business sense

Be Brilliant at the Basics

A lot of the time, we look at ways we can be outrageously creative.

We think of ways to outshine that viral video our competitor lucked out with. Or we look at the craziest competition we can offer that ties social media, mobile, print and online marketing all into one kickass promo.

Or we think of how many cool features our new product has, and then think how it’d be even cooler to multiply that number by ten and use that as just the starting point.

Even on our blogs, we look at how we can make our design the one that stands out from the rest and look like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

But do we need to?

Does outrageously creative lead to more sales? Is that viral video one our audience will react to? Is our multi-platform marketing based on audience demographic or internal silo thinking? Does our blog’s content live up to the look and feel surrounding it?

There’s no question there’s a time and a place for the outrageous – but there’s also a time and place for the basics, too. Usually even more so.

Be brilliant at the basics – the rest will follow.

Stop Driving Me To Your Competitors

You’re in business for one reason – to make money. There are many reasons you can be in business, but at the end of the day the key factor across all is making money.

Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in business at all – you’d be working at a business (though the reason would still be to make money). So, if you want to make money, why are you so determined to lose it by driving me to your competitors?

Why is your service and small print built so that when something happens, the first thing I want to do after speaking with you is to leave you?

The Rogers “Experience”

My business partner Troy has an Android with Canadian service provider Rogers. It’s the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate, and a pretty damn sweet phone (I have one myself – it’s a Bonsai thing).

Today, Troy dropped his phone and cracked the screen. So he calls Rogers and explains the situation, and how does he go about replacing it. Easy, is the reply – buy a new one. But at full retail price – $549.99 + tax, which equates to $621.49.

Troy replies he’s been a Rogers customer for years, and he understands he has to pay, but full retail price? Seems a bit harsh – can’t he get the new customer offer of $49.99 + tax? The simple answer – no, he has to pay full retail price, because the handset is still within the first 12 months of a three-year contract.

So let’s get this straight – Troy accepts he’ll have to pay, but as a loyal customer he doesn’t get any leeway? Instead, Rogers (by their actions) don’t care if he leaves, and would rather lose a customer than swallow the cost of a new handset? Which they’d recuperate in about three months’ worth of Troy’s usage?

Cool – Telus, one of Rogers’ competitors, is currently offering a deal where you can upgrade your handset at any time, no questions asked. Don’t like your handset – no worries, they’ll upgrade. So guess where Troy’s going later this week? And Bonsai are getting some new handsets this week as part of a new business account – guess which provider we’ll be going to?

In the meantime, Troy’s being well looked after by an independent called Techville, who’re fixing the phone for $130 and have given Troy a BlackBerry Bold loaner until his is fixed. Something Rogers couldn’t do…

The Tim Hortons “Experience”

It’s not just Rogers who don’t seem to know how to create a great customer experience (also known as building loyalty in your brand). Our intern Dan recently won a nice $100 in the Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim promotion.

Tim Hortons is a Canadian coffee chain and every year they have a promotion where you roll up the rim of your coffee cup to see if you’ve won a prize. Which is where Dan’s $100 comes in. But here’s the kicker – Dan has to mail in the rim, as well as two forms AND a skill question, to the Tim Hortons head office to claim his prize.

Tim’s will then send out a Tim Card to the value of $100 to Dan. Here’s where I get stumped, and wonder who the brains are behind this wonderful way to claim a prize.

Tim Hortons has a bunch of these Tim Cards in their stores. You simply choose the one you like, add money to it at the cash register, then you can buy coffee, donuts, sandwiches, etc, and use the card until it needs topped up again.

So why can’t Dan simply take his winning rim to a store and have it rung through the till and get his card there and then? Okay, there may be a security reason where Tim Hortons don’t want their employees possibly scamming the system (though that doesn’t say a lot for their trust in the employee to start with). But couldn’t a manager be responsible for both scanning and informing head office?

Additionally, how much extra are they paying for postage per card to send out?

It just seems like a backward way to say thank you for being a customer and puts me off wanting to even play the stupid game, if I have to go through hoops for one of the lower-end prizes.

The User Experience

It’s a fact that it’s cheaper and more effective to keep an existing customer happy than it is to market to a new one. You already have a warm lead; treat them right, and your customers suddenly become your marketers.

So why do brands continuously look to piss their customers off?

Are they really so vain that they feel they can lose the odd customer here and there, because they have millions more? Do they really feel they have us locked in because that’s how everyone is doing it?

Contrary to what brands might think, customers are becoming less tolerant and more savvy when it comes to getting the best deal – because the best deal is no longer enough. Now the user experience is key – get that wrong, and you begin to lose your grip. Big time.

So, Rogers and Tim Hortons, and others like you. Continue with your crappy service, and customer experience, and crazy hoops. It might keep you going in the short term. Heck, it might even keep you going in the medium term. But every business is a marathon, and you might just find that the stamina of your customers is beginning to fade.

Want to stay in the race? Start thinking like customers – surely that’s not too difficult to do. Is it?

image: Stacie Bee

Air Canada and the Non-Lesson from United Airlines

This story caught my eye today. It’s about a little 10-year old boy who’s dying from muscular dystrophy.

As part of his dying wishes, Tanner traveled to New York to take a tour through Central Park. He flew with Air Canada. In Canada, the name Air Canada is synonymous with “Who Cares Canada” instead. Simply put, they’re pretty much the crappest airline around.

Yesterday, however, they outdid themselves. They broke Tanner’s $15,000 wheelchair.

This is an 10-year old boy who can’t get around without his wheelchair. His needs mean that the chair is almost like an extra body part for him.

As an example, think of yourself trying to breathe on only one lung – that’s how important Tanner’s chair is.

So, bit of a problem would be an understatement.

No problem, you’d think. Air Canada broke it, they’ll replace it, right? Wrong.

They told Tanner’s family that they can’t do anything until this coming Monday – five days later. Five days for Tanner to be bed-ridden because Air Canada screwed up. Bad move, Air Canada – we live in the age of social media and instant backlash.

You might recall the outcry when U.S. air carrier United Airlines broke a passenger’s guitar, and the protracted period he went through to get a replacement. Eventually he made a YouTube video that saw United Airline take a negative PR hit they were never prepared for.

You would have thought airlines would have learned from that escapade, especially when you have some great uses of social media from the industry by the likes of JetBlue and Southwest Airlines.

But then again, this is Air Canada we’re talking about.

Despite an outcry on Twitter; despite the news story that leads this post; despite the family pleading their case about how crucial it is for Tanner to have a wheelchair, so far there’s been nothing from the company apart from a “loaner” that Tanner can’t use.

Instead, it’s taken a company in New York called Mobility Solutions to come to Tanner’s rescue. All through Twitter. All through helping a little boy out. All through goodwill; not through responsibility of breaking an item and replacing it.

Nice job, Air Canada.

Now I know times are tough, since you announced your second quarter results and showed a loss of $203 million. But then again, you made an operating income of $75 million, compared to a loss of $113 million last year. So you have some spare change.

But not enough to replace a dying kid’s $15,000 wheelchair that you broke?

Maybe there’s a reason. Maybe there’s red tape you have to sign off. Maybe you have to investigate what happened. Fair enough – that’s business.

But there’s business and there’s good business. You screwed up. You replace. Then you find out what happened.

It’s not so hard, is it?

And while you’re thinking about that, you might want to look at sorting out your Twitter profile, or updating your Facebook page. That’s where the questions are happening. If you had these up-to-date, some things you could have done:

Addressed the concerns of Twitter users that are calling you out.
Used your Facebook wall to keep folks updated on what’s happening.
Used the #TutusForTanner hashtag on Twitter to offer apologies and advise what went wrong/how it’s being fixed.
Connected with the news outlets social feeds and updated via there as well.

The great thing about social media is that any mistakes made on it can be rectified on it as well. You have that chance.

Or is it still “Who Cares Canada”?

Update: Looks like Air Canada has stepped up to the plate and is helping to resolve. Good on them – just a pity it probably had a tad to do with the negative publicity as opposed to just getting it sorted as a given.

Update 2: I’m hearing Air Canada is going to fly Tanner to Disneyland (another of his dying wishes) as a way of showing their regret at the incident . Good job, AC – great to see you becoming involved.

How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People

When is sharing information useful, and when is it just spamming off the back of someone else’s community?

I ask because when I logged into my Facebook page today to post an update on a future Bonsai Interactive event, I was met with this at the top of my wall (click to expand).

It was posted by Claire Reynolds on behalf of the DSNR Media Group. At least I think it’s by Claire on behalf of DSNR, since Claire’s Facebook profile has her located in the U.K., while DSNR are based in Israel.

DSNR describe themselves as “a recognized global provider of result-based online and mobile advertising solutions… with cutting edge optimization tools.” Really, DSNR?

So spamming your message onto a Facebook wall is considered cutting edge? Shilling your wares without permission is your great advertising solutions? Posting links to your service where they may or may not be relevant to the audience is ethical?

Here’s a heads-up – spam is not cool.

You can paint it whatever way you like, but you’re spamming.

You’re an online advertising company, so I’m pretty sure you’re aware of Permission Marketing from Seth Godin. Even though it was written over 10 years ago, it’s still more than relevant today. Check it out – it’s a great read and might open your eyes as to why your current spamming approach isn’t welcome.

In the meantime, I’m removing your post on my wall. I respect the community I have over there, and I don’t want them spammed by you either.

Have a great week.

Personal Superheroes

Subterranean Mutants Are you a hero to someone? Do you make your business superheroes to every one of your customers, or treat them as heroes? Going that extra mile can make all the difference.

I found that out last week when two people who I already respected immensely joined the ranks of superheroes.

Michael Schechter, someone I’ve connected with through Twitter yet never met personally, is a superhero. As some of you might know, I recently won a tagline competition where the prize was a Nintendo Wii. I thought it’d be a nice idea to donate it to the local sick kids hospital when it arrives later this week.

Michael knew what I was doing, so he sent me some of his own Wii games that were gathering dust at his home. As an additional gesture, he also included three pearl bracelets and a pearl necklace for my wife as a thank you for me helping him out on his blog earlier this year. (Michael is Director of Retail Marketing at Honora Pearls).

He didn’t have to; I was happy to help. But his gesture made him an instant superhero.

John Haydon is another guy I’ve connected with on Twitter, through the 12for12k charity challenge. John has come onboard and used his non-profit experience and networks to gather bloggers that have written amazing posts for our charities. His help has been a Godsend at helping to spread the word.

Last week, I received a little Thank You card from John in the mail, thanking me for getting him involved with 12for12k. Even though it’s me that should be thanking him for all he’s doing. And he also mentioned to say Hi to my wife and hoped she was well. John is a superhero.

Even though I know both Michael and John already, that kind of thinking would immediately make me keen to recommend them to anyone. Michael didn’t need to offer games and he certainly didn’t need to send my wife pearls, and John didn’t need to offer that personal touch.

But the fact they did makes me confident anyone using either of them will always receive amazing service.

How’s your superhero status? Do you wear your cape with pride or does it need some new threads?

photo credit: Zeetz Jones