This video is just too funny! Part of what I find funniest about it is that I have been "jokingly" trying some of these techniques for years. The check out person at Walmart usually finds it funny as soon as they realize I'm joking. For some reason, lots of business people have become accustomed to being able to negotiate and will get it done. In some cases, it can make some sense to leverage into the future or try to work within a budget, but it can be very frustrating when the negotiation seems to be just "for sport."
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Online Reputation Management
Here's a term that's been thrown around a lot these days. In fact, when I mention to anyone that my company helps with Online Reputation Management, they inevitably quiz me on the topic. What is it? How does it work?
Online Reputation Management is the practice of understanding the buzz about a product, person, or even an offline company. An online reputation is just as often good as it is bad. In fact, true online reputation management is essentially public relations in the digital world of instant communications.
There are lots of similarities to the standard tenets of Public Relations, but many phenomenon have been amplified. "It's been said" and many have learned first hand that one positive comment made from one person to another may impact a sale in a positive way. Offline, that may translate to a 1 to 1 ratio. Online, if the information is "shared" through social media etc., it may create a 4:1 ratio (4 sales to every 1 positive comment) as a result of a "viral spread." The dangerous part is the amplification of the negative feedback loop.
In the offline world, the basic marketing principle is that for every one negative comment, it takes somewhere between 9 and 20 positive comments to overtake that one negative comment. Online, the research is still a bit fuzzy, but it seems like that's been amplified to about 90. It's tough to tell when someone specifically doesn't buy as a result of a negative comment or a poor rating.
Not all ratings and negative comments are created equal. I recently wrote about how other factors can affect negative experiences. Since then, Ive had a few other experiences that have colored my suggestions on the matter. I needed to dispose of an old freezer. I know that freon is a bit of a bio hazard, so I was anticipating a little online research to figure out the best way to dispose of it safely. I searched for "appliances (myhometown) tx" and the result was (of course) a Google map with a list of locations near me. I'd heard of a few, but also noticed that there were 11 reviews for a company I'd seen, but never dealt with before. I read the first 5 star rating and felt good about it. I read the next listing- a one star listed and thought "what an idiot" I also kinda didn't believe that it was true. The next one was a 5 star rating and seemed genuine etc... The point is, people are not idiots and if you're going to rant and rave like a lunatic, it's unlikely you'll actually have a negative impact unless your comment drags down an average star rating. Seriously? Do you NEED to use all caps to get your point across? All Caps=lunatic in my book of online etiquette.
I got into an interesting dialogue with the folks over at advanced appliances and even had to convey the unhappy news that they lost their wonderful domain name and had a few negative comments. They were truly interested in repairing the damage that may have been done. In their case, my suggestion was to find the negative results, see if they can figure out who the customers were, and call and apologize and maybe even give them some money back or something like that. Importantly, I also suggested that they not ask them to remove the negative comment. I suggest not bringing it up at all. Just call because it's raining and you're in the habit of calling previous customers who had complained and you're catching up. the chance is good that they'll either try to remove their comment or may report that the company cared enough to call. Notice, I did NOT say they should lie about where they found the complaint. The customer will know- it's just more important to be genuine about your concern for the customer and their happiness. Everyone screws up sometimes. People realize that and I think it's far better to respond, attempt to repair and leave the negative comment alone.
Other negative experiences have a far better chance of damaging companies when the complaints are well thought out, true, and based on a situation that a customer service Representative has absolutely no ability to control. Small local companies can just be genuine, try harder and try to do more good than bad. Large companies are still not nearly careful enough about their business practices especially in a down economy. They simply haven't adapted and are wondering why their shareholder value has been eroding. I got an e-mail from Brinks Home Security a few days ago to announce their name change to Broadview Security. I can say honestly that I still don't really care why they changed their name. I read the e-mail and figured out it was as a result of what they called their "spin off last fall as a separate publicly traded company." OK really? I don't see any value there as a customer. I liked being a "Brinks" customer. That yard sign was the only reason I'd signed up with them in the first place. In fact, I realized that I hadn't actually been using my alarm very much. Actually- I had reviewed this bill last August and nearly cancelled then.
It may seem fairly obvious where this story is going, but lets just say that the "customer loyalty" guy I spoke to wasn't at all concerned that I don't appreciate a contract that automatically renews for a year at a time. You see- last August, I was thinking about completely eliminating my "home" phone and going cell phone only like most of my high tech friends. My security system was preventing me for doing that. When I explained the situation, the very nice customer loyalty person I'd spoken with told me she'd give me free service for three months while they finished working out their online monitoring technology. I thought that sounded pretty good. Then, in December or January, I realized that my bills had resumed and when I called to learn about this wonderful new technology, I was told it would cost me a bunch of money OR I could sign a new three year contract. Yikes. Come on people really? Apparently they just want customers regardless of the "cost." This very nice customer loyalty person tricked me into an automatic renewal for another year. I'm sure they would say that they were clear about it, but I'm STILL not interested in being their customer. In this case, it's probably a customer service issue. It would have been nice if he'd just said, "Oh wow I can see how it would seem that way. It looks like you got kinda hosed." I wouldn't have minded if he'd even said something like, "We're a pretty big company and sometimes our policies may seem a little strange, but it's a pretty common business practice." Pretty much anything that showed that he cared about the way I felt like I'd been treated.
I truly wish that companies were able to understand that their customers are people and people want to enjoy things, try new products, feel safe, find good services, and all the other things that go along with being a consumer. Most people I know don't want to be tricked or treated poorly. If you're concerned about what to do or what not to do regarding your online reputation, my best advice is to be human first. Then figure out ways to communicate that policy to your customers. It's just the right thing to do.
Online Reputation Management is the practice of understanding the buzz about a product, person, or even an offline company. An online reputation is just as often good as it is bad. In fact, true online reputation management is essentially public relations in the digital world of instant communications.
There are lots of similarities to the standard tenets of Public Relations, but many phenomenon have been amplified. "It's been said" and many have learned first hand that one positive comment made from one person to another may impact a sale in a positive way. Offline, that may translate to a 1 to 1 ratio. Online, if the information is "shared" through social media etc., it may create a 4:1 ratio (4 sales to every 1 positive comment) as a result of a "viral spread." The dangerous part is the amplification of the negative feedback loop.
In the offline world, the basic marketing principle is that for every one negative comment, it takes somewhere between 9 and 20 positive comments to overtake that one negative comment. Online, the research is still a bit fuzzy, but it seems like that's been amplified to about 90. It's tough to tell when someone specifically doesn't buy as a result of a negative comment or a poor rating.
Not all ratings and negative comments are created equal. I recently wrote about how other factors can affect negative experiences. Since then, Ive had a few other experiences that have colored my suggestions on the matter. I needed to dispose of an old freezer. I know that freon is a bit of a bio hazard, so I was anticipating a little online research to figure out the best way to dispose of it safely. I searched for "appliances (myhometown) tx" and the result was (of course) a Google map with a list of locations near me. I'd heard of a few, but also noticed that there were 11 reviews for a company I'd seen, but never dealt with before. I read the first 5 star rating and felt good about it. I read the next listing- a one star listed and thought "what an idiot" I also kinda didn't believe that it was true. The next one was a 5 star rating and seemed genuine etc... The point is, people are not idiots and if you're going to rant and rave like a lunatic, it's unlikely you'll actually have a negative impact unless your comment drags down an average star rating. Seriously? Do you NEED to use all caps to get your point across? All Caps=lunatic in my book of online etiquette.
I got into an interesting dialogue with the folks over at advanced appliances and even had to convey the unhappy news that they lost their wonderful domain name and had a few negative comments. They were truly interested in repairing the damage that may have been done. In their case, my suggestion was to find the negative results, see if they can figure out who the customers were, and call and apologize and maybe even give them some money back or something like that. Importantly, I also suggested that they not ask them to remove the negative comment. I suggest not bringing it up at all. Just call because it's raining and you're in the habit of calling previous customers who had complained and you're catching up. the chance is good that they'll either try to remove their comment or may report that the company cared enough to call. Notice, I did NOT say they should lie about where they found the complaint. The customer will know- it's just more important to be genuine about your concern for the customer and their happiness. Everyone screws up sometimes. People realize that and I think it's far better to respond, attempt to repair and leave the negative comment alone.
Other negative experiences have a far better chance of damaging companies when the complaints are well thought out, true, and based on a situation that a customer service Representative has absolutely no ability to control. Small local companies can just be genuine, try harder and try to do more good than bad. Large companies are still not nearly careful enough about their business practices especially in a down economy. They simply haven't adapted and are wondering why their shareholder value has been eroding. I got an e-mail from Brinks Home Security a few days ago to announce their name change to Broadview Security. I can say honestly that I still don't really care why they changed their name. I read the e-mail and figured out it was as a result of what they called their "spin off last fall as a separate publicly traded company." OK really? I don't see any value there as a customer. I liked being a "Brinks" customer. That yard sign was the only reason I'd signed up with them in the first place. In fact, I realized that I hadn't actually been using my alarm very much. Actually- I had reviewed this bill last August and nearly cancelled then.
It may seem fairly obvious where this story is going, but lets just say that the "customer loyalty" guy I spoke to wasn't at all concerned that I don't appreciate a contract that automatically renews for a year at a time. You see- last August, I was thinking about completely eliminating my "home" phone and going cell phone only like most of my high tech friends. My security system was preventing me for doing that. When I explained the situation, the very nice customer loyalty person I'd spoken with told me she'd give me free service for three months while they finished working out their online monitoring technology. I thought that sounded pretty good. Then, in December or January, I realized that my bills had resumed and when I called to learn about this wonderful new technology, I was told it would cost me a bunch of money OR I could sign a new three year contract. Yikes. Come on people really? Apparently they just want customers regardless of the "cost." This very nice customer loyalty person tricked me into an automatic renewal for another year. I'm sure they would say that they were clear about it, but I'm STILL not interested in being their customer. In this case, it's probably a customer service issue. It would have been nice if he'd just said, "Oh wow I can see how it would seem that way. It looks like you got kinda hosed." I wouldn't have minded if he'd even said something like, "We're a pretty big company and sometimes our policies may seem a little strange, but it's a pretty common business practice." Pretty much anything that showed that he cared about the way I felt like I'd been treated.
I truly wish that companies were able to understand that their customers are people and people want to enjoy things, try new products, feel safe, find good services, and all the other things that go along with being a consumer. Most people I know don't want to be tricked or treated poorly. If you're concerned about what to do or what not to do regarding your online reputation, my best advice is to be human first. Then figure out ways to communicate that policy to your customers. It's just the right thing to do.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Action Oriented Metrics
Here's another post encouraging practicality as you endevour to measure your interactive activities. I've already written a few times about the benefits of finding and tracking your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). I'd like to focus on the basic ideas behind KPIs and a little more about what they are nd what they are not.
Yesterday, I attended a lunch meeting hosted by the Houston Interactive Marketing Association. Scott Berg from HP gave a presentation titled The "Big Bang" of Consumer and Business Marketing Interestingly, there were alot of similarities between the concepts he was presenting and the table conversation prior to the presentation. Scott hit a few points over and over again. He emphasized how important search is and how it ties the rest of your online activities together and he said a few times that some metrics like "time on site" are not very valuable metrics to look at. I immediately realized that I'd spend about an hour on Verizon's site as I was trying to use it to download a new driver for my wireless card and then diagnose the trouble I was having. I truly would have preferred to have spent LESS time on their site the other day. If you are one that considers a long time on site to be a good KPI, I would encourage you to carefully consider that metric. Ironically, I've mentioned previously that Time on Site CAN be a good KPI. That's true- it may be a good KPI especially with a lack of other metrics.
Scott says that he has asked colleagues at HP to explain to him what he can learn from a number like time on site. In HP's case, it's possible that they may be interested in tracking time on site on their support pages in an attempt to reduce the average whereas they may want their time of site to remain stable on their product related pages.
However, if you are a publisher, time on site may be valuable to understand "engagement." If you are attempting to sell banner ads, you may be most interested in the time on site and the number of pages per visitor. You'll likely be interested in the ratio between the two and hope that they both grow over time.
The question still remains. What can you learn from a number like time on site? What can DO with that number? For that matter, what can you DO with any KPI? The idea of action oriented metrics is typically a tricky one. It requires exploring your data to look for changes that may be clues to things that are going well or things that are not going as well as they were or as well as you'd like.
KPI's are only as good as your ability to act on them. There are some numbers that will change over time inexplicably and there may be absolutely nothing you can do about it. That's very frustrating to a marketer. The big trick is to figure out the answer to that bigger question. What are my action oriented metrics? What can I DO with all these numbers?
I had the pleasure of working with lots of really smart people in my career. One of the smartest and most influential was certainly John Marshall the former CEO of ClickTracks (now Lyris). He was passionate about lots of things. Everyone in the company knew full well how much he disliked pie charts- especially 3d pie charts. We all also understood how much he disliked the concept of a dashboard. His point is very applicable to this topic. Consider the very thing that an analytics dashboard is typically modelled after. How often do you look at the dashboard of your car? When you first get your car, you need to figure out what each "metric" is and why it is valuable to you. Then- once you start driving, it's pretty typical to only glance down at it from time to time but especially when you see a cop. Perhaps you could liken that to a suprise visit from your boss who walks into your office to find out why your online sales are down. The fuel guage becomes important once the little yellow light comes on. The point is that some of the data provided on the dashboard of your car provide you with actionable data. You know exactly what to do with it when you see it. If you have an analytics dashboard, do you have any idea what to do with the data when it changes? Where is the accelerator for your website? Perhaps that's your paid search campaign that needs more budget or a tweek of the keywords you are buying. Maybe you need to consider a special offer to repeat customers along with a way to promote it to them? Or perhaps the number of visitors to your website means absolutely nothing to you and there is simply nothing that needs to be done about it.
Ok great. So now how do you find your action oriented metrics? I suggest you think like your customer. Go to your website as a potential customer. Have a few people who have never been to your site do the same thing. Does it work in the ways that you would expect? Perhaps you have a sales funnel that you can articulate in your analytics package. If you've recently changed anything, verify that it's working the way you expect. Think about your website and the experience your customer is likely to desire. To borrow a concept from Scott Berg, think of your site as an ecosystem. What metrics are important in YOUR ecosystem? Find your baseline and your benchmarks and you're likely to discover your action oriented metrics in that process.
Yesterday, I attended a lunch meeting hosted by the Houston Interactive Marketing Association. Scott Berg from HP gave a presentation titled The "Big Bang" of Consumer and Business Marketing Interestingly, there were alot of similarities between the concepts he was presenting and the table conversation prior to the presentation. Scott hit a few points over and over again. He emphasized how important search is and how it ties the rest of your online activities together and he said a few times that some metrics like "time on site" are not very valuable metrics to look at. I immediately realized that I'd spend about an hour on Verizon's site as I was trying to use it to download a new driver for my wireless card and then diagnose the trouble I was having. I truly would have preferred to have spent LESS time on their site the other day. If you are one that considers a long time on site to be a good KPI, I would encourage you to carefully consider that metric. Ironically, I've mentioned previously that Time on Site CAN be a good KPI. That's true- it may be a good KPI especially with a lack of other metrics.
Scott says that he has asked colleagues at HP to explain to him what he can learn from a number like time on site. In HP's case, it's possible that they may be interested in tracking time on site on their support pages in an attempt to reduce the average whereas they may want their time of site to remain stable on their product related pages.
However, if you are a publisher, time on site may be valuable to understand "engagement." If you are attempting to sell banner ads, you may be most interested in the time on site and the number of pages per visitor. You'll likely be interested in the ratio between the two and hope that they both grow over time.
The question still remains. What can you learn from a number like time on site? What can DO with that number? For that matter, what can you DO with any KPI? The idea of action oriented metrics is typically a tricky one. It requires exploring your data to look for changes that may be clues to things that are going well or things that are not going as well as they were or as well as you'd like.
KPI's are only as good as your ability to act on them. There are some numbers that will change over time inexplicably and there may be absolutely nothing you can do about it. That's very frustrating to a marketer. The big trick is to figure out the answer to that bigger question. What are my action oriented metrics? What can I DO with all these numbers?
I had the pleasure of working with lots of really smart people in my career. One of the smartest and most influential was certainly John Marshall the former CEO of ClickTracks (now Lyris). He was passionate about lots of things. Everyone in the company knew full well how much he disliked pie charts- especially 3d pie charts. We all also understood how much he disliked the concept of a dashboard. His point is very applicable to this topic. Consider the very thing that an analytics dashboard is typically modelled after. How often do you look at the dashboard of your car? When you first get your car, you need to figure out what each "metric" is and why it is valuable to you. Then- once you start driving, it's pretty typical to only glance down at it from time to time but especially when you see a cop. Perhaps you could liken that to a suprise visit from your boss who walks into your office to find out why your online sales are down. The fuel guage becomes important once the little yellow light comes on. The point is that some of the data provided on the dashboard of your car provide you with actionable data. You know exactly what to do with it when you see it. If you have an analytics dashboard, do you have any idea what to do with the data when it changes? Where is the accelerator for your website? Perhaps that's your paid search campaign that needs more budget or a tweek of the keywords you are buying. Maybe you need to consider a special offer to repeat customers along with a way to promote it to them? Or perhaps the number of visitors to your website means absolutely nothing to you and there is simply nothing that needs to be done about it.
Ok great. So now how do you find your action oriented metrics? I suggest you think like your customer. Go to your website as a potential customer. Have a few people who have never been to your site do the same thing. Does it work in the ways that you would expect? Perhaps you have a sales funnel that you can articulate in your analytics package. If you've recently changed anything, verify that it's working the way you expect. Think about your website and the experience your customer is likely to desire. To borrow a concept from Scott Berg, think of your site as an ecosystem. What metrics are important in YOUR ecosystem? Find your baseline and your benchmarks and you're likely to discover your action oriented metrics in that process.
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