There’s nothing like an inspiring story to encourage future customers to take action.
Myrna Nickelson, Head of Marketing for LifeGlider, knew that for many, it’s the real stories about how others are using this fall-safe, hands-optional upright walker that help them fully understand why it’s worth a try.
LifeGlider had an active user group on Facebook where many were eager to share their stories. All Myrna needed was the support of an experienced storyteller who knew how to capture these stories and present them to target audiences.
THE APPROACH
To emphasize the personality of each storyteller, we decided to tell stories in the first person. From the interview to writing and editing, I worked closely with each participant to ensure their story was accurate and written in their voice.
Kelly Gregory
Our goal was to demonstrate the diversity of LifeGlider users. We captured stories that ranged from people in later life to young adults (and even one child story) who struggled to walk independently for a variety of reasons.
Kelly’s story was about her battle with Freidrich ataxia. This is one of several rare diseases LifeGlider users suffer from that affect gait, balance, and coordination. The fall-safe LifeGlider helps her maintain as much mobility as possible.
THE RESULTS
These stories are now powerful content assets for LifeGlider’s social media channels and for the Customer Stories section of the website. At a glance, this page presents a broad overview of the diversity of LifeGlider users.
The stories have had the greatest impact when shared by the participants themselves. As product ambassadors, they proudly share the links on their own social media platforms. Their influence has encouraged many to try the product.
Each story is a uniquely inspirational example of what people mean when they call the LifeGlider “life-changing.”
“Our customer stories are important to our marketing strategy. They’re extended testimonials that speak to how the LifeGlider is changing their lives. Beyond using them on the website to improve SEO, we also use them for email marketing and social media posts.
“Matt does a great job interviewing the customers and effectively ghostwriting for them. Each story is unique and conveys the customer’s voice. He’s an excellent writer and a joy to work with.” – Myrna Nickelsen, Head of Marketing
Click the logo to read the story at MyLifeGlider.com.
https://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Kelly-Gregory-photo-e1674233675191.jpg9571335Matthew C. Bloomhttp://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Matthew-C-Bloom-Content-Marketing-Logo.jpgMatthew C. Bloom2023-01-31 12:47:302023-01-31 12:47:31My LifeGlider, Ozzie, Helps Give Me the Strength to Conquer FA (Health, Technology)
Dremel DigiLab had already established itself as a leader in supplying K-12 schools with 3D printers. Following a decade of success helping instructors across the U.S. launch their 3D printing programs, the sales director was interested in providing guidance for school systems seeking to scale up these programs.
The sales team wanted to make the argument that the key to successful scaling is standardization. School systems that adopted a single model districtwide would be able to develop a uniform approach to training, instructional design, and maintenance, among other benefits.
Dremel already had plenty of sales and marketing materials about the quality of the products themselves. The idea was to associate the brand with thoughtful, experienced consultants in addition to product quality, making Dremel an obvious choice in a partner for administrators seeking to expand their 3D printing programs.
THE APPROACH
In partnership with Caylor Solutions, a marketing agency that works closely with K-12 and higher education clients, the sales manager contracted us to develop a white paper on 3D printer program standardization. This would be used in a variety of ways to educate school administrators, develop new leads, and engage existing clients for large-scale reorders.
After an initial consultation with the sales manager and marketing manager to get a sense of the direction they wanted to take, I interviewed two regional salespeople to learn more about the benefits of standardization as well as the products themselves. I also solicited their to connect me with clients who would be willing to provide a quote.
I then interviewed four K-12 administrators in a variety of roles, who were at different stages of the process of standardizing their 3D printing programs. Each provided a unique perspective about both the challenges and benefits of standardization.
THE RESULTS
This white paper is now a valuable lead generation tool for 3PI Tech Solutions, an authorized reseller of Dremel DigiLab 3D products. It is a free download on the Education page of the dealer’s website.
As a targeted thought leadership piece, The Next Phase of 3D Printer Programs in Education helps establish the authority of 3PI Tech Solutions as an extension of the Dremel brand in K-12 education. It facilitates important conversations that help school systems move forward wisely as it drives revenue for Dremel and its affiliate.
Link to landing page and downloadable PDF:
https://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/3D-printer-standardization-white-paper-scaled.jpg17072560Matthew C. Bloomhttp://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Matthew-C-Bloom-Content-Marketing-Logo.jpgMatthew C. Bloom2021-11-08 17:26:222021-11-08 17:26:24The Next Phase of 3D Printer Programs in Education: Why Standardization is the Key to Successful Scaling (Technology)
Imagine you’re waiting in the ticket line at Bankers Life Fieldhouse when you look up to see Pacers forward Paul George appear in the crowd.
Before you have time to wonder where he and his ball came from, #13 is dribbling as he gracefully cuts through the throng of delighted fans.
Now he’s coming your way. At top speed. This is awesome … and a little scary. In a blink, as all 6’ 9” of Paul George is charging you, a hoop appears just above your head. George launches himself off the floor.
He slam-dunks the ball, shatters the glass. A pair of giant sneakers and shards of backboard are showering down, and then … it all disappears.
The crowd goes wild.
This is one of many sports-going experiences Ed Frederici, Chief Technology Officer for Pacers Sports and Entertainment expects to provide to spectators in the not-so-distant future.
“There are a number of companies out there now trying to perfect the hologram,” Ed said. “We’re looking to see if we can invest in using this technology to make the spectacle of a game that much more exciting.”
Ed is no stranger to developing existing technologies into game-changers. One of the proudest accomplishments of his 20-year career in tech was with ExactTarget. You know it today as the Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
When the digital marketing company went public, as CTO Ed had pretty lofty expectations to fulfill. ExactTarget was already successful at sending individualized communications like emails, text messages and mobile notifications that are contextually meaningful to each recipient.
Now it was time to take one-to-one digital marketing to the next level.
“It was a significant technical challenge to adapt to the growing demand for this service. We were sending about a billion of those messages a day by the time I left,” Ed said.
There had been a familiar ebb and flow of digital marketing efforts around the retail cycle. Retailers would ramp it up before the holiday season and customer touches would see a peak just after Thanksgiving.
Thanks to a dramatic expansion in capacity made possible by Ed’s team, clients could continue utilizing their customer contact lists long after Cyber Monday. The retail cycle began to flatten. There was less ebb, more flow.
“It never went down, really. You always had a new high watermark at the beginning of the new year. It was usually almost double the previous watermark,” Ed said.
It was fascinating work for an engineer, but it was the impact on the company’s clients that made the experience so rewarding.
“We drove significant commerce around the world. If even just 10% of those messages were acted on, that generates a lot of revenue. The work we started has added a huge amount of value to individual businesses.”
Ed wasted no time applying his knack for making tech bigger, better and more tuned to the needs of his clients when he joined the Pacers.
There was a problem with the Wi-Fi. Yes, Bankers Life Fieldhouse was one of the few arenas to have free Wi-Fi everywhere in the building. The quality, however, didn’t exceed Ed’s expectations.
His solution? Redesign the infrastructure across the board using high-density Wi-Fi technology.
“We’re about a month and a half away from standing that up. When we’re done we should have Wi-Fi as good as any in any stadium or arena in the U.S.”
Ed’s team has also developed apps for visitors to use over that best-in-class Wi-Fi.
New this season, Wait Time allows visitors to see estimated wait time at concession stands and bathrooms on monitors and via a mobile app. No more guessing where the shortest line is. Now you’ll know, down to the minute.
Ed’s team is also releasing an app called Satisfi, which learns over time what people’s search queries really mean. For example, you might ask where the “best beer” is in the arena. Satisfi is smart enough to lead you to craft beers, not just any old brew.
The future holds still greater advancements to delight Pacers fans, such as applications of virtual reality.
“This is theoretical, because we don’t own the broadcast rights to the NBA, the NBA does; however, imagine you could sit courtside via your VR goggles and have a courtside seat at center court and watch that game from home,” Ed said.
There are tremendous business advantages to applying VR technology in this way.
“We’re in an arena of about 18,500 seats,” Ed said. “We’re capped at selling 18,500 tickets. With VR you could sell an almost unlimited number of tickets and still give fans that arena experience.”
How far off is VR courtside pro basketball?
“If you look at Facebook and Twitter making deals with large sports organizations like the NFL to broadcast games live in VR, we’re pretty close. We can’t be more than a couple years off.”
That should be exciting outside of the wide world of sports as well. Once VR is adopted as a familiar platform for gaming and viewing sporting events, it could become a common tool for businesses, families and schools. VR more fully engages the senses during meetings with faraway colleagues, family members and instructors, providing a better sense of social connection than video conferencing can.
Pivots in one arena can have profound implications in others, but none of it happens until you have the vision and determination to execute disruptive change. That’s what Pivot 2016 is all about.
“Maybe you’re pivoting from one product to another, one culture to another. There are a lot of different pivots. In my career I’ve learned which techniques work to do it effectively and which ones don’t. That’s what I hope to convey in the talk,” Ed said.
Don’t miss your chance to hear Ed Frederici’s talk and much more on Wednesday, November 16th at Launch Fishers. Register now*. We look forward to seeing you there!
*Original included active hyperlink to event registration page.
https://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hologram-Basketball.jpg692692Matthew C. Bloomhttp://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Matthew-C-Bloom-Content-Marketing-Logo.jpgMatthew C. Bloom2016-11-21 13:29:422018-01-08 11:26:28Tech Breaks All the Rules in Ed Frederici’s New Pacers Playbook (Technology)
The goal of this whitepaper was to demonstrate the game-changing nature of the client’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) product, a web-based, customizable platform for delivering consultant services. While the primary target was the software industry, the challenge was to give readers a sense of the broader potential for all types of consultancies.
https://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CTX-Whitepaper-Cover-1.jpg5991026Matthew C. Bloomhttp://matthewcbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Matthew-C-Bloom-Content-Marketing-Logo.jpgMatthew C. Bloom2016-06-08 10:35:252018-01-08 11:27:11The Micro-consulting Revolution: Knowledge Delivery at the Speed of Tech (2016) (Technology)