Love What You Do

Sitting at a cottage today and everyone is inside because it is raining, people were either taking a nap or reading that latest novel - me I'm reading a book on Site Experience and sketching ideas in my trusty book. Why?  Because I truly love what I do.

Great slogan on a hat I have from Life is Good: Do what you like and like what you do!  These are true words to live by and it should help guide your career no matter what you do.

Easy Ways to Access the Voice of the Customer

My wife and I had an interesting experience over the last couple of weeks. We purchased some really nice bed sheets (Egyptian Cotton Warehouse) that had to be shipped up from the US.  The company uses UPS and delivery was really fast (about 4 days - which is better than most times when we order from Canadian based sites - but that is another topic) but with our busy schedules we never seemed to be around when the UPS truck came to make the delivery and, as we had to pay duty, we couldn't sign to leave it at the door or have it dropped off at a neighbour.  We order a lot online and have a really good UPS guy so he went the extra step and drew a map of where we could pickup the product before it went out for delivery the next day at the sorting station, needless to say we didn't get a chance to pick it up (and we don't have a formal pick-up location in our area). 

So now we have missed three pickups and received the dreaded the finally delivery notice, we are at a loss to what happens next so a call is made to UPS - its easy!  They indicate on the call that you can pay the duty over the phone and we can have it left at the door or another location.  Great!  We make the arrangements and get the product delivered.

A very simple solution existed here - let us know that we could call (or even go online) to pay the duty and then the drop-off is a simple process again.  We were even more shocked when the customer service agent says that this happens all the time as the delivery notice doesn't have the info, nor do the drivers know this process exists, in fact they keep trying to raise the issue internally but no one is listening.

Now this could be an issue with UPS or the fact that the retailers are not exposed to the pain in the supply chain but I think this points to a more core issue that many of us experience in our organizations today. Do we really leverage the experience of the front line employees in improving the customer experience? How are we collecting the information and using it to really address the customer pain points?  The good news is that we all have a great source for the voice of the customer but it is rarely if ever fully leveraged.

A couple of quick steps that will turn into quick wins:

• Setup regular town halls for the front line associates so that they can communicate customer pain points, likes and dislikes of your processes, site, business, products etc.
• Have a formalized process for ideas to flow into the business, this could be as simple as sharing the email of key people in the company with the front line to formalized monthly roll-ups from the customer service teams.
• Action the issue and recognize the people that called out the opportunity, not only will this encourage more sharing but it will improve the moral of the customer service organization as they know everyone is working to make it better for the consumer.

In the end you have to remember that everyone wants to make every customer experience as good as possible. Listening to the voice of the customer through your front line associates is a great way to start to leverage this and will improve your customer experience.  Plus you never know - that idea of adding a line of text to the UPS delivery notice that you can call to pay your duty might not only improve the customer experience but also save multiple delivery attempt costs improving both the customer perception of the brand and the bottom line...

Going Viral Doesn't Always Make Things Better - Why You Still Need to be Smart with Social Media

Image via Wikipedia

Everyone has seen that the very successful viral campaign for Old Spice has been a bust where it counts - the bottom line.  Sales for the targeted product- Red Zone body wash are down 7% over the last 52 weeks but this doesn't seem to match with the unbelievable viral success of the Old Spice Guy campaign and it's engagement within the social media networks.

Anyone in the marketing profession can learn from this. In the end we all have to remember we are selling something and that for advertising to be effective it needs to, at a base level, A. reach the target group and B. engage this group.

To me the Old Spice Guy campaign was a success at reaching the 25 - 40 demographic, but this isn't the demogrpahic that wants to be assocaited with the Old Spice Brand.   I remember getting the Old Spice bottle in my stocking when I was 12 years old, it was the after-shave of my father who still used the Old Spice soap as his shaving cream.  It was a very exciting time for me but today I would be caught dead with that scent.

In the end the product didn't match what consumers were looking for, especially the consumers that were engaged with the Old Spice Guy. In the end it might have been better for the people at P&G to come up with a new product that fits in right after you grow out of the Axe family of products.  The campaign would have still worked and the product could have been matched to the demographic that fell in love with the campaign.

So in the end two key learnings- 1. Make sure your product targets the demographic your advertising is targeting (and that you have a good product, great advertising doesn't make up for a poor product) and 2. Next time your agency, marketing team, or anyone else comes in with that killer viral integrated strategy ask this one question - How will this engage my target consumer to sell more products?  - If they don't already have this fully mapped out (and it can't be - we will generate tens of millions of impressions on Youtube!) then it probably is more about becoming viral then about selling products...

Update July 27th:  Seems that over the last month sales of Old Spice have increased by 107% according to a brand manager at P&G sharing Nielson Data.   I guess that I was wrong on matching the Old Spice product to the market that was engaging the campaign online.  But I still think the gist of the post is still valid - just don't use Old Spice as the example...;-)

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• Old Spice vs. Meerkats - Best Viral Campaign Ever? (epiphanysolutions.co.uk)
• How Did Old Spice Get So Cool? (beliefnet.com)
• Old Spice Guy Takes Over the Internet (abcnews.go.com)
• What's the ROI of the Old Spice Guy? (mizzinformation.com)

Taking Time for Yourself - Being a Better Leader

I just got back from an amazing trip taking a tour around the ring road in Iceland, it was an incredible time of exploring landscapes that you just can't see anywhere else in the world.  Not only was this an experience of a lifetime but it was amazing how you reset during a trip like this.  It isn't about getting away from the "job" but moving into an environment where you are free from the day to day grind, as you know, many people say their best thoughts and solutions to those impossible problems are found when away from the office - now imagine an extended period of this free thinking and exploration.   You come back not only completely refreshed but with different perspectives and with potential solutions / ideas to drive the business.

In a past role I was told by a senior executive that you shouldn't be taking vacations or time off if you want to get  ahead.  To be successful you needed to be in the office and visible for 52 weeks of the year.  To me this is wrong for a couple of key reasons:

• If your team, group, company can't survive for a short period of time without your input then you have failed as a leader either through building out your talent or paralyzing the organization with micro management.  The true measurement of you as a team builder and leader should be that the business continues to run and when you get back it should be as simple as here are the updates and what we did vs here are x number of decisions that need to be made
• This isn't a case of live to work vs work to live.  To be a complete person you need to experience more than your day to day job and those eureka moments will come faster and more often when you have a balanced environment and experiences. 

I'm not suggesting that you need to go adventuring off to far off lands for weeks at a time but you will be a more complete leader and provide more value for your business if you take time for yourself to reset.  If you want to see what Iceland was to me check out OurIcelandAdventure.com

Shop.org Retailers Dinner - May 19th - Toronto

Great news for all of us in the Canadian eCommerce Industry, on May 19th Shop.org is (finally- thanks Scott) having their first event in Canada.  This retailers only dinner will be a great chance for us to network as an industry and talk about how we can continue to grow our businesses but even more importantly our voice in the Canadian marketplace.

So if you are a leader in the eCommerce space in Canada you pretty much need to attend this event.  I look forward to seeing you all there.

For more details and to register you can click here.  Update May 2nd - the link off this page for registration is down - shop.org is working to fix the issue but you can also use this link to register

Thanks to Brightcove for sponsoring the event

We are Hiring at Travelocity.ca

It is exciting times at Travelocity.ca where we are looking to take the business to the next level.  To help do this we are looking for 3 superstars to join the team.  If you have a passion for eCommmerce and travel plus a drive to build a business to number 1 in the industry then this is the place for you. 


Product Manager - Travelocity.ca

Under general direction, responsible for a complex product or product line, including interfacing with development teams, roll-out, and testing. Compiles reports on revenue, site analytics and profitability. Conducts comparative analysis against competitors and provides strategic planning of product direction and features.  A person passionate about making Travelocity.ca the #1 travel site in Canada.

Major Tasks

• Working with the vertical and line of business product managers to define and execute the ongoing product development path for Travelocity.ca to ensure that it is the #1 travel site in Canada
• Ensure that the site is 100% error free and provides the consumer with the best possible experience possible
• Interface with Product Marketing and Business teams to ensure all assets on the site deliver on the Travelocity.ca experience
• Work with global customer experience team to ensure that Travelocity.ca is aligned with brand guidelines
• Develop business cases and investments plans for future projects and initiatives

Merchandising Manager - Travelocity.ca

Under general direction, develops specific complex marketing plans and activities for specific product(s) or product line(s) to establish, enhance or distinguish product placement within the competitive arena. Develops complex business plans and product positioning in the marketplace. Oversees market research, monitors competitive activity and identifies customer needs. Establishes pricing strategies. Works with engineering, manufacturing and sales to develop new products or enhance existing product(s) or product line(s). A person passionate about making Travelocity.ca the #1 travel site in Canada.

Major Tasks

• Develop product promotional strategies working with the individual lines of business and ensure on-time & best in class execution of the programs
• Manage the Travelocity.ca Social Media programs including twitter and Facebook
• Work with the Product Manager - Travelocity.ca to determine ongoing development needs for Travelocity.ca
• Understand consumers interests and develop content pages and programs to enrich their shopping experience

Search Marketing Manager - Travelocity.ca

Responsible for the planning and implementation of highly complex paid search campaigns for Travelocity.ca. Day to day management of search campaigns through optimization and expansion. Interacts directly with Merchandising Managers to identify new marketing opportunities, prepares regular search performance reports and drives incremental revenue and profitability for the business through advancement of the search program. Works individually scheduling, planning and executing improvements to multiple campaigns on a ongoing basis, while managing towards budgetary and business goals. Passionate about the art and science of search with a keen understanding of how to leverage search to make Travelocity.ca the number #1 travel site in Canada.

Major Tasks

• Day to day management of all paid search campaigns for Travelocity.ca including optimization of program, budget and profitability
• Integration with the overall marketing plan to ensure search campaigns align with key messages
• Detailed analysis of programs to provide recommendations to the overall business on how to improve sales and customer interaction
• A subject matter expert for search in the Canadian operations
• Work as part of the global team sharing best practices and executing localized test

Managing Contacts Across your Social Graph - Gist.com Gets it Right

It seems that everyday a new social platform is coming out and with it comes the connections, followers and the unwieldy task of managing this across all of different ways we now have to communicate.

The other day Bryan Eisenberg suggested I try out a new tool call Gist and all I can say is that this is a game changer (Thanks Bryan!).  Gist goes where all of the other contact social networks/tools have failed and that is taking the information you have gathered and pulling it all together to build a profile (or dossier as they call it) on each of your connections.  From this the Gist platform becomes a powerful contact management tool providing real-time information from across the Internet (blogs, updates, news, twitter, status updates, etc) as well as promoting the contacts that are most important delivering a dashboard on your social graph in real time.

Gist currently has integrations with Outlook, Gmail, Google Contacts, Linkedin, Salesforce, Facebook and Twitter plus the ability to import through CSV, vCard as well as IMAP integration.   They have an iPhone app and just announced today an Outlook plugin.

They have only been around since Sept and I am very excited to see where they take this, it still has some improvements / tweaking required but I have seen change over the couple of weeks I have been using it.  Plus they really care about the end user, I've had multiple conversations with Greg Meyer, their Customer Experience manager, where he was soliciting feedback on what they need to focus on next.

I would strongly suggest that everyone try Gist out - it only took me about 10 mins to start and it was well worth it.

Google's Play for Control of the Business App Market - Launches Google Apps Marketplace

We all know of Apple's success in selling apps, but many don't know of Google's focus on taking control of the application market for business.  Google Apps has been around for a while and, according to Google, now has over 25 million users in over 2 million business and universities as well as 1000 plus resellers.  This amounts to a pretty attractive and captive base, one that if offered additional services that integrates with ease (remember they were already sold on the conversion to Google Apps) could be commoditized at an attractive return for both Google and the 3rd parties.

So last night Google announced the launch of the Google Apps Marketplace, it seems to be a very solid launch with very deep integration into the Apps platform - single sign-on, API and placement in the overall Google App navigation.  The App Marketplace already has over 50 partners who will be given access to selling in the marketplace for the low fee of a $100 sign-up and 20% rev share.  The important point here is these are not $.99 apps, but enterprise level agreements with some having recurring fees based on the number of users.  The benefit will be with the easy integration / role-out across the organization that already has Google Apps but may also become a factor to switch to it when making those costly upgrade decisions in the larger enterprises.

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out and how it postions Google Apps at the forefront of future of business software / online services.

Here are a few videos with some additional details:

Overview of Google Apps Marketplace



The announcement from Google Campfire One: