A Community Manager Gets Community Managed

By Lisa Grimm, 2 June, 2011, 51 Comments

Community Management is something I think few brands do really well. It’s a hard thing to pull off, not only because brand culture needs to be on board with having a conversation with its community instead of blasting crap messages out constantly, but also because of the strategy development and tactical execution involved. It’s hard enough for brands to get marketing right with the tools we’ve always had, let alone blending the old and new.

A big part of my job at Mall of America is managing and developing its online community. Listening to what people say about the Mall of America brand, interacting with our community and continuing to build it by having meaningful conversations. This tactic of our work fits within the guest experience and innovative marketing programs piece of our social media strategy.

Working in this space is interesting (for so many reasons), in that rarely do I (as a consumer) experience the level of digital outreach we provide our guests at MOA (and I’m not insinuating we’re perfect at this either). I’ve just had such an experience at InterContinental Hotel Times Square in New York City that I believe many brands could learn something from.

When I booked travel for my New York trip (I attended and spoke at Blogworld & New Media Expo NYC 2011 last week), there was no particular reason for my choosing InterContinental TS, other than proximity to the conference center. Their website was pleasant and booking was a breeze. Upon arrival, I had a very positive first impression. The hotel is new, beautiful and located a few blocks from Times Square. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. When I got to my room, I was delighted by its modern, yet homey feel, the amazing bathroom, quality of the iron (I need a good iron) and amenities, not to mention my stellar view.

Being a Foursquare user and someone who likes to share where I go, what I do and experience (basically everything), I opened my Foursquare app, checked in and uploaded a picture of my view.

Moments later I received this tweet from @IC_TimesSquare:

They’re listening… and engaging… saying hey and utilizing new media (conversation) tools as a way to extend their brand promise. I dug this. Even though I spend a bulk of my time making sure people who mention Mall of America in their tweets and/or speak directly to us are acknowledged in whatever way necessary, it really blows my mind and gets my attention when brands do that for me. I appreciate it because I hang out on Twitter, therefore I enjoy it when I am followed up with or essentially, marketed to there.

Our conversation continued:

I left the hotel to grab dinner with coworkers, returning to find an envelope under the door. I thought it may be a receipt, as my stay was prepaid. NOPE! It was a lovely hand written note from Victoria, the InterContinental Times Square’s community manager on duty. It read:

Lisa,

Thanks so much for tweeting with us and we hope you enjoy your stay! Please let us know if there’s anything we can assist you with.

Best,

Victoria

It also included a ‘drink on us’ ticket for the fantastic hotel lounge.

What’s the ROI of this?
I can’t possibly leave this post without validating why an activity like this yields. Here’s my perceived ROI of my experience at IC_TimesSquare:

Branding – @IC_TimesSqare‘s digital activities are an extension of their on-site guest experience. I can’t stress the importance of this. It is one of the biggest struggles when it comes to integrating new tools into an already existing strategy. The ROI – I’ve told at least 10 people and am writing positive media about them here.
Loyalty – Provided superior guest service, making my stay a positive one, ensuring that I’ll pursue them before any other hotel in New York next time I travel. When I make travel arrangements elsewhere, I will be more inclined to search out an InterContinental.
Revenue – At least $60 spent in @IC_TimesSquare lounge. Two of the most awesome dudes I know, Dave Fleet and Chuck Hemann, met me for drinks.

How do you do this too?
This impressive experience made me curious (of course), so I sought Victoria to ask about how Intercontinental manages social strategy. This was her answer:

“Currently the set-up for InterContinental hotels is that each property is set to look after themselves – with cross promotion and educational opportunities offered from the corporate level. At this property specifically, I work on-site with a team off site to help feed relevant and interesting content as well as making sure there is a constant conversation happening with our customers.”

I liked her answer. While short, it covers a lot of ground and also remains consistent to the experience they’re providing. They’re offering autonomy to employees, while also providing framework at the corporate level.

So… make sure you know what your key messages and marketing communications strategy are, develop social strategy (which really is a human approach to your marketing – that’s all) around existing marketing communications strategy, and the tools will follow. Easier said than done, of course. If you’re looking specifically for listening tools, etc. Google it. Many have written on the topic, or I’m happy to provide recommendations in comments.

Big thanks to InterContinental Times Square for providing me this experience. Made my trip to New York that much better!

http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Glad. Thanks for stopping by:-)
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Many had liked it on FB and then I messed with the plugin:-) Glad you enjoyed the post. Chris is great. As a community manager for a large brand, I agree with him completely. People like to feel part of something and like they’re making a contribution. Thanks so much for stopping by to comment.
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Baileyelbourne

FYI I am unable to see comments when I use Google Chrome
http://ijustdid.org Jonha Revesencio

Wait, no way! No one has actually liked this piece on Facebook? I love this! I was listening to Chris Brogan’s podcast with Inbound Marketing Uni and he discussed about Community Management and that how brands treat their customers through Social Media totally influences a person’s purchasing decisions. I think @IC_TimesSquare:twitter really knows their thing and they’re doing a great job making their guests feel that they really value each one. Very nice job! Really something us, Community Managers, could learn from
Anonymous

This is an awesome example of being community managed. It feels nice to have it happen to you. My favorite part was the actual hand written note. Nice touch!
http://twitter.com/ValeriaPrati Valeria Prati

Stories like this remind me why I’m trying to be a community manager
Anonymous

Great information! Thanks @hotelPRguy for posting a link. And high-five to @IC_TimesSquare for doing such a great job.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Roger Smith is awesome from what I hear:-) I’m jealous you’re going to #140. Wish I was, but had to pick and choose:-) And stop with the pretty people bit!
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Thanks for sharing, Thomas. I look forward to looking at your post.
Michelle

Hi. I’m not sure it’s in the story (you must have seen a tweet) but Revinate is being used behind the scenes to monitor for new reviews and mentions on social networks.
http://twitter.com/ThomasMarzano Thomas Marzano

Fantastic experience and great post!
I had a very similar experience at the Four Seasons in Palo Alto.
Check out my post about it

http://thomasmarzano.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/how-the-four-seasons-hotel-just-gets-socialmedia/

These are great cases!
Thanks for sharing!
best
@ThomasMarzano:twitter
http://www.dogwalkblog.com/ Rufus Dogg

Two NSCAA (soccer, big deal) conferences ago (Jan 2010) we attended/showed and stayed at the Marriott in Philly. I did the same thing you did and tweeted out that we were there. @MarriottIntl came back probably 2-3 minutes later and asked if the room was fine. I nearly fell over! This was a major, international hotel… on twitter… 2 years ago. No free drinks or hand-written notes, though. THAT was a cool touch and what will differentiate them when all hotels have figured this twitter thing out and all automate it like robotic “your call is very important to us” replies.
I wish I had read this before booking for the #140conf later this month. The @rshotel is pretty good I hear, so I’ll stay put for this trip. But the @IC_TimesSqare is on my list for next time. We’ll see if they just tweet the “pretty people.”
Fkeith

Love the post and the string of comments. Where and how does Revinate fit into this ? I may have missed that part of the story.
http://chuckhemann.com/ Chuck Hemann

From the sounds of it, you disliked him more than I did, Fleet.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Goes to show, value is different for everyone. In my case, this is cooler than just another loyalty program. We’re dealing with different things here. They can complement one another, but it’s not a one or the other thing for me.
http://davefleet.com davefleet

Two hotels I’ve encountered that have impressed me that way – both in NY. The Intercontinental and the Roger Smith. I’ll pick either of them over other options any time.
http://davefleet.com davefleet

Throw in a mention of Chuck and that bartender and you’ll be off the charts.
http://www.vimm.com Michelle Falling

I love this story! Last summer I tweeted a message to a hotel (with a Twitter account) I was staying at hoping I would get a similar response…but NOTHING! It’s too bad because if they would have responded to me I know I would have sung their praises. Missed opportunity, definitely!!
http://twitter.com/mattceni matt ceniceros

Think I would have valued hotel loyalty points. That way not only is this stay personal, but then with the points the NEXT stay is just as great without any personal interaction needed. Extend loyalty to future visits. Once is nice, two times is better, three times is a trend.
http://twitter.com/mattceni matt ceniceros

Think I would have valued hotel loyalty points. That way not only is this stay personal, but then with the points the NEXT stay is just as great without any personal interaction needed. Extend loyalty to future visits. Once is nice, two times is better, three times is a trend.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Thanks for reading and commenting, Tracy! I agree. I’m not in the business of wasting time and energy on the bad stuff. I’m all about applauding and having respect for things done well though. Have a great weekend.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Thanks for stopping by buddy:-) Agree with you on the loyalty piece. The touch points (minus the bartender) were significant, which keeps them more top of mind than the regular old hotel I stayed at elsewhere or in the same place. It’s nice to be impressed from time to time:-)
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Glad you enjoyed it. It was a nice synchronized experience. That’s hard to pull off these days. Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for reading:-)
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

I hear you there. Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for stopping by:-)
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Dude. I’ve just looked (and not for a long time). It’s good. I’ll do an update.
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http://twitter.com/RandomHandprint Anna Sandler

love hearing this story of social media done right, usually just hear the many stories of the fails!
Anonymous

This is great: seeing digital interactions become real-life hard copy ones. Nice post.
http://chuckhemann.com/ Chuck Hemann

I know I’d want to see the stats on how this post performed. 80 tweets and 33 FB shares is pretty damn awesome at first blush. I’d love to see what the traffic looked like for this post. Clicks on Twitter, etc… Or, maybe even how many new followers the @IC_TimesSquare account received as a result of people seeing this.
http://davefleet.com davefleet

I experienced a similar level of service there, too – I tweeted from my room to see who was out and about and needing to get dinner, and the chef from the restaurant downstairs replied to me to invite me down there.

Is that going to make me forever loyal to a hotel? No – the major experiences I have there will enable that – but it certainly moves the needle in the right direction and establishes a positive foundation for those other experiences to build on. I was impressed.
Tracy

Kudos on the great post, reading posts and tweets where people constantly bash brands is such old news and so very tiring! Seeing someone use Twitter to praise and share a POSITIVE experience is such a breath of fresh air! I RT’ed: http://twitter.com/Tracy_Iglesias/status/76546859182735360
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

I love it, and clearly am not hanging out in the right places;-) You got the line on some solid activity out there:-) It’s nice to be playing in the space. Validating people’s whatever (existence, problem, potential problem, joy) is the best marketing you can do these days IMHO.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Peep – This is a #RamonWow sitch for sure. The best part is that the majority of the world isn’t Tweeting and checking in, so it’s not like this is a terribly daunting task. I’m with you all the way. I am seriously thinking about updated this post with ROI, only because of the ridiculousness that occurred with the sharing of this post. Impressions alone could blow the minds of a few folks. You’re the measurement jedi. What do you think? Thanks for reading and commenting buddy.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Dude – I know! I have such intense thought patterns that it’s hard to get it out in a timely manner. Not to mention my schedule is totally unmanageable. I love it writing, and more than anything the conversations it has the ability to generate. Darnit! Love your comment and love the tie back to the measurement panel. That was a GREAT session. Thanks for reading and commenting.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

I couldn’t agree more. Coming from someone responsible for building sustainable social media in an org, I’m equally interested. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and commenting.
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Opportunity abounds. It’s actually ridiculous how much opportunity there is. Old business practice, culture and minds out there – I think that’s it anyway. I’m all about loving on people. There isn’t enough of that and it goes a really long way. It’s just how I roll, so I’m going to stick with it. Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for your comment:-)
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Thank you for reading and enjoying it so much!
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Enjoy! I love these guys:-) Safe travels lady and thanks for stopping by to comment.
Becky Nowlin

Nice. Love it! Headed to Intercontinental Boston in the morning.
Anonymous

I had a similar really nice experience with the Charles Hotel in Cambridge MA. I made a goofy tweet about the television in my bathroom mirror (seriously) and got a funny message back from them along with the “if there’s anything else I can do…” line. I call Twitter the yuppie backdoor for good service now because in a lot of cases if you just know it’s there, you can get access to less-overworked and more savvy customer relations people who can solve problems or just listen.

I’ve had good experiences like this with Fairpoint Communications, Barber Foods, Dartmouth Coach (via facebook) and even, surprisingly, The Mass DMV. At MetaFilter.com we have an ongoing Twitter search for MeFi mentions and can often talk to people who may be confused about something before they get ffrustrated and annoyed. It’s super helpful for us.
http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara

Lisa

I love this post. I was actually waiting for it to go sour like they did not have a foursquare presence or something of the like. I was pleasantly surprised, as were you but their attention to detail and the way that she reached out with the personal note enhanced the visit.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
http://www.smallhandsbigideas.com Grace Boyle

I love this kind of stuff. It’s ironic really – there is SO much opportunity for brands / community managers and a lot of people do not take advantage. I tweet so often about experiences such as yours and they go unanswered. Obviously, I do not tweet for any response, simply to express myself but when I get responses such as yours (so awesome!) I am floored. I even write posts about them.

It’s such a full circle and makes so much sense to share the love like this. Truly impressive. I love it! Thanks for sharing.
Ronald Toledo

Really enjoyed reading the post. I’ve had similar positive experience related to travel and hospitality and social media. Recently I was upgraded at a resort in the Dominican Republic upon arrival after I had interacted with the resort on their Facebook page. The one thing that will be interesting is how something like this scales as the amount of people interacting with the brands themselves increases.
http://twitter.com/JGoldsborough JGoldsborough

Said it before and I’ll say it again…you should blog more often. Nice storytelling .

You know why I’m impressed by this hotel. Because they’ve obviously seen the research about 3rd-party WOM as the most trusted form of marketing and they are taking actions to provide their customers with stories to tell about the brand. That’s smart. It’s an approach grounded in research. And somebody there has a little faith in the value of conversation.

Btw, the measurement panel at BWE all said that without qualitative results, you’re reporting is incomplete. Stories like this are a reflection of why that is true. Cheers.
http://chuckhemann.com/ Chuck Hemann

Hey Lisa –

This is a very cool story demonstrating community management done well. I tend to be like you in that I’m more shocked when it is done well these days. Hopefully experiences like this start to change that perception.

Thinking back to the conference and some of the things Ramon from Dominos talked about… Much of what he discussed you can see here. Sure, coming up with a strategic approach to online activities is hard. Yes, coordinating across multiple properties like IC has to do is very challenging. But, sending a tweet to thank a customer for checking in? What about putting a thank you card under the door like you experienced here? I’d call those pretty damn simple, but go a long way to forging a long-term customer relationship. Why don’t more brands do it? Do they get in their own way? Do they think it’s harder than it actually is? Wish I knew the answer.

Anyway, good stuff…. and based on your reco (and the experience in that bar), I’m obviously much more likely to stay at this hotel myself. Add that to the ROI section you listed above…
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

It’s an awesome hotel. Yeah. It was stellar all around. Very impressive. Hope all is well with you. Thanks for stopping by.
http://twitter.com/macslavin Mac Slavin

I want to go stay at this hotel now!!

When I first started reading this post, I was a little worried that it was going to be your traditional “you checked in, and they replied post.” But the thing that really got me was the hand written note!! It proved that it’s not just a robot behind a computer. LOVE IT!
http://twitter.com/lulugrimm Lisa Grimm

Thanks for reading and commenting buddy:-) Happy people equal revenue. Definitely nice when it happens to you!
http://twitter.com/BMJEWELL Bridget Jewell

LOVE this post. It’s so great to know that companies are taking community management seriously. As so many people have preached, for so long – it’s truly about the customer experience and having a brand reach out to you in this way shows that they care!

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