Connecting the dots ...
First I really could not imagine how PR Maven Brian Solis came up with the Conversation Prism: Chrysanthemum: (clarification by Susan Scrupski)
But then I got enlightened by fellow Enterprise Irregular Brian Sommer, who introduced me to the creative process:
Creating A Stop Sign – Watch more free videos
I often find out what’s happening in the world just be looking at the keyword activity in my blog referral log. Like today, when I received readers looking for news on the earthquake in Japan. This is actually sad, I feel bad for people looking for real info and getting “hijacked” – I am clearly not an earthquake expert, not even an authority on the subject. All I did was point out how Twitter had been the first to report on several quakes in China and Japan, long before the major news-wires, and miraculously (and unfortunately) my post became the #1 hit for the Japan earthquake search on Google for a while, even preceding Japan’s Meteorogical Agency, which should be the ultimate source for such information.
This isn’t anything new, I’ve seen some of my posts get into top Google positions before – but it’s more understandable when I write about a more obscure subject, or a startup nobody else covers… like Brainkeeper, where my post was #1 for months, preceding the company’s own site. Being #2 for the fairly generic search on saas very small business is a bit more surprising, and #1 for Microsoft Outlook Sluggish is certainly rather unexpected. Yahoo, for a change, lists my fairly old post as #1 for the very generic search term Startup Executives, and how on Earth did I get to dominate the igoogle for google apps search? 
Recently I’ve noticed it almost doesn’t matter what I write about, I can get a premium position for certain relevant keywords. As much as I am enjoying it (hey, who doesn’t like Google Juice), there’s something fundamentally wrong with this system. I think blogs are somewhat overrated, and perhaps individual posts should be weighted on their own merits, not the Google Juice of the main blog itself.
But there’s another conclusion we should draw here. Content is really king, to the extent that it can compete with advertising. Businesses should take notice: you can pay for AdWords, or get to the top by developing your own content – and organic hits are worth more than paid ads. 
There’s another side of the coin here: if you don’t develop your own content, someone else will – and you may not be happy with the results. I’m not sure UPS enjoys seeing my post immediately under their site for the google search UPS Tracking…
So once again: the old adage “Content is King” has got a new meaning. I’ve been contemplating this for a while, and am getting ready to announce a new initiative in the next few weeks.
Perhaps it all started with Jeff Jarvis’s Dell Hell. Simple story: famous blogger gets poor service > blogs about it > company faces media backlash > company wakes up to social media, turns around > eventually Jarvis praises them as a Cluetrain business.
Then there’s Comcast: everyone’s love-to-hate cable company that now actively monitors Twitter for customer complaints in an effort to improve both their image and customer service. These companies know something that many others still ignore:
Times have changed. Using blogs, Twitter, social networks one single unhappy customer can make a business look really bad. Poor service is bad PR, which is very costly to undo. Good Customer Service is great marketing.
Now here’s my story of an online retailer that’s about to learn these rules.
My Dad has diabetes, and he likes chocolate – not a good combo.
There’s hardly any choice in sugar-free chocolate, what’s available locally tastes like **** and is overpriced. Eventually I found two (only !) online sources that sell Milka, his favorite brand. I ended up ordering from Belgian Chocolate Online, (www.chocolat.com, www.chocolatesimports.com) owned buy CandyWorld, USA. The site claims they ship the day after the order is placed, yet mine was only sent 9 days later, after I inquired. The delay was actually reasonable, due to a heat-wave, but shouldn’t they notify customers?
But the real surprise came a week later, when I received a large box of almost-expired chocolate. True, it had a few weeks left, but given the economics of shipping, I bought 40 bars, i.e. 4 kilos, or close to 9 lbs. I don’t know about you, but my Dad certainly does not eat that much in 4 weeks…
Two of my email complaints were left unanswered, so a week later, by the third email I was a bit antsy:
Dear Customer Service,
I don’t get it. Is your solution to Customer Service issues to not respond at all? I’d like to know if you intend to replace the old product with fresh one, or send refund. This is my last request, if you continue to ignore me, I will pursue this on my own.
Finally they answered (emphasis mine):
Dear Customer:
We are not ignoring any emails. We are helping customers placing their orders or who really need customer’s service. We can’t help you in an expiration date problem that you do not like and which isn’t a problem.
The chocolates you bought are still not expired and we do not see why to replace or to refund. The expiration date is not the date for consumption, but a date to sell. We do NOT sell any chocolates with an expired date.
Ouch! Who really need customer service… I’ve just spent $130 on old product and I don’t qualify for attention. Expiration date is not a problem… although this obviously sounded baloney, I wanted confirmation, so I contacted Kraft Foods, Milka’s parent company, who responded within a day:
The product should be consumed by this date. We cannot assure freshness after that date because the taste and texture may have deteriorated.
(Side comment: talk about the power of brands … yes, Milka is a popular brand in Europe, and Milka is owned by Kraft, by can you imagine asking for Kraft Chocolate?
)
Anyway, I am confirmed to be right about the expiry date, and Belgian Chocolate Online’s attempt to explain the problem was a lie . They were right in one point though: technically, they did not sell expired chocolate. Not until one day before expiry … then good luck trying to eat it all quickly. It is common practice by groceries to deep-discount perishable goods a few weeks/months before expiry, and one can even find Milka chocolate on eBay at a fraction of the original price – but eBay sellers disclose the shortened shelf-life, for fear of eBay ruling against them in a dispute. I guess there is no such policing on the Wild, Wild Web.
Except… now every consumer has the means to get “noisy” about their problems. I am no Jeff Jarvis, but CandyWorld USA is no Dell, either: I wouldn’t be surprised to see this post on the first page of several relevant Google searches (see update), and believe me, that will cost them a lot more than it would have cost to keep me happy. Of course not everyone has a moderately well-read blog, but just about anyone can make noise on Twitter, and Get Satisfaction is another great resource to vent and get service.
In fact a combination of Twitter and Get Satisfaction was what brought me Comcast help a few months ago. The attention I received from Comcast Executives from Philadelphia and here in California was quite amazing. Comcast is becoming a hero for listening to customers on Twitter, and others follow. Southwest Airlines now even has a Chief Twitter Officer.
Are these examples PR acts or real customers service? The individual complaints are resolved, for the customers involved, it’s real service. But Twitter or not, the “loud” unhappy customers are still just a fraction for now – which is why companies can afford to go out of their way to satisfy them.
I trust that simple market mechanisms will force companies -large and small- to improve service in the long run. The economics are simple:
We’ll all be better off after #3. 
Update: Just as exptected: a few hours later this post is on the first page if you search for Belgian Chocolate Online, and comes up first, before the vendor if you search for sugar-free Milka, which is how I found them in the first place.
Update (9/16): Following the trail from my blog referrer log I’ve just discovered this post is now #1 on Google for the “milka chocolate marketing” search. Oops… that can’t be good – for Milka.
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Jeff Nolan’s rant on the Grocery Shrink Ray just stroke the right chords with me: yesterday I picked up what may have been the last two 96oz pitchers of Tropicana Orange Juice at Raley’s. Not that they are out of OJ; there’s a newly designed pitcher, so visibly streamlined that my very first thought was: it must be smaller. Indeed it is, you get 7oz less for the same price. But this is the really frustrating part: the try to sell it as a benefit.
Certainly not a rare case: there’s an entire thread on Consumerist about the Grocery Shrink Ray. I absolutely agree with Jeff who says:
This is bad business for a couple of reasons, but mostly because it’s an attempt to trick consumers into paying more at the point of sale, but also bad because it presumes consumers are, well, stupid and don’t know this is going on. Prices are going up, that is no surprise to the average consumer who is paying $4.50′ish a gallon at the pump, so why would the average consumer not expect inflation at the market? It’s absolutely shameful that marketing people at food producers think that they have to slip in a price increase in this manner.
Personally, I would rather that the grocery store just raise the price honestly.
I’d go one step further: transparency works, deception fails in the long run. Fire the deceptive marketing consultants, they don’t belong in this profession!
(This must be my Consumerist day: another rant on chocolate rip-off follows soon)
Ben Kepes drew my attention to Viisibility, which appears to be a very interesting web based supply chain management / data clearing-house / hub type of a business.
At first reading I completely misread the name, thinking it was Visibility. Wow, what a great choice, I thought – a simple, common word that perfectly describes what the business is all about. But wait! try to Google it: it’s a bit difficult to find the relevant entries from the 47,100,000 hits Goggle found… That brings up question number one:
Do common words that describe your business perfectly but are hard to Google make good brands?
Robert Scoble has a simple rule: only pick names that do not come up on the major search engines at all.
But as it turns out I was wrong, just missing that extra “i”: the name is actually Viisibility. That brings up a whole new issue, which is my question number two:
Can intentionally misspelled common words that in pronunciation describe the product, but are only available as domains and are only unique on search because of the “typo” actually become Brands?
Last time I asked the question, the majority vote was yes (albeit with few participants). I used Vyew as an example, which I still think is a good name. But Viisibility’s case is a bit more complex, as shown by these two homepages:
Oops. Not only there’s another company with a similar name, they are also in the same space, “differentiated” only by a typo. I’m afraid it’s not much of a differentiation, I can’t help but think Viisibility is a poor choice for a brand.
But forget the extreme case above, I’d like to return to the generic question, and run the poll again, especially as I’ve gained a few marketers as readers since last time. If you read this in a feed reader, there’s a chance the poll does not work, so please click through the blog title to vote:
Update (4/22): The Importance of a Good Name @TechCrunch.
I’ve said before, software giant SAP is a company that “gets” social media. Heck, their Global Marketing group even has a VP focused on Social Media. He’s now running a rather unique experience on a grand scale: a virtual Marketing Community Meeting, with some 2000 SAP marketers worldwide, using a Unisfair virtual conference center.
The prelude to the meeting already started with blogging activity, using Jive’s Clearspace community platform. I’m truly honored to have been invited as part of a select group of external bloggers to participate, along with:
Now there’s only one thing missing: a link to the actual event site. I can’t link ( for now?), since it’s an internal, behind-the-firewall event. I hope Steve and team will eventually be able to review the material created here, and eventually release some (most?) of it to the general public. Not only because it represents intellectual value to share, but because it would be consistent with SAP striving to be an open, conversational company.
Update (6/4): This post is now #5 for the Google search SAP marketing. That’s insane. (but I don’t mind)
Under the Radar is the Silicon Valley’s most established startup debut platform: a conference series organized by Dealmaker Media, covering business applications, social media, entertainment, mobility..etc. The next conference, focusing on The Business of Web Apps: Where the Web Goes to Work is only two days away and Dealmaker Media allowed me to announce a few discounted tickets. Enjoy the $100 blogger discount by registering at this link only.
32 startups will present in a rapid-fire format (correction: American Idol format) they are grouped in categories of 4 each, in two parallel tracks (yes, you do have to pick one, but can switch back and forth), and each presenter has about 15 minutes. They get grilled by the judges and audience, and at the end of the conference the winners of each category are announced.
The categories and the selected startups are:
| Track 1 | Track 2 |
| Business Calls | Virtualization |
| Get Aggregated | Manage Up |
| Happy Customers | Virtual Worker |
| Work Together | Marketing and Measurement |
Last year I was on the Selection Committee to the Under the Radar Office 2.0 event, and as such reviewed over a hundred companies / products. Obviously not all could make it, so I am especially pleased to see some of them on this year’s list. Of course the real measure of success is that several presenters have since received funding, gained significant brand recognition and customers. Some are back this year as Graduate Circle sponsors:
3Tera | Blogtronix | Clarizen | Longjump | Nirvanix | Q-layer | Smartsheet.com | Transera
Other than the presentations, these events are also an excellent networking opportunity amongst the 400 or so attendees, so let’s look at the attendance statistics by provided by Dealmaker Media:
Concluding the Conference, Robert Scoble will be hosting a fireside chat with Amazon’s VP & CTO, Werner Vogels to discuss the future of apps in the cloud…where its heading, who will dominate and what you should be doing now to get ahead.
The event ends with a cocktail reception, and – here’s the bonus – participants are also invited to the Opening Reception the night before at Palo Alto’s Zibibbo.
So what are you waiting for? Grab a discounted ticked while they last.
Last, but not least, this year’s Selection Committee:
Pete Cashmore | Mashable
Robert Scoble | Scobleizer
Richard MacManus | ReadWriteWeb
Ismael Ghalimi | IT|Redux
Marshall Kirkpatrick | New Media Consultant
Josh Jaffe | Tech Confidential
Jon Burke | alarm:clock
Jeremy Toeman | Stage Two Consulting
Rafe Needleman | Webware
Leon Ho | Lifehack.org
Bryce T. Roberts | O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures
Stowe Boyd | /Message
Brian Solis | bub.blicio.us
Rod Boothby | Innovation Creators
Eze Vidra | VC Cafe & Ask.com
Email @ 9:20pm yesterday:
Your Citibank statement is now available at http://www.citicards.com. This notification is part of the All-Electronic Program you enrolled in to receive your statements online only instead of in the mail
Email @ 10:07pm yesteday:
Live the clutter-free life by replacing your regular printed statement with an electronic one.
It’s easy to enroll! Simply sign on to citibankonline.com
This from the Citi that “Never Sleeps”
Update: While at it… Dear Citi, could you please take the monthly junk-mail (typically inviting me to credit cards I already have from you) that comes to my house in multiple thick envelopes and shove it.. no, you won’t, but at least send it electronically, so I can quickly and painlessly route it to the junk folder. If you do that, you can launch a new marketing campaign… you know, about being Green.
Yet another PR email about a startup launch at Demo – that’s OK, some are actually interesting. The email itself was a fairly standard one, what ticked me off was the signature block:
Jane Doe
Public Relations Consultant
myname@yahoo.comwww.customcardsbyme.com
Ebay UserID: idunno
Obviously I changed the specifics, to protect her privacy. And on second thought, I am not the one hurt here – the startup is.
Please, please, when you spend megabucks to attend Demo, could you not find a real PR rep? (If you can’t, I’m sure my friend Brian Solis will help you). And for you, so-called PR Consultants: please, have some class! You have to decide if you’re promoting your Client or your eBay deals. You can’t do both.
I’ve received an email from European SaaS All-in-One SMB provider 24SevenOffice (wow, that’s a mouthful, basically NetSuite+Office for really small businesses, see my earlier coverage):
2008 must be the year when we all act against the serious environmental threat that the world is facing. 24SevenOffice has developed “The Go Green Game”, a Flash-game that puts focus on the pollution caused by the millions of unnecessary server rooms and servers located in all companies.
In addition, 24SevenOffice will plant trees based on the number of players, in co-operation with Nobel Peace Prize winner Maathai’s Green Belt Movement. If you wish to make a direct contribution to the society, let yourself entertain at http://game.24SevenOffice.com/ or forward this e-mail to friends, colleagues and business partners who are committed to the environmental battle.
Thank you for showing responsibility for the environment! The game can be found here: http://game.24SevenOffice.com/
I had mixed thoughts at first reading: Obviously environmental consciousness is becoming fashionable. Companies rush to launch their green initiatives in order to look “responsible corporate citizens”. OK, that’s the cynical view, but after all, these are often useful initiatives, and I’ve already said you don’t have to be purely altruistic to do good.
Whatever this game may be, it’s just a “save the earth” message, it’s not a vehicle to push 24SevenOffice products…
But wait! Like Columbo, when you think he’s gone, but comes back and drops the gist of the conversation, there’s a footnote here:
NB! The products mentioned in this e-mail are not the environmental sinners in themselves.
The environmental problem is based on the fact that most businesses, unnecessarily, have their own
servers and server rooms. This is the issue that 24SevenOffice is addressing.
Ahh…so it is advertising after all. Oh, well, it still delivers a correct message .. let’s check out the game itself:
I need to practice my swing, I could barely smash a few servers, look how much they’ve already racked up! Even worse, I’m not good in reading instructions, totally missed option#2, which is…no, I can’t tell you, it’s too violent.
Joke apart, 24SevenOffice clearly has a point: maintaining millions of servers for (small) businesses is wasteful, switching to Cloud Computing allows central servers to be more efficiently utilized, we’re all saving energy.
As a side-note, I’ve just looked at a web-based service that allows us, as individual consumers “go green” – will report about it when they are ready.
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