JitterJam® Social CRM

Social Media is becoming a new way for brands to market their products and for bands to inform fans of upcoming tour dates, it was only a matter of time that the sports industry would catch on. There are a lot of big names in football on Twitter, including Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and Drew Brees–and they are really active! These social NFL stars are busy promoting themselves and their teams, and they are even engaging in conversations with fans.

The NFL, however, has been concerned about the impact of social media on the game–especially on the potential misuse and lack of control regarding players tweeting during a game. The league came out with a social media policy last year that prohibits any use of social media by players, coaches, football operations personnel (or anyone updating their accounts on their behalf) from 90 minutes before a game through the completion of official media interviews. Since then, Chad Ochocinco violated that policy once–and was fined $25,000 for the offense.

Social media can be a great way for teams to directly engage fans, but what are the alternatives to game-time interaction with players? The Washington Redskins have found a great way to engage fans socially and complies with NFL guidelines. They are using Foursquare to get fans to “check in” either at the game or an official Redskins bar. Fans who unlock the Redsknis badge are entered to win grand prize of 2 loge tickets and pre-game field passes to tailgate with the Geico Caveman at FedEx Field in Philly!The Redskins are helping fans connect with the team, are driving revenue at local businesses, and are providing new avenues for fan interaction with their Foursquare promotion.

There are many more ways that sports teams–and individual players–can use social media to connect with their fans without violating league rules and practices, and it’s exciting to see players and teams engage more deeply with their most avid fans. We’re likely to see more innovative ways for teams to make fan interaction beneficial to the leagues, the teams, the players and the fans.

How would you like to communicate with your favorite team? Share your ideas here!

Your current clients are the foundation of your business. Without them your business would not exist. Your client base can be the biggest advocate for your company. Make sure you show your appreciation for their business and you will help to develop advocacy and goodwill–and potential referrals for new business.

Client appreciation doesn’t have to be in the form of extravagant events; they can be as simple as sending a card to a customer on their birthday or a bottle of wine to thank them for doing business with you.

The following ideas can help you drive customer retention, advocacy and referral.

1. Greeting Cards. Sending greeting cards is one of the least expensive ways to show appreciation to your clients. It is true when they say, “It’s the thought that counts!” Sending a card to your client on their birthday, when they get a new job or promotion or even if they become a new parent could mean the world to them! Don’t forget to show them that you are thinking about them in the sad times as well; sending sympathy cards when they have an unfortunate event in their family is also another way to show them you care.
2. Books. Choosing a birthday gift for a client can be hard. When you’re strapped for ideas, try sending them a book that had a lot of meaning to you or you thought was a great read. You can even personalize it by sending a golf lover a book of different golf courses across the country or someone who loves cooking a popular cookbook. Make sure you write a special note inside the cover to tell them why you chose this book for them and wish them a “Happy Birthday!” This not only shows them you were thinking of their birthday but also you have listened in the past when they mentioned their hobbies or interests.
3. Gift Baskets. Everyone loves getting gift baskets! The greatest thing about gift baskets is you can personalize them! If you have a client who loves chocolate get them the chocolate lovers basket. Do they like wine? Give them the wine and cheese basket! Gift baskets are a little more expensive so this is something you can give to your top clients around the holidays. If someone lives locally why not deliver the basket to their house so you can wish them “Happy Holidays” in person?
4. Client Appreciation Events. These events can take shape in many different forms from casual to formal. Your clients have different tastes, so you should have several different kinds of events throughout the year to make sure at least one event appeals to each customer. Host a wine tasting at a restaurant or an open house at your office for a more formal (adults-only) event. Don’t forget about the children either! In the summer, host a family fun day at a state park. Including spouses and children is a great way for your clients to see that you are family-oriented as well. The informal setting enables your clients to get to know you on a more personal basis as well.

Showing your clients you appreciate them can be what sets you apart from your competitors. Not only are these ideas a great way to generate referrals, tp increase customer loyalty and to possibly spark a new sale, they can also help you build a relationship that could last a lifetime!

Many of us try to be as “green” as we possibly can in our homes and in our personal lives. We may recycle, turn off lights in rooms we are not in or even rooms we are in, we buy Energy Star appliances and have some sort of water filtration system so we do not have to buy bottled water. If we can make these changes at home, how come when we walk into our workplace, all of that goes out the window?

We can bring our green lifestyles into the word place in cost effective and simple way. Here are a few simple ideas to bring green into your office environment.

1. Recycle. Bring a recycling bin into the office. Let your co-workers know that it is just for plastic and glass items. If there isn’t recycling pick-up at your company, have a different person volunteer each week to bring it to the local recycling center.
2. Reduce the Use of Paper/Plastic Dishes and Utensils. One of the largest amounts of waste in offices are styrofoam coffee cups or bowls,  plastic utensils and paper plates. Start by promoting everyone to bring in their favorite mug from home that they can wash and take home everyday or simply leave at the office. Buy an inexpensive set of utensils and dishwear to leave in the office kitchen, with this make sure you have an office policy that states everyone must wash their dishes after using them or at the end of the day. There is not a magical fairy that comes and cleans the dishes at night after everyone leaves for the day. If there is a dishwasher in the kitchen make sure it is an Energy Star appliance but regardless if it is or not you should not be running it every day. If there is an office party and you have a large amount of dishes, fill it up and run it. Otherwise employees should still be washing their dishes after use.
3. Turn Off the Lights. In most offices the lights are constantly on regardless if anyone is in a particular room or not. If there is no one in the conference room, turn off the light. Make sure employees turn the lights off in the kitchen area when they leave the room; the kitchen or break room should only have a lot of traffic in the morning and during lunch and break hours so there is no need for the light to be on all day. For offices that have cubes and a lot of natural light, discuss possibly turning off some of the the overhead lights near the windows to save on energy. Also let employees know that they can purchase a desk lamp if they are in an area that does not get a lot of light, just make sure to provide them with CFL or LED light bulbs so you don’t negate the energy savings of reducing overhead lighting.
4. Shut Down Your Computer. This has an added bonus! Your computer is not in use at night so turn it off when you leave the office for the day. If it is attached to a power strip make sure you turn that off as well. Do you ever wonder why you have to reboot your computer everyday? That’s because it is running all night and possibly still have applications running. If you starting closing down all applications and shutting down your computer properly, your computer will most likely run faster and will be less inclined to crash. This may not seem like a lot of wasted energy, but every little bit helps.
5. Use Online Document Sharing Services. Why print out employee manuals or internal documents? Save them in a file sharing application such as Google Docs or Dropbox. Everyone that you give access to can then open up these items right on their desktop and they will always know where to find them. If you must print something try and print on both sides of the sheet of paper and refrain from using colored ink. Make sure you only buy recycled paper and if you printed something with a mistake, recycle the misprints or turn them into note paper.

These are five simple ways to promote a green environment in your office. They may seem like little things, but a little bit goes a long way when we are trying to protect and preserve our planet! What green practices have you implemented in your office?