From the marketing trenches...

Websites without the web.

Webaroo today released a new service that allows you to search and browse stored versions of Web sites while not connected to the Internet. Initially it's targeted at users with hand-held computing devices and laptop computers who might use Webaroo when they have slow connections or no Internet access, such as while traveling. Eventually, they plan to target other handheld devices, such as cell phones.

The connected world is now connected when we're not even connected.

A new tool for marketers.

I doubt I am alone in saying that, as a customer, I am annoyed by the automated customer service phone systems used by companies with whom I do business.

But as marketers, how can we track whether or not the automated system our company uses is damaging our customer relationships?

A new company, Get Human, is (indirectly, anyway) providing companies with just such a tool.

Their website keeps a database of customer service numbers and instructions to bypass the frustrating menu of pressing 1 or the # sign and speak directly to...a human. For example, the instructions for calling MetLife Bank tell you to "press 000 rapidly and repeatedly".

A nice tool for customers.

But the organization is also creating a database of customer experiences, including the amount of time callers are on hold and ranking customer experiences with calling the customer service line.

Although this is designed as information for consumers, marketers should leverage this valuable tool to gauge their customer's perception at a very important touch-point. Is the customer experience in line with the brand promise?

Search the internet by drawing a picture.

Watch out, Google, there's a new player in the search engine space, 3D Seek , that allows you to search the Internet via a free-hand sketch!

The nascent technology is currently available to manufacturing firms, allowing them to search for hinges, bolts and other small parts online with nothing more than a freehand sketch and a new search engine that uses enhanced particle pattern recognition software.

The consumer application can't be far behind.

 

A big brand's delimma.

Here's one to watch...Levi's, the denim icon since the late 1800's, is experiencing lagging sales. Their fix? Go head-to-head with the likes of  True Religion, Citizens for Humanity and Chip & Pepper.

Levi's finds itself in that dreaded place...the middle. (This is something The Gap knows all too well.) Competitor Vanity Fair is doing well with discount brands such as Wrangler and Lee. And the premium, designer jeans market has exploded with labels falling in and out of fashion based on the latest paparazzi photo of our favorite stars.

Levi's isn't just entering this market with an "improved jean", they're jumping in with a gimmick. Their latest, RedWire DLX, sells for $200 and contains a docking station, remote control, and headphones for the Apple iPod. Hmmmm. So that's what all those True Religion wearers have been seeking...a place to put their mp3 player. Right.

I think Levi's may be getting off at the wrong exit. While their sales have declined some, their brand is one of a handful that truly stands for something and has done so for over 100 years. And let's face it, people buy jeans with ridiculous names like Chip & Pepper because they are NOT Levi's.

This reminds me of Delta Airlines gunning for low-priced competitors such as JetBlue . Instead of doing what Delta does, but bigger and better, they responded by launching Song, a me-too discount airliner. Song didn't last long because it wasn't Delta doing what Delta does best.

Look, fashions come and go, especially those based on fads. But there is one fashion icon that has stood the test of time decade upon decade. And that's Levi's. Let's hope they discover a way to engage their loyal fans while continuing to be Levi's. If I want a new way to carry my iPod, I'll go to the electronics counter.

Web twist on an old model. And it's working.

Can you build a business on a foundation of free condoms?

Apparently so. An article in AdAge  (free registration required) points us to Gratis Internet, Inc. The company originated as a portal to obtain free condoms (freecondoms.com) and has moved on to loftier things such as www.freeipods.com.  They made Inc.'s 500 Fastest Growing Companies list this year coming in at number 18.

The model is simple. For example, at freeipods.com, you simply enter your email address and shipping information. Then you choose from a list of offers...these range from applying for a credit card to downloading free ring tones.

Next, you refer your friends to do the same. This forms a "conga line". As more of your friends sign up (remember Amway?), you get closer to your ipod and eventually receive one for free.

The 18-24 demographic has responded. Gratis is providing leads by the boatload to companies like CitiBank and Blockbuster. These corporations hire Gratis on a pay-for-performance basis.

Sound like your great uncle's pyramid scheme he tried to rope you into years ago? This new twist on an old model works because your friends, if they take you up on your referral, get something of genuine value. Plus you don't have to ride around selling cleaning products out of your trunk.

If You Market to Humans, Read This...

Target, prospect, click-through, c-level, consumer, buyer, decision-maker, web-site visitor, champion,   purchaser, audience, customer, end-users, responses, impressions, hits, clicks.

Actually, they are all people. Just like you and me...who make decisions using both sides of their brain along with the thing that makes them people...their emotions.

Don't forget that the next time you market to one of them.

Lost in Translation

I've got nothing against outsourcing, per se. In fact, outsourcing mundane business processes leaves the more thoughtful, interesting work for the rest of us.

Three different companies with which I do business have outsourced their call centers to eastern countries. Although the call center companies work diligently to teach their operators mid-western, American accents, it is painfully obvious you're talking to Dubai and not Des Moines.

But the real problem I have with them lies not in their language skills, but in their inability to solve my problems. Talking with one of these customer representatives is like having a conversation with a robotic parrot. They've learned canned responses that were meant to cover every question or problem that might arise. Detecting subtlety is not their thing. Often, the same answer is repeated back to me even though the question has, from where I sit anyway, changed significantly.

This creates an extremely frustrating consumer experience. Something is definitely lost in translation.

Some of it, due to cultural and language differences, cannot be avoided. But knowing this, companies who outsource to this pool of workers should strive diligently to compensate for it. Deeper training and inculcation into the company's brand, products and procedures is needed. The conversation with the customer must move beyond reading flash cards.

Just because the labor is cheap, doesn't mean the customer's experience should be treated as less valuable.

A Word on Word Of Mouth Marketing

                                                                         

I'm likely in the minority here, but I'm not buying Word of Mouth marketing (WOM) as the next big marketing idea. In fact, I don't even buy WOM as a marketing "tool".

I've read the articles, the books and, recently, viewed the videos from WOM Marketing Association's (WOMMA) Orlando conference. And I'm even more convinced that WOM marketing is the outcome of a well thought-out and executed marketing strategy...with one key ingredient: the product or service marketed is worth talking about.

Too many of these WOM articles and proponents imply WOM about a product or service can be "created", manipulated, and even bought. Given the amount of information available to all of us as consumers, and the cynicism directed towards marketing and advertising in general these days, I think it is just the opposite. You CAN'T create, manipulate or even buy-off people genuinely telling others how great your product is (i.e. WOM).

In one of the WOMMA podcasts, prominent customer relationship consultant Don Peppers, stated that WOM marketing is made up of these three things: employee empowerment, employee ownership, and excellence in service.

Agree, these are necessary components of a successful company and a memorable customer experience. Add in a product/service worth talking about and you have a formula for your customers going out and telling people how great you are (i.e.WOM):

Product/service worth talking about +  Memorable Experience = WOM

Great marketing is built on two foundations: 1. A great product and 2. Employees who live the brand. WOM is the result of great marketing.

A great analogy for WOM marketing is the tried and true "tail wagging the dog"...When do dogs wag their tails? When you pet them, talk nicely to them, play with them (experience) and when you feed them something unexpected, like a steak bone (great product). Skipping these inputs and going straight for the tail will not yield the results you want.

So it is with WOM. Take care to develop the product, deliver a memorable experience and watch the tails start wagging.

Your Brand = Your Employees. Redux.

                                                                

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

In an earlier post, I pointed to SAS airline's take on customer touch-points. They had 10 million customers last year that came into contact with at least 5 SAS employees for an average of 15 seconds. The CEO called them "50 million moments of truth".

Here's another company that understands your brand = your employees.

Zappos, a leading online shoe retailer with sales of $370 million, has been sending it's 300+ employees to what is essentially a customer service boot camp. According to Internet Retailer magazine,

Rather than commit large amounts of time and money to interactive marketing, Zappos likes to invest in better customer service programs, Hsieh says. “We started the program in June as a way to train employees about our culture and how we handle customer loyalty,” says Hsieh. “Now we are to the point where all our employees are taking the course.”

Is it any wonder, then, that Zappos generates more than 60% of their revenue from repeat customers? Or that Zappos is growing at an annual rate of 100%?

Every touch a customer has with your employees, no matter how small, is...the...brand.

Zappos gets it.

Great title. I should have stopped there.

Doesn't this sound like a good book, "Balls! 6 Rules for Winning Today's Business Game"? And, better yet, it is written by a CMO of a mid-sized company...a true "in the trenches marketer". So you can imagine my disappointment after parting with $20 and then reading passages like these:

We often play music in our booth at trade shows, and it's usually a rotation of theme songs. At our company, you have to earn your theme song and once you have one, you have to embrace it. When your theme song plays (at the trade show booth), you have to dance and slide down our firefighter's pole--even if you're pitching a prospect. Let me tell you, the "dancing pitch" is one helluva way to get a potential client's attention.

It got worse...

One year our trade show theme was Innovation and Talent, or IT for short. We dressed any staff member who wasn't selling in either an "I" or a "T" costume and made sure they walked the show floor--a lot.

And then downright ridiculous...

Our theme was "Dream Big! Make Your Wishes Come True"...to take it to the extreme we bought inexpensive but large fairy wings, blue wigs, plastic tiaras, and magic wands. During nonexhibit hours, our sales reps dressed up as fairy god-mothers and "magically" appeared before prospects during lunches or evening receptions...

So I just saved you $20. You're welcome.