I find it funny…

How can the marketer 'own' the customer? Why should the customer be referred to as 'loyal'? "You are our loyal customer, you deserve to be rewarded," we say. Isn’t it derogatory to the customer? Shouldn’t the marketer be loyal instead, and hopefully the customer would reward by buying or if are really lucky, continue to buy and endorse to others.

This large multi-national bank that held my salary account, had extended me a huge overdraft facility, but then, I moved out of my job - the f & f settlement was in process and the cheque was expected any moment. In the interim, I decided to use the overdraft facility and a crucial Service Tax cheque, with last date for payment due, was in the queue. Calling to enquire about receipt of my f & f cheque, I was informed that I was short of funds and the pending cheque would be rejected. The overdraft had been reduced by half. It took half-a-day of requests, follow-ups etc. to get the bank to just HOLD the cheque for another day. My expected f & f cheque arrived the same day, bringing a pile of money and the cheque was cleared.

Of course, it is the bank’s money and they don’t owe me anything to be so generous as to clear the cheque with no funds in the bank, but I think they owed it to me that someone wrote to me/ spoke with me just to keep me informed that they had reduced my overdraft limit. I settled my account with the bank, the same day, and moved the remainder of my money to another bank. I am not likely to bank with them again – too tiny to matter? Of course, but it is those small-subtle things that make a customer stay.

I don’t know if he would agree that this episode could be called breach of loyalty at all, but to still borrow his words - Ashwani may have said something like this “The cup was great, but the coffee was cold”. Doesn’t help.

The hospitality business has great learnings to offer I think:

• You are as good as my last experience with you – you may have served me a a great meal yesterday, but today the soup sucks and I think you are no good. Consistency matters.
• Wow, the food is great but why is the AC so cold (it could also be “Why is it so warm?”
• Wow, perfect food, perfect service… but hey, there’s no soap in the loo?
• Great view from the room, nice bed and room service is great, but hey, why must I suffer the noise if the gentleman next door has a bad case of a Delhi Belly?

The hospitality business appreciates a smile from a guest - they know that they must have done something right to earn it. I also think they understand the value of surprise: When I go to a restaurant, I expect great food; great service; great ambience – that’s what I have paid for. Then one day, the chef walks out of the kitchen, surprises me by greeting me by name and offers to prepare anything special – doesn’t matter if it is not in the menu. Ummm - the meal was just perfect; dessert and coffee follow (the coffee has been specially brewed by her). The cheque doesn’t cover dessert and coffee – “You have our guest many times, the dessert is on the house today. Hope you enjoyed your meal”.Accumulated reward points, to be redeemed at milestones (only to find that the item you received costs half the ascribed value) are not a patch.

I quite like Pierce Brosnan - enjoyed him as Bond and otherwise- but yesterday, watching Casino Royale, I didn't miss him one bit: Daniel Craig fills the slot quite neatly - may I dare say, perhaps even better than Brosnan.

Bond itself is changing, like a friend put it, "He is much more real, more vulnerable. When he gets hit, he gets cuts on his face".

Anyway, it is non-stop action, stunning special effects et al, but my take-away from the movie was this chase sequence towards the beginning...

I think I was needlessly worried when I wrote this post about Second Life. It just amuses me now - read this AdRants post, linking us to this :).

Have you seen the new Idea cellular commercial?

The one with the exotic monkey child who steals the sleeping man's phone, hangs it around its neck and then selectively takes it to a basement; light house; jungle etc., all places you'd typically the network to be weak.

The man's obviously in demand, for the phone keeps ringing (great network), but our protagonist, scared/ tired of the constant ringing, travels all the way back to the man's house (man's still asleep), leaves the phone, heaves a sigh of relief. The phone rings again, the man picks up the phone...

Point 1- There is a true lesson here: Only 'man' wants a hand-phone; everyone else thinks it's useless. Agreed.

Point 2 - Does it in anyway resemble the Hutch (puppy follows the boy - our network follows you, wherever you go) ad. Sure the treatment is different, and the execution is indeed very classy, but is the core 'network' idea the same?

Let me know what you think.

Original post is here

Technorati CEO and founder Dave Sifry's quarterly status report 'State of the Blogosphere - Oct 2006' is out. The results are fascinating and you can find them here .

I am putting together key points that caught my attention:

1. Technorati is today tracking 57 + million weblogs
2. Over 55% blogs are active (updated at least once in 3 months).
3. The blogosphere is now doubling every 230 days.
4. There are 100,000 new blogs appearing every day.
5. 1.3 million posts, every day (about double the volume last year)
6. Top 50 media have 3 blogs, but top 100 have 12, however, by the time the list reaches 5000, it is dominated by blogs.
7. Persistance pays off in blogging, like in everything else- there is a direct corelation between 'High Authority' and longivity of a blog (though it is obviously not the only factor).
8. Of all blogs, English only contributes 39% ; 33% blogs are in Japanese and another 10% in Chinese.

Read the full report.

I feel frustrated (or amused, depending on my mood) when:

1. I walk into the 'largest' bookstore in town and it is playing LOUD music
2. Each time I ask for a book at another 'large' bookstore, attendant/s have a blank look on their face
3. I am expected to buy music without being able to sample it (and can't help feel guilty when I meekly request the store to open a copy for me, but adding that I may not buy if I don't like it)
4. We take the elevator in a mall and the staff is busy speaking with each-other, loudly
5. We eat at a pizza chain outlet (this happened a few years ago) and the staff delivers a personalised note -complete with drawing of a pierced heart- along with the cheque "It was lovely to have such a wonderful couple dine with us." or something like that (I was out for dinner with my sister and this one brought an amused smile.Their pizza was (and remains) good though and the staff is quite cool now)
6. A tele-executive informs me that they have generously approved a loan for me, based on my past purchase record - the purchase happens to be a medical test I ran

You have an amusing customer service or marketing related anecdote to share? Leave a comment or drop me a line.

Original post is here!

Indian marketers are beginning to acknowledge the fact that blogs are here to stay and are trying to explore how they can be used for marketing. The fact that US, and some of the other markets, have been exploring this domain ahead of us, offers learning...

Whilst unethical players bring dis-repute to any industry, the very premise on which Conversational Marketing is based, gets challenged if ethics and transperency are compromised - the impact is prompt and usually severe.

To help marketers & advisors know what would be the right thing to do as also to protect the consumers rights, WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) has released a discussion draft for public comment' of its 'WOMMA Ethical Blogger Contact Guidelines - prompting us to remember that: Consumers come first, honesty isn't optional, and deception is always exposed.

1. I will always be truthful and will never knowingly relay false information. I will never ask someone else to deceive bloggers for me.
2. I will fully disclose who I am and who I work for (my identity and affiliations) from the very first encounter when communicating with bloggers or commenting on blogs.
3. I will never take action contrary to the boundaries set by bloggers. I will respect all community guidelines regarding posting messages and comments.
4. I will never ask bloggers to lie for me.
5. I will use extreme care when communicating with minors or blogs intended to be read by minors.
6. I will not manipulate advertising or affiliate programs to impact blogger income.
7. I will not use automated systems for posting comments or distributing information.
8. I understand that compensating bloggers may give the appearance of a conflict of interest, and I will therefore fully disclose any and all compensation or incentives.
9. I understand that if I send bloggers products for review, they are not obligated to comment on them. Bloggers can return products at their own discretion.
10. If bloggers write about products I send them, I will proactively ask them to disclose the products’ source.

Many of us have been tracking this, but if you haven't yet heard about the Walmart 'fake blog' controversy that both Walmart and Edelman found themselves embroiled in recently, go here (Excerpt: ...a blog ostensibly authored by a couple traveling across America in their RV and spending nights parked in WalMart parking lots turned out to be a fake blog, the brainchild of WalMart’s PR counselors at Edelman).

Not just did it impact credibility for Edelman's me2revolution initiative and Edelman per se, Steve Rubel, who writes his very popular Micropersuasion blog and is now employed by Edelman, also found himself at the receiving end of brickbats - this is what he had to say.

The controversy is far from over as these (1, 2) would suggest.

Tricky, the blogosphere, and leaders will need to tread with even more caution. Richard Edelman has acknowledged the error and brought about change.

Focus is on WOMMA code of ethics.

We are all learning...

Update 03 November 2006: Edelman Membership Put on Review

(WOMMA has responded this week to issues of disclosure and ethics surrounding Edelman’s recent blogs for Wal-Mart by placing Edelman’s membership on review. The following letter was forwarded to Richard Edelman and Rick Murray on Monday- text here). Source: www.womma.org


Original post is here.