August 16, 2007
06:57 am | 0 recommendations | 14 comments
They claim they are the country’s largest provider of cable services – and one of the leading communication companies. They say they’re focused on broadband cable, commerce, and content. They deliver digital services, provide faster Internet and clearer broadband phone service, and develop and deliver innovative programming.
Those are the first paragraphs of the about section on Comcast’s Web site -- they assume of course that we know which country we’re talking about. Since this is a post I file under innovation, I thought it useful to take a look and the current customer conversations with the company.
Note that there is no mention of customers; the focus is broadband cable, commerce, and content. In a presentation at a monthly meeting of the American Marketing Association, a Vice President representing the corporation bragged about their rise in subscription rate for Internet broadband service. That is fantastic until you figure out that in many areas, such as my home, you cannot buy anything else besides dial up.
As we continue reading the about page, we look at the future:
As Comcast evolves, we continue to look to the future - seeking out new communications technology, new opportunities, and more choices. We want to continue to provide people with the communications products and services that connect them to what’s important in their lives.
What’s important in my life? How about my name? Can you spell that right? How about my address? Can you get that corrected?
I signed up with Comcast a little over two months ago after dealing with a dial up connection that had gotten ridiculous in the light of all the work I do online. So I called the new customer phone number ready to buy the Internet broadband service.
The first call was kind of strange. They asked me a lot of questions and tried to sell me cable TV (I never watch TV) and phone service (I used my mobile phone) in a convenient bundle at an incredibly low price of under $100 per month for the initial offer. I wanted just the Internet connection so I was switched back and forth and had to call back to start over.
On my second call I asked about their business packages. The representative I talked to insisted that she needed to transfer me to another person. Some elevator music and I am back on the phone with what seems a completely different company. This service representative has a name; she introduces herself and asks me for my information all over again. Apparently none of what I had dictated to the other person was kept anywhere on a system. I wondered briefly why I spent the good part of 15 minutes giving the information.
After getting that part out of the way, we proceed to talk about my connection. It took me a while to convince the rep. that I did not have cable TV in my home. The next step then became having a survey to determine is my property is eligible for a hook up. Then we talk about pricing. No wonder this seemed another company.
For the pleasure of learning the name of the service representative – that would be $95 per month, plus a one time $250 fee to hook me up, $125 if I sign a 2 year contract. Compare that to the $19.99 plus tax for the first six months on the home service, then $57.95 per month. Amortizing the cost of the hook up for the first year, my cost would be $115 just for Internet broadband, almost double the home rate after the promotional period.
“Essentially,” I said to Dee, “what I buy is insurance in service interruption, right?” The business line advertises 24/7 support and prompt service. She responds, “Yes, with the business class service we help you get back online…,” then she catches herself and adds, “not that we wouldn’t with the home service. It’s only going to take a lot longer.”
My decision ends up on the home service side so I get passed back onto yet another service representative who starts the process all over again. A survey is promised and a few days later someone calls me to say we’re ready to install so we make an appointment for a technician to come on a Saturday between 1 and 4PM and hook me up.
Saturday comes and the technician is reasonably late. He takes a look at my system and says he cannot hook me up. The line needs to be brought to the house. Eyes are now rolling all around – he too knows what’s going on. He kindly volunteers to call it in (he knows whom to call) and he sets the appointment for the connection for me.
The day comes, the connection is hooked up, and I finally log on. Then I get my first bill to “Zalley Maltoni” – who is Zalley? How do you get from a spelled (4 times, mind you) Valeria to Zalley? I send the check in with the correction on the payment slip. While I’m at it, I also correct the address as I had specified I receive my bills at the PO Box. I feel extra generous after looking at my print handwriting and staple a business card.
I get the second bill – nothing has changed, I am still Zalley. Maybe they did not catch it. It’s not like my orange card stapled on top of the address would be noticed. I repeat the exercise. Last night I got my third invoice, guess what? I am still Zalley.
Clearly, just like the service reps who were supposed to put in the call for the survey before the hook up thought it was not their job to make sure it happened, the people processing the invoices and checks at Comcast think it’s not their job to make the correction.
Today, they’re the country’s largest provider of cable services - and one of the world’s leading communications companies. How did they get so large? They have a lot of customers and little competition. As for leading communications, I would beg to differ.
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • www.conversationagent.com
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August 9, 2007
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Whether you are in the Apple camp or not, one thing is clear, Mr. Jobs knows how to seduce customers. The company delivers on brand experience – it appeals to the senses, creates customer intimacy, and makes great use of mystery. In fact, it is safe to say that Apple as a brand has long moved to lovemark.
Steve Jobs recently announced the unveiling of the new iMacs -- just in time for school. Apparently the biggest surprise among those he managed to spring upon us was that yes, there is going to be a new iMac. And it doesn’t look like your old one, at least not entirely. Out with the old and in with the new -- a wafer-thin keyboard with a brush metallic look and several new function keys and glossy-coated LCD displays are among the changes.
The biggest strength and buzz building factor in the whole Apple mystique is indeed the masterful way in which Mr. Jobs manages to pull one off every single time he makes an announcement -- even when some of the information is leaked as has happened. Add to that the fact that these are not really tools, they are objects of desire and throw in the knowledge that the operating system that supports them is far superior to ordinary PCs and you’ve got a winner among consumers.
I posted the question on whether to stay with a Windows-based PC or switch to a Mac on my blog not long ago and received the most passionate comments and tips I have seen on a topic in a while. A thread common to the tenor of those comments was indeed that Apple has a superior customer support team – capable, willing, and eager to help. Could it be because they are proud of working at the company?
Maybe there is also a different disposition on the customer end. Given the level of evangelism that Apple users engage in, they move more quickly from distress at needing technical help to delight at talking with well informed service reps. Perhaps this is one of those cases where operating in a controlled environment is a good thing.
When we take a look at what’s new with Apple’s iMac one piece of information jumps out at me, which according to an FAQs by Computer World , Mr. Jobs did not even mention –
The top-of-the-line configuration, a 24-in. unit for $2,299, comes standard with an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor running at 2.8 GHz. That chip, so new it's not even discussed on Intel Corp.'s own Web site, debuts on Apple's platform.
Not even discusses on Intel’s Web site; in other words, an exclusive for Apple customers. If we rewind a couple of months to the unveiling of the iPhone, there was an exclusive there too – AT&T signed an agreement with Apple to provide the functionality the company wanted, not the other way around. As a customer all I can do is bow at the brilliance of someone showing me they are working on giving me the red carpet treatment.
Clearly, either the Apple product is superior, or everyone is drinking the Kool-Aid. There is a lesson here too – make a great product that people want to have and they will be willing to pay more for it. On top of that, they will also help you sell it to all their friends and colleagues.
When was the last time you actually looked forward to buying a computer at a store? As for my question: Mac or Windows? It’s going to be Mac. Want to share your Apple seduction story?
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • www.conversationagent.com
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August 2, 2007
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In other words, are you building relationship with your customers -- or just milking them? As reported in the Daily Telegraph (Australia), Paris Hilton lost her inheritance. The embarrassment that Paris brought her paternal grandfather led to his decision not to share his wealth with someone who has not earned it.
We all know who Paris Hilton is. Barron Hilton was also an heir. He took the reigns of the Hilton Hotel chain as President in 1966, and was responsible for getting Hilton Hotels into the lucrative gambling business in 1970. When Barron's father died nine years later, leaving the bulk of his estate to the Church and other charities, and almost nothing to his children, Barron contested the will. His lifelong career of working to build the hotel company won him the lawsuit in 1988.
What can we learn from the two?
The Hilton’s brand promise is that you will feel at home wherever you travel – with the best brands, as in well respected and known; best choices, as in being able to pick from a range of properties; and the best reach with 2,300 hotels in all 50 states, Canada and Mexico.
Paris is also well traveled. If you blog her name, you will come up with the most cohesive list of brand attributes I have seen in a while – sex appeal, shenanigans, and gossip. While the one was building, she was busy using.
If we carry the principles over to customer service and relationships, then we have two separate lists:
You are building when you:
- invest in infrastructure.
- spend your time developing standards of performance for you, not your customers.
- look at long term gains, not just quarterly profits.
- execute flawlessly with unwavering excellence.
On the other hand, you are milking when:
- the conversation is about you, not your customer's needs.
- your primary metric of success is extracting value from your customer.
- you look at what you can get out of them today.
- your execution is mostly for show.
As you think about the way you conduct your business, run a small audit and see whether you are building those relationships or you are simply milking them. Milking is great for ending up on the first page of tabloids, is that what you really want?
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • www.conversationagent.com
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July 26, 2007
08:40 am | 0 recommendations | 4 comments
Does Advertising Age taking over Todd And’ Power 150 represent a coming of age of the blogosphere or just more advertising? The blogosphere has always had its lists – Top 10 reasons Why, 5 Ways to, 3 Tips for and The Power 150 marketing blogs. And everybody loves them. That’s why they are so popular.
The delightful subjectivity of these kinds of lists is one of the things that differentiates blogs from commercial publications like Advertising Age.
This list was born as the grassroots’ effort of Todd And with the help of a few dedicated and passionate volunteers. Todd and the people who supported this effort for so many months should be congratulated for the attention the list has received.
Ad Age’s announcement of their affiliation with The Power 150 highlights one of the difficulties of corporate entry into the world of blogging. Ad Age is a highly influential and respected professional publication and the addition of their imprimatur to The Power 150 grants an aura of authority that is in one way counter to the spirit of its foundation.
According to Jonah Bloom, Editor of Advertising Age, the publication will use The Power 150 as the main editorial benchmark when referencing blogs in print and online.
By anyone’s estimation lists such as Todd’s are entirely subjective. Of the four metrics which determine a blog’s ranking within The Power 150, three are based on the number of readers or the number of times a blog is mentioned by other blogs. But the secret sauce is Todd’s opinion of the rated blogs. That admittedly subjective metric that makes up 25% of the score may be the difference between being in the middle of the list or not being in the top 150 at all.
Though it’s not Ad Age’s intent, their authority essentially marginalizes those blogs that are not on The Power 150. And there are hundreds of worthy marketing blogs out there. So many, that Todd expanded the original list of 150 to 350. How will the blogosphere react to this marginalization? Probably in the way the blogosphere always does -- with more lists.
Will this dilute the power of The Power 150 and thus dilute the value of Ad Age’s foray into the blogosphere? Only time will tell. But it highlights the complexity of corporate America’s entry into an environment where subjectivity is actually a good thing.
The customers of the blogosphere are the readers and the bloggers themselves. They may react in ways the corporations do not expect.
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • www.conversationagent.com
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July 19, 2007
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It started as a kind gesture. It has become the ultimate party. To the children lining up to wait for the sales of the last installment of Harry Potter magic the bookstores’ opening doors at midnight on Saturday (July 21) represent a portal to a new world. What changed an occasion to the ultimate event was just plain good customer service.
The story opens with several children huddling at the front of bookstores for the release of one of the earlier books from the Potter series. And the bookstore staff reaching out into the parking lot or walkway with snacks and improvised entertainment. The distance was covered by the ingenuity and creativity of both – customers and sales staff.
This imminent launch will be preceded by full scale book parties, handmade costume contests, card games, Potter trivia and even kids’ section filled with multimedia entertainment. Music, costumes, train rides, and themed experiences. Included in some of the free parties are magicians, fortune-tellers, face painters and a story teller. And you still need to preorder the book.
According to WashingtonPost.com, Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. book retailer, said earlier in the month that preorders of the last book in the series rose to more than 1.2 million; the company’s largest number of preorders the company has ever received.
Amazon.com said it sold 2 million copies of the book worldwide. Scholastic Corp., the U.S. publisher of the series, is planning to release a record-breaking 12 million copies of Deathly Hallows.
According to The Australian, the estimated number of copies that will be sold down under on the first day is 75,000. In Britain, Rowling will host a midnight launch under the shadow of dinosaur skeletons in the British Museum of Natural History for 500 specially selected fans.
If customer service made the night, as it may be, did marketing make the day? Did all the publicity of the movies, the toys and games, the tie-ins, and wonderful word of mouth generated by the events, inspire children (and adults) to read?
Did the spirit and magic of the Harry Potter’s journey build enough momentum to save the idea that building fun and dialogue with customers is good for the heart and good for business?
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • www.conversationagent.com
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July 12, 2007
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This is a question we have all asked ourselves inside organizations for years. Is it marketing? Maybe it’s the sales group? Or do you think it’s the customer service people? The answer has been staring at us in the face the whole time: nobody does, they own themselves.
Like all obvious statements, this may smack a bit simplistic. Yet, common sense tends not to be that common. I cannot take the credit for this insight all by myself. It was a question I asked on my blog that prompted a marketer with customer service focus to respond (thanks, Becky).
Maybe the problem and answer are lumped together -- if nobody owns the customer, then the whole company does, in a manner of speaking. If you’ve worked inside an organization, you will know that generally sales reps are very jealous of their customers and sometimes it is difficult to have a company wide conversation with them. Multiple touch points can actually be a good thing.
How can companies make sure they provide support and service to their customers from the departments that can provide that assistance? I think that the top echelon of organizations should be paying attention and be held accountable for customer relationships. The visit shouldn’t be just a routine, run of the mill, perfunctory trip. It should be an opportunity to sit down and speak frankly about what lies ahead, together.
When I met the President of NetApp, Tom Mendoza, I was deeply impressed by his presence and warmth. The company’s customers and partners were too – they came from a distance (some) and made time to attend a non company sponsored event with our group just to hear him speak (a snippet here) about NetApp’s work and be inspired. I was; you would have been as well.
How can companies executive teams get in touch again with their customers and the issues they are facing? Why aren’t executive teams aware of how important that is?
Would it come as a shock to you to find out that the most highly paid corporate people do not know the costs of doing business inside and outside their organization? An online survey conducted by Strativity Group, Inc., a consulting company based in Parsippany, NJ, reports that over 300 executives:
81% do not know the cost of a customer complaint
75% do not know the cost of acquiring a new customer
60% claim they do not deserve their customers’ loyalty
51% claim their company does not deliver unique and beneficial products or services
50% do not know their organization’s annual customer retention rates
Those executives also acknowledged that they knew they had some homework to do. I promise you that Mr. Mendoza knows those answers, as he knows the names of many of his customers and employees.
Your customers own themselves. Who owns the accountability for forging and strengthening relationships with them in your organization?
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • ConversationAgent@gmail.com • www.conversationagent.com
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July 5, 2007
08:23 am | 0 recommendations | 4 comments
It’s no secret that when the time comes to evaluate your customer service, the finger pointing begins – and all fingers point suspiciously somewhere else. Let’s be courageous and look at the Top 10 reasons why customer service fails:
1. You’re doing all the talking – my grandmother used to say: “we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. They are meant to be used proportionally.”
2. You are not doing anything about it – you don’t follow through with the feedback you request.
3. Your customer service reps don’t have the power to help – you are putting the most junior and least supported staff up front.
4. You have no idea of the cost to you of losing customers – if you were paying attention, you would know that good service means you retain more customers. Acquiring new customers costs more.
5. You see customer service as a cost, not a benefit – when you look at your department as overhead, you tend to under fund it and under staff it.
6. You are not keeping your brand promises – it does you no good to spend millions in advertising when customers find you difficult to deal with. A good experience is one of the best investments in your brand.
7. Your product needs help, start there – it is quite natural to think that your baby: your product or service is the best. Well, it may not be and that’s where you need to start helping customers, by providing a better one.
8. You did not notice the problem, so you’re behind on fixing it – this is how crisis get started.
9. You don’t have customer service – nobody is assigned to it, nobody owns it.
10. You don’t’ listen to your customer service reps – they know what’s going on and they would tell you.
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • ConversationAgent@gmail.com • www.conversationagent.com
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June 28, 2007
10:00 am | 0 recommendations | 1 comment
Why do companies continue to spend so much money on signing up new customers and pay little to no attention to acquired customers? Existing customers want long term relationships and attention, yet companies insist on focusing their efforts in finding new customers.
Companies are rational, logical, and analytical. Customers are (or they seem to be) irrational, emotional, and conceptual. Companies want proof, measure, and surveys. Customers want to be delighted, feel important, and count. Companies are from Mars, customers are from Venus.
The approach, if you look at it this way, is quite different. A company seeks to be linear and left-brained, even when it talks about relationships. Think about customer relationship management (CRM). When was the last time you tried to manage your relationships at home that way? Did it work?
A customer wants to feel appreciated and loved. Not so much as in “we appreciate your business”, or “how may I help you?” -- both of which sound quite empty when not followed up by relevant action. We want to feel the service.
Company Think: Now that I have “x” customers, to grow I need to find more people to buy my services. How do I do that? I offer new low prices to people as an incentive to sign up for the first time. Want an example? I’ve been a member of AAA Plus for fifteen years now and my rates keep going up at a nice steady clip. Yet, every single year, I also receive an offer from the AAA marketing department with a very appealing discount to start a new membership.
Customer Think: I have been loyal to this company for “x” years and used its services on several occasions. Each time I receive the monthly bill or the yearly renewal information, it would be nice if the company recognized my loyalty with a personalized discount (read = appropriate for the services I used), or a nice letter of thanks at a minimum, especially on an anniversary like five, ten, fifteen years. Instead, what do I get? Often it is a request to buy more. To add insult to that, a ‘new customer’ communication that shows me how much less I could spend if I joined today is in my mailbox at renewal time.
In the AAA example, I even sent a nice letter to the President of our local AAA membership organization to offer some advice. Here’s what I wrote:
As a marketing and communications professional, I am constantly amazed at how companies always choose to entice new customers with rewards while increasing premiums for acquired customers. Hundreds of books are published every year on good customer service practices. I’d like to refer you to Creating Customer Evangelists by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. It is interesting reading.
Hundreds of books, hundreds of blog posts and case studies with tips and requests and still – companies insist on coming from Mars, while their customers are more from Venus.
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • ConversationAgent@gmail.com • www.conversationagent.com
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June 21, 2007
08:39 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
If it is true that relationships are the new marketing, then customer service is way up there in term of importance. Thanks to an array of more affordable technology, individuals who have access to tools are now able to participate in and drive where business is going next.
This is part of the conversation that is taking place at the 2007 Supernova conference, June 20-22 in San Francisco. As Kevin Werbach says at the Conversation Hub
the basic concept is simple. Networks are central to everything significant in technology today. There are physical networks (the Internet, the telephone system, wireless links), virtual communications networks (Skype, Fon), social networks (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn), advertiser networks (Google AdSense), information networks (Digg, Craigslist, Wikipedia), and video content networks (YouTube, Joost), to name just a few. Not to mention networks of organizations, of systems, and of people (like the Supernova community itself).
So if our work of the future looks more like a way of life in times past – communities and networks (which include virtual) where individuals seek a higher level of interaction – what does the new customer service look like?
Will the network service itself? Satisfaction thinks so. They are launching their first service community as we speak. I like the virtual component of this conversation, it supports greater diversity and potentially faster integration of many of the tools we know and use today.
Is the self service nature of business going a bit too far or not far enough? For example, I was at an IKEA store the other day and noticed that they have now installed many do it yourself cash registers. In fact, at the time I made my purchases, only one cash register was manned. This used to look new and interesting in supermarkets and home building materials superstores. I’ve now noticed that people tend to use them less.
At that point do these self help tools gain a utility beyond just convenience to become examples of how to do things differently? For example, should we be able to create our own products and grocery lists off screens as we enter the store? What would happen if everyone ordered this way? Would stores be able to stock only what is needed? A kind of on demand purchasing, just like technology.
What would happen to marketing and brands then? Would we stop making packaging so redundant because it now doesn’t double as in store advertising? If we didn’t have to stock shelves in a physical store, then could we divert some of the energy and care to servicing customers?
On the other hand, if the network takes care of itself, where do companies fit in? I think that companies now face a choice – they can either continue to cut back or they can reverse the trend and decide to validate their customers’ purchases. In my example at IKEA it would have been nice to have had someone at the cash register say something like, “those candles look very nice with the holders you picked!”
Is the lack of contact and conversation equivalent to leaving the loop and the network open?
What’s your experience? Do you want more human contact or do you prefer to transact your business by yourself? Do you prefer both under different circumstances?
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • ConversationAgent@gmail.com • www.conversationagent.com
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June 14, 2007
08:59 am | 0 recommendations | 2 comments
Imagine you’re lying on the ground not knowing how you got there. Think what it would be like to have your life choked out of you. How are you feeling? Wouldn’t you want someone to come to your rescue? Customer feedback can and often does rescue you. Let’s take a look at how.
If you’ve taken a CPR class, you’ll know that the steps you should take at the first hint of an emergency are check -- the scene for safety and the person for consciousness – call, and care. You will probably also know that when you are checking the person, you ask a series of questions. These questions can help you determine what is wrong so that the appropriate care can be given by the emergency personnel. If the person is not conscious, well, there are reasonable things one can do to assist while help is on its way.
In Pennsylvania, the Good Samaritan Act protects people with a current First Aid card from liability. The purpose of CPR is to provide basic care after getting the consent of a conscious person. So you state your name, tell the person you are trained in first aid, ask them if you can help, explain what you think may be wrong, and explain what you plan to do.
This is the procedure and then there are techniques that everyone with a first aid card needs to learn and practice. Are you with me so far? Now how about thinking of customer feedback as CPR? It’s not as big of a stretch as you might believe.
Customers may be calling in not only to receive support; they are also often calling you to provide useful information. If your product or service is not working, you want to know right this minute, while something can still be done to restore the confidence in your service. And you can actually use that feedback as an opportunity to get an honest conversation going.
So here’s what you want to do from a customer service line:
- State your name with clarity
- Tell the customer you are trained in support and service
- Ask specifically what you can do to assist
- Explain what you think may be needed
- Explain exactly what *you* plan to do about it
This opening list looks quite simple to follow, so stay with me (no pun intended). The information that your customer is going to give you may be mundane, yet if you take it seriously it can save your job. Why? She is going to begin to trust that you are going to do the right thing, and she might throw in some more feedback for good measure.
The fact that she called is already a form of feedback, if you’re listening and logging in the information. Now if you want more, learn to take it. Still all those voices inside your head that say your business is doing just fine, that you don’t need the help of one person. Did you know that most victims’ first reaction to something being wrong is denial?
This one person, and all the others who call you, can provide the life support your company needs to grow. Feedback is an essential part of business, and it can be a much needed first aid when things are beginning to go not so well. Take it as a gift, learn to capture it and listen to it with an open mind.
Don’t wait for the marketplace to tell you what your customers are telling you today. By then, it might be too late.
Valeria Maltoni • Conversation Agent • Philadelphia, PA • ConversationAgent@gmail.com • www.conversationagent.com
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