...
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Social Listening is Finally Getting Some Play
You know that I'm big on social listening, and have been from the start. We have this incredible, unprecedented resource for learning more about our clients, customers, and connections, but we have to listen to make it work. So I've been very pleased to see that...
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Retail Relevancy: Small Business Retail Boom (Part 2)
I’ve said that small businesses have a big future to look forward to in today’s market, but it's not just because large, traditional businesses are struggling to adapt to the needs of the modern shopper. Online mega-retailers like Amazon, which are currently putting...
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SXSW 2018 starts Friday… So Much to Do There, and So Little Time
You have been hearing about it for so long and finally the time has come… off to Austin for the “event” of events, SXSW. What will it be like, where do I go, what can’t I miss? It can be overwhelming. For me, and for many others, the most successful approach is to...
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Retail Relevancy: The Coming Small Business Retail Boom (Part 1)
There are two competing trends in the retail world that I believe are going to shape the future for both small businesses and big-name traditional retailers. The first is that it has become much easier to purchase your basic necessities from home. Large, traditional...
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