SCOTT PARENT

Creating original content for your business is a great thing, but you’re not doing yourself any favors if you’re constantly scrubbing out all the dirt, bite and passion from your blog posts, tweets and videos. Sometimes getting a little grimy is good thing.

I speak with businesses every week that say they want to make their corporate communication channels compelling and engaging to their users, yet when it comes time to pull the trigger, they trim and cut out all the meat that made the content worth publishing in the first place.

Recently, Chris Brogan posted an article on his site about agencies discontinuing their blogs due to lack of engagement and readership. He believes, like I do, that if no one is reading your blog, it’s probably because it’s boring.

Businesses take risks every day. Some of them pay off and some don’t. Content creation is an investment – one that I believe is not only worthwhile, but essential to your business. If you’re going to spend the money and human capital to make a go of it, have the courage to push boundaries. Be bold. Speak your mind. Take a position on issues relevant to your industry. That’s what your users want to see and it’s what will help you build a passionate community around your offerings.

What do you think? Do you agree that we shouldn’t over-sanitize our corporate content, or is there more at play here? I’d love to get your comments below.

Recently I’ve had some shopping experiences online that have left a bad taste in my mouth. I figured that I had stewed over them long enough and wanted to jot some thoughts down on the blog and get your take. First off, let me say that in my opinion the gold standard in online shopping, shipping and customer service is Zappos – hands down. No one else even comes close. And while I don’t hold other companies to quite that high of a standard, they have set the benchmark and I’ve come to expect something in the same ballpark.

Rock n’ Roll Woes

Recently I bought some merchandise from a musician’s online store. I’ve been a fan of this particular guitar player for a long time and wanted to order a couple of t-shirts and a hoodie. I placed my order on a Thursday morning and waited. By the following Tuesday I still hadn’t received any sort of confirmation or shipping notification so I emailed the web shop. The first thing I did was respond to their initial “payment received” email. That bounced. Hmmm, why did that happen? Oh yeah, I see it here – the address in the reply field of their confirmation email was “sales@example.com.” Ok, so they never changed the template – sloppy. Undeterred, I went to their site and found a different contact email. That also bounced back with a “mailbox full” message. Finally, I found a .me address and sent an email there hoping for a miracle. Nothing. After two days I emailed again telling them that if I didn’t receive some sort of response that I would file a dispute with PayPal. I heard back within 5 minutes and they said my order would be shipping that day and that I’d receive confirmation within the hour. But, another day went by with no email. After emailing them again with no response, I finally filed a dispute with PayPal to get my money back. However, 10 minutes after I opened that dispute I got an automated email telling me my order had shipped – this was now a full two weeks after the order was placed. I noticed the order was being shipped from Las Vegas via USPS Priority Mail. I live in Santa Barbara – less than 400 miles from Las Vegas – meaning the package should have been there in 2-3 days. Yet, 6 days later, I still didn’t have my order. Finally, PayPal stepped in and reached out to the seller. Miraculously, two days later I received my package. Interestingly, it’s post-marked only two days earlier meaning it left their facility 6 days after they said it did.

Did you follow all that?

Post Mortem

Obviously this was a colossal screw-up for this business. They did make a half-assed attempt after I’d received delivery to make sure I had, in their words, “received my order and make sure everything was taken care of,” but there was no apology for the delay, deception and aggravation that I had gone through as a customer. There was no special coupon or credit offered. Honestly, it felt like their main focus was to make sure I closed the dispute and they got to keep their money.

A week later I ordered a watch from an online retailer, and while I won’t bore you with the play-by-play of that transaction, let’s just say that the combined frustration of these two back-to-back experiences inspired me to write this post.

It Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard

If you’re selling products online you have to have a rigid set of standards for your entire sales process from order placement to customer delivery. That includes acknowledging a customer’s order, their payment and notification of shipment. If you want them to feel good about handing you their credit card information, you need to make sure to get the simple things right, and let them know you’re an organization that can be trusted. By not sending out even basic confirmations you can cause unnecessary panic and mistrust amongst your customers.

I understand that problems happen sometimes. There will occasionally be times when an item is out of stock, or shipping is delayed. Instead of staying silent, be upfront and accountable to your customer. A personalized email goes a long way to smooth over any initial frustration and most will find it refreshing that a business took the time to explain the issue.

When you make a mistake, offer compensation. Offer to upgrade shipping, or email them a coupon for 20% off their next order. Not only will you smooth over any ruffled feathers, but you’ll be building goodwill towards your brand for future purchases.

These all seem like no-brainers to me, but clearly that’s not the case with a lot of online businesses today. When people make a purchase from your website, many are first-time customers. If you want them to come back, it is paramount that you provide a stellar shopping experience by keeping them informed, acknowledging those rare mistakes and compensating them for any hassle.

Does This Resonate?

Do you run an online web store? What is your philosophy on customer service? How do you ensure that your customers receive a great experience? What hard lessons have you learned along the way?

As an online shopper what are your pet-peeves? What companies do you buy from that provide stellar online service?

Converse All-Stars have long been the footwear of choice for rockers of all genres, ages and styles. From the Ramones to Joan Jett to Billy Joe Armstrong to Slash, Converse have dominated the rock n’ roll uniform for decades. In fact, in full disclosure, I own about 10 different pairs of “Chucks” in various styles and colors and wear them just about every day. To me, the word “iconic” doesn’t begin to do this brand justice.

Today, I saw that Converse is giving back to the music community that’s been so good to them by opening a recording studio in Brooklyn, NY that caters to up-and-coming talent. The best part for bands? If you’re selected you get recording time free of charge. You also get Converse’s considerable promotional muscle working to help you find a larger audience for your work.

As Converse’s CMO, Geoff Cottrill, says “we are absolutely in the business of selling footwear and apparel. This is an opportunity for us to say thank you to lots of people who are already wearing our footwear and apparel.”

Obviously, Converse is spending a significant amount of money to fund this studio in the hopes that the investment keeps them relevant in the hearts and minds of rockers throughout the world. Is it a good plan? I think so. Rock n’ roll has arguably kept this brand hip and timeless in a way that few others have been able to pull off. This project allows Converse to talk about the support they offer to the music community, while hopefully capitalizing on the goodwill and hype of the social media community.

What do you think? Is this a quick ploy by Converse or a real chance for struggling musicians to get their music heard in a way not possible before? I’d love to get your comments below.

On Saturday I’ll be heading to Las Vegas to attend Affiliate Summit West at Caesar’s Palace. I always look forward to this event, not only to catch up with friends in the online marketing industry, but also to see what people are excited about for the coming year. Because this show butts right up against CES there is always spillover between the consumer electronics and affiliate worlds – a nice convergence indeed.

I will be there representing eBay Partner Network – eBay’s in-house affiliate program. I’ll be there to chat with publishers and capture the vibe for a short video documentary about Affiliate Summit. I’d love the chance to chat with you about your experiences in the online marketing space. What are you excited about this year? What will everyone be talking about at the show?

If you’re going to be at #ASW12, reach out to me by either leaving a comment here or via Twitter (@scottparent). I look forward to catching up on the expo floor or over drinks in Vegas!

I’m sitting in bed at my Mom’s house in NH as I write this. It’s two days after Christmas and I’ve got a head cold / stomach bug. As I’m propped up, sniffling, catching up on email and surfing the web for the news of the day, I’m reminded of how much goes on in the world outside our tiny tech / social media / marketing bubble. When you look at all the events and occurrences that have unfolded this year throughout the world, it really puts day-to-day life in perspective. So, with that in mind, I wanted to take a moment and wish all of you a happy and safe new year.

Several weeks back I was interviewed by my old friend, Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, at BlogWorld Los Angeles about eBay’s increased adoption of video in their communications strategy. And while I can’t comment on the larger eBay philosophy, I can say that in my role at eBay Partner Network, we’ve worked really hard to make video content a priority in our comms plan for the last year and a half. While this video obviously speaks to my work with eBay, I think the fundamental principles discussed here are important for every company to think about.

Are you using video in your marketing strategy? Why not? Does the cost seems prohibitive? Do you think it’s too much work? If your business is using video, what made you take that leap? How has it changed your relationship with your customers? I’d love to get your thoughts in the comments below.

Last week I attended BlogWorld Los Angeles in my capacity as Evangelist / Community Manager / Blog  Lead at eBay Partner Network. BlogWorld is always one of my favorite events each year because of the swell of creativity and passion that overflows from each attendee. In addition to meeting lots of new people, it’s always great to connect with old friends and reminisce about the old days of podcasting and the infancy of blogging. This year showcased the continuing maturity of the social media and online content space. Brands continue to take notice and choose to be part of the conversations on a very social level.

I put together this video recap as part of the latest season of ePN TV. Take a look:

You can read more about my experience over at the eBay Partner Network Blog.

Only a few weeks after proudly announcing their new brand, Qwikster, Netflix, again, very publicly announced they had made a mistake. Apparently Reed Hastings has seen the foolishness of his decision and decided to go back to doing the thing they should have done all along – keep Netflix as a single entity:

“It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs. This means no change: one website, one account, one password… in other words, no Qwikster.”

Hallelujah. Praise Jesus. Can I get an Amen?

While I think it’s great that Netflix came to their collective senses, I feel like this may have put the final nail in Hastings’ coffin. How much more will the board take before they tire of these Romper Room-like CEO brand adventures?

With Steve Jobs still fresh on my mind, this got me thinking about how you’d never see this kind of public meltdown from Apple. Even their most colossal missteps were handled with more grace and sure-footedness than this Qwikster debacle. So while we all continue to wax poetic about Steve’s achievements and what they’ve meant to our everyday lives, let’s not forget the way that he so perfectly guided and led Apple to avoid catastrophes like this latest from Netflix. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not  fair to compare Hastings to Jobs or hold him to the same standards. Not even a little bit. Steve was a once-in-a-lifetime genius. Hastings is, well, probably not long for the Netflix world I would think. My guess is ouster comes before the holidays.

What do you think of all this Qwikster, no Qwikster stuff? I’d love to get your comments below.

This morning I got an email and saw a blog post from Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, that started with the words “I messed up. I owe you an explanation.” Well, Reed, strike two. After reading your blog post, I’d say you messed up again. Let me explain.

Reed was emailing the Netflix subscriber base (it initially appeared) to apologize for the price increase fiasco that happened a short time ago:

“It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology.”

Instead, Reed was really writing to announce that Netflix would be spinning off its DVD-by-mail service into a new company called “Qwikster” (Horrible name by the way). Reed says they chose the name because “it refers to quick delivery.” Um, more likely because there are slim pickins’ out there for  dot com domains and you took the best of worst available. Anyway, this is where I think Netflix made a huge PR and marketing faux pax.

Why would anyone choose to birth a new brand under the dark cloud of an apology? It’s bad enough that the apology was flat and showed no remorse for their recent actions:

“I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.”

In fact, it wasn’t an apology at all, but instead a bait and switch. Netflix didn’t understand then, and still doesn’t seem to get it now, that people aren’t upset over the way the price increase announcement was made. Customers are pissed because Netflix doubled the cost of their service overnight without providing any extra value. In fact, when you take into account the Starz debacle, Netflix has actually starting charging much more, for much less. Notice how that massive decimation of their streaming catalog wasn’t even mentioned in this morning’s apology/rebranding announcement. My guess is that this is going to inflame the situation even more. Not only did they tear the Band-Aid off an already raw wound, they did it under the celebratory shish-boom-bah of launching Qwikster.

So, if I could, I’d like to boil this down to a few key takeaways that are applicable to all brands:

1. Don’t apologize if you’re not willing to fix the problem. Doing so just refocuses the spotlight on your screw-up.

2. Understand why your customers are upset before you make a ham-handed attempt at fixing it. The Netflix team thinks that this announcement is going to appease their irked customers – it won’t. Today’s parade was all about Netflix – not about their users. That tells me that Netflix doesn’t understand the core issue.

3. Never announce an unrelated new initiative under the cloud of a mistake. Netflix would have us believe that Qwikster is their answer, their “make good” on the mistake they made a couple of months back. Not only does this not address customers’ frustrations, but it taints the launch of a new brand  birthed in the wake of controversy.

4. Communicate things to your customers that are of valuable to them, not just because they’re valuable to you. While Netflix basks in the glory of their new DVD-by-mail brand, their customers are still choking down that massive price increase. To make matters worse, they’ll now have to decipher two separate charges on their credit card statement from two different companies. That sounds like a value-add, right?

In closing I want to say I’ve long been a fan of Netflix. In fact, I’ve praised their customer service on this blog before. But, their actions as of late puzzle me and make me wonder what’s really going on over at HQ. It seems to me that the time for a competitor to step up and eat their lunch is upon us. Any takers?

I was reading a post over at Philip Bloom’s blog about assessing your value as a vendor and getting paid what you’re worth. Philip’s post was talking specifically about camera and film operator talent, but I think it’s relevant for any contractor or consultant.

We live in an economy where there are a lot of people looking for work. That means that as a mid-senior level professional I’m competing with younger talent, fresh out of school that will work for pennies on the dollar – if not for free. How can I compete with that? Let’s set aside the well-known adage that you get what you pay for – or as Philip says “Pay peanuts and you get monkeys.” Even if I pitch to a client that understands the difference in value that my level of expertise brings over someone greener, how do I get them to actually pay me what I’m worth?

The video below speaks to this argument better than anything I’ve ever seen by putting it in the context of real-world situations.

Earlier this year I wrote about how much knowledge and information we should be willing to give away to a client without receiving some sort of compensation in return. I think that this discussion is just another side of that coin. In the end, it boils down to standing up for what you’re worth and not feeding into a trend that threatens to further de-value the talents of so many creative people.

I’d love to get your thoughts on this. How do you set your prices? What tips and tricks do you have for getting fair market value for your services?