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Virtual Reference Check – Burst Marketing

August 18, 2010

Categories: Brand/Reputation, Customer Focus

We have a client that provides consulting services to manufacturers. One of his larger clients – one he’s had for years – recently changed his principal contact person.

This week, he received notice from his new contact that his services were up for bid and that he needed to respond to an RFP. He was given 3 days to respond!

He called the contact. No answer. Sent an email and received an out of office reply saying she’d be back the day after the RFP was due.

Our client also learned that several other firms had already responded and been reviewed, with one already chosen for a separate project. And our client, the incumbent, hadn’t even been notified that an RFP was issued to replace him.

Sounds like he’d done a bad job and wasn’t being renewed doesn’t it?

Well here’s the rub. The contact’s boss didn’t know our client hadn’t been properly included in the process. It seems as if she’s decided to railroad the project through with her own chosen vendor.

My client needed some way to fight for the business. So not really knowing anything about this new contact, he went on LinkedIn to see if he could find out something about her mindset. Turns out one of his close friends was a 2nd level contact of hers, who also had a connection with a 1st degree contact of hers.

Turns out the 1st degree contact was her ex-boss. He did not give her a glowing reference.

With this information in hand and a printed record of how he’d been treated, our client now feels comfortable going over his contact’s head to her boss – someone he’s always had a good relationship with – to find out if he’d done something wrong to warrant such treatment.

The answer should be interesting. Especially for the new contact if her boss isn’t happy with how she’s handled this long-standing relationship.

I’ve protected the names for privacy here. But if you can connect the dots in this story – you’ll see even further proof of how powerful – and personal – social media sites can really be.

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Burst Marketing – Be Clear or Beware

July 29, 2010

Tags: Burst Marketing, Customer Service, department of motor vehicle dmv, walmart
Categories: Brand/Reputation, Customer Focus

The most stereotypical example of poor customer service had always been the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Mention the DMV and instantly images of gargantuan lines pop into your head and your eye begins to twitch. More recently however, the DMV had made some improvements by adopting common sense operational efficiencies and online tools.

Many locations will give the poor motorist an appointment window to respect their time. Online renewals and payments further helped ease frustration.

But there’s a hole in the DMV donut – the locations don’t necessarily coordinate with the website.

This may sound familiar to those who’ve shopped at WalMart.com. After finding a great price online, you run to the nearest store to snatch up your bargain – only to find the store price isn’t the same as the online price.

Reason? They’re run as two separate business. Frustrating and sometimes angering. But many retailers have the same arrangement, confusing and inconveniencing their customers.

This morning I heard the DMV has a trap lying in wait. If you should move during the time of your vehicle registration – and do the right thing by dutifully going down to DMV to file the forms – it won’t change a thing as far as DMV is concerned.

That’s right. Go down to your DMV office, file the change of address, affix the stickers to your license and registration – and they never even update your file.

You have to CALL their customer service center to let them know or they don’t change your records. Imagine how you’d feel when your renewed registration was sent to the wrong address and you got a ticket for an expired registration.

Then they charge you a fee to send a duplicate!

Check the forms and the website. It’s itting right there amongst a sea of words. In type so big that only those who’ve eaten 3 carrots a day can read is the instructions…you must call the customer service center to change your address.

So, DMV offices, online service, and the customer service call center don’t communicate on a simple, yet important function. And you’re the loser.

Moral for business. Embrace technology and efficiency. Be thorough. Be clear. But be sure you’re actually helping those you want to help.

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Burst Marketing: Lucky To Be Average

July 19, 2010

Tags: Albany, Burst Marketing, msa, schenedtady, test market, troy
Categories: Advertising, Business Development, Customer Focus, Decision Making, Marketing ROI, Product Development, Startups, Strategy

I’ve recently been brushing up on my market research of the Albany – Schenectady – Troy MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). It’s important to keep up on the markets in which you compete.

Did you know that Albany is the #1 test market in the United States. Correct-a-mundo.

According to Acxiom’s last published study in 2004, Albany, NY was the market that best represented the United States population as a whole.

In other words – we’re the most average market in America.

That holds some real advantages for you as a marketer – especially if you market to consumers. Rolling out new mass-market products in Albany is an excellent place to start. The test results could well translate to the national market, and “amped-up” ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment)

If that’s you – be thankful we’re so average.

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Burst Marketing: Best Buy – Dead Cow Alert

July 13, 2010

Tags: Best Buy, Burst Marketing, Geek Squad, iphone, seth godin
Categories: Brand/Reputation, Customer Focus, Management, Marketing Message

Best Buy obviously hasn’t read Seth Godin’s Purple Cow. The book’s treatise is that a company’s marketing is most effective when it’s true. Actually being remarkable translates to marketing at its best.

My partner Dave recently had trouble with his iPhone. As great a gadget as the iPhone is, neither Apple nor AT&T Wireless offer insurance on the iPhone. Best Buy stepped in offering the only insurance available on the product – serviced by its Geek Squad.

Oh oh…dead cow!

After 2 years of paying $11+ per month, Dave needed service. He dropped it off at the Geek Squad – “it’ll be ready and back here by Friday.” Friday comes…and an hour of voicemail hell later…”sorry, maybe tomorrow.” Saturday…no answer at the Geek Squad all day. He left a message with the store’s customer service to please call him back. Sunday…another hour of the run around, “sorry, there are no deliveries on Saturday or Sunday. Maybe Monday?”

“I didn’t even get a call from you guys, isn’t there a message for you?” “Truth is we’re really busy, and there’s a whole pile of messages sitting on this desk. We don’t look at them. We just wait for the customer to call back.”

Okay – get the picture? Now ponder this:

Best Buy is in the electronics business. Why can’t they put your order status online for you to check? Or shipping status? Especially when the Geek Squad desk is too busy to even look at the pile of messages on their desk!

Best Buy promised a service that made them unique – but the promise turns out to be pretty empty. That’s a dead cow. That’s utter brand destruction.

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9 Meals From Anarchy

March 2, 2010

Tags: Burst Marketing, Haiti, Marketing Blueprint
Categories: Customer Focus, Management, Marketing Blueprint, Strategy

On a recent trip to Florida I met up with a cousin of mine that I hadn’t seen in nearly 40 years.

He’s a retired physician with an inquiring mind and he shared with me an unsettling observation. Watching coverage of the tragedy in Haiti, he recognized that people got more and more desperate as it passed the 3 day mark following the event.

The human body can go without food for quite some time before it really breaks down. But without water, it’s only a matter of 72 hours and brain function is significantly affected.

“9 meals”, he said, “that’s all that separates us from our daily lives and a complete breakdown of society.”

Hours later, while working on a marketing blueprint, I thought about my cousin’s “9 meals” anecdote. Our bodies need to be sustained with a continuous supply of H2O for survival. We need food for sure, but in terms of our hierarchy of needs, water is king.

What’s your client’s hierarchy of needs? What’s the one thing that your customers can’t live without?

Price? Service? The hottest technology? Relationship chemistry?

Now think about it in terms of a marketing campaign.

What’s the one thing you need to monitor to know if you’re on the right track? It’s different for everyone.

Regardless, it’s a fine line between survival and extinction. Be sure you know where it is.

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Where’s The Caring

February 7, 2010

Tags: Albany, business review, cadillac, chevy, hannaford, honda, price chopper, toyota, walmart
Categories: Ad/Marketing Agencies, Advertising, Brand/Reputation, Customer Focus, Marketing Blueprint, Marketing Message, Strategy

They may as well go ahead and declare today a national holiday. As I write this, Super Bowl XLIV kicks off in a matter of hours.

Tens of millions will tune in. Most for the game. Regardless – it’s what they call “appointment TV.” The Olympics start soon too. American Idol is in full swing. Fire up the DVR.

Pulling interest and creating loyalty to a group of stars or a certain concept is what network programming is all about. They seek the magic formula that will get you coming back for every episode. What gets you to care.

That’s your job too. What gets your customers to care about you?

The Albany Business Review has an article on Price Chopper’s (Golub Corp.) Fuel Advantage program this week. That’s the program that gives you a discount on gas for shopping with them. They’ve meshed two things you deeply care about.

Food and Gas. Basic.

The equation is even clearer for them because local competition is among just a few major brands. Although they are tough competitors – shopper in this market basically choose from Price Chopper, Hannaford, and WalMart when it comes to supermarkets.

You win the tug of war, more come to you. Of course, there’s a new match regularly. Each seeking that little edge over the other.

It’s more difficult to find the caring when you offer a product or service in an exceptionally crowded field. Or if you’ve basically become a commodity.

Now what?

In this scenario, finding the caring often comes down to who’s the more relevant to the customer. What are they looking for besides your offering? Is it comfort and trust. Personal relationship. How green you are? Convenience? Who your other customers are?

It’s somewhat different in each market category. Each geography. Your job is to find it. Find what’s most relevant to your targets and ensure that your businesses authentically offers it.

For years, saying something is the “Cadillac” of [insert type product of service] said it was the best of the best. A “Chevy” or a “Honda” (sorry Toyota) means affordable and/or reliable.

Find the caring. Be real. And find your customers.

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Flexible Not Permanent

January 18, 2010

Tags: Burst Marketing, businessweek, Recession, temporary workforce
Categories: Brand/Reputation, Business Development, Courage, Customer Focus, Decision Making, Economy, Management, Ownership, Strategy

The current issue of BusinessWeek features a story on the pervasiveness of a flexible, temporary workforce.

It’s not hard to understand why.

The Great Recession has made everyone gun shy. Using temporary workers is a way to hedge your bet. Wait until you can be sure business is back before taking on the expense hiring full-time workers.

26% of America’s workforce are “non standard” – temps, contract workers, and part timers. And from a risk-control perspective it makes sense.

But here’s a question:

Is your business part time? Is serving your clients and customers a part-time gig? How about sales?

The danger of a temporary work force is that they may have no real investment in your Company’s success. Caring about the job is a paycheck thing, not a customer thing.

Investing to add a qualified member of your team or paying to have a specific task done or hours filled -

Which is the bigger risk?

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Does “Free” Really Work?

January 3, 2010

Tags: 2010, Albany, Burst, free, marketing
Categories: Advertising, Customer Focus, Marketing Message, Strategy

Over recent years I’ve taken to reading a few business books that I think might be relevant over the coming year. Sort of a way to get the mental matter primed and ready to rock in 2010.

One thing I really want to know is what makes people tick after 18+ months of this oppressive economy.

So I spent a couple of hours in Borders and picked up a few books to start with. The one I started this morning already has my mind reeling. And I’ve only read the introduction.

Here’s why I’m a little freaked:

Greed (money, offers of discounts or “free” things, etc.) may actually interfere with getting a target to do what you want them to do.

Again. Paying Money or giving something for Free won’t work.

As I find out more I’ll keep you in the loop. Stay tuned.

Posted by: Steve Banis

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Early Results on Holiday Spending

December 7, 2009

Tags: Albany, consumer, holiday, marketing
Categories: Advertising, Customer Focus, Marketing Message, Strategy

Reports of consumer spending over the Thanksgiving weekend, including Black Friday, noted that overall spending was slightly above last year’s. However, before we get all giddy, the numbers also showed that spending per person was down quite significantly.

It seems that many were taking advantage of discounts not necessarily to buy fun gifts for those on their lists, but rather were buying more expensive necessities that they couldn’t afford without the discounts. For example, sales of vacuums are up. As are towels and sheets.

Sure there are plenty of LCD TVs moving, but entry-level sets can be had for 50% of what they were last year. So the splurge is relative.

For current marketers, the implication seems to be that consumer (and most business) purchases will remain in the arena of “gotta have” vs “wanna have.”

Spending is slogging back – so long as interest rates and inflation don’t begin to spike. Your marketing message ought to emphasize the pent-up demand for obtaining the items that keep things running. Greater efficiency is nice too, but not at exorbitant cost. Some reasonable upgrades will makes sense too.

We’ll see how things develop. But start making plans to come out from your hiding places and keep it down to earth.

Posted by: Steve Banis

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Pass or Fail?

November 22, 2009

Tags: Albany marketing, Burst Marketing, Customer Service, Lego
Categories: Brand/Reputation, Courage, Customer Focus, Lead Management

Here’s a quick customer service test:

On Saturday 11/21, Lego – they of Danish building block fame – put on an event called Lego Kids Fest at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut.

They promoted it in their magazine received by Lego Club members across the country, on their website, in calendars, all over locally and was picked up in many corners of cyberspace.

My son and his mom drove the 2 1/2 hours from Albany yesterday afternoon, he’s a Lego-head and a member of the club.

Turns out, they weren’t even allowed to get off the exit for the arena.

The event was mayhem. It was oversold and over capacity. The fire department started to eject attendees. Hundreds of 7 year olds stood outside with their parents howling in disappointment.

My wife called Lego in San Diego and a customer service rep said that they hadn’t promoted it and were taken by surprise. When informed that it was promoted everywhere an event could be, a supervisor came on and came clean. “I’ve gotten calls from several families. We just weren’t prepared.”

OK. Fine. A case of be careful what you wish for. Now we’ll see how Lego will respond.

What would you do?

Posted by: Steve Banis

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Burst Marketing

Virtual Reference Check – Burst Marketing

Burst Marketing – Be Clear or Beware

Burst Marketing: Lucky To Be Average

Burst Marketing: Best Buy – Dead Cow Alert

9 Meals From Anarchy

Where’s The Caring

Flexible Not Permanent

Does “Free” Really Work?

Here’s why I’m a little freaked:

Early Results on Holiday Spending

Pass or Fail?