How to use a #hashtag

#HBSRLGC was the topic of conversation on Twitter among attendees at the Retail & Luxury Goods Conference at Harvard Business School this past weekend. We suggested attendees use the hashtag #HBSRLGC to give feedback and discuss the conference. It was super popular! We shared the hashtag on the conference brochures, on site signage, and website. To me, this was a success!

Favorite Tweets by category:

1. Sharing onsite observations
byondcre8tive ByondCre8tive 

RT @BowensBergeron: RT @bkornell: Coolest product I saw at#hbsrlgc: carved wooden purse by @BowensBergeron (cont)http://tl.gd/9pe1be

2. Attendees speaking directly to sponsors

felishdadish Felicia Jadczak 

@BallandBuck Love the v-neck t-shirt I got from you guys at#HBSRLGC today! Thanks for your donation.

3. Sponsors speaking to attendees

ekahwagi Elie el Kahwagi 

#HBSRLGC Fun to know that 400 people saw my redesign of A Magazine

4. Quoting keynote speakers
BizStylist Yasha Stelzner 

William Lauder @esteebeauty "Why does Goldman Sachs pay so much? Bcse the job sucks!" on pursuing your passions #hbsrlgc

5. Agreeing or disagreeing with what has been said
sararoedner Sara Roedner 

"Shopping is not consumption... It is a form of entertainment" - William Lauder. I agree! #HBSRLGC

6. Asking followers in Africa to give you a question to ask a fashion designer in the U.S.
adfinley Allana Finley 

#HBSRLGC @AFI_sa asked Mr. Hilfiger about fake products "it is frustrating flattery and much of our profit is used for task force to stop it

7. Replying and connecting with other attendees
gustavoleone gustavo leone 

lol “@ashlygrzyb: #HBSRLGC not having a fragrance is like missing a tooth - Tommy Hilfiger”

8. Giving attendees updates about the conference

ashlygrzyb Ashly Grzyb 

#HBSRLGC social enterprise now in auditorium and entrepreneurship in Aldrich 112 now

9. Getting feedback from attendees

eguadianachong Elisa I. Guadiana Ch 

#HBSRLGC I'm sorry its really hard to hear in the back ☹

Thanks for responding via Twitter

I began receiving emails from retailers and other companies regarding a security breach of one of their vendors Epsilon, a marketing database provider. My contact information may have been stolen by an unknown hacker - thanks for letting me know! While transparency is valuable, what can be done now that my information is out there in the hands of evil?

I received these emails from J. Crew, Target, Victoria Secret, Hilton, and Ritz Carlton among others. The full list of Epsilon clients can be viewed here.

J. Crew sent me an ugly text email that looked like spam:

Target's email was a bit classier, designed in HTML:

I proceeded to tag these companies on Twitter letting them know I did receive their email. I was most impressed by Hilton who actually responded to my tweet apologizing again. I think this is a great example of a company using Twitter to speak directly to customers and providing excellent customer service! They were the only company to respond to me directly. Likewise, Twitter allows me to speak directly to the company (or at least their Social Manager Manager) to share praise, wrong doings, suggestions, etc. 

The lines of communication between company and customer are definitely two way and they are open! Lesson to be learned by retailers? Talk to your customer directly, they will value it way more than a mass email.