Category Archives: Customer Engagement Strategy

Though tech makes media experience perfect, the story of imperfection gains popularity

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Modern Family, The Mindy Kalling Show, Steve Buscemi…

While technology is making our experience increasingly perfect something is also happening beneath our pristine plasma screens. We’re seeing more scripts about imperfection. We’re getting close to putting the actual imperfect “reality” into media.

As a result of an increasingly transparent world thanks to social media, the fabric of our culture is shifting. With reality shows and social media, we’re seeing less of a focus on being perfect, and more of a focus on what it is to be human–what it is to be imperfect.


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Modern Family’s script is based on three very quirky and flawed couples and the everyday nuttyness of their lives–and we can relate. It’s a breath of fresh air to finally see imperfect people on television.

Perfect For the Holidays

Because it’s the holiday season I’ve been contemplating imperfection. Many of us throw parties and try to make everything perfect just like in the magazines–perfect food, perfectly clean house, perfect clothes, perfect place settings….perfect perfect perfect.

I’m pretty sure human beings are the only species that does this. And for years we’ve bought the lie that perfect is attainable. We’ve knowingly bought products we know will not make us perfect, but we believe they will.

Let’s look at this quote from branding author Martin Lindstrom in a Fast Company Article where he talks about why imperfection is an ideal to embrace:

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not asking the ad agencies to focus on the negative aspects of a brand. What I’m suggesting is to show how life really looks. Babies do not stay clean when eating their pureed food, and apples are never all the exact shape and size and color. Messages portraying perfection are not trustworthy. No one actually believes them. We don’t believe candidates applying for jobs who claim they do everything perfectly. We don’t believe the person we sit beside at a dinner party who tells us everything in their life is just perfect. So why should we believe in perfect brands? We don’t. So it’s about time advertising changes their tune and strives for a little imperfection.

Martin is right. Brands need to catch on that the days of aspiring to perfection are coming to a close. Why are we still seeing so much perfection in advertising when this in no way relates to real life? I will buy from brands who speak to me–and that narrative is one of humor, of resilience, and of imperfection.

 

FOWTOGS and Other Thoughts On Getting Customer Feedback

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Lately I’ve noticed a lot of what I will call  fowtogs.

It stands for fear.of.what.the.other.guy.says.

Feedback can be scary. It’s never fun to hear that what you are pouring your blood sweat and tears into isn’t working–or that it’s or ugly, dysfunctional or broken.

However, if you indeed are pouring blood, sweat and tears–it seems counter-intuitive that you wouldn’t want to hear what will get you to your goal easier, faster, better….

Someone’s seeming insensitive criticism could provide you with the “the golden ticket,” “the missing link,” “the missing ingredient” etc etc.

Business isn’t a lottery. Rarely does anyone get lucky or win. But the clever ones get help–and more importantly they ask for feedback. Their desire to “win” is stronger than their fowtogs.


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Did You Know Your Customers Call You “Whole Paycheck?”

We know that the popular health food grocer Whole Foods feels like any foodie’s palace.

Upon entering the store you feast your eyes on elegant chocolates and gorgeous cheese displays. The smells of indian spices waft into your nose from the exotic buffets or perhaps you drift over to the fish market where an immense fresh catch is artfully displayed across streams of ice.

The impressive meat and poultry sections are both something any chef or modest cook write home about. Once your eyes are satiated you head to one of the handful of in-house cafes–or the beauty and health store. Whole Foods is the land of plenty, offering what feels like a limitless and never-browning supply of produce—everything you want if you are vegan, vegetarian or strict gluten-free dieter.

Of course I’m skeptical.

When I lived in New York I understood the value of Whole Foods in Union Square. It was where you went to get glimpses of the beautiful people–starlets shopping for chic-peas or famous musicians grabbing a shot of grass.

But in Lake Merritt, my charming, humble and up-and coming neighborhood I call home–it’s hard for me to believe people want to pay the extra seven dollars for a small vat for cherries.

While Lake Merritt has nice high rises and local businesses like Kaiser Permanente, I don’t understand the pricing. And apparently neither do the Whole Foods workers who are known to shop at Trader Joe’s (I spot them there–the Trader Joe’s check-out people notice as well).

Stick To Your Roots

The only thing I want from the grocery store, is essentially good, fresh and affordable groceries. I don’t want frills. That’s why I prepare food at home.

I wonder if Whole Foods ever asks their customers what they really want. If you are Whole Foods and you are reading this blog, I would love to see your customer feedback surveys–especially around the topic of price and value.

From what I’ve learned it seems that it costs Whole Foods a lot of money to pay off their energy bills–and I’m sure it takes its toll on the environment as well (for all who shop at Whole Foods for sustainable food).

TJ’s: No Nonsense, Just Affordable Good Quality Groceries

Trader Joe’s employees–bedecked in Hawaiian shirts (yes I just used the word “bedecked”)– appear to pride themselves on being unpretentious. The staff appear to be happy, hard-working, customer-focused and proud. The one luxury is the fact that the food is good and affordable.

Today as I chatted with the Trader Joe’s clerk–she told me the store doesn’t keep the beer cold because of the overhead cost. I laughed with her that if Whole Foods surveyed its customers, I am pretty sure they would prefer more affordable food over cold beer.

The best thing Whole Foods has going is its sheer size and location.

No matter if you are Whole Foods, or a cherry stand on the I5, it’s critical to ask for feedback. If you understand what motivates your customers [insert another word like "audience"], you are at a major advantage–mostly because most people don’t seem to know….

The only reason not to ask is out of fear of rejection, or fear of having to change. But when it’s having to change your business model, or going out of business, I would say change is pretty attractive.

I would like to think I’m the cobbler with shoes because I actually have coaches. I have mentors. I have people who I go to for feedback.

Thank God.

It’s critical that we always get feedback, in order to improve–whether that’s a business, or just in our own personal lives.

And apparently I’m not the only one confused by the Whole Foods palace effect. TJ’s is the customer favorite. Cheers to luke warm beer.

I don’t want to have to compete with this guy for groceries–but maybe you do… :-]

Nordys Knows Best When it Comes to Customer Satisfaction

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Today Nordstrom reported a 5.1% rise in same store sales.

Long before I met and worked with Robert Spector, the author of The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence I knew Nordstrom was a brand that took its customer service very seriously. They arguably set the benchmark in retail.

Nordstrom Faced with 17 Y/O’s Nightmare

When I was in high school, my Labrador Retriever Rilke ate my prom shoes.

The dog was named after an elegant German poet, however this did not stop her from violently indulging in the most sacred snack we had in the house, my sling-backs.

I was devastated by the thought of attending the most exciting party in my 17-year lifespan in mangled shoes!

Distraught, my mom and I scrambled into the car and peeled out onto the 405 North headed for Nordys.



Romancing the Customer

The next moment in time challenged every notion I’ve ever had about good customer service.

That fateful sunny day in Orange County, California I learned Nordstrom will tailor your pants, romance you with live piano music, and… take back your half-eaten prom shoes.

High-End Retail is in Dumps, but Nordstrom is Relaxing with a Mojito on the Patio

This example of customer service excellence is why in today’s economic crisis Nordstrom isn’t doing too shabby in comparison with its competitors.

I still buy Nordstrom shoes, and Rilke lived a long fulfilling life spoiled by my mom in Savannah Georgia. I’d like to think she lives in Puppy heaven where she can go into a Nordstrom anytime she’s having a bad day and needs a smile.

The Two Step Process to Brand Building Through Influencer Communities

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If Christopher Columbus were a marketer he would still be using Google and Facebook.

Let’s veer from the “West Indies” of social media marketing. Below is a map providing a faster route to a land full of sugar and spice and everything nice.

The Map to Social Biz Marketing

We are all in the experimentation phase of social. As marketers we explore. We set out to sea, land (sometimes in the wrong territory), track mistakes and successes and adjust our map. My map isn’t necessarily sexier than your map–but considers some recent mistakes you might not have heard about.

There’s no question that it’s important to have influencers and brand advocates on your radar.  Let’s face it–it’s good to be in the light of the influencer. But influencers aren’t generally as easy to find as omniscient Oprah–they are currently moving targets.

Finding and engaging influencers, and turning them into advocate, takes blood, sweat and tears. Or at least it used to…

The good news is some people are working very hard to simplify this process. It’s now a refreshingly easy two-step process.

Step 1: Identify Your Influencers.
Step 2: Bring Them Into A Branded Community.

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1. What is the easiest way to identify your influencers?

Recent college grads are kicking themselves for wasting a $100,000 dollar education “googling” all day. Fortunately for these millennials Google is possibly on its way out-at least for marketers.

What defines an influencer?

In defining an influencer there’s the philosopher‘s answer and there’s the scientist‘s answer.

The philosopher’s answer–>

Influence comes from confidence, vision and timing.

The scientist’s answer–>

If you ask Michael Wu, PhD, Principal Scientist for Lithium, he might tell you something different. In Michael’s blog The 6 Factors of Social Media Influence he talks about two criteria for gauging influence:

a. Credibility: The influencer’s expertise in a specific domain of knowledge.

Please note: There is no such thing as a universal influencer, because no one can possibly be influential in all domains. The best that anyone can hope for is an influencer in a specific domain of knowledge

b. Bandwidth: The influencer’s ability to transmit his expert knowledge through a social media channel.

Please note: Active influencers in one channel may not even be present on another channel. So influencers are not only specific to a domain of knowledge, they are specific to social media channels

Marketing is a different animal today. The way we gauge influence has shifted. As Michael wrote, not only are influencers specific to a domain, but they are also specific to a particular channel. At first glance this seems to make marketer’s jobs even harder.

How do we hit these rapidly moving targets?

The answer is Klout a service that measures overall influence across the web. To measure influence the metric considers:

  • the size of your engaged audience
  • the likelihood that your messages will generate actions (retweets, @messages, likes and comments) on a scale of 1 to 100
  • Network score indicating how influential your engaged audience is

I recently met Klout’s CEO Joe Fernandez. He told me he had the idea for the company when his jaw was shut for a period of three months due to a medical procedure.

Klout counters one of the biggest fallacies about social media–the lie that that brands have lost control. Companies like Klout illustrate the fact that the power is there for the taking. Power can be re-assumed by the brand and its care-takers. 

Step 2: Now that I’ve found my army where do I put them?
Courting influencers can be likened to paying for celebrity endorsements–only difference is courting influencers is much cheaper and less risky. Remember when GM paid Tiger Woods $40 million for a 5-year contract ending in 2009. Well we all know how that turned out.

So let’s make your life easier. Find your influencers and bring them into a private external community.

Stop! I know you are thinking about le Facebook. Facebook is not a long-term strategy. Rather Facebook is a short-term investment where you don’t control the data. You are essentially investing in the future valuation of Facebook.

With this map you are now investing in YOUR OWN platform. You have assumed control over your brand’s communication and messaging. This route leads to sugar and spice and everything nice. You are not in the West Indies-and you know that 100%.

*Carlos Diaz, CEO of blueKiwi Software and Doug Stephens President of Retail Prophet both contributed to  research for this blog.

To Serve Man

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As our train screeched to a halt dirt kicked up in a fury clouding our windows.

Our train car was hot and dark. Babies were crying, tourists were sweating, and there was no employee in sight to explain why our train wasn’t moving.

I was on an Amtrak train from Philadelphia en route to New York City excited for an afternoon of Kentucky Derby, Mint Juleps and ”ladies who lunch” hats.

Twenty five minutes passed. I was shocked by the apathy from the train staff. Not one employee had come to our car to announce the reason for the abrupt stop or when we could expect to move.

So I did what any curious customer service blogger would do. I called customer service and asked for information on the status of the train. The agent had no information for me. So I decided to do some informal research on Amtrak. I asked the agent where he was located? Was he a student? How long did he work at the Amtrak call center?

As we briefly chatted he explained his own frustration with the company. He explained that customer service and operations do not communicate and when problems happen out in the field agents like him are left empty handed.

Who would have thought the gold standard for trains has nothing even resembling a knowledge management system.

Deaf Ears

And the agent, an employee for Amtrak for 15 years, even vocalized his concerns to the President of Amtrak. But his words fell on deaf ears.

As we made our way back to New York City my eyes traced the big box retail stores, post offices and abandoned warehouses flying by. I contemplated the state of the customer service industry. We have forgotten what it means to serve.

I also thought about the sheer scope of opportunity to improve customer service all over the world.

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One of the bridges on the Amtrak route from New Jersey to New York City*

All organizations, big or small, should remember to leave the lights on for the customer. We need to remember the importance of being present (if nothing else) when things go wrong. There is no shortage of people in need. Let’s commit to being there to serve.

Does your staff make appearances for those in need when your train shuts down? Or more importantly do you?

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Jean Nidetch, F.F.H. (Formerly Fat Housewife), Customer-Centric Crusader

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On October 12, 1492, a man discovered America. On October 12, 1923, America discovered a lady who was born to discover Weight Watchers. He was Christopher Columbus. She was Jean Nidetch. He took the mystery out of the world. She took the L out of ‘Flab.’ We all know his story. Here is hers.*

 


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Taking the L out of Flab

For such a little lady Nidetch has a big personality—but she wasn’t always little.

Nidetch, in her new book The Jean Nidetch Story, writes about her own weight loss journey through 72 pounds, and what spawned Weight Watchers International. She grew up near Coney Island where she took shelter from the Summer heat at the local Candy Shop indulging in “egg cream” drinks containing neither eggs nor cream but chocolate syrup, homogenized milk, and seltzer.

Nidetech’s father prided himself on his ability to feed his wife (a manicurist) and children keeping them plump through the Great Depression. He drove a cab in addition to being one of the first food delivery entrepreneurs. He painted a truck and drove sandwiches and ice cream to workers and playing children.

A family of resourceful entrepreneurs Nidetch’s grandfather came from a poor town in Russia and came to the U.S. for a better life. He worked a market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn selling pickles, herring, and sauerkraut out of a pushcart. This was before Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia outloawed pushcarts in the ‘30s.

Never Ask A Woman If She Is Pregnant If You Aren’t Sure

Nidetch was a fat kid and even fatter adult. But she decided to change her habits after a woman in the grocery store asked Nidetch if she was due any day.

With the help of a very old school New York City Board of Health Obesity Clinic Nidetch lost the weight. Nidetch wasn’t the only one who had a weak spot for egg cream and other obese neighbors started to wonder what Nidetch had done to lose all of her weight. A natural organizer, Nidetch invited a few girls over every week to help them with their food regimen and create a supportive environment. Word got out that Nidetch had the weight loss secret sauce and soon enough neighbors started knocking on her door.

From Nidetch’s basement she got a few helpers, borrowed a mimeograph machine (Xeroxes didn’t exist) and got some of her girlfriends type the food regimen on a stencil (in addition to the meetings and weigh ins). Turns out the secret was the support group as well.

Nidetch’s story started out like many others—a few people getting organized weekly turned into a global multi-million dollar operation.

F.F.H. AKA Formerly Fat Housewife

Nidetch was the face of the business, and the mind behind the idea, never saw herself as a “businesswoman” per say. But Nidetch understood her customer and only hired people who had been through the program and remembered what it felt like to be fat.

When Nidetch sat on a panel in the 1970’s with PhDs, M.D.s, M.S.N.s, R.D.s, she made gave herself a title F.F.H. (formerly fat housewife). She is her customer’s champion. There is something refreshing about the honesty of this self-proclaimed everywoman.

“Is Jean Nidetch Still Alive?” “Oh My God I Hope So!”

Nidetch, a happy Floridian living in a retirement community, recently phoned the Weight Watchers call center. She was greeted by a cheerful agent.

Agent: “Good morning, Weight Watchers, how may I help you?.”

Nidetech: “Do you know who founded Weight Watchers International.”

Agent: “You mean you don’t know?”

Nidetech: “No”

Agent: “Jean Nidetch!”

Nidetech: “Is she still alive?”

Agent: “Oh my God I hope so!”

*This was the introduction for a televised appearance for Jean Nidetch, former CEO and President of Weight Watchers International, who was born on Columbus Day.

Note from blogger: I wrote this for my previous blog at Customer Management IQ.