Fast Company Blog: Customer Engagement – Why All Companies Could Use a Little MOO

What do you do to make your customers happy that they forked over their hard-earned cash to buy your product or service? I mean beyond the fancy marketing pitch and slick packaging that you used to encourage them to actually buy what you’re selling, what do you do after the sale to make them feel good (or even ecstatic) about their purchase?

Add a little punch to your communication process

MOO.com, producers of high quality ecofriendly business cards, took what would normally be a bland, matter-of-fact order confirmation email and made it fun–something that’s much more engaging for customers.

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Fast Company Blog: 7 Ways to Experience South by Southwest Without Actually Being There

Each year, thousands of people converge on Austin, Texas to make their annual pilgrimage to the South by South West (SXSW) Music and Film Interactive. And that leaves a huge void for those of us who aren’t able to attend. A never ending stream of Facebook status updates and Tweets from the moment they start packing their suitcases only serve as a constant reminder that 1) we’re not going and 2) we wish we were.

So what do you do if you’re not one of the lucky ones going to SXSW but you still want to keep up with that’s going on and feel like you’re part of the “in crowd?”

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[Photo via SXSW.com]

Fast Company Blog: Will Barnes & Noble’s New Retail Strategy Help Save the Day?

Borders files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Local and regional booksellers continue to consolidate stores or close their doors all together. For many, it’s already too late to change direction on a rudderless ship that has been left in the wake of the rapid decline in hard copy book sales. One national retailer, on the other hand, is using a change in strategy to help weather the storm.

It had been a few weeks since I’d last visited my local Barnes & Noble. As I walked through the front door over the weekend, the first thing I noticed was a fully staffed Nook station located no more than 10 feet inside the store–strategically placed so it would be almost impossible to miss. In addition to the fancy NOOK color, they also had an extensive assortment of NOOK accessories. Complementing the kiosk, their in-store displays and signage also do a good job of highlighting a mix of both their print and digital book offerings.

But eReaders are only one aspect of their strategic shift.

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Fast Company Blog Post: Why Startups Are Still Better at Attracting Rock Star Talent

Maybe it’s the lack of a fully entrenched, overly conservative, business as usual HR departments. Or maybe it’s because they live in a world free of lawyers, legalese, and “corporate” mumbo jumbo. Whatever the reason, start ups typically take the cake when it comes to finding rock star talent.

Take Argyle Social–a Durham, NC based startup in the business of social media marketing software. To get the word out, they started with a tweet that compared their team to a pack of rabid wolverines (known for their overwhelming ferocity and pound-for-pound strength). Although I’m sure their approach won’t work for some (including the rabbits and small rodents on which they typically prey), it will for those they’re ultimately going after–other current or aspiring rabid wolverines.

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Fast Company Blog Post: How to Manage the Executive Coaching Discussion

You’re humming along at work. You’ve received positive feedback from coworkers and upper management commending you on the quality of your contributions to the team. Everything seems to be going great. Then one day, without any previous discussions or hints, your boss catches you outside of your cubicle and mentions he wants you to meet with an executive coach.

Your heart immediately starts to race. Is this a good thing? A bad thing? Your boss doesn’t help matters by not giving you much if any background and having the discussion (albeit brief) smack dab in the middle of a sea of cubicles as your coworkers listen in on your conversation.

If you’re the employee, how do you handle the conversation?

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