Tag Archive: Comcast

The Expectations And Implications Of Real Time

Written on February 7, 2010 by Adam in Marketing & Advertising
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Do we need a bit of a reality check?

I was in a client meeting a few days ago where we collaborating on their 2010 social strategy. The social strategy ultimately is tied to the overall marketing strategy and thus the well defined business objectives. As we were plotting out a fairly robust and comprehensive plan, our client paused and asked a great question, “We don’t know if what we have behind the door is a drip or a flood; how will we scale to meet their real time expectations?”

Think about that question. It’s profound really. When we mailed in comments to companies we might have accepted a 30 day turn around for feedback. When we email customer support, it’s reasonable to expect anywhere from 24 to 48 hours for a response. When we call the 1-800 number, we’ll tolerate 15 minutes to hours (depending on call volume and your need) to connect with a real person.

But, in the social space (twitter, Facebook, etc.) we demand, not expect, INSTANT feedback. So, again, I ask, do we need a bit of a reality check? I even find myself expecting immediate feedback when I tweet a company, comment on a post, or make a request via a forum/message board. Is that right?

Let’s consider a few things:

  1. Customer service is important and consumers expect great customer service
  2. Providing great customer service is expensive – technology while an enabler, still requires REAL humans to deliver on that great customer service experience
  3. Customers want value…and by value I mean they don’t want to spend a lot
  4. Quality customer service is derived from both what is said/done and how quickly service is provided

There seems to be a gap here, no? Let’s assume you’re a company that offers a service. If you have 10 customers and 1 customer service person, you’re probably ok. But, if you have 1,000 customers and still that 1 customer service person, you’re going to be stretched. Ok, so what happens if you have 1,000,000 customers and still only 1 customer service person? Well, you aren’t going to be able to provide great customer service. Hmmm…ok, so we’ll just hire 99,999 more customer service people to bring us back to our ratio of 1 customer service person per 10 customers. Cool, but we’ve got to pay these people. For the purposes of round numbers let’s assume each person costs the company $100,000 in salary, benefits, and operations. Well we just went from $100,000 of customer service overhead costs to $9,999,900,000. That’s a big jump, no?

Is the company going to eat those costs? Of course not. They’re going to pass those costs on to you. If amortized equally, each customer will now be paying at a minimum $9,999.90 more. Guess what’s going to happen? Yeap, we’re going to have some pretty ticked off customers.

Look, that’s an extreme situation, but the round numbers show us that customers like you and me need to be willing to do 1 of 2 things:

  1. Pay more for better service
  2. Have more realistic and lower expectations

Surely, there’s a middle ground. Companies like Zappos, Comcast, Southwest and others are showing us the way. But, you can’t simply copy someone else’s model. If you’re a company you need to find your own model; one that works for your culture and customers. And as companies are developing these models what are we to do as customers? Should we change our expectations? I think we should. If we don’t, companies will be reluctant to enter the social space. After all it’s easier to keep us using older and more familiar tools for customer service, like email, letters and the phone.

There’s a reason Apple isn’t in the social space. Part of it is arrogance. But, the other part is they don’t have a model for how to make it work. Think I’m wrong? Consider the Genius Bar. Have you ever tried to walk up and get help at a Genius Bar? If you’re like the majority of Apple customers, it’s a rare occasion when they’ll simply help you on the spot. A more likely situation is the Apple employee will ask you to schedule an appointment at the Genius Bar. Granted, that appointment could be for a time 15 minutes in the future. The point is, they schedule, slot and meter your ability to get customer service. And, while they’re doing that, they’re also getting major kudos for offering amazing customer service. Not too shabby, huh? Imagine if Apple was on twitter and using the platform for customer service…an extension of the Genius Bar, if you will. Do you really think customers would accept an exchange like this:

Customer: “Hey, having a problem with 15″ MacBook Pro. The screen keeps shutting off randomly. Any thoughts? Thanks.”

Apple: “Thanks for your tweet, unfortunately all of today’s, tomorrow’s, and the rest of the week’s slots are filled up. I can tweet you back in about next Thursday. Thanks.”

No customer would dare accept that. After all, if you have time to tweet me that, you should have time help me out. If Apple, instead ignored the customer’s tweet until next Thursday, the customer would still be irritated because of the time lag in getting a response. See, it’s the expectations of the medium. Almost feels like a no win situation.

So, what do we do?

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What Happens When They Figure This Thing Out?

Written on July 30, 2009 by Adam in Marketing & Advertising
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The interesting thing about “social media” is how quickly people, companies, and organizations have hopped into the space.  Some like Comcast and Best Buy are using it less for “campaigns” and more as a fundamental underpinning of their business.  As they blaze a path for how to make social media work hard for the business other companies are going to sit up, take notice, and follow the blueprint.  Social media is going to evolve from the squishy unsophisticated mess that it currently is, into a stable, predictive, formulaic strategy for business success.

I’m a little concerned though that as companies drink the social media fruit punch and start seeing the return on investment opportunities, social media will become less useful to the people, customers, and consumers who made it something to pay attention to.  Look back through history and you can see that as a technology or an “opportunity” matures it becomes less useful for providing value.

Think I’m crazy?  Look at call centers.  They’re horrible to use.  The whole purpose of them today is to avoid letting you talk to a human being.  It’s all about “automation.”  But, it wasn’t always that way.  When phones and call centers were still an evolving medium you could always get a real person to help you out.  The phone is just one example and there are many others.

In short, what’s going to happen to the value we derive from social media when companies figure this “thing” out?  Are we going to get screwed?  Will you be able to talk directly to Frank at Comcast?  Will Zappos really be able to retain their wide open culture?  I don’t think so.

It’s not a question of if, but a question of when.

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Brands As Brands Shouldn’t Be On Twitter

Written on June 16, 2009 by Adam in Marketing & Advertising
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Brands aren’t people.  They never have been.  They never will be.  Nope.  Brands are color, typography, a photo, an icon, a product, a building, a cube, some letterhead, but not a person. Ironically though, people can be brands.  Michael Jordan is perhaps the best example.  The Jump Man 23 logo and product line is Michael Jordan and without him there would be no brand…because he is the brand.

The brands I get the most out of on twitter are the brands that aren’t coming across as brands.  They’re coming across as people.  You know, real people.  From Scott Monty to Frank Eliason there’s plenty of companies getting this right.  But, for every Tom at Fancast, there’s Pizzahut.  Some companies just don’t get it.  I don’t want to connect with you logo.  I want to connect with a real person.

Now I’m not saying your avatar/photo can’t be a logo.  I’m totally cool with that.  In fact I prefer it, because the people representing a brand can change, but the brand won’t.  But, the bio should indicate who is representing the brand on twitter.  Here’s an example of two brands using logos as avatars:

  1. Your direct line to the Pepsiverse. Currently serving: Ana and Rachel.
  2. Now You’re Eating

Hmm, do you want to connect with Ana and Rachel or “Now You’re Eating?”  Seriously, think about it.  Brands and brands on twitter will never make it, because people, despite their reliance on digital communication, want a personal and human touch.

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Personal Branding Under The Microscope

Written on April 12, 2009 by Adam in Misc.
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Short Version
David Armano, widely considered to be a really smart guy has left Critical Mass to join a startup company called Dachis Corp. Some people are happy about the above and think this is great. Others are completely pissed.

Long Version
For the last 12 months there’s been a lot of discussion in the interactive space regarding “personal brands.” Not familiar with the concept of personal brands? Let me give you the down and dirty.

For years employees have been cogs in a company’s machine. Employess were expected to live, breathe, and die for the greater good of the organization. But, the rapid evolution of interactive marketing towards “social media” started to change that concept. People mattered. Yes, people mattered. Frank Eliason from Comcast, the man Business Week called “the most famous customer service manager in the U.S., possibly in the world” is perhaps the best example of this evolution.

The people that are pissed about Armano’s decision to leave Critical Mass believe the following:

  1. He was brilliant in getting Critical Mass to fund the trips for his speaking engagements.
  2. He was brilliant in getting Critical Mass to embrace his personal blog, tweeting, and column in Adweek.
  3. He became the outward face of Critical Mass.
  4. He established and built a reputation in the industry because of Critical Mass’ willingness to fund his “personal interests” and “ego.”
  5. He leveraged #1 and #2 to jump to a “better” more lucrative position – and in doing so has left Critical Mass in the lurch.

This comment from a reader of Brian Morrisey’s article on David’s departure captures the spirit and sentiment of those who are pissed at his decision to bail.

Critical Mistake

April 10, 2009
Armano is giving up the sweetest deal of all: Critical Mass paid him a salary to build his own brand at the expense of theirs. So today Armano is a social media rockstar and Critical Mass is still an unknown agency. He’s always feeding us some line about learning from people. Love for him to teach us how he managed to pull that one off.

It’s an interesting point and one I can understand. It’s similar to college basketball coaches that are given an opportunity by a school, paid well, and treated like rock stars – only to abandon that school for a more lucrative or better known school. The people in Memphis are saying this very thing about John Calipari’s decision to leave them for Kentucky.

Here’s the facts, as I see them:

  1. Critical Mass is a great shop
  2. David Armano was a smart guy before coming to Critical Mass
  3. Critical Mass enabled David Armano to become the well know welebrity (his word, not mine) that he is today
  4. David left for a great opportunity
  5. Critical Mass is weakened by his departure

To me it’s that simple. Companies cut employees all the time. Sometimes for good reasons. Sometimes for silly reasons. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it happen, and recently I was part of it.  Whenever we leave an organization we hopefully do it on our own terms and for good reasons.  I left Fallon in 2000 while I was working on BMW Films because the culture had changed too much.  Publicis’ acquisition of the agency really altered the company and made it a place I no longer wanted to be at.  I left Leo Burnett 3 years later for the same reason.  I’ve seen people leave for a title, 5K a year more, and because the company stopped offering free beer on Thursdays.  The point is, people leave a for a variety of reasons.

I’m happy for David. I wish him well. But, this situation definitely shows us the danger of companies investing in personal brands. David has clearly benefited from Critical Mass’ direct investment into his brand, and I’m sure on some level so has Critical Mass.  How much we’ll never know.  What we do know for sure is that Critical Mass invested a lot and now 2 years later they have a massive hole to fill.

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Guest Post – Should We Selebrate Errors?

Written on February 21, 2009 by Adam in Marketing & Advertising, Misc.
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I’m out on vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

In April 1985, the management of Coca-Cola announced a decision to change the flavor of its flagship brand. New Coke came in a new can, with updated red and silver graphics replacing the traditional red and white look. The rest is history: a large public outcry ensued and after 79 days the new was replaced with the old. This was 24 years ago. Now imagine what would happen if Coke would do the same in today’s world: Just like David Neeleman from JetBlue Coke’s management would have to apologize on any radio and TV station that wanted to hear from them. Just like Starbucks, they would have to create a newcokeidea.com. Just like Comcast, Coke would have to create @newcokecares. And just like many brands experienced, the public flogging would have been merciless, constant and extremely painful.

While we always ask brands to experiment and test, we have a schizophrenic relationship to mistakes: Deeply outraged and always ready to forgive. Mistakes happen in the land of endless possibilities all the time; the cultural mix is just too volatile. Everybody has to deal with the limits of political correctness, limits that continue to change and evolve. But, beware: if you cross that line of good behavior, taste and decent business practices, you better be prepared to present yourself as a shameful sinner.

The public expects the spectacle of admission and asking for forgiveness from the sinner. Just like a dog, craning his head away to display submission, it’s a spectacle that doesn’t change anything about the balance of power – but it’s a double dose of Valium for our religion-based psyche, asking for salvation that supposedly lurks around the corner. There’s a reason why self-help books were invented in the United States.

Fossils like Nixon or Rumsfeld didn’t get it when they proclaimed not to be crooks or didn’t admit any mistakes. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, remains one of the most popular Presidents, even though he lied about his affair until he finally asked for forgiveness. When you mess up, book yourself on Larry King and claim to be a changed person. As long as you’re not a heinous racist, people will forgive the poor sinner. Or better, the rich sinner.

Add to that a crumbling infrastructure and an economy constructed out of weak intellectual constructs based upon unproven theories. While advertising continues to showcase a perfect world, people have to deal with imperfect products and service. Europeans or Japanese wouldn’t put up with this for long. But we do. Piecemealing needs a lot of patience:

In my almost 30 years in Europe, I never experienced one blackout. Living in Los Angeles, we had at least 30 since I moved here. Phone companies that don’t show up for hours. Contractors that leave ruins behind. Customer Service agents barely able to speak English. Electronics that need to be returned to the store, just to malfunction again. And, at the end, agents ask you “Did we serve you well today?” Even though the answer is “Hell, no.”, the ritual remains the same.

The throwaway culture is so deeply ingrained that we don’t mind if a $300 camera stops working after 3 months. We just get a new one.

Just have a close look at contractors: There are no real standards, no training, no real foundation to be proud of your work. You can visit super-expensive homes and see shoddy craftsmanship when it comes to details. Such a tolerance for poor work standards allow for immense creativity when everything works out well. When it doesn’t, we always have this new tool of Web 2.0. Every time I go to Best Buy, I have a bad, bad, bad experience. But the Twitter existence of @bestbuycmo and my few exchanges with him lulls me into this idea that they really care. And they want to change. Or is it just enough to show the public that you’re reacting to criticism and we use this reaction as a Xanax to calm our anger? Sure, it’s nice that @richardbranson is on Twitter but he never answered any of my tweets when I asked him about the poor website experience that lead to a missed sale for Virgin Atlantic. And don’t get me started on Virgin’s Customer Avoidance program.

The advent of the Internet and especially Social Marketing tools have fundamentally changed the way brands deal with mistakes (Or issues, as the PR person loves to say.) But, in some ways, we have retreated to life in the Middle Ages: Public pillorying continues to thrive in the new marketing reality. Just ask Motrin. Or better, ask @scottmonty. He was one of the latest victims in a discussion about the usage of his private brand to shill ( I mean, work the Social Marketing angle) for Ford. @chrisbrogan had to deal with a lot of backlash for his Kmart promotion (And, yes,, I was one of many who thought he might have gone too far.) And, @keyinfluencer was treated as the second coming of Hitler when he made a stupid remark upon his arrival in Memphis. Everything brands and people do is inspected, dissected and torn apart. Everything is public now: your location on Google Latitude, your deepest secrets on @secrettweet and your beer pong pictures on Facebook that will cost you a job offer in the near future.

We are stumbling through this new reality, enabled by technology and embracing David Armano’s brilliant statement of “Always in beta.” It’s a mindset based in Silicone Valley where you start a company yesterday, go bankrupt today and start something new tomorrow.

Just look at startups: slap a ‘Beta’ on your site and when you have a bad user experience, point back to the beta sign and explain that it’s half-baked now but will be perfect at some unknown time. (Translated: never)And crowdsource the user to eliminate those bad experiences because the user knows better than anyone in the company anyway.

This mindset might have worked in the good times, it sure doesn’t work in recessionary times. Trust me, real life doesn’t have any beta. Failure is not an option when you have a family to feed. A mortgage to pay. This ideal of ‘Always in beta’ is the perfect mindset for Silicon Valley. But it’s a mindset that doesn’t connect with the majority of America.

However, this experimentation thing we work through every day has a huge effect on our lives: People are getting used to trying out things that are not ready for public consumption yet, things that don’t claim to be perfect. The idea of making mistakes because it is part of the process starts to become very common and a typical mindset in executive suites.

Just look at our economy: Nobody really knows what to do during the current crisis but, besides the dopes on CNBC, we’re okay as a country when Obama’s economic team tries out things nobody has ever done before. And, while we’re at it, let’s throw up www.recovery.org and make sure Obama joins the conversation soon to get a Twitter ovation that the government is right there with us. Hey, if it doesn’t work, somebody will come up with a new theory and we’ll try that again. Will real people are suffering, losing their houses and hope.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big believer in the power of Social Marketing. I believe that traditional, one-way advertising is destined to fail in this new technology reality. But I want to see real change, not Twitter band-aids, I’m not interested to live in a Doritos world where amateurs are crowdsourced to be the advertising monkeys of big brands. Or Starbucks claiming to allow their customers to be part of the solution. And offer Folgers-style coffee 2 months later. All these crowdsourcing efforts push the responsibility for finding and mitigating mistakes to consumers. While, at the same time, decisions continue to be made top-down.

Let’s continue experimentation and testing, we desperately need it. But, at the same time, let’s build something solid and durable. Something that will stand the test of time and not crumble under pressure. That’s my biggest concern with the Kmart and SeaWorld experiments: They are just stopgaps. Nothing more. They don’t move us along to a new marketing reality where people are real participants and brands really listen and take people seriously.

Brands and fellow government, we do believe in the audacity of hope. We do think there’s change possible we can believe in. But, don’t use these tools to fool us again. To make us believe into this new world where we have a say and are part of the process. Just to be left out again.

We won’t be fooled again.

Uwe Hook is a Social Marketing non-expert who blogs at conversationagency.wordpress.com and twitters at @convagency

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Frank Being Frank

Written on February 18, 2009 by Adam in Marketing & Advertising, Misc.
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Yes, I know that the title for this post is a little lame.  That’s ok, I plan on making up for it with the content contained within.  Roughly 2.5 weeks ago I contacted Frank Eliason, the man behind Comcastcares, to see he’d be interested in doing an interview with me.  There was one catch.  I wanted to conduct the entire interview through twitter direct messages.  I was surprised at how quickly Frank responded with a yes.

Why surprised?  Well, I’ve often found that companies as large as Comcast have a number of bureaucratic layers to cut through and practice an “ask for permission, not forgiveness” model.  I quickly moved from surprised to ecstatic and began crafting questions to direct message.

For those of you who don’t know who Frank is, this article from Business Week will give you some fantastic detail.  If you don’t have time to read the article, here’s the high level story:

  • He’s the Director of Digital Care for Comcast
  • Considered a pioneer in customer service
  • One of the first people to use twitter for connecting customers with the “company”
  • A hell of a nice guy

I’ve been following Frank for some time on twitter and I’ve been overly impressed with how responsive and clearly dedicated he is to his craft.  The guy has over 25,000 tweets, with the majority being replies to other people.  When you consider that twitter is just one channel he participates in, it’s amazing how engaged he is.

Over a period of 3 days Frank and I exchanged several messages.  The questions and the answers have not been edited in any way.

@comcastcares Q1: Why twitter? Why didn’t you simply visit every blog, site, etc. that had something negative to say and engage there?
9:50 PM Feb 16th

@adamkmiec Actually we started & still visit blogs through out the internet. Twitter is one of many spaces we participate in. Twitter is cool because it is the right now
9:54 PM Feb 16th

@adamkmiec The blogosphere is great because it is the Customer story in their own words
9:55 PM Feb 16th

@comcastcares Q2: You have a personal blog. How do you manage your work “hat” and your personal “hat.” Do you let the two intersect on your blog?
9:54 PM Feb 16th

@adamkmiec I have a post on that called the lines are blurry. Work and personal drift together sometimes in social spaces http://www.eliasonfamily.info/blog/?p=215
9:58 PM Feb 16th

@comcastcares Q3: How does Comcast measure your impact? If you will, how do you know they are seeing value in your contributions?
9:58 PM Feb 16th

@adamkmiec I think there is a variety of impact from social meeting. First is the value of listening and implementing feedback. We have done well
9:59 PM Feb 16th

@comcastcares Follow up – Are there specific measures you/comcast uses? EG X number of people helped?
10:05 PM Feb 16th

@adamkmiec You can use that, but to me that is likely measure a call center agent on handle time. It is not very effective at ensuring the Customer is cared for. I concentrate on one Customer at a time and way we can improve the organization with the feedback
10:08 PM Feb 16th

@comcastcares Q4: Are there specific tools/software packages (eg Radian 6) you use to monitor the chatter and help figure out who/where to help?
10:06 PM Feb 16th

@adamkmiec We do use Radian 6. We also are looking at PeopleBrowsr for Twitter. But we many times also use simple tools like Twitter Search and Google Blogsearch. There are many options, including free ones, for businesses to do it right
10:09 PM Feb 16th

@comcastcares Q5: On some level you’ve become a “welebrity.” Eg you’re in demand for panels. Has the new notoriety changed you? Has it been well received?
8:32 AM Feb 17th

@adamkmiec I am still the same person I have always been. My main concern is the Customer not must else. The panels are a fun way to get my message to other businesses
10:34 AM Feb 17th

@comcastcares Q6: How would you compare the connections you’ve made with customers in need of help virtually as opposed to the ones who called in?
8:36 AM Feb 17th

@adamkmiec No difference. To me social media is just another way a Customer chooses to communicate.
10:35 AM Feb 17th

@comcastcares Q7: Marketers have always craved 1 to 1 relationships with customers. Is there a philosophic approach you try to bring to each interaction?
8:44 AM Feb 17th

@adamkmiec I just try to be myself
14 minutes ago

@comcastcares Q7 <—[typo]: To use a taboo word, you’re very transparent in what you say and to whom. There’s no hidden agenda. Has this approach ever backfired?
8:46 AM Feb 17th

@adamkmiec No. It has never backfired. I think if you just be yourself people will connect
10:36 AM Feb 17th

@comcastcares Q8: You always seem to be connected & plugged in. I don’t imagine you being in front of a computer at the office all day. How do you do it?
8:49 AM Feb 17th

@adamkmiec As you seen there were delays in these responses. Some times I am in meetings that may not be as easy to respond. But I do have a Blackberry and an iPhone so I am very mobile and if someone needs help, and I can assist, I will.
10:38 AM Feb 17th

@comcastcares Q9: There’s now a few more comcast team members on twitter. What advice did you offer them?
about 10 hours ago

@adamkmiec Be yourself
about 10 hours ago

@comcastcares Q10: Many people consider you to be a great example of how a company should engage. What advice do you have for other companies?
about 10 hours ago

@adamkmiec Be cautious of concentrating on sales or message and instead concentrate on learning from your Customers and helping them when you can. Be natural.
about 10 hours ago

@comcastcares Q11: What have you learned about customers/consumers since you started getting involved in twitter?
about 10 hours ago

@adamkmiec We have learned so much from our Customers. They like to tell us what we are doing right and where we are failing. We have made many improvements and implements systems due to feedback in the blogosphere. Every interaction is a learning experience.
about 10 hours ago

@comcastcares Q12: New “things” pop up all the time making it challenging to stay on top of the “next.” How do you view the future of customer service?
about 10 hours ago

@adamkmiec Future of Customer service will be like today (phone, email, chat) with a variety of new options such as social media, video chat, instant messages, and text messages
about 10 hours ago

@comcastcares Q13: I appreciate your time & candor. I’ve asked a lot of questions. It’s only fair I give you the chance to ask questions of me. Have any?
about 9 hours ago

Frank didn’t have any questions for me and that’s ok.  It’s more fun to be the one asking the questions than the one having to answer them :)  I enjoyed trading direct messages with Frank.  Look at the time stamps; WOW!  I was amazed at how quickly he responded to the questions.

I learned a few things during this interview:

  1. I had no idea how involved Frank and the team were.  Clearly I knew about his interaction on twitter, but I didn’t realize all the other channels they covered.
  2. The autonomy he has is impressive.  He’s literally being empowered to make a difference.
  3. Frank and Comcast really value listening and learning.  It’s not just about answering people.  Answering and being responsive is just one part of the equation.

Comcast is so far ahead of the curve and the competition (direct and indirect). While there are hundreds of brands on twitter (eg Starbucks, Jet Blue, Virgin, Ford), none are taking advantage of the platform as well as Frank’s team.

But, it’s not about comparing company A to company B. To simply view them as a measuring stick would be short sited. Instead of focusing on how your company stacks up to Comcast, focus on learning what they are doing well and how you can apply that knowledge to your situation.

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Interactive marketer, innovator, boat rocker, continuous learner, movie lover, risk taker, dad and all around good guy. I'm always up for a spirited conversation. These are my thoughts and ramblings, not those of my employer.
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