Opening Day Opens Frustration

For the die hards, there is truly no other day like Major League Baseball's Opening Day. Sure it has gotten watered down with the exclusive ESPN Opening Night game, but regardless it signals America's and Japan's pastime is once again upon us. For me, it was a date Monday with the television and the Boston Red Sox road opener vs. the Kanasa City Royals. Kansas City gave the faithful something to cheer about and officially kept the baseball gods smiling for at least a few more days as they currently sit in first place. For Red Sox Nation, it was disaster. No hitting, little pitching, nothing clutch and bad base running. Sports radio call lines lit up and WEEI fielded more than their share of angry fan rants. Has the season been lost? Will the Sox miss the playoffs? At least I'm able to once again enjoy the greatest sport in the world and watch the occasional Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo telecast on NESN. I'm already reaching out to like minded fans for the road trip. We're going to win it all this year.

Speaking of road trips, kudos to Tom Daly who I had the pleasure of meeting in Atlanta recently. He understands the challenges of traveling with a young family at home and has written some great books to help educate and and inform children when mom or dad are away. The books are called "Sometimes I Work in..." and are a quick and easy read before bed time with your kids. You can buy them on the worlds largest bookstore Amazon.com.

I Know You Are But What Am I

 
Consumers own your brand in ways marketeers never imagined. They are putting brands in sometimes uncomfortable places and sharing perceived benefits. Take a recent example on YouTube where an innovator has leveraged the power of Arm & Hammer baking soda to clean teeth. No dentist or white strips needed!

Here's the catch. This consumer likes the product and finds it useful and wants to tell the world, but the company would likely, for reasons ranging from legal to rash, prefer that the consumer keep their wisdom close at hand and not climb any mountains. The suggestion for marketers is a back to basics approach. Do the tried and true SWOT. Look at short term and long term implications of embracing or resisting. The answer is often very close by when you consider result of not doing something as much as doing something. We often put far too much credibility in the source of information. Consumers can be naive indeed, but give them some credit. aside from the class action smoking litigation there are few widespread examples of consumers taking an untrusted source and treating it as gospel. We are smarter than the average bear and Francis Buxton.

Which brings me to the pure comedic genius that is Paul Reubens aka Pee-Wee Herman. He's back. He recently appeared on 30 Rock in a great Paul Reubens moment. And kudos to Cinema Hype for keeping the legend top of mind and for The Bicycle Diaries with their Bicycle Safety Tips on how to get you bike back if it is ever stolen Pee-Wee style.

User Generated Pollution

 
I had the opportunity to be a part of a great dialogue Wednesday night at the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AIMA) event discussing Branding 2.0. Thanks to the Spunlogic team and all of the great AIMA sponsors and supporters for a truly wonderful event I was happy to be a part of. One of the hot, recurring topics was dealing with the risks related to consumer generated media and how to embrace user generated content. There is strong concern among large, conservative Fortune 1000 brands that CGM will erode the very fabric that brand stewards have fought so hard to protect.

The truth is that consumers already own the brands. They interact with them day in and day out. They evangelize and criticize. They share, throw away and often take a second look. For good or bad however, the consumer is in control. The consumer not only pays for the right to do so, but also has earned the right for sifting through the nonstop propaganda they are forced to endure. Being a peer to the process was raised as being a great way to embrace the digital currency that is user publishers. i must agree. Providing tools and inspiration is far more productive - and genuine - than dictating or setting up so many filters that the product will only be brandspeak.

We must be prepared to wrestle with the fact that not all engagement is flattery, but recent examples suggest that consumers are far more endearing to the brands they interact with than they are to condemn. Dove, Burger King, Doritos and even General Motors have made their brand highly vulnerable to the wishes of the consumer, but by and large the consumer is excited to engage and passionat about the brands they like. It is not a recipe for CGM execution, but it is an awakening for all those quick to criticize the idea, throw up shields of brand protection and retreat to one-way media.

Pac-Man Policy

 
The NFL is staying ahead of the curve when it comes to sports league management. They continue to leverage their relationship with the union and are now investigating a significant player conduct policy that would start to clean up the likes of the Alcatraz Bengals and Tank Vick. Hopefully soon teams will start losing real things like draft picks when their own fall victim to stupidus regularis. Soon NFL teams may shy away from drafting people with "upside potential", but also three run-ins with campus police. Bobby Bowden can protect the degenerates no more. The NFL's first mover advantage event extends to congress. Why have they not been scrutinized for an exclusive DirecTV deal? They are the chosen one. They are the model. And they now how to maintain that leadership position.

My Pleasure

 
The lost art of service is something that gets routinely overlooked in this cost-conscious approach to delivering value that so many retailers and service providers make part of their business process. Yesterday, I was reminded of just what great service sounds like when I called to reserve some services with the Ritz Carlton Spa. I contacted a consultant, not a mere operator. The person was friendly, engaging, said please and thank you and really communicated that she was there to help me. And at the end of every task was the Ritz Carlton response, "My Pleasure". Actually, the pleasure, which involved committing to spend quite a bit of money, was all mine.

Why don't more get this valuable part of the value equation? There is more to it than just price and discounts - which are indeed important. Great service creates evangelism more than price. Great service creates tolerance for future miscues. Great service is an identifier while price is merely a filter or category.

Two approaches to identifying top customer service companies have been undertaken by the fine folks at CRM Lowdown and Business Week. CRM Lowdown published their findings at the end of 2006. Apple was at the top of the list. They also cited Google and Southwest Airlines in their top 5. It really is only fair for me to comment on my personal experiences with the brands listed, so here it is:

Apple: I'm consistently amazed at the professional way they address my questions and the easiness and calm they instill in me as I wrestle with technology. They have thought through the user first.
Google: I can't agree with this one currently. As a user, it is easy and friendly, but as a client the experience is mixed. The business relationship managers are top notch and proactive at delivering great information that is relevant to me. The editorial review staff and they response times to issues are painfully slow and sometimes nonexistent - and their lack of clear customer service and support channels can make getting a resolution trying.
Southwest Airlines: I'm routinely amazed by the people who criticize SWA as a Cattle Call and primitive. They provide more frills for the same (and often more) money than any other carrier aside from Jet Blue and Continental. But Southwest employees deliver amazing personable service at every touch point. Their luggage handlers and gate employees smile, make jokes and make the horrendous experience know as air travel far more palatable.

Business Week puts Ritz Carlton on their list at number eleven. Ritz incidentally has a new web site that is much more upscale than previous, but leverages a very curious navigation element. It's rank should be higher, but at least it is on the list. They list Lexus at number seven. I concur as the experience has been wonderful as an owner, but I still must insist that any process which forces consumers to feel guilty about not completing and giving high customer service marks on surveys should be eliminated. It is a horrible practice in the automotive space that falsely raises scores and annoys customers. Lexus should know better. And finally, they crown USAA as the crown jewel. I have been a USAA customer for over 30 years. They have an amazing portfolio of services at great rates. Their customer service people are very friendly. However, their claims teams are unresponsive compared to otters I've experienced, they commit to time frames and information that they don't deliver against and they don't consult with the client to reach the best solution, but rather guess at a good solution. I think they've got lots of work to do, but they do answer the phone well. Any truly great service experiences flying under the radar?

Rooting Interest

 
I watched the North Carolina Tarheels fall apart today. I generally despise North Carolina hoops because I'm a Maryland Grad and the Heels are naturally hated. That said, come tournament time I routinely find myself rooting for all ACC teams to attempt to show the world how strong the ACC is when it comes to hoops. Well, out of the gate the ACC showed up strong with 5 wins in the first round. then they all fell - every single one - except the Heels. The Lack 10, Big Least and SuckEC all had several still in the game, but the ACC was down to one. I put my pride on the shelf and became a Heel supporter. I willed shots to go in, lambasted officials and yelled at the television with regularity, especially as they went 1 for 18 down the stretch and lost to a very aggressive Georgetown team with a ton of confidence. My fellow Terp fans should be ashamed at me. I vow never to do it again. I'll support within reason, but not at all cost.

It is a message appropriate in basketball and much more. Unless you've got skin in the game, how far do you need to take something to prove a point? I'm guessing not that far - especially when the point is not that useful to successfully communicate. I see it in business everyday. I see it in politics on the local, national and world stages. I see it among colleagues. It sets a bad tone for long term relationships and it certainly doesn't build character or respect. Carry the torch via the blogosphere - the world will be a better place.

What took you so long?

Resistance in general. It took me about 10 years to embrace the ATM - mostly because of the service fee. It turns out that I'm doing so much commenting in other forums that it just makes sense to have a place where others can inquire and criticize freely. No more shield. I'll try and keep it regular, to the point and interesting - at least to some. Got something you want to know about me, my gig or want to fire back about something you've heard me say around the country - feel free.