“Ship” It!

Seth Godin (who I have referenced in previous posts) is big into the concept of “shipping”. In other words, what projects or accomplishments have you seen through all the way to completion? What have you shipped? The end of the year is a great time for reflection, so I have decided to post a list of everything I have “shipped” this year.

-Successful transition of Federal Heights FSU to Scott When (Scott finished his first month with an 18% sales increase from the previous year)
-Launched a blog to chronicle my Chick-fil-A highlights
-Assisted Doug Bizerra in a successful Spicy Chicken Sandwich Rollout
-Trained 3 new leaders at Chick-fil-A at Gardens on Havana
-Completed 2 transitions at Chick-fil-A at West Oaks Mall (an Operator to Interim Manager transition and a Interim Manager to Interim Manager transition)
-Completed a massive cleaning and maintenance project at West Oaks Mall that saved Chick-fil-A, Inc thousands (literally!) of dollars in replacement equipment
-Part of an elite team at Chick-fil-A at Fox Valley Center that set numerous sales and Grand Opening Records including the largest Grand Opening Day in Chick-fil-A history
-Key leader at Chick-fil-A at Fox Valley Center where we reached over $1.5 million in sales in the 4th quarter with a brand new team

This was a fun – and valuable – exercise for me. It allowed me to look back on the year and separate completed accomplishments from the ones that I did not have the energy/time/guts to finish or “ship”. It also got me into the right mindset in terms of goal-setting as I head into 2011.

Great planning and great intentions are only part of the equation…what were you able to “ship” in 2010?

Social Media

Our Marketing Director, Becky Lockwood, has done a phenomenal job with our Social Media. I have always believed that Social Media can be a tremendous marketing tool, but now I have been fortunate enough to see it in action. Just like anything else in marketing, a tool is only as effective as you make it. Becky has done a great job building a fan base, communicating with our guests, and providing a platform for raving fans to sell the brand for us!

Facebook is our primary source for social media. We have the system set up so that Twitter feeds are sent out when we post something on Facebook as well. In order to build our “fans” on Facebook, we had signage all over the store, encouraged team members and their friends to sign up, and even had a contest to see who could get the most people to “like” our page. We will never stop the process of getting more and more people to “like” us on Facebook, but it was extremely critical at the beginning to get a solid fan base.

We do a great job of balancing our posts with messages and upcoming events so that people are not solely using us for free offers and giveaways. This is the most crucial step of all in my opinion. Basically, we are just creating even more emotional connections with our raving fans…really creating a “tribe” atmosphere, somewhere our guests can belong. It is so evident that the most regular contributors on our page feel like they are a part of our group. Chick-fil-A, in part, is how they define themselves! This is incredibly powerful, especially in light of Chick-fil-A’s marketing strategy to create raving fans.

Our fans are quick to post comments and pictures on our page. It is always encouraging to hear stories of times when we were able to get it right, when team members who went above and beyond to provide an over the top guest experience, or just to see pictures of raving fans with all of their Chick-fil-A gear. When someone posts on our wall, hundreds of people – their friends, our fans, etc – are able to see first-hand how great Chick-fil-A is. This truly is grass-roots marketing at its finest!

We also inform people of special offers and promotions, many of which are only offered to our Facebook “fans”. By using these offers in moderation, it is yet another way to create the “tribe” mentality – people have a special satisfaction when they know that they are part of a select few who are privy to special information and savings!

I am so thankful to see social media done right! This is such a powerful (and free!) marketing tool, and it is extremely effective when it is used properly.