Category: a slice of AMUSEMENT

Watch as we unpack and critique, with logic and levity — and the occasional incredulous sigh.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

The myth of the brand facade

Posted on by Red Slice

Flying back from the Midwest this holiday season, we had some customer service issues with American Airlines.  Snarky flight attendants, a ridiculously understaffed gate (one poor soul checking in 3 flights – and re-routing passengers from a cancelled flight – but, wow, she was quite a trooper) Yes, they are going through Chapter 11, yes, the  industry in general is taking a beating, and yes, 98% of their competitors are not much better.

Makes it so easy for someone like Virgin America to come along and differentiate. When the bar is set so low by so many, it’s not hard to raise it even an inch.

I find it interesting to note that nowhere on American’s site can you find a statement of their philsopphy or what they stand for – not even in their About Us section. They just list a bunch of things they do. What the heck do the employees have to rally around? But it’s easy to find purpose and mission on Virgin America’s site….hmmmmm.

I started thinking about all the brand messages we see from airlines -and financial services institutions. These companies spend millions telling us they care about customers, they care about you as a person, their employees are committed, caring and sharp dressers.

Why do they bother?

We all know when we pull back the brand facade, we’ll experience delays, poor service, long telephone hold times and endless bureaucracy. Wells Fargo is our bank with whom we had our previous mortgage. When they declined to refiannce us (with excellent credit history, mind you) after a botched and complicated application process where the left hand did not know what the right was doing, we went elsewhere. Then we started getting marketing letters in the mail offering us a great – and easy – refinance process with them. WTF?!

When American Airlines shows TV commercials of smiling, calm people breezing on to the plane as if they were entering a spa, we know the reality is poor communication, delays, crowded gates and crying babies.

I’ve often called this ‘putting a coat of brand paint” on top of a flawed product/service/company. Do they really think we’re going to believe? Does the CEO really understand what it’s like to a be a frustrated customer? I don’t think so, or they would never spend million-dollar plus line items on something everyone knows is not reality. The emperor has no clothes, so why are you spending so much to tell us otherwise? Wouldn’t that money be better spent on actually delivering that level of service to begin with?

In your industry, such shenanigans offer a prime opportunity to step up and make a promise you can actually keep – that alone will differentiate you. Southwest Airlines does it by promising low prices and no bag fees (and a downhome, even funny, customer service persona) – and they deliver. Virgin America promises to make flying fun again – and everything from their calm and friendly staff to the  personalized in-flight entertainment system to funny safety video delivers.

Ally Bank has tried to make you think they are the quirky bank that is on your side. Their TV commercials are pretty funny. Now, I have no direct customer experience with them, so I’m not sure if they deliver. But did you know that Ally is simply GMAC, rebranded?

Some of my most interesting clients have been in what could be seen as unglamourous but as I said, when the bar is set so low to begin with, the opportunity to raise it up is huge. Wish these airline and bank CEO’s could open their eyes and see that. Maybe then they wouldn’t be filing for Chapter 11 but actually delivering on what they promise in their TV commercials.

Wow. What a concept.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

The “brand” of Women: Who’s responsible? What can we do?

Posted on by Red Slice

Last night, a therapist specializing in women and families told me girls as young as 8 years-old are dieting. That’s right….8. When I was that age, I was worried about completing my Strawberry Shortcake doll set.

What the hell is happening?!

In the last few months, I’ve had my eyes opened to how the “brand” of women is represented in our world and it’s caused me some concern. It’s my belief that it should cause everyone concern, whether you have little girls – or just hope for a better functioning society in general. It scares me – but I do believe we can change things.

I blog often about how brands impact our perceptions. Business brands carry both logical and emotional weight to them; for example, you shop at Walmart for the lowest prices, But you may pay more for Tiffany’s Blue Box to enchant, romance and delight. Branding is the story that is told and impacts how we relate to that company, cause or candidate.

I’ve never been a big “feminist” per se. I was turned off in college and in my twenties by what I perceived to be a movement that seems to play the victim, blame others and bash men. As I mature, I now see that while the messengers may have alientated some, the intent of the message is indeed valid.

First,  I encourage you to see the documentary Miss Representation. It talks about media’s portrayal of women, femininity, sexuality and the like. One segment focused on how women politicians are talked about so offensively by the press versus male candidates – and when you see the collage of clips and sound bites, you will be shocked this stuff is being said on TV in the 21st century – it’s disgusting. Another segment discusses how women in visible positions, like journalists, are just perpetuating the sexism themselves.  Female reporters sporting 3-inch heels and short skirts, female anchors wearing low cut blouses and heavy makeup, etc.  FOX News seems the worst at perpetuating this trend. But even a positive role model like Katie Couric , when she looks back at old broadcasts and what she wore, laments if she unwittingly helped contribute to this trend.

Second, I saw this insighful post from my friend Bronwyn Saglimbeni over at Sharp Skirts. It’s her “5 Aha! Feminist Moments” from the recent TEDx Women conference. She talks about the time being now to embrace women’s issues because its no longer a “pet issue” and women now make up half the population. This stuff affects all of us, people! She also talks about new ways we need to celebrate “celebrity” with positive role models (which gives me a ray of hope when I get depressed about the Kardashian-infested world my nieces are growing up in).

Women’s issues are no longer about men bashing. It’s about equality, fairness and a new world order. “Around the world, old power structures are crumbling and something new is emerging,” says Bronwyn.  Equality for women creates beter communities – for women AND men. Even Afghan men are finding that when there is equal education and opportunity for women, there is less violence and crime in the community at large.

In my opinion, the “brand” of women pervasive in our media and culture today – one of catfighting wealthy housewives, vapid spoiled rich girls, and shallow sexy “journalists” – needs to change to catch up with the REALITY of who women really are in our world. This is one case where the “brand identity crisis”  – when the brand does not match the reality – is dangerous: I don’t feel like women in the media or entertainment worlds represent me or my intelligent, contributive and supportive female friends.

The problem is that there’s a war on two fronts: the sexualization of women physically, and the juvenilization of women mentally. Reports abound about the state of “photoshopping women” for magazine covers and H&M was recently lambasted for inserting real model heads on fake bodies for their ads. Reality TV shows women competing for husbands on The Bachelor and tearing each other’s hair out in catfights on Real Housewives. Who’s fault is all of this negative  imagery? Who is demaning it? Is it women ourselves, contributing to the problem every time we thumb through an US Weekly at the nail salon to see what the Kardashian’s are up to, complain about our thighs being too big, get a Botox shot or tune into watch brides fight over wedding dresses on reality TV? Or is the men controlling many of these media outlets? I honestly can’t say for sure….

Many people (including me in the past) would say, “Lighten up! It’s just entertainment and everyone knows it’s not real.” And I get that. I confess to watching mindless TV and reading tabloid mags when I just want to escape or de-stress – it does make your own life seem like a dream! But collectively, what are we doing? Shouldn’t we start to model the behavior we want for our own young girls, so they don’t grow up thinking they will only be judged by their bodies being a perfect size 4, or that their women friends should be viewed as competitor who will only stab them in the back?

What am I saying to my 6 year old niece if she hears me complaining about my weight or sees me watching such trash on TV? What is she to think? Little eyes and ears are watching and learning from us all the time – even when we think they are not. Don’t believe me? Just ask any parent who has slammed their hand in the door, cursed, and then had to live with their 4 year old shouting that same word over and over again for the next 3 months in front of mixed company!

So what can we do? These are just some of my ideas….

  • USE YOUR VOICE: See what the Miss Representation movement is doing to combat negative portrayals of women and spread articles and blogs via social media that talk about this issue.
  • START AT HOME: Explain to the young girls in your life (and I mean 5, 6, 7) that models in magazines are altered and what they means. Tallk with them about the images they see and what they think and start a conversation.
  • MODEL BEHAVIOR: Don’t obsess about your weight or diet in front of young girls – show them healthy eating habits and a healthy appreciation for their bodies. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t combat obesity, but do it from a place of health not “physical perfection.”
  • FIND ROLE MODELS: Find role models of women doing amazing things and set up interviews for the young girls in your life. Tell them about extraordinary women you read about in the news. Let them play with Barbie, or watch Disney princesses if they like (this was a fond part of my childhood, too) but also expose them to women in all professions. If you have a female congresswoman or senator, draft a letter with your young gal to her. If they don’t see positive role models, they won’t know what is possible.
  • PRAISE MIND AND BODY: Praise girls for their talent and intellect, not just their looks. And speaking of looks, help them accept their bodies for all their unique qualities and strengths as well.
  • And if you have young boys in your life? You should actually try all of the above as well.

Katie Couric said, “The media can be an instrument of change: it can maintain the status quo and reflect the views of the society or it can, hopefully, awaken people and change minds. I think it depends on who’s piloting the plane.”

What other ideas do you have to combat this negative brand image? Do you believe there is or is not a problem?Would love to hear from you in the Comments?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What are your social media pet peeves?

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s question: When is social media so pervasive that it starts to impact our lives in a negative way?

I admit it. I was dragged kicking and screaming to the social media world. While I’ve been on Linked In since it launched in the early 2000’s and I have blogged for quite some time, I did not use Facebook and Twitter until a project in 2009 forced me to do so.  And I’m not even touching Foursquare, which totally creeps me out.

Truly, I do love the connection, interactivity and dialogue. I really do. Please don’t judge me a Luddite. Once I learned to manage the time spent on social media, I found myself benefitting from the connection, community, content – and building my business presence successfully through it. And I love my Red Slice Nation peeps on Facebook and finding interesting articles via Twitter that I never would have found on my own.

And we can all agree that social media has changed the flow of global information, political reform and even disaster warnings.

But everyone needs to just settle down, y’all. I know there are people who are 24/7 on social media. Yes, I can access my accounts on my smartphone, especially when stuck in line for a latte or waiting for the Fremont Drawbridge to come down. But I am not one of those “always-on” people. I never want to be one of those people. I don’t even check my mobile phone before breakfast.

Some of my Facebook peeps chimed in and said their pet peeves are the pressure to respond to everything and the barrage of marketing messages that the floodgates have unleashed upon us.

This point was driven home recently when a class was cancelled and when I showed up, the instructor asked, “Didn’t you get the note?”

No, I did not. It’s Saturday freaking morning at 9 am and I didn’t check my Twitter account, Facebook page or phone between Friday night and this morning. I was LIVING MY LIFE! I was walking my dog, having breakfast with my husband, sipping coffee while reading the paper. So stop asking me “Didn’t you get the Tweet?” or “Did you get my invite on Facebook?” If I did, you’ll know.  But if it’s something important or something you’re expecting me to attend, don’t just assume that I did if I didn’t respond.

Social media is great. But it has made us become extremely non-committal in making firm plans because we feel we can contact everyone instantly to change said plans. Which is good in some situations. But it’s not to be abused!

Photo credit: Pet Life Radio

What are your biggest social media pet peeves that drive you mad? Please share in the Comments and get some Link Love back to your site!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

The spy who stole: Book publishing realities

Posted on by Red Slice

In what could turn out to be a book-in-the-making on its own, a recently published UK spy novelist was found to have plagiarized most of his content from various sources, including several James Bond books. The book’s been recalled, the author’s career is in ruins and questions abound.

The author cites pressure and self-doubt as what drove him to do this. He said he couldn’t keep up with the changes the editors demanded. He openly confesses this on spy novelist Jeremy Duns’ blog, The Debrief.  Poor Mr. Duns also took a reputation hit since he offered to endorse the book (and hadn’t picked up on the plagiarism).

The hits to brand reputation are like ripples of water from a stone being thrown into a pond. The author, the endorsers, the publisher, the reviewers….

I  have many questions about this. But mostly, for the publishers. If editors and publishers are really doing the jobs they claim to do, if they are truly adding value to the bookselling process with their “quality control” (as they often cite) then how the hell did they miss this?

I’m not excusing the author’s disgusting behavior. He makes the rest of us  look bad. But if the last bastion of going the traditional publishing route is that you get a better quality product in the end (note: not what I believe anymore) and then something like this happens, what the heck do we need publishers for?

It used to be publishers helped to market, edit and improve books. Now new authors are required to come to the table with a “marketing platform” already in place into which they can sell. And I have friends who are going the traditional publishing route telling me these NY publishers are asking for them to commit to hiring a freelance editor, because their editors don’t have time to edit anymore. So publishers are not helping market the books and they are not helping to edit the books? I’m confused…..

As I’ve mentioned in a prior post, publishers can’t whine about the state of the industry anymore. When you are a middleman, you need to add value to the equation. I can totally see how big publishers help with credibility and open more doors for distribution. But the cold hard fact is that unless you are a celebrity or Stephen King, most publishers won’t help to market your book ify ou are an unknown. 

And now it appears they won’t even check to see if your content is original or not.

I’m not saying there is no value in traditional publishing. I know lots of people who’ve had great experiences. And I would love to sell my book to one of the big guys one day, just to have that amazing experience.

What I am saying is that there is a business lesson here for all os us: if you don’t add value to the process, sooner or later, that will come back to bite you. You need to constantly be looking at ways to benefit your customers and differentiate from the other options out there. Or risk becoming irrelevant in the process.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Best sales email letter ever

Posted on by Red Slice

A while back, I downloaded an informative white paper from Argyle Social, a provider of social media marketing software and consulting. Within a week, I received the following email (reprinted with their permission):

Hey Maria, 

I saw that you downloaded one of our whitepapers and thus, I have a question. 

Which one of these categories do you fit into? 

A. You’re just perusing and don’t want to talk to me.

B. You’re interested and may want to talk b/c you have questions.

C. You’re dying to talk to me and couldn’t wait a second longer for this email to arrive in your inbox.. 

D. These options suck and I’m too good to fit into a category. 

Let me know which and I’ll act accordingly!

Danny (contact information followed)

In the sea of crap that invades my inbox every day (some by choice, some not). I promptly wrote Danny back that I was not interested (it’s only fair to not waste a good salesperson’s time leading them on. Don’t be a tease. Let them moe on to other, more interested, prospects) but asked a favor. I told him that in all my years supporting sales teams in Silicon Valey, this was the best sales email followup I had ever seen. He told me one of the sales guy’s created it, and various people had tweaked it for their own purposes.

Why is this so great and what can you learn from it?

  • Human connection: This is a real person, talking like real people talk. I hate B2B advertising that speaks in a language no one uses in life. To boot, it’s got humor and charm. A natural magnet for my time and attention.
  • Respectful of my time: It’s brief and to the point. A sales rep I knew once had a saying posted on his cubicle wall: Be Bold, Be Brief, Be Gone. Words to live by.
  • Filters the leads: From a sales perspective, a good sales rep works what is known as a sales funnel. Lookey-loos or tire kickers are at the top, those with actual projects, budgets and decision-making power filter down a level and then those who also have an impending timeline or compelling event  forcing them to make a buying decision pass through to possible closed sales. A good sales rep needs to assess what kind of prospect you are quickly and this email does that in a humorous and casual way. I don’t feel like he’s being creepy, and he knows he can put me in a separate “nurture file” for either himself or Marketing to continually follow up.

What kind of follow up are you doing with your leads? Are you able to segment the tirekickers from the serious buyers who will purchase this month or quarter? Pls share some of your best sales emails (good or bad) in the Comments!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

How to solve marketing’s moral dilemma

Posted on by Red Slice

I’m having a moral crisis right now about my chosen profession.

Reports are everywhere about how our current global economic crisis has impacted the way consumers spend/save money. Given the scares we’ve had with a volatile stock market, the collapse of the housing market and troubles overseas, consumers are now consuming less, saving more and paying off their debts.

That should be awesome, right? Well….

Like it or not, our economy’s health runs on consumerism: on spending and borrowing. When people start acting the way they should – meaning saving and living within their means – this causes a glitch in the Matrix.

The WSJ cites: “During the Great Depression, economist John Maynard Keynes warned of a so-called paradox of thrift: When everyone turns frugal, everyone suffers.” Why? Because there is less money changing hands, less demand for products and services and more people – and companies – hoarding cash. This leads to things like retailers not selling inventory, which means they lay off workers, and in turn stop ordering more from their suppliers, which leads to more of those companies going out of business and more layoffs, which leads to now-unemployed people defaulting on mortgages or not buying homes at all, which leads to the construction industry screeching to a halt and people not being able to sell their own homes fast enough…..etc, etc, ad nauseum. Note: I am not an economist but this is how I interpret things. I’m not even going to touch how this impacts financial markets, stock sales, Treasury bills, and the like.

So what is my moral dilemma?

I have chosen a profession – marketing – that, by it’s definition, is all about bringing products and services to market and convincing people and businesses to buy them.

For someone who gets so fed up with our culture of consumerisn, for how much we place on material possessions; for someone who hates the idea of people spending frivolously on things they can’t afford when that money could be used for so much good in the world for people, animals or the environment, you would think I would be thrilled that more people are saving and being smart with money.

And I am. Truly. I think we all needed a wake-up call. When mortgage brokers tried to convince me and my husband to get a house with no money down back in 2007, we briefly considered it and then thought those people were smoking crack. We decided we’d rather get a traditional loan with less risk and no surprises. And while our house is worth less than what we paid for it, thankfully our mortgage is not completely underwater.

So what is a marketer to do, when she’s happy people are saving money,paying down debt and spending more wisely? How can I continue to be a part of the machine that makes people spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need?

Then I thought about it some more. My branding philosophy is all about meeting needs and adding value. It’s not about lying to people, or targeting those who can’t afford a high-end product to go into debt to afford it. My advice is about meeting real needs that people have, not creating ones they don’t.  It’s about making their lives better or their jobs easier or their customers happy. It’s about being crystal clear on who your target audience is and if they can afford  – and benefit from – your products or services: if they can’t, you should not be talking to them or marketing to them. And if you can’t benefit anyone, you should not have a business.

I realized my philosophy is about puting more “honest” marketing out into the world. We can’t deny we live in an economy based around consumption. I can’t change that or make us go back to an agrarian society. But I can help clients be authentic, transparent and honest about the value they offer and to whom they offer it. I can try to convince that coach who wants to bill out at $400 an hour that maybe they shouldn’t spend their marketing dollars at events attracting people who only make $30,000 per year. If you want to sell $400,000 cars, then that is your right – as long as you market them to the people who can afford them and not low-income families. And if you meet a need for a fair, reasonable price to attract the budget-conscious, then fabulous: the point is to meet the needs of the right people with the right message.

Maybe, just maybe, if businesses were more responsible with who they target with their messages, we’d not only have less noise in the chaotic media landscape, but more people could get their needs met within their means and continue saving and paying down their debts where appropriate. And maybe, just maybe, the economic sky won’t have to fall just because people are finally acting responsibly with their money.

A girl can dream, can’t she?

Photo credit: executivecoachingforbusinesssuccess.com

What is your view of the economy? How do you think the culture of consumption has helped or hindered us? Are marketers to blame or not? I’d love your thoughts on this controversial topic below – share a comment and get some link love back to your site. And keep it respectful, folks! Thanks.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Rejecting online in favor of print: Why scarcity works for Le Canard

Posted on by Red Slice

I joyfully read a WSJ article about Le Canard Enchaine, a French weekly satirical + scoops newspaper (think The Onion, but with some real breaking news) that knows their audience, is confident in who they are – and is breaking the rules of media publishing today. How?

They refuse to go online. And they refuse to accept ad revenue.

If you go to their site, according to the article (as I don’t read French) it says  “Our job is to inform and entertain our readers with paper and ink….See you Wednesday at the Newsstand!”

You gotta love a rebel.

The paper sells a ton and makes a good profit – and does not rely on one ounce of advertising (can you imagine an ad-free paper? Bliss.)  It’s owned by the journalists themselves and doesn’t do any marketing. So why the hell, in this age of boosktores closing and online media exploding, does their model work?

  • Clear purpose: They want to offer news that people want to savor and read, not skim on their iPads. “Why should we give away great content for free?” is their motto.
  • Real customer insight: By taking a stand, they appeal to their off-mainstream following simply by refusing to conform. Their mix of real information, combined with satirical and punny humor, is exactly what these folks want that a mainstream paper can’t offer.
  • Scarcity is a badge of honor: They make their content more precious by making it harder to come by for free. They maintain a cult following and create value simply by creating a product that requires effort to obtain, unlike their competition.
  • Independence equals access: Former Le Monde journalists tried to start a rival paper and website that runs on subscription and is the most serious threat. But Le Canard’s independent (and humorous) perspective is what keeps it fresh and enables it to have access to more sources and info.

By breaking the rules, they stand apart and appeal further to their non-conformist audience. This works because of their brand image and may not work for every player.

And PS, you can place your print subscription order through Amazon.

What rules can you break to stand out from the crowd while appealing to your target audience at the same time?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What “Commercial Kings” can teach you about wise – and fun – marketing

Posted on by Red Slice

If you have not had the pleasure of catching “Commercial Kings” on IFC with Rhett and Link, you absolutely need to sit down and watch a few episodes. You know those cheesy local TV ads that stick in your brain like glue? Well, these former ad guys are on a mission to create memorable TV spots for local small businesses to help them succeed.

I’ve often said to clients and audiences that if you want to learn how to really create strong benefit-driven messaging, complete with use-case  scenarios, then study some infomercials. Breaking messaging down to it’s raw form, these cheesy ads will show you the nuts and bolts of what it means to talk about customer benefits, not just features.

Commercial Kings is sweet, fun, fast-paced – and full of valuable marketing and messaging nuggets you can apply to your own business. While it’s not this easy to create a strong brand/messaging this quickly for many companies, and you can argue that the brand aesthetics (the visual) still can come across cheap and cheesy, I would argue that in many cases, awareness and memorability are a bigger priority for these businesses serve. Which means they are right on target to the people they wish to target.

Here’s what you can glean from their technique:

  • Start with goals: Every episode starts with why the business needs the ad. What are they trying to acomplish? Do they need more customers? Do they need to change perceptions? The guys always start from here and ensure they have the end in mind. In one show, they had to help an african-american hair salon convince other ethnicities that it could work with all kinds of hair. So they found a group of different ethnic women and asked them to be “test models” for the commercial.
  • Ask for customer feedback: The guys will often poll people on the street or talk to the businesses customers about the current perception of the product or service. In one episode, they spoke to a taxidermist’s customer about why he keeps coming back. The customer stated that “his work is the most lifelike he’s ever seen.” They wove this differentiator of realism into the ad concept, showing people getting “stuffed” animals confused for the live animal in various comical situations. Take a look at the finished piece.
  • Make it memorable: At the end of the day, many of these businesses just need to get their name out there and make it stick. The guys will often place some sort of hook or “WTF?!” element into each episode. For Presidential Car Wash, they created an utterly silly commercial that you can’t forget. Take a look and tell me I’m wrong!
  • It’s about the customer. not the owner: The spots will always feature the smal biz owner to be authentic and real. But often the guys will make the owners step outside of their own personal comfort zone to ensure that the content appeals to the customer.

The guys often ask the key brand questions: what are the benefits to the customer, how is your business different, and what do customers keep coming back for (or in some cases, what keeps them away). This helps them craft a benefit-driven message that is more than just “Come visit us or give us a call” which is what many local commercials end up being. You have to give people a reason to buy and tell them what’s in it for them.

Photo credit: LA Times blog.

Have you seen Commercial Kings? If so, what is one of your favorite episodes? Please share in the Comments!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Netflix’s human touch and rebrand – the good, bad and ugly

Posted on by Red Slice

Netflix recently sent their customer base into a tizzy by charging more (and separately) for DVD mailings and streaming movies. As a customer, my husband received this email below from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings that was both good (apologies, human voice) and bad (what’s up with the confusing brand spinoff?). Below, I share my thoughts on the good bad, and ugly of what will surely become a case study for the ages:

First, the email: (annotated: full letter appears on the Netflix blog)

I messed up. I owe you an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.

Then it gets to their decision to create a separate brand for the DVD service and the streaming service:

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. 

(annotated)

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.

So what works?

  1. Human frailty: The CEO speaks plain English and acknowledges his customers’ anger and painand that they may not have handled the price increase announcement well at all
  2. We’re part of the team: By explaining why the company did what it did, he makes you as a customer feel like you are part of the team, the tribe. The tone makes you feel like it’s not something being “done” to you (even though it is) but something we’re in together.
  3. What’s in it for me: The email talks about these changes and how the offerings and services will improve for customers as a result.
  4. Human voice: This reads like a personal letter in a conversational tone, not a formal, stuffy automated business letter. He also talks about his own experiences and feelings. Yes, it may have been written and carefully edited by the marketing and corp comm teams, and yes, it was blasted out to thousands. But the tone is on-brand with Netflix’s very friendly and approachable image.
  5. Part of a larger effort: The email went out, but so did Netflix’s PR blitz, and stories appeared in several media outlets in conjunction with this news

What doesn’t work?

  1. Confusing branding: Really? A whole separate brand  called Qwikster for a company delivering the same product in two separate formats? That’s like a retail store creating a whole separate brand for eCommerce.  Seems to dilute the power of a single brand dedicated to getting you the content you want. And it’s not even remotely linked to Netflix by association. Seems “Qwikflix” is already in use bya  DVD firm already.
  2. Customer inconvenience: Again, really? I now have to have two line items on my credit card statement from two different companies depending on if I ordered a film DVD by mail or streamed it over the internet? That just seems silly. Not like it really inconveniences me per se, but anything clunky like that just makes me feel like it’s a hassle. And it’s how a customer feels that matters, not the reality.
  3. Baring your flaws to the world: As this MSNBC article states, this effort just showed to the world that Netflix has a less than stellar offering when it comes to streaming content. At least before, they were able to hide behind the total content umbrella of Netflix. When I advise clients on messaging, I often advise them to downplay or at least address and reframe their weaknesses  so there is more value for the customer.
  4. Customers are even more unhappy: Read some of the comments at the blog. I’m sure they did not imagine they could piss off customers any more than they have but for the three reasons cited above, they did.

What is your thought about how to handle a price increase and their decision to create a new brand? Do you agree with the decision to break things apart? Anything you learned from the “apology note?” Please share in the Comments.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Watching the death- and birth – of customer loyalty (Part 2)

Posted on by Red Slice

Last week, I gave you the scoop on five steps to avoid if you don’t want to turn loyal customers into a band of  torch-and-pitchfork bearing villagers. I’d say that we can all agree that is something to be avoided, no?

Part 2 is all about a magical experience we had in Spain, what this place did that gets us talking, and some key takeaways to implement for your own customers.

Avid foodies (albeit amateur compared to some folks I know), loyal watchers of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and not afraid to slap down some serious coin for culinary experiences of a lifetime every now and then, my husband and I were on a mission to eat at Arzak. Nestled near San Sebastian, Spain, Chef Juan Mari Arzak’s culinary journey into whimsy, deliciousness and the finer points of Basque cooking has earned him three Michelin stars. In fact this little city boasts not one, not two but THREE Michelin-starred eateries. You can’t say this guy has no competition.

I had to reserve months in advance. And even then only got 2:30 pm for a late lunch.

I could go on…and on… about the five course pre fixe menu we ate our way through that included tuna, lobster, lamb- and even pigeon. I could tell you about the five interesting amuse bouche we had, including the yellow crispy rice with mushroom “posicle sticks.” I could tell you the Lobster Coralline with tapioca salad and citrus was an amazing explosion of buttery-citrus on my tongue. I could tell you the lamb with aromatic verbena and chard was criminally moist and melted in your nouth, cooked just to medium rare perfection. I could entertain you with the whimsical desert of a blackberry and raspberry “tree” or the “playing marbles with chocolate.” And I could tell you the house 2004 Rioja was simply a divine elixir that complemented the huge variety of food we had perfectly.

OK, yeah, the food rocked. Surely that helps with word of mouth, no?

As I tried to show you in the last post, quality is not everything. Here are five things Arzak did that added just the right touch of personalization, customer care and brand goodness. How might you execute these in your business?

1. The Right Intentional Ambience and Decor: When the taxi dropped us off, I was confused. This internationally famous restaurant should be high atop a mountain overlooking the Bay of Biscay, I thought. Instead, we seemed to be in front of a little village cottage. And then, I got it. Walking in was like walking into someone’s home. And the the small amount of dining tables between the first and second floors (like a house) literally felt like they’d been set up in someone’s dining room or parlor at home. Juan Mari, who runs the restaurant with his daughter, Elena, is all about the experience of home cooking – with gastronomic flair. The brand experience begins with the physical space you are in.

2. Flexibility: The Matre’d was essentially our waiter. In his stylish suit, he was less a “sales guy” and more a tour guide. He strolled us through the menu, didn’t make us feel silly or foolish if we had questions on the menu items, and offered us the option of ordering a bunch of half orders to complete our pre-fixe menu so we could try lots of different items. For Arzak, customization is on the menu every day.

3. Standing by Their Product: Our maitre’d told us if we didn’t like anything we had ordered – anything – we could send it back and replace it with something else. He told us this several times. In a restaurant that could have been intimidting, snobby and cold with all of it’s accolades and honors, it was always about our satisfaction, not their ego.

4. Flawless Process: Everything from walking in, to getting seated, to ordering, to food delivery was a well-orchestrated dance. Everyone knew their role. Not once did we need to look around for water, or a new napkin, or the next course. It just kind of “happened.” The best service is service a customer doesn’t even think about. When things go right, it’s harder to get credit for this, as you can make it look so easy. But it sure beats how much people notice when things go wrong.

5. Delightful Surprises: World-reknowned chef Juan Mari came out and visited each and every table and chatted with us briefly (luckily I speak Spanish) and so did his daughter, Elena. She was delighted to find out we’re from Seattle, as the family’s good friend runs a delish Spanish restaurant here in town, Harvest Vine. Personal, warm, friendly. Right in line with the brand. In addition, I can tell you exactly every course we ordered. Because at the end, before our bill came, the maitre’d presented us with two printed and dated  menus of our custom order, including the wine we had. And, when our maitre’d asked if we needed a taxi, he called for one and then ESCORTED US TO THE FRONT DOOR when it arrived. We didn’t ask for this. We didn’t expect it. But that’s what made these touches all the more delightlful.

This place managed to do high-end dining with a warm, personal and approachable flair. Not sure how they do it all, but it explains why they book up months in advance. While we can’t afford to be “regulars” of this fine establishment, unfortunately, you can bet we’ll be talking about this dining experience – like those who visited before us – for years to come.

What would you give for loyalty and word of mouth like this? What can you implement for your customers right now in the categories above? Please share in the Comments!