THINKing » Customer Service http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog My CreativeTeam Thinks About Creativity, Marketing, PR & Social Media Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:40:12 +0000 en hourly 1 Dumbass Marketer Redux http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/dumbass-marketer-redux/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/dumbass-marketer-redux/#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:59:21 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=2610
Photo credit: chaka from morguefile.com

We have talked here before about dumbass marketers, and this probably won’t be the last time, unfortunately. Let me tell you a story about one. This firm, to which we have brought a lot of business including that of a Fortune 500 company, has made such a dumbass move that they will never get additional business from me.

We have been buying trade show booths and booth graphics from this company. We had one booth that was banged up pretty badly in repeated shipping – completely the fault of our client. So, we sent it back, told them it was our fault and paid for the damage repair. This fact is important because it establishes that we take the blame when it is ours.

Then, we bought a new booth for one of the client’s divisions. When it arrived and the client unpacked it for the first time, there was damage. The client didn’t damage this one. It was like that out of the box from the supplier. So, I sent a note about the damage and say we are shipping it back for repair. They say they will split the cost with us because they think my client is lying. I say that they should pick it up since it was damaged upon arrival. He says, she says.

They agree to pick up the cost but now want to make me come to their facility to watch them pack each one. In fact, we had a rush order that needed to go out yesterday and I had to interrupt my day to go meet the sales rep to see the product before they would ship it.

Now, is this stupid on their part or am I over-reacting? Please let me know what you think.

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/dumbass-marketer-redux/feed/ 0 Brands Need A Home http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/brands-need-a-home/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/brands-need-a-home/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:47:31 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=2599
Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com

Many brands are investing a lot of time and money into social networks, almost to the point of ceding control to another entity. It’s time to rethink this.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t participate on platforms like Facebook and Google +. I am just issuing a warning that it is not a good idea to become too intertwined in something controlled by someone else. Facebook and Google + are free platforms, and as such they can make the rules. Therein lies the problem.

Take for instance Facebook’s decision to remove the discussion tab from pages. Says Inside Facebook,

The in-house app, also known as Discussion Boards, allows Pages to host simple forums. However, Facebook says “The best way to encourage conversation and feedback is through posts and comments on your wall”. It will therefore eliminate the Discussions app, despite AppData showing that it has 22 million monthly active users.

Well, there are a lot of Facebook page administrators who have spent literally years using this application. Some have used it for its threaded discussion ability. What happens to the archives? Our friends at SocialFish don’t like this much either.

It doesn’t matter to Facebook that it’s much easier for people interested in ongoing discussions to follow an archived, threaded discussion format. Or that it’s much easier to have an actual discussion format, not Facebook’s ever-changing, secretly-algorithmed wall post format. What’s easy or useful for users is not Facebook’s concern; Facebook cares about Facebook. Period.

All brands are in danger here, but particularly smaller ones. For months, I have warned friends who own small businesses that they need a digital home besides Facebook. I encourage them to at least set up a free WordPress blog if they can’t afford to have someone build them a website. Your site should be the hub – not a spoke – of your content marketing. You should use social networks as a sidewalk back home, not the other way around. Or, someday, your brand could be homeless.

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/brands-need-a-home/feed/ 1 Netflix’s Corporate Seppuku http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/netflixs-corporate-seppuku/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/netflixs-corporate-seppuku/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:55:16 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=2574

It’s good that Netflix has a red background on its logo. That way the blood doesn’t show from its self-inflicted wounds.

Apparently Netflix doesn’t have PR people to tell them how to communicate service changes. A while back they announced their pricing structure change, saying they knew the almost 60% price increase would lose them some customers but they were doing it anyway. The arrogance of the announcement was palpable. I immediately cancelled my account.

And now the blood is flowing again as they’ve plunged the sword in just a little deeper.

They have announced that they are renaming the DVD by mail portion of their business. The new Qwikster service was also communicated poorly. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sent out the suicide note this morning detailing the move. Here’s how I read it: “yeah, we screwed up with the price changes and we’re doing it again with this Qwikster move. Do not, however, take this as an apology.”

To make matters worse, it turns out there is a Twitter account named Qwikster, which has a profile photo of Sesame Street’s Elmo smoking a joint. For the win!

I don’t know about you, but I’m heading over to Etrade to short some Netflix stock.

UPDATE 10/10/2011: Apparently, Netflix hired some PR people. Alas, it is too little, too late. Have you seen their latest note to customers about the whoe Qwikster debacle. If not, you can read it below. Perhaps shorting Netflix stock is again the right hting to do.

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

We’re constantly improving our streaming selection. We’ve recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we’ve added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.

We value you as a member, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get your movies & TV shows.


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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/netflixs-corporate-seppuku/feed/ 0 I Heard That! http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/i-heard-that/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/i-heard-that/#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:14:10 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=2539

There are still a lot of companies that haven’t yet figured out – or worse, don’t care – that social media is a great way for them to monitor the mood of their customers. But some – like Olay – really  get it. My wife read about a new Olay product and began looking for it. Turns out the product is not fully into the distribution channels yet.

So, she gripes on Olay’s Facebook page because the company is hyping up a product no one can get. Olay messages her and tells her they have a sample of the product and will send it to her. OK, lots of companies would have done this, right?

In two days, the product shows up with a handwritten note. Not every company does this. That’s the way you mollify a miffed customer.

How does your company handle these kinds of social media situations? Let us know.

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/i-heard-that/feed/ 0 A Silent Message From Your Customer http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/a-silent-message-from-your-customer/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/a-silent-message-from-your-customer/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:43:57 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=2181

Your customers are telling you something, but aren’t saying a word. Most businesses will never get the message because they are too focused on what they want, not what the customer is asking for.

I was talking to my friend, Tuesday last night about this. She runs Vogue Illumination, a business that makes custom lamps from wine bottles. Tuesday, who is highly artistic, began her business making wine bottle lamps with thematically designed shades. For some reason, the thematic lamps that took the most of her time and creative ability were not her best sellers.

She added some with less adorned lampshades and sales took off.  As Tuesday says, “I get the message. Customers don’t want what I thought they would want. I’ll offer them as an option if someone wants a customized lamp.”

We have clients who think of us for a single service, like web design. I make sure they know we offer other services like print and packaging design, as well as video production, but I’m not spending a lot of time pushing it. If they want web design, then I’m looking for additional web design opportunities with them.

Are your customers sending you a similar message? Are you listening for the silent message? Tell us what message your customers have given you.

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/a-silent-message-from-your-customer/feed/ 1 Top 15 Uses For QR Codes http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/top-15-uses-for-qr-codes/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/top-15-uses-for-qr-codes/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:37:18 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=1493

Have you been seeing funny looking images like the one above popping up in stores? This is called a QR code or Quick Response Code. They are great tools for connecting the real and the digital worlds. Microsoft has a competing technology called tags. My prediction: it loses.

Use your smartphone QR reader app to take a photo of the QR code and you go to a website for more information. (Feel free to follow the above QR code link and give My Creative Team a thumbs up when you get there.) Or, a QR code can spark a number of other actions, ranging from opening a map on your phone, sending a text message, displaying on-screen text, even dialing a phone number.

We just used a QR code for the Lowe’s Gift List Builder project, which we covered in a recent post. We designed in-store signage containing a QR code that linked your smartphone to our mobile site to search for a friend or family member’s gift list.  Once you find the list, you can walk around the store with the images on your screen, picking up the items off the list that you want to buy.

Since then, I’ve been thinking about other ways we might use these in advertising, PR, marketing and business communications. Here are some ideas:

  1. I don’t know how long QR codes will be appropriate for print advertising, but if you drop one of these unusual looking QR codes into a newspaper or magazine sometime soon, it will be the only one there. People will be curious and will want to follow the trail. So, bring them to a beautifully designed landing page for the product or service you are promoting.
  2. How about placing one on a billboard or sidewalk signage? You click on it and up pops a map taking you right to the advertiser’s door.
  3. Magazine and newspaper publishers could use QR codes to take mobile readers to augment content.
  4. Our local Goodwill Industries is using QR codes on its annual fundraising piece, as well as in its stores. The QR code leads back to this thank you video.
  5. Convention and Visitor Bureaus could use QR codes to provide additional information about its attractions. For instance, you visit a historic site, scan a QR code and get an audio tour of the site via smartphone.
  6. Use QR codes in virtual scavenger hunts. This could work very well in tourism.
  7. Another tourism idea, have QR codes printed on table-toppers for local restaurants. Scan one and it dials the local CVB so you can ask questions about other local attractions and events.
  8. Realtors could use QR codes to provide instant information to people who visit one of their listings.
  9. On your business card, place a QR codes that takes people to a page where they can download your vcard contact information, learn more about your organization, read your blog, any number of things could go on this page.
  10. Conferences could cut down on printing cost by handing out only a name badge containing a QR code. This takes you to a web page where you can download or review all the conference papers and presentations.
  11. Get a Google Favorite Places window sticker for your restaurant. Have the QR code take people to your Facebook page.
  12. Musicians could have a QR code at their concert that provides fans with a free download of a song.
  13. Create QR code coupons that give mobile customers special deals.
  14. Develop retail shelf talkers to provide recipes – and ingredient lists – in the grocery store.
  15. I could see Lowe’s having a project area that offers QR codes with links to how-to videos, shopping lists outlining everything you need – from tools to lumber.

OK, those are my top 15 ideas. What ideas do you have for using QR codes?

Update: Just ran across an article from Joan Stewart on the PR uses of QR Codes. Give it a read.

Related Articles:

QR Codes: The Future of Marketing

11 Must See QR Code Campaign Videos

The Benefits & Pitfalls Of QR Codes

QR Code Infographic

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/top-15-uses-for-qr-codes/feed/ 14 Customer Surprise http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/customer-surprise/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/customer-surprise/#comments Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:34:16 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=1443

When is the last time you had a customer surprise that was also pleasant? Mine was just today.

I’ve been looking for a black turtleneck to complete my Halloween costume. Unable to find one anywhere. Went to Belk, the recently rebranded Charlotte, NC-based department store, to see if they had one. Lo and behold, there it was.

The $20 shirt had been marked down to $12. Sweet. So, I take it to the counter to pay for it. Cashier says, “with the coupon that comes to $9.59.”

“I don’t have a coupon,” said I. “No problem,” she says. “I rang one in for you.”

Now, I don’t know if this surprise couponing is part of the rebranding, but it was a very pleasant surprise, and the cashier was extremely nice, as well. But look what they got out of it. I’m writing about it on a well-read blog and I’ll tweet about it as well. Not a bad return for a 20% off coupon.

What could you be doing in your business to surprise customers? Got any examples? Tell us, tell us!

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/customer-surprise/feed/ 4 Hey, Do You Have A Real Person I Can Talk To? http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/hey-do-you-have-a-real-person-i-can-talk-to/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/hey-do-you-have-a-real-person-i-can-talk-to/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 19:50:46 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=1404

More banking consumers, it seems, are comfortable with the Internet as a primary channel, unless they have a problem. Then, they want a person and they want one now. No surprise, there. MediaPost’s Research Brief reports that,

According to Empathica Consumer Insights research of more than 15,000 Americans and Canadians focused on banking, consumers preferred channels, and bank loyalty factors, 41.4% of consumers indicated their preferred banking channel was the Internet, followed by Branch at 32.6%, ATM at 23.3%, and Mobile and Telephone a distant fourth and fifth at 1.5% and 1.3% respectively. Yet, when a problem arose, consumer preference drastically shifted.  Consumers most often wanted to speak with a person when they had an account issue. 60% cited the desire to visit a branch with a banking problem, while 34% preferred using the phone. Only 6% would prefer to take up their issue online.

We’ve talked before about the consumer desire to reach a real person. I don’t care how comfortable we get with the web as a channel, we are always going to want a human connection, particularly when we have a problem to resolve. Companies which forget this, do so at their peril.

I ran across this article from Chandra Brown, who agrees that we need to get back to the basics of customer service,

The golden rule still applies and needs to be refreshed in the minds of society. Treat others as you would like to be treated…A little common sense, a little kindness and compassion will go a long way. Getting back to the roots of these basic virtues comes from choosing to do it. One can read manuals and training programs and attend seminars but if the action is not willingly played out by the individual all the training in the world is a company expenditure that ends up in the red.

Do you know of some organization handling customer service correctly? Tell us about it.

UPDATE: Ran across this story just now about Zappos and its phone customer service. Seems like they have the right idea.

PS – If you want to talk with a real human at an organization, you might find the telephone number here.

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/hey-do-you-have-a-real-person-i-can-talk-to/feed/ 3 Forgotten Gems http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/forgotten-gems/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/forgotten-gems/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:36:53 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/forgotten-gems/ Undiscovered Gems

Through no fault of their own, sometimes really good posts just get overlooked. Here are a few forgotten gems you may have missed.

Grandma Says -  Southern grandmothers have often said, “there are only three times a respectable person’s name should be in the paper: when you are born, when you are married, and when you die.” This is the one area in which I part company with my grandmothers.

Brand Euthanasia -  Some brands should be allowed to die, or if that fails, then we owe it to them to kill them.

New Business Tip: Do Great Work For Current Clients -My marketing mentor, Bill Loeffler, once said the the best new business program is doing great work for current clients. He was right.

The Value Of Connections – As we have discussed before, the value of connections in business cannot be underestimated. I’m talking primarily about tight connections that you use ruthlessly to help you achieve your personal and professional goals.

To Market, To Market… -  What does buying a fat pig have to do with your business? Stick with me and all will be revealed.

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]]> http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/forgotten-gems/feed/ 2 Hook Me Up With A Human http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/hook-me-up-with-a-human/ http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/hook-me-up-with-a-human/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:23:51 +0000 Harry Hoover http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/hook-me-up-with-a-human/ Oh, what has happened to the carbon-based organizational interface? Many organizations have digitized humans – aka carbon-based units – out of existence in their customer service operations. Now, I love digital technology as much as anyone, but it is time to bring the people back into their appropriate customer service roles, don’t you think?

Have you ever tried to reach a human at Amazon.com? When I last checked it was almost impossible to find a telephone number on the website. Just to annoy them, here is their toll free number: 800-201-7575.

Many organizations don’t even have a live person answering phones. They dump you directly into voicemail. If this happens to you, punch “0″ immediately. Some systems are programmed to ignore the first three “0s” so keep punching. This almost always gets you to a sentient being. OK, sentient may be a little strong. At least they are breathing. Sometimes if you hit the * key, you’ll be sent to the company directory.

The Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business reports that in one of its survey about customer service “can’t find a human” was at the top of the list of things participants disliked. The study further showed that calling a toll free number was still a top preferred method of reaching a company, but more people are turning to the web because no one appears to be home at the phone.

The society has published an online directory containing a lot of contact information for many top companies. Use it frequently.

Another tip for hunting down a human: the Whois directory. However, truly cunning companies have removed their contact information from there, too.

Companies which continue to shirk their responsibility to their customers eventually will pay. Customer retention rates will spiral downward and new business will dry up. At least, I keep telling myself this will happen to these bad PR poster children.

If you call me, unless I’m on fire or talking with a client, I’ll answer my phone. And, if I somehow miss your call, it won’t take me 24 hours to get back to you. It’s bad PR – and inhuman – to do anything less.

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