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One of my favorite bloggers right now is Mr. Peter Shankman. Some of you may remember that I have posted some of his blogs in this area previously. This past week though, I read a blog of his that really stimulated my thought process.
Long story short: Peter was on a plane departing Florida for Newark, NJ and had not had a chance to eat dinner. He jokingly tweeted the following:
Hey @Mortons - can you meet me at newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks. :)
Morton's, of course, refers to the amazing steakhouse restaurants across the US and the world. Not giving it a second thought, Peter landed in Newark and as he found his driver, he was surprised by a Morton's employee waiting for him. In a to go bag was the steak, shrimp, potatoes, break and silverware. (Read the entire blog here)
Let that sink in for a moment. Somewhere in cyberspace, a Morton's executive or customer relations person saw Peter's tweet, arranges to have this meal delivered from a restaurant more than 20 miles away from the airport and finds out when he is arriving all within a short three hour time frame.
The blogging world and the news media have been discussing this story at length. And Morton's is reaping amazing PR benefits that cost them nothing more than the cost of the food, some gas and an employee's time.
Of course, the critics are out there...was this a staged PR stunt? Did this only happen because Shankman has 100,000+ followers? But, those folks are missing the bigger point
Whether staged or a spur of the moment decision by a savvy customer service rep, this very creative example of excellence in customer service is generating FAR FAR more PR at a much lower cost than Morton's could have ever bought (just search "mortons peter shankman"). This is POWERFUL word of mouth marketing and we all know that someone else telling our story can lead to an increase in clients walking through the front door. Additionally, it would have been MUCH harder to achieve without social media.
So, what can you do TODAY that will cause a similar reaction in your area? Are people online talking about the service that you provide and what are they saying?
Challenge your staff to find a way to create a similar "Morton's Moment" at your hospital!
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For the third straight week, the Immiticide shortage is the key animal story making headlines. This article from Atlanta now highlights 
connecting with your media contacts, share this story with them (they will love it!) and then use that opening to share your own personal experiences with dogs who have eaten bizarre objects. If you can't bring any cases to mind, check out our two VNN stories about this topic. Look for "Your Dog Ate What" and "The X-ray Tells All" in our story library!
