Church of the Customer: April 2004 archives
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April 19, 2004
One of these things is not like the other
New findings are out fromYankelovich Partners on what the American public thinks about advertising:
* 65 percent said they "are constantly bombarded with too much" advertising
* 61 percent said the amount of advertising and marketing to which they are exposed "is out of control"
* 60 percent said their opinion of advertising "is much more negative than just a few years ago"
* 54 percent said they "avoid buying products that overwhelm them with advertising and marketing"
* 69 percent said they "are interested in products and services that would help them skip or block marketing"
Contrast that with a recent keynote address given by Ron Berger, chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies:
Advertising has more influence on our economy, and on our culture, than any other business. We're not just important, we're all important.
It's amazing, but we actually are as imporant as we always thought we were....
I can't think of any other occupation, with the possible exception of parent, that's as vital to the continued survival and proliferation of human dream chasing as advertising.
April 18, 2004
Do-not-call contretemps
The Chicago Tribune says that some telephone numbers have been removed from the do-not-call registry -- meaning, they've been put on the "voicespam-me-list" -- and no one is sure why.
Two interesting factoids in the story:
* 59 million people have signed up to block telemarketers
* 200,000 or so telephone numbers have been withdrawn from the do-not-call list
Since businesses are not covered by the do-not-call registry, and voicespam at work is making you less productive, tell the FTC you want a B-to-B registry. Kim Vandecar heads up congressional relations for the FTC and do-not-call telemarketing. (202) 326-2858, kvandecar@ftc.gov.
April 16, 2004
Stuck on transmit
From John Moore's OurHouse blog:
It is so easy in organisations to squeeze out spontaneity in the name of order, and in so doing kill the whole point of having humans in a room instead of a rack of computers. In fact, I think this whole notion of controlled presentation is at the heart of much rotten marketing. The spirit of "death by powerpoint" is really behind most marketing, however charmingly contrived: an attempt to persuade an audience rather than engage them. As the RAF used to say of pilots who'd forgotten to let go of the little button you press to talk to air traffic control (you don't hear back if you don't let go of the button): stuck on transmit.
Which company, ogranization or professional group do you think is "stuck on transmit" the most?
More on NPR and democratizing your decision-making
In Chicago Public Radio's email newsletter today, WBEZ general manager Torey Malatia weighs in on the Bob Edwards reassignment flap:
The NPR announcement that Bob Edwards would be reassigned from Morning Edition to special features production continues to bring NPR's Washington, DC offices sizable amounts of calls from listeners, questions from reporters, E-mails, post cards, letters, and so on. As I mentioned in the last E-Update, stations, too, have been weighing in on the change and the way in which it was announced by the Washington press-relations department. Chicago Public Radio's comments have been supplemented by concerns from station managers in communities large and small about how this decision--and how it was handled-- might affect our relationship with our audiences.Here's where I've been told this is going: the change will happen on schedule. Listener comments to NPR will not reverse it. NPR has apologized to stations about the timing and contradictory messages that surrounded the announcement. That is it.
It will be left to stations, who, of course, do not vote on personnel matters at NPR (nor should they) to hope that listeners understand that the apology should be delivered to them. With that in mind, we here at Chicago Public Radio apologize to you for this and tell you that this abrupt kind of seminal change in a revered program should never again be handled so insensitively.
April 14, 2004
Drive-by marketing
Since this is the non-denominational and completely secular Church of the Customer, it's my duty to pass along a link to a collection of real church signs. The site features a church sign generator, too; while an infectious idea, I couldn't get it to work.
The site's creator features another cool idea: Turn your custom sign into a refrigerator magnet. Savvy thinking!
Free Prize Inside
What's cool about author Seth Godin? He lives what he preaches. He uses the marketing strategies in his books to market the book itself.
Hot on the heels of his last bestseller, Purple Cow whose first run was packaged in a purple milk carton, comes Free Prize Inside. This new book explains how creating innovative products is cheaper than advertising average products.
Here is the innovative "Free Prize Inside:"
It's a cereal box with a book inside. Another free prize inside the box is a secret :)
Seth challenges his publisher to not only think outside the box, but to create one! Spurring innovation within the tradition-bound publishing industry is a superhuman task, and kudos to Seth for raising the bar for all of us.
April 13, 2004
Are CEOs the new lying liars?
Who trusts CEOs these days? Apparently, not even journalists.
A recent survey of journalists by EuroRSCG and the Columbia School of Journalism finds that company CEOs are not the most trustworthy sources for their reporting, even ones who aren't facing jail time.
What's interesting about this survey? Reporters say they're more interested in credible sources, such as:
* Customers' experiences with a company
* The quality of that company's products
* The status of the company as an industry innovator
One of the report's authors advises:
To build visibility and credibility simultaneously, companies must break free from traditional, linear communications models and adopt a more proactive, holistic approach... [They] must partner with and start a dialogue with customers, consumers, academics, media -- basically each and every stakeholder -- and inspire them to carry the company message.
In summary,
* Broacasting at customers: bad.
* Starting a conversation with customers: good.
* Inspiring customers to be evangelists: priceless.
[Thanks to Kirsten at the re:invention blog for the heads-up about the survey.]
April 11, 2004
Fight the power
From Radio Marketing Nexus, the blog focused on the radio industry by Mark Ramsey:
I have said it before and I'll say it again. Defending your listeners from ridiculous RIAA lawsuits is a cause worth fighting for and one which will make your station a hero in the eyes of your audience.
Talk about putting a stake in the ground on behalf of your customers.... that's a great cause!
Furthermore, a Business 2.0 article (subscription required) article explains a recent Harvard study finding no correlation between file sharing and declining CD sales. Rather, it finds that MP3 sharing could be considered good marketing.
Napsterize your knowledge -- the more you give away your product and/or intellectual capital, the more valuable it tends to become.
Something's blowing in the wind
The latest entry in the "what-the??" department features folk hero Bob Dylan appearing in the new Victoria's Secret television campaign.
Smart buzz-building move on Dylan's part, the company's part, or sign of the marketing apocalypse?
Customer evangelism to-do list
David Gibson is one of chiefs of U.K.-based Eureka!, a firm that helps trainers be more effective. Eureka has many fantastic tips in its ebook, "Tips for Trainers Ebook Vol. 1 & 2".
In a recent email, David writes in with his first seven action items in creating customer evangelists for his business.
Here's David's customer evangelism to-do list:
* We are adding bio's and pictures of [my partner] Christophe and I to our web pages (maybe even the tips we send) so that we are not faceless.* We get a lot of referral work, but we could do more and will look for a way of -- as you say -- tactfully asking people to refer us and open their networks.
* We certainly listen to our customers, but we are not good at feeding back exactly what we do with the feedback, such as improvements. We don't always say 'You suggested x, so dod it and here is an example.' This will now change.
* We offer 'lifetime' support to everyone who takes part in our workshops. Even if they leave their current employer, the support goes with them. Where we can improve is take action and telephone learners 1-2 months post workshop to see how they are doing and what we can suggest to help.
* We will add 'how did you hear about us' to our web and tips registration.
* Get all past learners together and facilitate a free half-day tools for trainers top-up and lunch for networking.
David mentions a challenge with coming up with a meme, that is, an idea or information pattern that causes someone to repeat it to someone else. Often, it's difficult for us to think up the most creative words. Why not get our customers to help us?
Here's 8 steps for putting together a meme for your business:
1. Interview (or have a third party interview) your current satisfied customers.
2. Ask customers to describe the situation (and pain), which first motivated them to buy your product/service.
3. Ask customers to describe the value of your products or services.
4. Ask customers how they describe your business to others.
5. Write down exactly--word for word--the answers to these questions.
6. Reframe your meme, or slogan, using the pain points and description of how customers describe your services to others.
7. Test and refine your meme at business networking events.
8. Use your refined pitch in your marketing materials
What's your meme?
