my 2 cents

Smart move, NBC. Now don't blow it!

NBC did something interesting last night, as they premiered their much-ballyhooed The Black Donnellys.

They ran an entire 29 minutes without commercial interruption.  It's a smart move -- a way to get viewers hooked into the story and not hand them a reason to go channel surfing.  CK tells me they've done something similar for the season premiere of Nip/Tuck.

Last night, by the time they went to a commercial break that ran about 4 minutes, I was hooked.  So even though I did my usual channel surfing during the ads, I came back for the rest of the show.

(By the way, I thought the show was well-done, despite the negative review in yesterday's New York Times.)

Now I only hope NBC will do another smart thing and give the program a chance to build an audience.  I haven't seen the overnights, but hopefully it drew a good number of eyeballs.  The nets will lose viewers for new shows if they keep dropping programs for low ratings after only a few episodes.  It's disrespectful to viewers (the networks' customers) who invest time in a series, only to have it disappear suddenly.  And look at some shows that started out weak and eventually became blockbusters -- most notably Seinfeld.

I'm tempted to put The Black Donnellys on my DVR list and then, if it does survive, watch all the episodes in a few months.  Of course, you know I'll zip past the commercials.

If you missed The Black Donnellys, it repreats on NBC at 10 pm Eastern on March 1.

To Gift or Not ?

I saw an interesting post over at Greg Verdino's place.  He was replying to an earlier post by Karl Long and comments from David Armano, wondering when, if and how it is appropriate for marketers to provide products to influential bloggers, and other citizen content creators, in the interest of soliciting feedback and sparking chatter.  Would a blogger be "selling out" or somehow compromising him or herself?

I posted a response, and then thought it might be worth repeating my response here.  I think it's an issue that bloggers may soon have to face, perhaps frequently.  It's not just about receiving gifts, but also receiving information in the hope that the blogger will pass it to others via his blog.

So here's what I said to Greg...

As a public relations consultant, I'm starting to hear this question from clients, as well as from other p.r. people, since the blogosphere is still a mystery to many in my profession -- how can we reach out with our p.r. message to bloggers? 

I think a marketer should look upon blogs as another form of media. For the most part, I'd use the same general "rules" when approaching a blogger as I'd use when pitching an editor or producer.

  --   Be honest.
  --   Be upfront about who you are and who or what you represent.
  --   Try to put yourself in the blogger's position, to determine why would he or she want to pass  your info along to his readers? (If you can't come up with a good reason, then you probably  shouldn't pitch him.)
  --   Have patience.
  --   Understand and accept the word "No."

I tried my first outreach to bloggers for a client several weeks ago. In most cases, where I could find a blogger's email, I sent an email explaining who I am and what I had to tell them about, in hopes they'd want to share it with their readers. I got five types of responses...
  1) This sounds interesting, I'll write about it. (or, send me a sample product.)
  2) Sounds interesting. Please post it as a comment on my blog.
  3) Sounds interesting. Please have your client contact me, or have her post the info on my blog.
  4) No thanks. Not for me.
  5) (No response at all.)

Bottom line: Bloggers are another form of media, and some are open to being pitched. But it's best to ask before sending an actual product sample. And never try to make a blogger (or reporter) feel like they're obligated to say something nice (or anything at all) about your product just because you sent a sample. In the end, it's their space so it's their call. You have to respect their judgment, whether you like it or not.

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Any thoughts from you marketer/bloggers out there?

   

Communications Disconnect

It's happened to all of us, and we've heard the horror stories of companies mishandling and mistreating customers through various customer service channels -- online, via call centers and (my pet peeve) IVR (interactive voice response) that turns into voicemail hell.

Forrester Research recently did a survey of major brands to see how they handle customer service across the various channels of customer communication.  The results, reported in the Feb. 19 Brandweek, are well worth a read.

Customer service by 16 major brands was tested in 4Q of last year.  The study rated what it was like to use a brand's web site, phone sales and/or customer service reps, get help via IVR and email.  They also tested what it was like to cut across the various channels.

Fifty-seven criteria were measured on a scale of +2 for best practice and -2 for failure.  The totals for each company were added, with 57 being the minimal passing grade.

Not one company got a passing grade.

Wireless providers overall got the lowest scores -- Sprint Nextel at -19, Cingular -17, Verizon Wireless -12.  T-Mobile managed to score in the positive numbers, at 12.

Top scores (still below passing) went to Dell (+38), despite flogger Jeff Jarvis.  Circuit City took 2nd, at +32.

I don't know if American Express was among the brands tested.  In my experience, they are the only company that has consistently handled my customer service problems promptly, efficiently and correctly.  Dell used to be up there too, in my book, until they let me down last summer with what should have been a very easy-to-fix problem.

The pathetic results of this study point out a fantastic marketing opportunity for any company that wants to get really serious about customer service.  With so many companies at product and price parity with their competition, customer service can be a way to stand out and build your brand's reputation.

It's a win-win.  Good for the company and good for the customer.  Doesn't that sound like a recipe for success?

Jet Blue's mea culpa. OK, now prove it!

No argument here that the recent meltdown at Jet Blue has hurt them.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn they've had lots of reservations cancelled by worried travelers, and no doubt new reservations have plummeted.  Certainly all the attention will tarnish their reputation.

But the good news is that people have short memories. What dominated today's headlines will be replaced tomorrow or next week by Anna Nicole or Britney, or by Hurricane Katrina or new craziness in Iraq or Washington.

The availability to the press of Jet Blue founder and CEO Dave Neeleman, coupled with the airline's plan to compensate inconvenienced passengers and the unveiling of a "passenger rights charter" are all steps in the right direction.  The company is taking control of the story and showing a positive response to a bad situation.

As we know, smart marketers can use their response to a screw-up as an effective way to win back customer confidence and even reel in new customers.  Jet Blue seems to be moving in the right direction.

The real test will be in deeds, rather than words.  Hopefully they'll never have such a bad week again.  But if and when they mess up again, they now have a written standard they'll have to live up to.  If they do, it will go a long way toward Jet Blue's winning back confidence and customers.

If they don't, it'll be just more empty corporate promises and a reputation more seriously -- perhaps this time irreparably -- damaged.   

Time will tell.