Marketing for the Third Millennium
Real Results, Real Value, Real Quick
There has been a lot of fuss about Kelly Blazek’s response to an unsolicited email and whilst her response may be a little harsh, there are a couple of valid issues here that are going unaddressed, One thought is that Politeness – in all directions – is a rare commodity. If you do something for me,…
In general, I am a big advocate of the aphorism that the customer (or client) is always right. But what is missing in that bald statement is that not ALL customers are right for YOU. I’ve had a couple of examples in the last several years since I became an independent. One recently, which prompted…
We chatted, and by the time I’d finished, I came out with a new Garmin Edge bike computer (I’ll write more about the horrible experience with Garmin’s site later). … This week in the mail I get this: 
What a fantastic piece of reinforcement of my purchase and a personal way to emphasize their personal service and support.
Modest, fairly trivial things such as Christmas Crackers (American readers, check the web to see what you are missing!) and in return I sent a Yosemite images DVD and, wait for it, Bear Poop (it’s a candy, actually) and an Alessi bottle opener (aren’t you glad you are NOT on my gift list?). … I wondered how much a first class ticket is, surely it’s not as much (per pound) as that? … So with a bit of rounding here and there, I conclude that UPS were intending to ship my package in first class.
I was fortunate to be involved in a (still closed) social network in support of Seth’s latest book “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us” and there was, as you might expect, a local Bay Area group. … Seth not only knew that this group was meeting (out of 5,000 participants in the network) but took the trouble to make sure he had the host’s number and called to congratulate and encourage us.
As it happens I was driving – via the Mojave desert and a few days of photography on the way down, and Yosemite for more pictures on the way back (you can see the results at www.brearleyphoto.com) and so chose my arrival to coincide with a drive through the Mojave National Preserve. … I get that she was completing something for the previous guest, but no greeting, no smile, no ‘I’m sorry, this is going to take me a moment’, I stood there, ignored whilst the people after me who were ushered to other clerks departed for their rooms.
This of all relationships was the most personal and close to home – my entire financial data and life – was simply passed on to someone I didn’t know – and I was told after the event. … I got a (very) strangely written form letter – it didn’t say so, but I got the impression that they were being obliged to close down by Ford – which said that there were two alternative Ford dealers close by.
I tried out Filemaker’s new personal database, Bento, and am not only delighted with the $49 product, but also the service and support. All this in spite of some really, really horrible messups that would usually be reported here in much stronger terms. The story: I downloaded the preview version and was impressed enough to…
I’ve been an admirer and customer of Nordstrom for many years and have always loved the service. I’ve bought Faconnable clothes there and at the Faconnable flagship store in New York. I’d always suspected a strong connection between the two, as the receipts form the NY store (which is exclusively Faconnable) carried the Nordstrom name….
It’s interesting how much I enjoy the programming of NPR and how much I abhor the commercial / process side of what has become a large, impersonal, disconnected corporation. I keep ‘making allowances’ and finding excuses on KQED’s behalf, and then they work extra hard to show that they are totally disconnected. This is my…