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Customers

Monitoring the Blogosphere

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Last week, smart PR blogger John Wagner (On Message) had a great post about monitoring blogs  Use PR Sense when monitoring blogs. He pointed out, rightly, that not every comment merits a response. Sometimes, many times, what a company can learn by monitoring can be just as valuable.

Today, Washington Post has a front page article that provides two examples of companies (ConAgra and HP) that have done just that: paid attention to customers’ online comments and made smart business decisions as a result. First seen on The Bivings Report.

Random acts of blogging

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I have a series of posts in mind to wrap up the year, which I will probably start over the weekend.

For today, I have a whole bunch of interesting stuff to comment on that has accumulated over the past month or so, while I was feverishly working so I could take two weeks off, followed by the mostly off-line vacation. 

In no particular order.

Blog comment spam: I increasingly find myself the victim of blog comment spam. I usually just delete it and move on.  Here are two takes on the issue: from Blog Business World, some ideas for how to manage it and from Jeremy Pepper, some words about blogs that do not allow comments for fear of spam.

One thing I am thinking about: I have noticed that the comment spam always seems to be on the same old posts, leading me to suspect a script of some sort. I AM considering turning off comments on these older posts, with a note explaining why comments have been turned off for any legit folks who want to comment on the topics.

Web 2.0. Okay, I am trying, really, to understand why we need to define a Web 2.0. Sexist though it may be, I’m wondering, is this kind of a "guy thing" — the need to define and box up things? How does any of this help customers and who really cares? Why do we have to put it in a box? Because as Elisa Camahort says in her post, a version number implies something finished and definable,and that ain’t the web that I know.

Seriously, please, can someone explain to me what Web 2.0 is all about, other than a way for companies to promote their offerings ("Web 2.0 compatible, whatever that is), and for consultants and analysts to make money explaining it to everyone. Simple words please. I’m just wondering, "where’s the beef?"

Here are a number of other posts about Web 2.0. I’ve read ’em all, and I am still confused….

I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the call to action by Steve Rubel for PR agencies to figure out this new media thing. Huh?!  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, actually you are very lucky — it is a tempest in a very small teapot, a major ego-fest and I am 100% with David Parmet: YAWN!! He has the link in his post to the memeorandum thread if you have the inclination.

Those who are doing things will just keep on doing. If you want to posture, position and pontificate, go for it, help yourself to happiness. I’d rather just get on with it. Some other interesting commentary on same: 

Character blogs. As many of my readers know, I have strong opinions about character blogs –I believe they are a valid blog form, albeit hard to do well. About a year ago, this debate took off flying. A year later, here are a couple of anniversary commentaries:

That’s it for random acts of blogging. This weekend I will start my end of year series…..

A tale of two customer services

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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Last week, I had the best and worst customer service experiences of recent memory. The difference between the two companies? One understood the lifetime value of a customer, and the other either didn’t get it or didn’t care.

The best? About two years ago I purchased the DVD set of the 6th season of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For various reasons, I never actually watched the DVDs, but finally last week I wanted to watch a specific episode while I jogged on the treadmill. Unfortunately, that was the disc in the box that was defective.

I took a chance and sent a comment to Amazon customer service:

“I realize that this is quite an old order, but I just got around to watching these and at least one of the disks is defective. I have tried it in two DVD players and the copyright warnings come up but the disk contents do not. I have checked one other CD in the set and it is fine. Is it possible to get this replaced somehow — even just the defective disk….or disks as I will check them all later today.”

Within ONE HOUR I got this reply from Amazon:

“Thanks for contacting us at Amazon.com. 

I am sorry to hear about the problem you experienced with your shipment.  I have placed a new order for the item "Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Complete Sixth Season."  There is no charge for this replacement. 

Here are the details of the new order:

Order Number           : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   
Shipping Speed         : Two-Day Delivery
Estimated Delivery Date: October 19, 2005

We will send you a postage-paid return merchandise label so you may return the item[s] you received.  It should arrive via standard U.S.
mail within 1-2 weeks.  Please wrap the package securely, attach the label to the package, and drop it off at any Post Office.”

And today (Tuesday October 18, 2005) I received the replacement DVD set.

That’s customer service.

Did the fact that I spend a fair amount of money with Amazon every year factor into the decision to give me a $40 product for free? Probably. And to some degree, that’s the point. Understand the potential lifetime value of your customer and make sure you maximize their loyalty. I buy a lot of products, including CDs and DVDs, from Amazon and will continue to do so. I seriously doubt that a chain store would have accepted a return from two years ago, and they certainly would have wanted the receipt.

Amazon sent me the disks right away.

Now, here’s the worst of customer service.

Recently I decided I wanted to upgrade my cell phone to a BlackBerry. Partly because reception on my phone was awful, but mostly because my clients tend to communicate with me through email more than by phone. Having easy access to email wherever I am has become something of a necessity.

So my husband and I went to the Cingular store to take care of the change last Friday. Unfortunately, although we’ve been Cingular customers for YEARS, our most recent plan (a family plan that we share) was contracted last October. And according to the “RULES” that meant that I could not upgrade my phone; I would have to pay full retail if I wanted a BlackBerry. A difference of about $250. If I was a brand new Cingular customer I could get the BlackBerry for about $250. As a longtime Cingular customer (since about 1994) ineligible for upgrade, I would have to pay $500.

Plus of course the monthly plan. Which would be about double…. $40-50 for cell service and an additional $40 for the data services necessary for the BlackBerry. On a monthly basis, once I upgraded to the Blackberry, I would be spending TWICE what I was before. And my husband would have a cell plan as well.

But the rules are the rules…. I could upgrade at full retail or pay the cancellation fee and start anew.

So… I am starting anew. With my new Verizon BlackBerry.

A word of advice to the Cingular sales prevention team: don’t forget the lifetime value of the customer.

The cancellation fee was worth it.

Serenity and grassroots marketing

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About a week or so ago, I posted about the Joss Whedon movie Serenity as an example of how customers can effect change, when they care enough AND somebody is actually listening. The post also was my submission to this week’s Carnival of the Capitalists.

As a fan of Firefly, I have been impatiently waiting for the film that continues the story just like any other fan. And as a marketer, I have been observing the grassroots and viral marketing efforts with great interest over the past year. I’ve even done my share of fan conversions. For the uninitiated, that’s when you loan your Firefly DVDs to a “virgin.”

Shortly after I wrote my post, as we got ever closer to this Friday’s general US release, the media – both mainstream and blogosphere – effectively exploded. The LA premiere generated a great deal of press, as did the rounds of interviews director Whedon and the cast are doing to promote the movie. I won’t list it all here, but you can find most of the coverage on the site Whedonesque.

Not surprisingly, given the grassroots and viral campaigns already in play, the studio (Universal) decided to approach bloggers directly. Among the bloggers they contacted with their offer for a free advance screening provided they agreed to blog about the movie, good or bad, was the Instapundit . Definitely the way to spread the word fast..   

In fact, three marketing blogs that I read on a fairly regular basis wrote about the offer, each with a slightly different take and what it means longer term. I’ve commented at all three, and won’t rehash all the discussion here, other than to recommend you read the posts, and all the comments.

As one of the commenters on the gapingvoid post pointed out, planned or merely unintended consequence, the free advanced screenings reached well beyond the fanbase.

The best post about the whole thing however was from a blog I hadn’t read before, New Persuasion   (again I tip my hat to Whedonesque for the link). The author of the post Nellie Lide actually was “confirmed” for one of the blogger screenings but chose not to go because she didn’t like the way the publicity firm handled the whole thing. Reading some of the language they used in their emails, I can definitely see why bloggers might be put off by it (notably too much use of the word MUST). And perhaps the PR firm didn’t handle it as well as they could have.

But I still stand by my opinion that no one was forced to do anything. It was a choice whether to accept the terms of the offer: get into a free advance screening of a much-anticipated movie in exchange for blogging about it. Or not.

Yes, the language the PR firm used was a bit strong and controlling. But, if you didn’t like the terms, don’t accept. Nellie Lide didn’t accept. Others did. (Although I do imagine it was easier to resist if you’d already seen the film than if you hadn’t.)

We will make mistakes … all of us … as we try to integrate new media into existing models. It is inevitable. But I’d rather try something new and perhaps make a mistake than never be willing to try. For that alone, I commend the team behind the blogger screenings –they tried something new. And hopefully, they learned from whatever mistakes they made. As I hope to when I make mine.

By Friday, this will all be moot anyway, as Serenity will be in general release. According to Whedonesque this morning, tickets are now available on movietickets.com.

See you at the movies. And "aim to misbehave."

The power of the customer: Fans & Firefly

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As many of you know, especially if we’ve met, or you regularly read the blog, I am a huge proponent of customer marketing. And not just marketing TO your customers with promotions designed to increase the lifetime value of the customer. By all means, do that, but don’t stop there. Make products that your customers will love and then harness that passion in your marketing efforts. Market WITH your customers, because they love your products, respect your company and want to help you succeed.

There ain’t nothing like a passionate customer. Here’s a little story that proves the point.

Once upon a time there was a little television show called Firefly. Firefly was created by Joss Whedon, the talented writer/director who brought Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel to the little screen.

Firefly was a bit different though. It didn’t follow the Buffy/Angel formula of supernatural beings and monsters among us in contemporary society. Instead, Firefly was a “space opera,” described by some as a cross between Battlestar Galactica and The Outlaw Josey Wales. The setting was far in the future, 500 years from Earth as we know it, but the people in the Firefly verse were “normal” people. At least to the extent that the context didn’t include magic, vampires and otherwordly beings. Everyone is pretty gorram**   human, with a fair dose of the “cowboy” ethos, and maybe just a little bit Chinese.

Firefly was on the Fox network and Firefly never had a chance. I won’t rehash all the details, but suffice it to say, Fox didn’t get it, and the series was cancelled before all the original 13 episodes were aired.

But Whedon’s fans are a devoted bunch. In the first pass, many came to Firefly from Buffy and Angel, and realized that this new show was even better. When it was cancelled, they started to mobilize – letters, fan sites, conventions, etc. etc.

Some, like me, never got a chance to watch it the first time around because Fox jerked it around so much, but bought the DVD as soon as it was released. Because we just knew it had to be good (perhaps in part because Fox didn’t get it). In fact A LOT of people bought it as a pre-order on Amazon before it was released. A whole lot.

And a funny thing happened. Another studio, Universal, saw all this fan activity, watched the show, and decided that this Firefly thing was pretty good. Good enough for a feature film. And so we have Serenity… a feature film due in US cinemas on September 30th.

Lesson One: the fans were in large part responsible for Firefly’s second chance. Joss Whedon and the rest of the cast have more than once given them the credit. Smart man, that Joss Whedon. He creates brilliant television (and now movies), which creates loyal loyal fans, and he has the grace and smarts to give the fans their share of the credit.

But that’s not the end of the story. The Firefly fans are so devoted that they have mobilized to ensure the film’s success with guerilla marketing efforts in support of the planned campaigns by Universal. I couldn’t even tell you everything the fans have created in support of this movie, but it includes a podcast called the Signal that is in iTunes top 100, artwork, music, video and fan fiction, a campaign to get the DVDs rated highly on NetFlix, fan websites, blogs and forums, not to mention an extraordinarily active fan base on the official website for the movie. 

All this fan activity geared to ensuring a boffo box office for Serenity in its first few weeks. Because that’s what ensures the second film. And these fans want more. Trust me, I know this personally.

And Whedon, his cast and Universal are encouraging and enabling all this fan activity with viral marketing efforts and their active participation in the fan activity – not just the Universal sponsored sites.

Because they get it, and that’s Lesson Two: when you have passionate fans, DO NOT get in their way. They will do as good, or better, job converting new customers than you could ever do. Support them as much as you can, but don’t try to co-opt them. Let your product continue to speak for itself. That’s what Whedon does – he’s said it in interviews: he’s not trying to make shows that people will like, he wants to create stories and characters that people will love.

Now in the spirit of full disclosure, this article is, of course, guerrilla marketing for Serenity as much as it is an analysis of the value of the customer in your marketing efforts. Think of it as a two-fer.

I’ll see you at the movies. On September 30th.

** god-damn for those of you who aren’t … yet … addicted to Firefly.

Links:
Browncoats (official fan site)
Serenity (official movie site)
Session 416 (viral marketing site)
The Signal podcast
Whedonesque 
Firefly DVD at Amazon.com