Google Places - Promote your brick and mortar location with free tools - storify.com

Google Places - Promote your brick and mortar location with free tools - storify.com

This is the Twitter back channel from the September 21 SMB Madison event. Speakers were Rich Hankison and Alison Dodge - official team from Google Places Madison. Katy Morgan Davies not in the house today. The presentation focused on benefits, analytics, advanced best practices and a busy Q&A period. Packed room with 125 people anxious to learn and network. You couldn't ask for a venue with a better view than Monona Terrace and so much parking space. I hope we get more sponsors so we can hold there again.

We were supported by financial contribution or inkind support by @GooglePlaces, @Crema_cafe - Steven Buchholz owner, @Wisconsinmade - owner Linda Remesachatis /Amanda Maurer, @mononaterrace Fran Puleo, @suttlestraus, Kari Schneider.

If you like the event and got some good tips, please support our sponsors in any way you can - Like them on Facebook, give them a shoutout on Twitter. Blog about the event and link to their websites and pages. Whatever you do, don't forget to follow the movers and shakers of SMB Madison - @Wendysoucie, @madcityads, @techpr, @e_humphrey, @paulwstokes @diditdirect

Madison NonProfit Day Success!

Alan Bergstrom of Brand Insights talks about Disney Institute's Approach Programs

Copyright Disney (from Disney Institute images)

Disney Institute is bringing its renowned professional development program, Disney’s Approach to Quality Service, to Madison on August 30, 2010.  Sponsored locally by Wendy Soucie Consulting the full-day event will give area professionals an opportunity to “experience the business behind the magic.” The program will be held at Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center and will give participants new ideas for creating a service-driven organization that delivers excellence.

Local Brand expert shares his opinion 

I met with Alan Bergstrom one of the attendees from the program that was presented last year (Disney Institute - Keys to Excellence Program) here in Madison. Alan is the Principal and Chief Strategy Officer for Brand Insights, a brand-centered consulting agency focused on helping organizations “activate” and unleash the full power their brand to improve market success. Alan is a 20 year veteran of brand strategy and implementation working with clients of all types and categories to enhance brand performance.  He is a nationally renowned expert with deep experience in positioning, operationalizing, measuring, and guiding brands to greatness. Previously, he founded and led one of the top three brand agencies in the US. I thought Alan would have a unique perspective on what information Disney offered at this program. 


Alan was interested in attending this event because he is convinced that Disney is the recognized expert in delivering a compelling brand and customer experience.  He wanted to learn more about the tools and approaches they used to do that. He knew he would learn something valuable with key take away to share with clients, use in his consulting practice and for himself personally.

Alan defined the significant points he learned at this events as follows:

#1 Happy employees make for happy customers - everything starts here.

#2 Engaging the emotions of your customers is a powerful aspect of delivering a great customer experience. This contributes most of all to a great experience

#3 Formalizing and institutionalizing a quality service approach to employee and customer engagement creates a culture of excellence within an organization.  It takes a conscious effort to embed this within a culture for it to become second nature.




Here is Alan talking about how he feels about Disney: