Google me this or why Google hates customer service

Google maps for business seems like a great idea. That is unless you have to use it. Until recently I had no idea that Google map spam was such a huge problem. Its such a big problem that they have a Google Group assigned to it. Too bad no one seems to be helping anyone there.

I have had a problem for weeks and no one has responded. Under our domain, in a Google search, there is an address for no apparent reason. It has nothing to do with our company. So you think we should be able to get rid of it right? Well Google doesn't seem to care. Because there are hundreds of others with the same issue. The issue is random spammers taking over addresses, domains and other portions of your business information on Google.

My favorite recent post topic: "This forum is a waste of time" with the following post "I guess google really doesn't care about spammers taking advantage of google maps if they cared something would be done already Maybe we should stop using google"

Google loves to make new products but if seems they to hate support them. If you ask for help they tell you there is a help page. Google, like most companies, isn't perfect but there is a lot they could be doing that they aren't. It's not a tough problem to solve across their many product lines they just need to get the right team put together and make a real effort. Otherwise they'll become another huge tech company that we all love to pick on (Microsoft anyone?).

Best and worst time to be in marketing

The internet can make or break a company. Ever stay up late and watch an infomercial? It used to be a lot different fifteen years ago because you never knew what you were getting, but now you can find out everything about a product thanks to the web. Want to know if those knives really can slice through a brick? Or if that acne cream really will clear your complexion overnight? Just Google it.

It's never been more important to have a great product. It's nearly impossible to sell junk anymore and that's good for businesses and consumers. So what to do if you are a company? Just make great products/services and let that speak for you.

When is nothing on sale?

When is nothing on sale? When everything is on sale.

Ever go into Kohl's? It seems like everything is 40% off. The only way to make something seem special or a great deal is when everything else isn't a deal.

Some goes with marketing. If everything you advertising is the best then you have nothing that stands out as great.

'Tis the season to be incompatible

I have a huge problem with Christmas. Why don't any of the Christmas light bulbs fit in the other light bulb sockets? I went to Target today and bought some rope lights, exactly like the kind I bought two years ago, to extend my current lights. Too bad the ropes don't connect. They lineup, screw together because the plugs are virtually the same, except not exactly. They aren't compatible.

Here is a question. Is there a portion of your business that isn't compatible to something you did two years ago? One year ago? Six months ago? If so, why not? Sure, you might have made improvements but when you stop supporting your current customers for new customers you will eventually lose more than you gain.

Out with the old... in with the other stuff

What is new? With the economy on the fritz you have to wonder what will come of marketing. Will everyone go grassroots? GM doesn't have the money to spend to blitzkrieg the world with commercials. Budweiser is cutting back. Will large companies do what small companies have had to do for years and go directly to customers?

It's not impossible. You go to Borders and buy books--they have your email address--they send you email with specials. But that isn't grassroots enough. Wal-Mart could do send me emails, too. They could build a profile of me every time I walk through their door. They could send products geared towards me the same way Amazon can. They don't. GM could. Budweiser could. They just never had to. Grassroots marketing is harder than carpet-bomb marketing because you have to know your customers. Really know them--not just a name and email. You have to create a relationship. That's hard. But the pay-off can be huge.

You've really made it baby?

When do you know your product or service has really made it? When people write books about it. Especially if they write a manual. Then again, if your help documents aren't good enough and someone else has to write a manual you have to wonder: are you doing a good enough job helping your customers?

Sometimes a product creates an entire cottage industry. Google search anyone? SEO started because of Google. Then again, as soon as an industry starts the company for which a cottage industry has sprouted could put your industry out of business.

Business 2.0, 3.0, or whatever.0

If you were in charge of marketing yourself what would be the first thing you'd work on? Your personality? Resume? Network? Social network? All of these? None of these?

The answer is all and none of the above. You market yourself every day when you come in contact with people like the person you meet on the plane or the guy who dropped his napkin at the restaurant that you picked up or the person at work that you went out of your way to help. If you believe that the moment you walk out the door until the moment you come home you are marketing yourself then think about your business for a moment.

Does everyone at your company think this way from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed? Every person who works for your company markets themselves and in turn markets you.

And if you believe everything above--then do you also believe that every minute of the day your business does a great job interaction with customers and potential customers? The answer lies in whether your employees do their best to represent their company?

Marketing isn't always about spending money on advertising. Sometimes its the small things that have the biggest impact.

Do you know if your customer service sucks?

I had an experience with Sirius satellite radio and their subpar customer service. The issue was with a home radio not detecting an antenna. I ended up getting bounced around after sitting on hold for 30 minutes. Sure, its me complaining so what? But a search online and will find thousands of complaints. That isn't a good thing.

When a search for "sirius customer service sucks" shows over 17,000 results there is something wrong. One thing I've always loved was when companies like this get active on message boards and blogs to answer customer issues. Also, when a customer service or tech person fixes something put up a website to help others with the same problems find a solution. You'd save your company a lot of calls and create a better relationship with your customer.

I love being rewarded

We've all experienced the teenager at the grocery store pushing a huge line of shopping carts back to the store. The guys at Target even have a cool machine that helps push the carts. But it all seems like such a huge waste of employee time and energy just because we, the customers, are too lazy to bring the carts back ourselves.

What if instead of a few teenagers retrieving carts stores gave customers rewards for bring the carts back into the store? If you grab a cart swipe your store card, and perhaps a cart card as well, and when you bring the cart back and reswipe your card and the cart you recieve rewards from the store. I'd take the extra few minutes to return my cart if it meant a few cents off a gallon a gas or a free gallon of milk.

The beauty is a double positive effect: Less employee hours spent to retrieve carts and happy customers who might decide to shop at your store rather than your competitors.

Why are tires so boring?

Automobile tires have looked the same forever. Sure, the size, tread, quality and such have changed. But what we see hasn't. Tires are black. Tires are boring. Tires have never been exciting. Rims and hubcaps have changed but not the tire. It's sort of like toilet paper. The same old boring thing.

The question is: are tires already perfect and beyond the need for change? I don't think anyone believes toilet paper as is does the best for what we need it to do. Same goes for tires.

We can make white walls and white letters so why not white tires? Why not pink tires. Why not tires that have your favorite sport's teams logo on them? I'm not going to try and come up with the next generation of tires and how to make them cool, but right now they are the least cool thing on your car. And cars are things we like to decorate with all sorts of unnecessary things--things that make companies lots of money.

Is there something at your company that is the tire? If there is how do you fix it and take a really big leap forward? The first thing is to recognize its a tire. The second thing is taking a risk and making it something exciting and great.

How to turn free into making money

Arena football teams have a tough time filling arenas made for NBA, NHL and other franchise teams. The problem is most people haven't experienced these teams. Not everyone will enjoy it, but there are ways to still make money while giving game tickets away for free.

How about the first game, or first few games, giveaway all the tickets for free. Money will still be made from concessions.

I'd also force those who want free tickets to enter into a lottery online. Potential winners would be forced to give correct demographic information because tickets will be mailed. Entrants would also have to give an email address so that they can get emails from the team throughout the season. I'd make this email a forced opt-in for the entire season if you give them free tickets.. that's part of the deal. This allows you to offer them ticket deals and sell a highly targeted advertising spot in the emails. Of course you shouldn't send this email more than once a week or you risk it getting deleted before its ever read.

Alliances can often be better than taking on the world alone

CNN recently announced that they are going to start offering a wire service to newspapers. Having experience working at a newspaper I know that CNN will be in for the fight of their lives for two reasons.
1. Newspapers don't have much money to spend
2. They will be competing with AP--which newspapers have an ownership interest in. (even though I blogged that AP might be ready to go down for the count--don't count on it any time soon)

If I were CNN I'd partner with local papers rather than be a syndicate. Here's how I'd do it and the benefits.
1. Work with local paper and provide them with world/national articles for print and the web. This offers CNN local branding in print and links/branding online.
2. Provide CNN video for newspaper websites. Another branding opportunity and links. Also, if a local newspaper affiliate has interesting video then use theirs on the CNN website with link back.
3. Provide a much needed commentary for newspapers.
4. Put those newspaper articles of national interest on the CNN website with links back to newspaper.
5. Link back and forth as much as possible, thus bringing a larger audience to both companies.

So you got a monopoly huh? Guess again

One of the most powerful monopolies most people don't know about looks like it is coming apart at the seams. The Associated Press, the newspaper wire service, has been in business since 1846 without much of a challenge. Until now.

The Associated Press has been arrogant, painfully behind the times and overpriced for years. Over the last few months a number of newspapers have canceled their service while regional newspapers have started their own wire service. Even CNN has seen a chink in AP's armor and has started to offer a wire services to newspapers.

As a monopoly AP has charged prices that are 4-10 times more expensive than their closest competitor for lackluster 3rd party web products hoping their partner newspapers wouldn't know any better. Sorry AP, but the jig is up. Thanks to the web, and open source tools, price has never been more competitive.

So what does this have to do with marketing? Often marketing is word of mouth and reputation. The AP has a bad reputation that carries from one newspaper to another and has continued to eroded their image. AP has a good core product, delivering accurate stories quickly, but their other products are lackluster and over-priced. AP has forgotten one of the most fundamental problems of a monopoly--they forgot about their customers. When your customers believe you aren't looking out for them--and only for yourself--eventually it will come back to bite you in the backside.

No matter how good your company is. No matter how big your company becomes, never forget your company is dependent upon one thing: your customers.

Best Buy part 2

Best Buy does pretty well. So why don't they have toilet seat covers? Sure, they provide more piece of mind than actual protection, but we're talking about customer experience here. Part of customer experience is providing something that is more mental than physical.

One a positive note: Best Buy employees tend to be helpful--how can they not be when there more of them than customers.

Really a Best Buy?

In the world where using the web is hassle free why does Best Buy want a social security number in order to pay your online bill? People are growing evermore paranoid of giving out their credit card number let alone their social security number. Aren't we told every day not to give out our social no matter what?

The web should be easy--and Best Buy doesn't seem to care about that. The problem is if someone gets a hold of this information it'll be like a nuclear bomb exploding on their reputation.

Does Wal-Mart care?

Ebay has been working hard to help you spend your money--but get a lot of stuff cheaper. We all know that Wal-Mart is the home of low prices and now that the economy is tanking they have found their niche once again.

To their credit--Wal-Mart has introduced a section called: "Money-Saving Tips" with video and posts from mommy bloggers. Moms can even submit their money saving tips.

One thought:
If a mom offers a tip that can help Wal-Mart shoppers save X amount of dollars with a great tip then give the mom a Wal-Mart gift certificate worth that amount.

Customer Service

I went into a local Radio Shack looking for an enclosure for a hard drive. The bad news was they didn't have it.. the good news was the employee told me to try a local store a few doors down.

I went to the store a few doors down, but they didn't have anything either. He told me that Best Buy definitely had one. I went to Best Buy and guess what... they had it.

Now that's customer service. Seems like those companies should be getting a commission.

We gonna rock down to YouTube

You know where my favorite place is to hear new music? YouTube. And not the videos--just songs people upload to nothing more than static images. Of course record labels are quick to yank these down for being unauthorized, but that is a mistake.

If I was an artist I'd upload my entire album as seperate songs and create a buzz. If record labels still hope that traditional markets like radio and MTV are going to break artists they are wrong. I want my YouTube--give us what we want and not what you want.

The economies of pal

In the midst of all the economic upheaval there has never been a better time than now to join forces with other companies. Friend or foe, now is a great time to explore opportunities. Not all ventures will turn massive profits--but right now saving money with economies of scale and/or exchanging help could produce more than a financial windfall. It might keep you in business.

It's time that companies understand that they may need partners to help them through tough times because you never know when you might need someone and they might need you. There has never been a better time to turn to others and create relationships that might not have otherwise happened but could lead to lifetime relationships.

What does your customer want?

So what do your customers want? I have no idea. Have you ever asked them?

Ask yourself one question: Why do I make my product/service/etc.?

Then answer it by doing the simplest of things: Ask your potential customers if they'd care.

If they don't. Either figure out what you need to do to make them care or it's back to the drawing board.

Why buying software sucks

Recently our company had to buy an editorial system. That has nothing to do with our website's content management system--except that the company that built the editorial system wanted to sell us a content management system for the web. The problem is that they use their own proprietary language for writing code and they use an very little known database system. This is great for the company selling us the software because who will we have to call for technical issues? And who will get paid by the hour for those services?

As good as this sounds for the company selling the software who will make some money selling technical services--it's terrible for the client. This is another case of a company thinking bottom line first and not customer first. If they built their platform on a software that was well known and with a large community our evaluation of their product might have been different.

The best kind of marketing--free.

My wife's friend offered a free photo shoot for any friend who could help her rename her company. My argument was using her name was her best marketing tool. Think of all the great photographers--you know their names. Instead I told her what I'd do if I were a wedding photographer. 

1. Call every reception hall that you see spending money on advertising. If they are spending money they aren't fully booked. Offer free wedding photography for the first couple who books a wedding--provided they put your name in the ad as the photographer. (Bonus-If you do a great job chances are they will give you referrals in the future.) 

2. This bit advice comes after you get booked either from #1 or another way. 

a. When you are at a wedding brand yourself by giving out cards. 

b. Take poloraids of every person at the wedding, give them the poloraid and on the back put your company name, number and website. Maybe even offer a deal if they use you.

c. Offer a free photo session for anyone that helps you book a session. 

3.  Even when you giveaway free sessions the only way you give them photos is on a CD otherwise they must pay for the photo printing. That keeps you in their minds every time they want to buy some photos. Just don't overcharge to try and make up for your free session.

4. Create a blog. In that blog give wedding photography advice. Don't promote yourself other than your "about you" page. List a few dozen questions a couple might have about wedding photos and every few days answer those questions. Questions might include: what to expect from a photographer. Average cost of wedding photography. What is the best way to archive your photos. Advice on a photo album. 

Best of all, put a dozen or more of your best photos on the page just so you can say how good you are without any words.

To make it all work costs you nothing but your time. The only thing you have to gain is new customers. 

Risky Business

When is the best time to take a risk? When you have nothing to lose.

What industries should be taking the biggest risks?

1. Auto companies - Is the Volt risky enough for General Motors or will it be one of a dozen other similar cars? American car companies are on the road to ruin so they need to make the best electric car possible. Is Tesla Motors for sale?

2. Newspapers - When will one newspaper decide to stop printing a newspaper and go completely online? Sure, they won't make the same revenue--but they won't have the same expenses either. If a newspaper waits until their print readership is down so low that they are debating about going out of business then it is too late. By then they'll have lost readership and have probably carved up their newsroom so much that they won't really be a news source. Thus death is imminent.

3. Oil companies - This sounds crazy, but who has more money right now with a worse public image? The writing is on the wall--Americans want to stop using oil. If I'm running a big oil company then I wake-up every day trying to be at the forefront of alternative fuels. Remember, the General Motors and New York Times of the world never saw it coming even while the writing was on the wall.

4. Barack Obama - McCain has been playing it risky and that is the only reason he's still relavent in this race. Obama has to stop trying so hard to be perfect and take McCain on in the next debate like a man whose family is starving. Playing for a tie might get him through the debate and it could make him President but it may also find him still in the Senate come January.

Share? What do you mean share? It's called stealing

Too many companies fear crowds. They fear these crowds might link to their videos. Are they afraid of success? Of course not, the funny thing is their fear of losing control of their content they are actually hurting themselves more.

If you love music and videos and YouTube then you might find yourself watching one of your favorite artists videos on the website. Perhaps you've blogged about a certain video and wanted to embed it onto your blog--like millions do every day. Well, if your artist is on the BMG/Sony you won't be embedding it any time soon. Nope, Sony's ignorance, and arrogance, is too big for that. So no Shakira shaking it for your friends. Or the new Jennifer Hudson video. And Sony wonders why they are hemorrhaging money.

But if you like the Jonas Brothers (Hollywood Records), T.I. (Atlantic Records) or Robin Thicke (Interscope Records) you can happily embed their videos on your blog, website, or any other thing you have online. Facebook anybody?

When artists like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails are giving their music away, and only asking fans to pay what they think is resonable, it is insanity to have a record label not want to spread their artists music virally. I think we can all do without the arrogance that still exists with record labels like Sony.

Watch the first video from a Rivers Cuomo (Weezer's lead singer) series where YouTube members help him write a song. Now that is viral marketing. Genius!

Some companies get it--some don't

Here are three companies and I'm wondering if you can guess which two understand their customers and how to reward their patronage:
1. Borders
2. Barnes & Noble
3. Amazon

If you buy books my bet is you can guess right away. Two of these companies offer great rewards. Amazon is almost always 20% cheaper than the other two companies without any rewards. Borders simply asks for your email address and they discount close to, if not even to, Amazon. And yes, Amazon gets all your information after you purchase.

But not Barnes & Noble. They want $25 or they won't reward you at all.

Barnes & Noble doesn't understand that keeping pace is about satisfying the customer not just their bottom line. Rewarding a customer for being loyal should trump all other marketing ploys. Hopefully they'll get it before its too late.

Extra credit: If I was a marketing person at either of these book companies I'd make a deal with Ebay/Half.com. I'd allow customers to bring their used books to any of my stores and we'd buy them. Then we'd take those books and post them on Half.com. The math is easy: pay x dollars for used books and sell them for y dollars. The best part is that because Half.com sells so many books its easy to get the market rate instantly. At the same time Half.com could list new books we have in our inventory.

How do you measure value?

How do you measure the value of your customer?
Most companies put a value on how much they make per customer.

Maybe companies should think about another metric: the value a customer gets from a company. The real value is if the customer ever comes back. The cost of acquiring a new customer is always more expensive than keeping current customers.

Instead of pure greed, how about asking customers how much they value us?

I read the news today oh boy...

Why are newspapers going out of business? Because they always seem to be years behind everyone else.

If I ran one of the major newspaper companies like New York Times, Hearst, McClatchey, MediaNews Group, Lee, etc. I wouldn't operate out of fear or be reactive--I'd be proactive. At this point what do newspapers have to lose? They are already losing.

There are no instant fixes for newspapers but here are a few thoughts:

1. Newspapers won't print on paper forever. Why aren't these newspaper companies coming together and investing in companies like Amazon, which owns the Kindle, or investing in epaper? It would save them billions of dollars a year by not printing on paper and the cost of investing in this future technology wouldn't cost anywhere near that. Even better, give the new epaper product to current and future subscribers. You'd still be saving money as a collection of papers and probably find the one thing newspapers can't find now: new subscribers. Just sign them up for a 3 year subscription in return they get the epaper reader.

2. Why do newspapers concede ownership of news aggregation to the likes of Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL, Digg, etc? I'd create a newspaper coalition and buy or build a portal property and become the owner of my own destiny rather than hoping that your story gets picked up and you get Dugg. Within that newspaper portal I'd create the best news search engine.

3. Build better classifieds. Video, audio, and more. Craigslist is the minimalist's answer to classifieds so make them better. Not just better, make them great. Then, print the classifieds. Craig can't do that.

4. Create a newspaper site that allows the users to build their own section. If I like crafts then let me build a crafts section. Even more niche would be a sewing section under crafts. Let the user build the section and we'll filter the stories from around the world of interest to people who sew. It's not impossible to build niche sections--Ebay does it. Newspapers need to stop deciding what people want and let them show us.

The real losers in the presidential campaigns

And the winner(loser) is: the press. Rumors swirling about Palin, Obama and McCain. What is the truth? Well it used to be that the press set us straight. But now who knows. There are some newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post that have tried to set the record straight, even if they lean in a certain direction, so who is giving us the unbiased information here?

Local papers don't have the resources to give us all the details but they should and could work with the larger papers to have a running ticker of what is true and what is false. Also, let us know which candidate is promising what is being promised and which of those promises simply won't work. Everyone promises, but we all know not everything can be delivered on.

In a time when newspapers are seen nationally as losing credibility this is a time when they could help rescue their readers from making uninformed decisions. Otherwise the true losers are the citizens of this country.

What do we really want from a company? (Volume 1)

It depends on what side of the fence you are on. Are we talking about employment or goods and services?

Let's think of this is in two volumes. First is what does an employee want.

I was lucky enough to visit Google's Mountain View campus. I was able to get two full meals while there and enjoy their mini kitchens, or whatever they call them. I was floored by that alone. Than you throw in free bus rides to work [San Fran is a long haul from Mountain View] to work, laundry, campus bikes and electric cars etc. and you have the formula for work utopia. Yes it does benefit Google because those employees will work harder and probably longer. But if Google goes overboard for its employees you only have to step back and look at other companies who are overboard in the other direction.

Every company wants to save money but it shouldn't come at the cost of a strong and happy workforce. Google gives you all the perks in the world and free coffee and bacon are great but most companies forget the fundamentals. And don't think for a minute that Google doesn't have turnover--two of my friends are no longer employees... but that's a discussion for another day.

One fundamental tool that can destroy a corporation is when everyone sees themselves as part of their own departmental team. Infighting will destroy even the best companies. If your employees don't believe everyone is working in the best interest of the company there will be trouble and turnover at all levels. This can't be covered up with free cookies.

The next biggest problem is when upper management, your corporate leaders, don't listen to their employees. This has many levels. When you have brilliant employees who offer ideas and no one listens that is a big enough problem. But everything is magnified ten fold when upper management doesn't listen to the advice of their lower level leaders. Once the fractures forms in other levels of management it will spill over into their departments. It's impossible for disheartened bosses to hide their pain forever. And when their associates feel their boss' frustration they often fear their boss will leave and they end up leaving first.

Who's the boss? If management has to ask that question then there is really big trouble. Theoretically, everyone knows who their boss is, but when they can't get decisions made because someone else is to blame that question must arise.

Another frustration is the lack of tools given for a team to compete against their competitors. No one wants to sit in a meeting and hear how well their competitor is doing against their company knowing that they aren't competing on a level playing field. The best employees are competitive but if they aren't given the ability to compete on the same level eventually they will find some place to compete where its a fair fight. Even worse, they might go to the place that continues to hand them their hat.

Employees wants are simple: a fun place to work that challenges them and allows them to the chance to thrive. If we were to list all the things that frustrate employees we'd be here for years, but as much as we think about our small daily bickering the above issues are the types that fracture companies from the top down that aren't easily fixed. If Sarah hates Kate because she doesn't pull her weight the solution is easy--you can fire someone. But when your C suite executives don't see the forest through the trees and let some of the above issues fester they will lose their best talent often without ever knowing why.

Sunday wrap-up

Why am I blogging while watching football? Well besides that fact that its party time because the Buffalo Bills destroyed Seattle, something just sparked an idea.

I'm watching the NFL on Fox and wondering to myself, while I listen to some really bad color commentary: what are other Bills fans thinking? What do they think about that punt returned for a touchdown? Are they happy because Tom Brady is injured (yes this is sick, but its true)?

This isn't reinventing the wheel but what about running questions/comments across the screen and tell me how I can get involved with live conversations online. I might even record the game if I thought my nickname was going to show up with my comment or call a few friends and family and tell them I'm famous. Even for five seconds of fame. But the lasting effect are loyal fans of your games, even when its not their team playing. We're human and humans want to be apart of the conversation not just passive observers.

One last note: Get the commentators involved--maybe even have the sideline reporter ask the coach one of our questions. Now that is interactivity.

Why cool commercials won't help Microsoft, but what could?

I don't think ads can change how consumers perceive a company. And that's why Jerry Seinfeld isn't going to save Microsoft's reputation with "cool geeks."

What did you remember about Hyundai ten years ago? That they were a cheap car with a long warranty--mostly because a lot was going to go wrong. Well, Hyundai now makes a good car and people have started to realize it. The product rules the day not the commercial. When was the last time you bought a car because of a commercial? What about based upon a friend's recommendation? Probably the latter. Make something good and the rest will follow.

Get that Microsoft?

Here is a commercial that would really prove quality: Take an Apple and Windows based computer and show both computers starting up at the beginning of the commercial. The fact is that a Windows Vista computer can't start up before the commercial ends while the Apple computer would start up fast enough to leave fifteen seconds to discuss why Apple is faster and more reliable.

The problem with Microsoft is that they don't fix problems. They are so arrogant that they don't believe they have to. If they want to fix their reputation they need to fix their problems.

Hyundai dreams of being Mercedes. Who does Microsoft dream of being? My guess is no one.. they figure everyone dreams of being them. That's the problem with monopolies--competition breeds greatness. A lack of competition breeds complacency.

One last thing: Why is Microsoft so interested in getting the approval of geeks when almost everyone but geeks buy their computers? My wife, mother, aunt, cousin, neighbor, etc. don't know or care about the Apple computers but because it rubs a few executives the wrong way they figure they have to strike back. A better commercial would show how parents can protect their kids with Vista, or how you can make photo albums, edit video, write documents, emails, surf the web and more with Vista. Who cares if the geeks buy Macs?

You print a what?

Why are newspapers in big trouble? And why don't they look like they are ever going to get out of it? Because they still think of themselves as news-papers. Not media companies.

Google is Google. Just try to define them. Software company? Wrong. They sell hardware. Internet company? Wrong. They create green products. People don't realize it but Google is what GE wishes they were but claims to be. Newspapers are newspapers. They aren't much more. They still make a newspaper online with some code written around it.

Why do they do it? Centuries of expectations that only exist in the minds of entrenched newspaper employees. They live by the rules of journalism and paper and ink. So what comes of the day when people forget what paper and ink feels like? Well those days are now.

What can newspapers do?
1. Stop paying lip service to being web first and do it. Make an investment in technology (this includes people and hardware/software).
2. Train all over your employees to understand the web. Not optional training.
3. If you want to be Google you have to think like Google. Launch many products in their alpha/beta stage and learn as you develop. This means creating diverse products which are promoted by the newspaper website.
4. Write stories that appeal to ever niche in your region: mothers, towns, cities, religions, music tastes, ages, etc. If you can't be more local than Google, AP, Reuters, etc. then why are you in business?
5. There are companies who barely exist today that get angel investors and venture capital to invest in their future--why aren't newspapers?

Do you want my business? No, okay thanks again.

My wife and I tried a restaurant tonight and was surprised that there was a farmer's market going on right outside the plaza. When we enter the restaurant its nearly empty and yet there are a hundred people right out front.

To our surprise, mostly because the emptiness of the business, the food was very good. So why not have a few waitresses who had nothing to do go outside with free bread, samples of soup, etc. Whats the worst thing that can happen? You get a few customers?

Sometimes the wrong move creates an opening for your worst enemies

A few days ago Google released their browser Chrome. It's got some neat features but you have to wonder if this doesn't create an opening for Microsoft or Yahoo.

I understand that it looks like it could go the opposite direction--after all it is a direct jab at Microsoft. However it also takes a jab at a company that has been a huge advocate of Google: Mozilla. (Mozilla is the creator of the Firefox browser)

I'm using Firefox right now and right at the top right of my browser is a Google search. If I'm Mozilla I have to start questioning my relationship with Google considering the great real estate they own in my browser. If I'm Microsoft or Yahoo I'd be on the phone with someone over at Mozilla wondering how much it would cost me to take Google's spot and reminding them how Google has basically stuck it to them.

Sure, Microsoft has a browser too, but they were in the game before Firefox. The best chance really is for Yahoo who doesn't have a browser but does have a search engine.

Google joining the browser market in my opinion is actually good for Microsoft because the tech savvy users are going to adopt Chrome--the same people who use Firefox. The 80% who use Internet Explorer do so mostly because they don't even know about Firefox. Microsoft might still be at 80% a year from now with Firefox only owning 15% of the marketing and Google with 5%. Or some other variation. The funny thing is this reverses the roll of Google search verses Microsoft search. Microsoft should revel in their new found dominance of Google, but MS better get it right with IE8.

Structure--is that what you call structure?

Does anyone remember Structure the clothing store? The store was like Banana Republic and Abercrombie & Fitch. They sold designer-style clothing, that wasn't cheap by any means. They were purchased by Express and then by Sears.

The question is did anyone know Sears bought them and were selling the Structure clothing line in their stores? I used to buy some clothes from Structure and never knew Sears purchased them until today. I was walking through Sears and saw the familiar name and got home and looked it up and sure enough they purchased the company from Express.

You are probably saying: "Who cares?"

And I'm saying: "Exactly."

Surely there are some men out there that buy clothing from Sears but if they do they aren't looking for designer label clothing. That's for boutiques and stores like Macy's. Thats like Wal-Mart's half-baked attempt at selling upscale clothing. Structure would have been a better fit for Target because at least the audience is a littler hipper than Sears' target client. It seems like a huge waste of money to purchase that company and another reason why Sears is falling apart. I don't know who is leading that company but its a disaster.

What would I do if I were Sears? I wouldn't have bought the company in the first place because there is no synergy. But now that they own it they should just open stores like the Gap and Banana Republic and make Structure back into the store it once was. I think diversification is a great idea and Sears could still do that.

If Sears wants synergy with a company try Timberland or Carhartt or Wrangler or Levis or similar brands. Between their automotive department, hardware, tools, etc, there is plenty of synergy. Imagine how easy it would be to promote those products together. There aren't many DIYer in the clothing department looking for bikini cut briefs. Rather, if I'm checking out a $600 toolbox tell me how I can get a discount on coveralls and a jacket to stay warm while fixing my car.

Children say the simplest things and we should, too

Marketing people can learn a lot from their kids--or other people's kids. Kids tend to put things in the simplest of terms and rarely over-think things. That is the problem with most business/marketing plans. The simpler something can be boiled down for the user the better. If it can't be boiled down easily then perhaps the problem isn't marketing but the product/service itself.

Politics and marketing--yes they are related

What does John McCain and Exxon have in common?

Both are bad at marketing. Why? Do I really need to define pandering for you? Okay, then I will.

Pander - According to the dictionary is: "To cater to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit their weaknesses"

Pander - According to Wikipedia: "In politics, portrayal of one's views to fit in line with a certain crowd of voters the candidate is attempting to impress, when often, these are not the candidate's true beliefs. A candidate may engage in pandering out of desperation if s/he is already losing a race, or if polls taken prior to an election show others as being in the lead."

Wikipedia gets closer than the dictionary. You could swap out the word politics and put in advertising when referring to Exxon and adjust a few words here and there.

Have you seen the Exxon commercials where they are saving the world while destroying our economy? That is pandering. And you know not one person in this country is buying what those commercials are selling except the executives at Exxon.

If you have heard the news about who McCain has chosen for his running mate? Anyone have the feeling McMaverick is more of a used car salesman than a Presidential nominee? Apparently McCain thinks the American public is as dumb as the Exxon executives think we are.

I see it this way: if you are honest then deceit doesn't come into the picture. If you are a company like Exxon the best thing you can advertise is something that is real and effects those you are advertising to.

So lets figure this out. Exxon is making record profits while myself, my neighbors and every person I know in America is worth less today than they were a year ago. Why? One reason is the cost of gas. Now all of us are thinking about alternative fuel sources and getting away from oil. What could Exxon do that might actually work for some good PR? How about invest tens of millions in alternative fuels like adding hydrogen pumps at stations within X amount of miles of each other. Or add propane and start investing in solar power.

Here is one idea that I've had floating around for a long time. Buy back old lightbulbs. The kind with a filament and exchange those for compact flourescent or invest in LED lights and exchange old fashioned lightbulbs for those. Even trade. Imagine if every household in America switched tomorrow to these energy saving lightbulbs. Now that would be a brilliant marketing/PR move for Exxon.

What could McCain have done to help himself in terms of good marketing/PR? How about taking on the best candidate. Sure, McMaverick will claim his running mate is the best, but when something is as transparent as this pick then the only person you are fooling is yourself. This is truly one occasion where the Mac has out thought himself right into a PR nightmare.

How AAA might go to A minus

In a time when companies are finding their market shares being eaten by online monsters like Google the best thing isn't to try and duplicate the lack of features they offer but offer more features.

I was a AAA member, no longer. Why do I need them when I have Google? Sure, they offer auto coverage when I get a flat tire, but I use them most for maps for trips. Google has devastated that market. So what does AAA offer? Trip Tickets that look like they were printed on my aunt's ink jet. These are worse than subpar. Instead AAA could offer me the best, most detailed maps and reminded me that Google can't compete with them. AAA has not only ignored quality products it has given up a market they owned for decades when they don't need to.

Here is one more reason AAA is no longer a company I subscribe to. When I took my kids to Disney Land we went to a highly recommended hotel by AAA in Anaheim. We stayed there long enough to find one of the worst hotels on the strip. We moved down the street to the Courtyard by Marriott and into a hotel that was nearly a condo. It went from a possibly horrible vacation at AAA three star hotel to a wonderful vacation at a great hotel.

The hotel might have been nice in the 1960s but not in 2008. What year did AAA last visit that hotel? When the company,AAA, that you rely on to give you recommendations no longer has any credibility then they are in even deeper trouble. Consumer Reports is one of the most respectable companies in America regarding their recommendations and that is because they constantly check these products and test--what about AAA?

If I was AAA I'd do the following:
1. Quality maps and services for travel. Don't just cede to Google the mapping game. Also, GPS trip planning is another option. If I have a GPS system have your service agents program my GPS trip and all the stops from gas stations and recommended places to eat and sleep.

2. Start incorporating deep reviews by users. Not just stars and ratings. Get the ratings from members and every time they go or stay some where give them points for rating everything possible and change the actually AAA ratings based on a cumulative rating. Also, put users photos in the books and on the site--including video. Wouldn't it be great to have member travel videos about their trips and what they did? AAA shouldn't take reviews from non-members--that way they aren't skewed by hotels, restaurant companies and/or their friends.

3. AAA should release their reviews internationally based on their internal reviews and member reviews. AAA should become the Consumer Reports of hotels, restaurants, family entertainment and recreation. This would then allow AAA to charge yearly travel fees for reviews, etc. only ala Consumer Reports.

4. AAA has to makeover their entire website and rethink their web approach. Customer service isn't a bad thing so don't only expect your users to just go online and do all the work. Older members don't even get online. But the web is the only way to get new members. There are lots of people out there like me who do a lot of research for trips and don't want to be disappointed.

Moral: AAA isn't defeated yet, but if they don't move quickly they'll find themselves in a long line of companies like newspapers who are trying to figure out how the future came and left them wondering how they missed the boat.

Why a website can really save you money

Recently I had a problem with a hinge on my Dell laptop. I called Dell and thanks to our company's service agreement they came and fixed it free. That sounds good except it took longer for me to make the appointment than it did to fix my laptop.

All the technician had to do is go under my keyboard and tighten four screws. I'm pretty smart and with some simple instructions online could have taken care of it myself. Sure Dell had some things but not the solution to my problem. Here is an idea--have your technicians write up instructions for things they've fixed that didn't need a replacement item for--like tightening my screws--and pay them extra for it. That'd certainly save some more cash in the future. It took a week to fix something that I could have, and would happily, fixed in 5 minutes and for something that cost Dell money as well.

What every business could learn from Netflix

Why does Netflix have a cult following? Well if you read an email I received from them you'd understand.

"Dear Charlie,

As you may know, we had issues with our shipping systems this week. As a result, we didn't ship DVDs to you in a timely manner, and you likely didn't receive email letting you know we got a DVD back from you. Our shipping systems are working again, and any outstanding DVD shipments are being mailed today (Friday).

We pride ourselves in delighting you, and we've let you down. We apologize, and we will issue a 15% credit to your account in the next few days. You don't need to do anything. Your credit will automatically be applied to your next billing statement.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. If you need further assistance, please call us at 1-888-638-3549.

-The Netflix Team"

How could I be angry when they did everything right?
1. Netflix told me they had a problem.
2. They gave me a credit to make up for the error--even more than the error was valued.
3. They gave me a real phone number where I could call them if I had questions.

When is the last time you communicated this well with your customer? It's better to be a friend with your customer than a business partner. Customers may not know they want a relationship with your company--but they'll be happy when they have one. If you are engaged with your customer they won't be as likely to leave you for a one-night stand.

That is worth more than any tv ad, billboard or silly marketing campaign you could ever come up with.

Free pizza and motor oil

Although those of us with marketing degrees hate to admit it, but marketing is often common sense. So, when you own a restaurant and someone starts an impromptu car show in front of it what does common sense tell you to do?

1. ignore them?
2. call the police to tell them to get out of your parking lot?
3. feed them some free samples in order to entice future customers?

If you guessed three then you understand the common sense approach to marketing. The problem is that it is easier when I give you three options to choose from.

But as you may have also guessed this comes from a real life example. A pizza place not far from my house has really great pizza. But any night of the week you can walk in and find the place empty. Tonight as I drove home from work and saw their parking lot I was surprised to find out there was an impromptu antique car show. Just a bunch of guys with cars showing them to admirers who drove by.

So with an embarrassment of riches, meaning lots of potential customers, sitting right in their laps what did the pizza place do? Nothing. No one at the pizza place had the initiative to score some new customers with samples of their pizza. Imagine the lost opportunity. Great pizza plus people who can't believe you were so gracious as to give them free slices equal new customers. Not only that, imagine where the next car show is! Also, imagine what they tell their friends and the people walking around the car show tell their friends.

Opportunities are lost every day. It takes more than chance to be successful. If only companies could seize those opportunities and not let them pass by they could be unbelievably successful. So, the next time opportunity presents itself don't let fear and too many questions keep you from getting answers.

How newspapers can run themselves out of business

The geniuses are at it in Philly. The Philadelphia Inquirer has decided not to publish news first on the web. Nope, they want to save the sacred cow. They will instead hold stories until the paper hits your doorstep. Great idea!! You wouldn't want to try and compete with CNN, Yahoo, the local television stations and every media outlet in the world would you? Nah. That's too hard. Besides, they have a sacred cow to feed.

Anyone want to do a death poll? I give this strategy or the newspaper 6 months before they die or the person who came up with it is working for the Wilton Acorn. Don't they realize sacred cows die eventually?

If anything newspapers should be learning from their biggest mistake--not preparing for the internet fast enough. They let classifieds slip through their fingers and now many are woefully behind even the smallest startup companies.

It's a shame that some of the most historical companies in America will soon run themselves right out of business. I wonder if the Wilton Acorn is hiring.

The Netflix way

I wrote a few days ago about how Sony doesn't care about you or I because they just blast us with the same emails. Well they should take their lead from Netflix on how to send an email that shows just how important a customer you are to them.

I got another email from Netflix that asked what day my DVD arrived. First, it arrived within one day. So I happily selected the day. Netflix thanked me for my response and emphasized how important my response was to making their service better for people like me. It wasn't a marketing ploy to make more money for Netflix--it was to make their service better.

Memo to companies: Make a great product, include your customer in the process and you will be successful.

Rock Star 101

Here is the dilemma. Your a rock star and you need to sell CDs. Remember those? The round plastic spinning things? Well those CDs actually make more money for a rock star than selling their songs on iTunes.

So, how does a rock star sell CDs when no one wants them anymore? Give them a one time code to download their entire album for the video games Rock Band and Guitar Hero (insert latest version here). And another incentive, those who buy the CD get an exclusive month or two where they are the only ones who can get your download.

Demand creates demand. Don't just sell-out.

What you don't tell customers might kill you

I just got off the phone with a survey company. They were surveying me about my recent interaction with GM.

The amazing thing was how great my experience with GM was. I'm surprised too.

The story began with me emailing a few of their executives to complain about how my 2006 GMC Yukon was rusting. Yes, I was definitely surprised by that. I was even more surprised that GM's executive office called me a day later to talk about my problem. About two weeks later I was at a GM body shop getting my truck looked at by a GM engineer. Again, to my surprise my truck wasn't rusting apart--it was something called "rail rust" and was cleaned off with an acid wash (whatever that is). That night my truck looked brand new.

GM to the rescue right? Right. But who will know but me, my family, friends and the rest of you who might stumble upon this post? That's the problem.

So answer these questions:

How many of you ever heard of rail rust and that it is a common problem?
Did you know GM had an executive office that took complaints?
Did you know you could complain high enough up the food chain and get something fixed even if it wasn't under warranty?
Did you know that GM has good corporate customer service?

My guess is that you answered "no" to all of those questions. Again, that's the problem.

GM should pull a Jared and do some commercials not about how they are going to have an electric car in 2 years, but how they actually care about their customers.

People will care about companies who care about them.

How not to remember customers

Today I received an email from Sony about buying a new Vaio computer. I bought one about 10 - 12 years ago when I was in college. Today Sony had a great pitch for me: "Be the best in class: Save on VAIO PC campus value packs." There might be a deal in there somewhere--but the fact that Sony still has me listed as a college student shows how poorly they manage their mailing list.

So how much does Sony care about me as a customer? Very little obviously.

Common sense escapes the simpliest business opportunites

My wife was gone for a week which meant we weren't going to drive into the city together. It was the perfect time to take the train and save myself about $70 in five days--great deal right? In fact it was a great deal--but not without frustration.

Two out of five days I missed the train--and almost missed it a third day. I won't get into all the logistics of why I missed it (traffic, walking half-a-mile, etc.) but the most frustrating of them was simple: I couldn't get the machine to take my money and print the ticket fast enough. On another day it kept spitting my dime back at me. If a very nice person wasn't there to see this happening I wouldn't have been on the train at all.

So here is the question: why aren't there any ticket machines on the train itself? Nothing would take my level of stress away more than to have a machine on the train. I could get on and buy my ticket knowing that I won't miss the train and be late for work. I know there are reasons why... but there are simple solutions to those who would only pay if they were going to get caught without a ticket.

1. Perhaps their is only one car on the train that has a ticket machine--and its always the same car.
2. The onboard ticket machine only takes credit cards. The outside machines don't take credit cards--which leads to even less convenience. (When is the last time you carried around $4 in change?)

Just because you own a monopoly doesn't mean you can ignore the practical. I only ride the train when my wife is away--if the experience were better we might both ride together. But after, what I term, "hell week" I have no desire to rush right back into it.

This is one of those times where you just need to take yourself out of the business and put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. It's not always easy--but even if someone walked through the train and asked riders what they like/don't like they'd gain a wealth of knowledge.

Where are the parent review sites?

If someone knows of a website where I can find out what movies and video games are appropriate for kids please let me know. Yes, I've seen the Movie Mom and it's not what I'm looking for. What I want is a site that lists what I will see in a movie. Does Joker call Batman's girlfriend a b***h? Or maybe the actor in a PG movie has a partially nude sex scene. Yes, I know IMDB gives me some of this stuff, but it doesn't go far enough.

And what about video games. If something is T for teen occasionally its just for blood and sometimes its for language or sexually suggestive material. And yes it does say it but the degrees vary in my opinion. I'd like someone to say: "the skateboarder will fall on his head and blood comes out, but you can turn that feature off so it makes the game less violent." Or something like this: "the guy runs around with a chainsaw and chops off zombie heads."

It's a niche that is wide open--who is going to fill it?

If its not a golden rule it should be

Yes, we all get busy, but how hard is it to call someone back within 24 hours to get business?

Recently I called one golf course to talk to their course pro about golf lessons (I'm worse than this implies). So while I waited for him to call me back, I called another course and found out their pro was away until the next day.

After 24 hours I was on the phone with the pro who was away and booking an appointment. The other pro still hasn't called me--a week later. Even if he was the best teacher in the world I wouldn't take lessons from him because he's obviously is too important to call me back.

It doesn't matter now because someone else got my business and I can only guess others have followed suit.

Shaking hands with the people

Free is great. Free concerts are better. Recently our city had a free concert in the park with a well known band from the '60s. The band got paid by the city, but the smartest thing they did was sign autographs after the show.

Here is the brilliance of this old-school business practice.

Triple the normal cost of your product because it is in demand. You could have bought the CD that afternoon at Best Buy for $10 but because you can't run there at the moment and need something to be signed you pay the $30. It's then free offer, to shake hands and sign an autograph that creates the costly demand. And then spend a moment or two with each person creates a buzz causing more people to jump in line.

My guess is that a few hundred CDs were sold. Not to shabby for a band that was already paid. Think of it as a $5 grand tip.

Lastly, if every person in line were like my mother than they were on the phone calling everyone they knew the next day. That reminds those who weren't their to buy the product. Also, we can't forget about those who came just to see a free show and walked away fans.

Why don't you have any customers?

My gym is packed. They are lucky.

My gym's juice bar is dead. So much for luck.

So why is a juice bar that has so much traffic so dead? Where do we start?

First, price is always an issue--especially now. Cost has to be competitive--just because your gym (or insert product here) is a luxury and expensive doesn't mean you can continue to gouge customers. Why would I buy one Gatorade there for the price of a 4 pack everywhere else? Customers are smarter than you think--never underestimate how much they know about prices and how much high prices can leave them feeling ripped off. That shouldn't be how any customer feels leaving your business. Don't think they won't go elsewhere to fill their needs--like crossing the street to save $5. Always be aware of competition even if it doesn't seem to be apples to apples.

Second, quality is very important. If you think you can charge double make sure your product is twice as good. Is the gym's Gatorade four times better than the grocery stores? Exactly. Their deli sandwiches aren't better than average, but priced like they are twice as good.

Why are their prices so high? Maybe its to cover the three people serving no one.

Now that everyone is turned off to your average, high-priced items how do you fix it?

1. Lower your prices. Trying to match profit margins from your other products is crazy. Understand what the market will bear. If you can't make money on your Gatorade then find a new wholesaler or make very little money and instill goodwill for your main service. The deli isn't their main business so don't inspire bad feelings that could potentially hurt your main business. Goodwill creates word-of-mouth which makes advocates for your product/service and brings you new customers. If you don't make much money from the deli so what--any profit is gravy.

2. Gyms have monthly, 6 month and one-year memberships. For anyone that has a membership give them $10 of club cash to use in the deli once a month. Track the club cash usage and then ask them to use the card every time they buy something to enter them into contests or get something free--that way you can see if the club cash card is actually working on the days they don't get something free. You have the traffic passing the juice bar door--now they have to get people to walk through it. If a price worries you and you want to be cheap just make sure they can buy a few things with whatever the price range is--don't limit them to one product because they may not want it defeating the entire purpose. All you learn is who wants X product and won't inspire new customers for your wider range of items.

3. Involve your staff. Have them walk the floor and just hand-out things that are in the bar--like frozen protein drinks. They don't have to be full-sized. Maybe its a small Dixie cup and they give out samples. Making members aware is enough to create buzz.

4. Make a better product. Quality is worth paying extra for, but if you are selling the same product as everyone else then be competitive. If you want to sell a deli sandwich for $10 make sure its twice as good as the "12 Subway sandwich across the street.

You can turn a bad situation into something fun. There is nothing more exciting than making money, satisfying customers and having fun at the same time. Don't be afraid to try something new--the worst thing that can happen is your back doing what you are today.

Random thoughts

I like to save money. So occasionally I take the train to work.

Every time I get out of work and pickup my car in the parking lot its hot and takes minutes to cool down. When I park at work in the parking garage its not nearly as hot. It's really obvious I know--but that isn't the point.

The point is something that isn't new but should be implemented everywhere. Parking canopies in every parking lot with solar panels. It kills two birds: keeps your customers happy with cooler cars and supplies the grid with power.

Wanna win customers over?

There are a few different movie theater companies in the Salt Lake City area but there is only one that we frequent with our kids. Why is that the only theater we go to when the screens and seats are mostly the same? It's simple: the convenience of reserved seats.

Who cares you say? I do. I like to sit in an aisle seat so that any member of the family can freely get up and go to the bathroom. Kids in particular seem to change their minds about when they have to go and crawling across people's laps is never fun. I like that I can buy my seats online, or when I walk in, and know exactly where I'm sitting. That way there is no rush while grabbing popcorn, using the restroom and other things that could come up before the movie starts.

I'm sure other cities have theaters with reserved seating, but I've lived in, and visited many cities, and this is the first time I've run into a theater that does this.

So here is a thought: What about event parking with the same idea? Everyone rushes to the arena way to early just to get a parking spot. Wouldn't it be great if you could just order and choose your parking spot online. Maybe do an auction for the great parking spots or just charge more for them?

My son and I went to a Jazz playoff game and for a few dollars extra we had the reserved parking area. Sure, I was guaranteed a parking spot, but for all we knew it could have been the farthest spot from the arena. But, what if I knew that in the beginning? I could have planned accordingly.

Certainly people would pay more for the privilege of choosing their parking spot at each event. It would also make it easier for parking attendants to cycle drivers to their areas which would speed up the whole process. Convenience is king and someone is always willing to pay for it.

How much is a customer really worth?

also, about how good the stylist is and she takes an hour to do my hair, massage neck, etc. and why she'll always be my stylist--because she tries harder and is inspiring.

Coupons and when they really inspire customers to be marketers

I took my daughter in to get her haircut. And while she was in the process, I setup and appointment for the following weekend. Simple enough right?

Well I arrived the following Saturday at 10:00 AM for my appointment and mysteriously my name was missing. I even called earlier in the week to verify my appointment because I had misplaced the appointment card.

My options were now limited: wait another week for a haircut or come back in an hour to get squeezed in between appointments. I chose the latter and ran some errands.

When I came back for my haircut they continued to apologize and gave me ten dollars off my next haircut. I wasn't very mad to begin with, but this not only helped to smooth things over. The true value is incalculable because it made me a more loyal customer.

Just do the math. Here is the difference in one year of potential loss of a customer.

Unhappy customer leaves and never comes back:
17 haircuts a year (estimated) at around $30 a haircut is = $510.
Then factor in that my daughter goes there as well. So double that amount.

Now think about how much that ten dollars cost them.

How much does it cost me for you to sell me something?

Here is the scenario, and maybe a few of you have gone through this, but I'm still shaking my head over this experience.

It's July 4th morning, my son and I are looking for something to do. We occasionally like to take a day and veg and play video games together. I decided to buy a new video game and Gamestop happens to be the closest store. The problem is that I have no idea if they are open for the holiday because the information isn't available online ( *Holiday hours may vary. Check with your local store for more information). That's the first mistake. But that is minor compared to what I got next.

The phone rang and rang but no answer. After about a dozen rings a recording came on and said that if I wanted someone to call me back I'd have to pay $.95. That's right, I have to pay them in order for them to make more money off me. If that is Gamestop's idea of customer service I don't want to be their customer. Wal-Mart answered their phone for free and were happy to have my business. Sorry Gamestop, find someone else to pay your phone bill.

Xbox 360 and the red ring of death

If you own an Xbox 360 then chances are that you have heard of the "red ring of death." It's when the green lights on your Xbox 360 turns red. It is a Xbox 360 owners worst nightmare. I know because I've experienced it.

About a month ago, I tried to put in a DVD and there it was--three rings of red. I shut it off and looked at my wife with completely horror on my face and said "it's dead." She asked how I knew and I only said, "I just know."

A few minutes after trying the potential fixes from the official Xbox 360 site and getting nowhere; I called customer service. This post isn't a rant, it's more about how Microsoft can make the bad PR for the notorious "red ring of death" and market it in a positive way.

Here is my breakdown of events and how they could have made the experience a great one:

1. The customer service person was really helpful and polite. Bonus for Microsoft.

2. They sent an email that kept me up to date with all the phases of shipping, fixing, and sending my 360 back. Another bonus for Microsoft.

3. They sent a free month of Microsoft Live. Let's call this a draw--I'll explain later.

4. They sent a box with clear instructions on how to send the 360 back so it was virtually hassle free. But it was UPS ground that takes 3-5 days and I had to drop it off at a UPS shipping center. This was again a draw.

5. They extended every owner of the Xbox 360 warranty to 3 years--which was good for me because I've owned mine for about 2 1/2 years. And under the initial 1 year warranty I might have just tossed the 360 out. This is a draw--Microsoft knew the product had defects so they felt compelled to do this--it fixed the bad PR that was blossoming around the "red ring of death." It was their fault, but to their credit they covered their customers.

So far Microsoft is relatively on track with a good display of customer service. But here is where they could have really made the service great.

1. After the fix, Microsoft could have gave me another year on my warranty. With a half-year left, and it just being fixed it, it would give me peace of mind. So what if that part fails? There is no extra coverage.

2. I was without my Xbox 360 for 3 weeks. It took 2 days to fix it. The rest of the time was nothing but a shipping turn around and I lost 2 days of trying to find a UPS store. If they would have shipped it overnight or even 2 day I would have only been without my Xbox 360 for a week with overnight and 8-10 days with 2 day shipping. That would have really made me happy. Instead of telling everyone about the great experience, after being so angry, because of the quick turnaround of my broken Xbox, I ended up telling them about how aggravating it was to have to deal with this 3 week loss.

3. Microsoft could have scheduled a same day or next day pickup of my 360 by UPS. Instead I had to bring it to work and go out and find a UPS store during my lunch hour. I know... poor me.

4. Microsoft gave me a free month of Xbox Live, but I lost 3 weeks off my Live account so I only really received one free week. That's not much of a bonus. Why not three months? It doesn't cost Microsoft a penny. In fact, Microsoft would have made more money. Think about it. I would have certainly purchased points to buy games and add-ons for the games I already own. That's a big missed opportunity.

5. Maybe it's overdoing it--but it would have been nice to know what ended up being broken on my 360 just in case it happens again. Instead, you get an email telling you its fixed and will ship the next day. I'm a big fan of transparency and I didn't get any of that. I was happy however to be notified it was fixed and on its way.

Microsoft did a good job--but they could have done a great job. Hopefully they won't take forever to realize their missed opportunity to turn Xbox 360 users into Xbox 360 and Microsoft evangelists. They have to be getting tired of all the Apple evangelists. We want to love Microsoft--it's up to the company to help us.

Marketing and fun

Isn't marketing fun? Seriously? Business can be fun even when its tough. It's even easier when you make note of things you'd do differently if you were X business.

This blog is nothing more than musings about interesting observations from every day life on business and marketing.

One example that came to me as I'm writing this. I happen to be watching television and Spike TV advertised a UFC fight on July 19th. That's great news... especially because I don't have to pay for it. But. Will I remember by July 19th? Not unless I put it into my calender on my Blackberry.

With all of the modern technology within my cable box how hard would it be to allow me to bookmark or record a show so that I can be warned that the show is coming on.. either when I'm watching television or by email in case I happen to take the kids out for ice cream? I haven't had DirecTV in a while but I know a few years ago they were experimenting with similar tools. How could a company like Comcast be so far behind? This isn't rocket science.

So how am I going to remind myself? I went into my Blackberry and had to put it into my calender manually. Spike is spending a bunch of money advertising the show--you'd think they'd want to make sure I don't forget. And this goes for all shows advertising new episodes or new shows. If something spikes the users interest its in the companies best interest to help the customer. Yes I can schedule something to record if I want to look it up in the guide.

But we as consumers are lazy and want everything to be made easy. The best thing the cable company and their partner stations could do is make life easy for people who want to use their products. Otherwise people will migrate to the web like I have. I still to this day don't know when "30 Rock" is on television. And I don't care because I watch it on NBC.com whenever I want. Sorry Comcast, Cablevision, and everyone else who thinks they have a monopoly.

See, marketing is fun.