I recently installed the Wapple WordPress plug-in as I wanted more options for mobile visitors to this blog. There are a host of functional plug-ins out there, but a lot come with ads and many are limited in features.

Looking around I found the Wapple site, and the ability to customize the mobile version of my blog to replicate much of the web-based one appealed. Plus the fact you can tailor search engine optimization, even though it’s a mobile app, and I was sold.

I installed the plug-in and it worked. Then it stopped, and all I got was a blank screen when accessing from my BlackBerry. So I deactivated Wapple and switched back to the previous one. Cue impressed-as-hell experience with Wapple.

I received a pleasant email from Rich mentioning he noticed I’d swapped back to another plug-in, and was there any particular reason and could he help in any way. I wrote back thanking him for taking the time to contact, and explained what had happened. Rich offered to style up the plug-in and also look to see what the issue was.

It turns out that it was a comment that had messed up the code a little, so Rich fixed it there and then. He also made sure I had the latest version and new dev key that would allow me to tailor the plug-in more to the styling of my blog.

And this just impressed the hell out of me and it left me thinking that Rich and the guys at Wapple could teach many businesses a thing or two. Here’s why:

• Monitoring your product. Rich knew that I had his plug-in but wasn’t using it. Instead of letting that slide, he contacted me to see if there was anything wrong with the product, and if he could help. This leads to the next point.
• Excellent customer service. Rich saw there was an issue and made sure that his customer had the best customer service experience around. He resolved the issue and followed up to make sure everything was okay.
• Brand loyalty. There are numerous WordPress plug-in developers, yet I’ve never been contacted before by one and offered an experience like the one I had with Rich and Wapple. That’s made me incredibly loyal to them and they’ll be the first I go to when I need mobile solutions.
• Consumer marketing. I’ve talked before about the power of consumer marketing and why it’s an untapped weapon for many businesses. Through Rich, Wapple’s service now has me blogging about it and sharing with you, and that’s all free marketing.

As budgets and belts tighten, the people and businesses that are succeeding are the ones separating themselves from the rest of the noise around them. Rich Gubby did that in spades and then some.

Something to learn from, yes?

Learning from Rich Gubby of Wapple originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

I had the good (?) fortune to sit down with the CEO of a PR agency in Toronto recently. He had been at a seminar I attended regarding converging technologies and mediums and how they fit into the role of the PR professional. We got chatting and decided to have lunch together.

Now, I’m a pretty open guy to how businesses run themselves, but this lunch was an eye-opener.

The conversation turned naturally to the economy and the effect it’s having on agencies and clients alike. My lunch partner said he was finding it tough as his clients just weren’t spending, yet he was sure both would start needing his agency’s services again soon. I asked if he’d lost a lot of clients to the credit crunch – after all, being reduced to two clients must be extra tough.

His response floored me.

“Oh, no, we never have more than two clients at any time – we just concentrate on finding the biggest and most profitable ones and stick with them.” So, no small businesses or entrepreneurs, I asked. The answer: “Why would I want to deal with the little guy? How would that enhance my reputation?”

The lunch ended, we exchanged business cards and went our separate ways. I wondered if I should have probed him more on his views about clients, but the way he emphasized the “my reputation” part made me think he was only in business for one reason – his glory. Which normally means any arguments falling on deaf ears.

Yet perhaps I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Too many businesses in too many industries have forgotten about the little guy. Too many businesses think dollars over development. Too many businesses think pre-built over building.

Just when this mindset happened escapes me – what doesn’t escape me is the narrow-minded tunnel vision behind it.

Did the CEO of the Toronto PR agency start off as a ready-made success story? Did Richard Branson jump into the business world with Virgin already a huge success? Does being a large corporation guarantee success levels?

Of course not. Yet still the belief remains in many businesses that small is a necessary evil, to tolerate while the big boys gather to put small in its place.

These are dangerous thoughts.

True success comes from the building of relationships. Of loyalties being forged. Of give and take and the combining of good ideas and openness to encourage greatness.

Aim high – there’s nothing wrong with that. But just take a minute to think what’s going to get you higher – two giants 100 feet tall who control you, or hundreds of normal sized people who respect you.

The choice is yours – I know whose company I’d prefer to keep. How about you?

Acorns And Oak Trees originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.