Bad Service? Make it Hurt.

My family and I recently ate at a local On the Border restaurant. Now, we’ve all had bad service before, so I’m not going to take you through a lengthy description of the pure disinterested negligence we experienced. Suffice it to say, my wife and I have both done our share of waiting tables, and despite our concern for the plight of waitstaff everywhere, we left a tip that was slightly less than 15%-the first time since we both quit waiting tables at Carrabba’s a few years ago. After we left, we discussed the experience and agreed that the waitress was probably completely fine with the mediocre tip. She didn’t get stiffed, and she was able to catch up with her buddies in the kitchen. She had actually been rewarded for her bad service. This seems to me to be a more and more common mindset for many Front Line Service Employees (FLSE) these days. “Why not provide mediocre service if I’m going to be rewarded either way?”

When I used to teach high school English, a group of my colleagues and I began to notice this same mindset in student writing. Students would churn out the required 500 words, riddled with simple errors from beginning to end, and because the assignment was complete and the errors were minor, the students would walk away with a B, or at worst, a high C. And they were content with this-as long as it wasn’t a D or F (which would translate into consequences at home). In light of this frustration, my friend and veteran English teacher, LeaAnn, shared with us a conversation between herself and her daughter who was a senior at the high school where we taught. Her daughter told her, “Mom, they aren’t going to change as long as they’re still getting B’s. They won’t change until you make it hurt.”

 It seems that these days, it has become unfashionable for management to “make it hurt.” I see a trend among management of FLSE’s to embrace a buddy-oriented professional relationship. Very feel-good. “Keep them happy and entertained, and they’ll work for you.” I should mention here that I have no problem with positive, friendly relationships between managers and FLSE’s (just as I have no problem with positive, friendly relationships between teachers and students.) However, when the time comes for work to be done (that is, when people are coming to your establishment, of their own volition, when they had a wide variety of competing establishments to frequent, and these people want to give you money),and FLSE’s, the faces of your company’s brand, are content with mediocrity, for the sake of your brand, you’ve got to make it hurt.

Obviously, this rule cannot be implemented in a vacuum. A company needs a thorough training program, a method of “continued education,” a review process, clearly conveyed expectations (and the results of failing to meet these expectations), and approachable, diplomatic, hard working management (something clearly missing from our On the Border experience described above), among other things.

I hope to flesh this out more in coming posts, and I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this unpopular topic. Agree? Disagree? Let me hear about it.

Number 1,000!

I finally hit 1,000 views! Pretty exciting. That means 400 hits by my wife, 350 hits by my best friend, 200 hits by me (not logged in), and 50 random accidents.

The Line Between Brand(ing) and Marketing

Consider:

1. Seth Godin quote: “There’s a difference between brands and branding. Brands exist whether you want them to or not…Branding, on the other hand, is a thing you do.” ¹
2. Danielle Blumenthal quote: “There are so many differences between branding and marketing. Branding is about living with consistent values, like swimming your laps; marketing is about taking one good shot at the basketball hoop…Branding is value driven…marketing is amoral.” ²
3. My recent concerns about dying brands

Brands are irresistible. A company can claim it does not have a specific branding strategy (which would be crazy-talk), but it would be wrong. That would be like saying, “I don’t have a specific strategy for defining who I am as a person.” You see, it’s going to happen anyway. And everyone else is going to observe the results.

It’s at the point where the line between Blumenthal’s “branding” and “marketing,” and between Godin’s “brand” and “branding” is so thin that I believe some companies begin to drive nails into their own coffins. I’m not speaking of companies like Enron, who commit suicide on national TV. I’m talking about normal companies.

Both Godin and Blumenthal assert (and rightly so) that there is a proactive, moving, active side of the concept of a brand/branding (Godin’s “branding” and Blumenthal’s “marketing”), and a side that simply comes from consistently existing as a focused, defined entity (Godin’s “brand” and Blumenthal’s “branding”). I like the Blumenthal’s description, “swimming your laps.”

Bringing the previous two paragraphs together, the line between the concepts presented by Godin and Blumenthal consists of the paradox of the “action” of existence. Godin’s “brand”/Blumenthal’s “branding” is a result-a result of consistency, of reputation. Godin’s “branding”/Blumenthal’s “marketing” is action which, in part, produces this result. But that line in the middle contributes to the result too-that line represents choice, decision, opportunity, potential. And it has a powerful effect on a brand. Does a company choose to specifically position itself, or does it ignore this choice? Doesn’t matter. Either way, there is an effect. The effect (”result”) becomes and contributes to the foundation of a company’s brand, its unmoving, consistent, presence, and it happens whether a company wants it to or not.

Interestingly, this “line” sometimes runs contrary to a company’s active “branding/marketing.” A company may implement marketing action. It may move. It may shoot at the hoop or shout, to use Blumenthal’s analogies. However, this move may come independent of brand choice, decision, opportunity, potential-the “line” described above. It’s sometimes a knee-jerk reaction to the competition, a stock price, or a gripe session in which you find yourself on the receiving end. It’s something completely separate from the brand. Sometimes, it’s just action for the sake of action, or perhaps it’s just job security. And it has absolutely no positive effect on your brand whatsoever.

The line between “brand” and “branding,” between “branding” and “marketing” is very thin, and very consequential. Acting on it has results. Failing to act on it has results, even if you invoke the excuse, “I didn’t know.” Not realizing it’s there at all has devastating results. Were I to sum it up in a word, I suppose it would be the verb, “initiative.”

¹ Seth Godin. Small Is the New Big. Do You Zoom, Inc. 2006
² Danielle Blumenthal, PhD. Blumenthal on Branding. “Classic Marketing” vs. “Classic Branding”. Posted 4 August 2007. One of the best posts I’ve read on branding. Take a moment to read it.

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Favorite Posts for September 17-21

Wednesday

The future is still - um - in the future- Interesting post by Greg Verdino of Crayon Marketing. The post reminds us of the truth that what may be “old to some will assuredly be new to others, and regardless of the timing of one’s introduction to a product or service, we are compelled to engage him or her regardless. I’m impressed that a representative of such a progressive firm (one which may be otherwise tempted to write off such “delayed adopters”) would post this.

Are You Listening to Customers Where it Counts?- I love this idea by Mila D’Antonio at the 1 to 1 Blog. Oh, if they’d only implement this at the Quizzno’s on 61st and Yale!

Thursday

The 7 strands of “blog DNA”- I hate to use two posts from the same blog in the same week, but this post on Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog belongs in your Bloglines “Classics” clippings.

Friday

10 Signs You’re Killing Creativity- This is why I wait until the end of the day on Fridays to post favorites. A very challenging post by Dustin Staiger at Casual Fridays. My next question: what do you do when you realize that pockets of your organization exhibit these signs?

Who Will Your Customers Mimic?- This simple illustration by Drew McLellan at Drew’s Marketing Minute attests to the importance of internal marketing and the impact of FLSE’s.

Heineken Ad, Part II

I dropped a quick post about the new Heineken commercial about 3 weeks ago. This commercial has really stuck with me. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.

Not only is this commercial cool, it is well done from an advertising standpoint. Here’s how:

1.  The spirit of the commercial is consistent with the point they’re trying to make about the product

The impression Heineken wants to leave with  you is that their new “draught keg” system is innovative. The entire commercial is an extended metaphor which reinforces this concept. Everything about the commercial is innovative: the music, the action, the filming style. It’s a very consistent message

2. It’s fresh

I hesitate to use this much overused adjective to describe this commercial. But it is the best word I can think of to describe the fact that it emulates no other commercial.

3. It catches the viewer’s eye

Contrasting colors and images that are a tad disturbing with clear sexual undertones (sounds like a wine review) effectively catch the viewer’s attention-especially Heineken’s target audience of young males. (Maybe Carl’s Jr. could learn something from these guys.)

4. It catches the viewer’s ear

Again, they clearly focused on their target market here. The music style is perfect. Something else impressive: it’s an original piece! Not just some Rolling Stones or REM song that any old company could also decide to use in their marketing campaign for their completely unrelated product. (I used to love the old Hummer commercial that played Sven Vath’s “The Freak” which I thought was so cool,  until I realized that indeed, the song was not an original Hummer creation-but nonetheless, pretty appropriate, I must admit.) Also, Heineken remembered to do something very important: they included their product/company name in the song!

5. It shows its product-and its key benefits-in action

The commercial provides a great “how-to” on using their new draught keg (which is a pretty cool innovation). It effectively shows the ease and quickness with which a user may utilize the keg.

Nice job Heineken. If only I liked the way your beer tasted!

Blogroll Diet

Ahh, I feel so much lighter. I finally pruned my blogroll from 70+ to under 50 blogs (and even fewer viewable to you). Some went because they rarely posted new comments. Some went because they were redundant. Some went because the content just wasn’t doing it for me. And some were simply ugly. I suppose this is a blogging lesson to myself.

Blogs are interesting. They create a surprisingly strong relationship with their subscribers. As I deleted some blogs, I felt sad. I felt guilty as I deleted others. And some, I deleted with a grin on my face.

While I truly enjoy the 41 remaining blogs viewable to the right, some which I have recently “grown especially close to” (to continue the metaphor) are:

10,000 Marshmallows

Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That

Church of the Customer

Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog

Kelly Mooney’s Blog

Marketing Hipster

Own Your Brand

The 1 to 1 Blog

WonderBranding: Marketing to Women

If you have not had a chance to read these blogs, click on a couple of these links now.

I did keep What’s Your Brand Mantra on the list, even though my favorite blogger ever, Jennifer Rice, has posted only one message since May 5, when she announced that she was changing agencies. Each day, I keep hoping to see her blog highlighted in Bloglines. I’m not giving up on her just yet!

Oh, and thanks to those of you in the remaining 41 for consistently turning out great work.

Favorite Posts for September 12-14

Thursday

#6.07: The “Employee Evangelists” Issue- A great and highly practical post by Andy Serovitz at Damn, I Which I’d Thought of That. (I reference him so much, you’d think I could spell his name without looking at this point!) It addresses a problem I have been wrestling with now for some time: motivating FLSE’s. I wonder if Andy has read this book.

Punishing the outliers- Speaking of FSLE’s, Seth Godin at Seth’s Blog addresses one (Dr. Brown beloved) principle that is absolutely essential in branding service employees: empowerment.

Another “how-could-I-have-missed-that-idea?” idea

Interesting article in the NY Times online about boomers and social media. Check it out here. Hat tip to Leigh at advergirl for pointing it out.

Score Two for Wal Mart

1. Wal-Mart is changing their slogan of 19 years, and despite my belief that people forget the companies slogans are tied to unless the company name is actually mentioned in the slogan, I think it’s a good positioning move: “Save money. Live better.” See the full article here. See dissension here.

2. On Sept. 25, Wal-Mart will open check-out lines devoted specifically to the buyers of Halo 3. What a great idea! It gets Halo 3 buyers into their stores, while protecting their non-Halo 3 buyers from the day-after-Christmas-ish craziness that is sure to ensue at the release of this highly anticipated title.

Surely, while the Halo 3 buyers are in the particularly welcoming Wal-Mart stores, they will also be purchasing cases of Mountain Dew’s Halo 3-inspired bottles of pop to sustain them through the long night of finishing the game. Talk about perfectly lining up a promotion with a target audience!

Barnes and Noble, Surely You Know About Permission Marketing-It’s in Your Top 50,000

As a former English teacher and a pretty avid reader, Barnes and Noble has held a prominent spot in my lineup of favorite places to shop for years. So it was with disappointment that I became aware of the fact that B&N had probably been distributing my e-mail address without my explicit permission for years. I became aware of this recently when I was going through the process of opting out of B&N’s e-newsletter. I logged in to my account, only to find that every marketing option in my “Communication Preferences” had been checked, including the “Special offers, events, new products and services from trustworthy third parties” option, which I would have never selected otherwise. No doubt, this occurred the first time I ever ordered from B&N, many years and spam e-mails ago. I probably went to order a book online, so I established the obligatory account, and this was the default marketing setting that was imputed upon me (without my knowledge or express consent). To be fair, I went to bn.com just this morning and established a new account, hoping to discover that my assumption was incorrect, or to see that B&N had mended their ways since I first created an account with them years ago. Sure enough, I was not given the opportunity to opt out of third-party e-mails during the sign-up process, and sure enough, when I checked my marketing settings, I was signed up to receive every type of correspondence (both B&N and third party) via every medium.

While I realize that this sort of thing has been relatively common in the past, I guess the thing I find most unsettling is that I would not expect this from an otherwise reputable company like B&N. B&N should be an example to other companies. They are the older, more responsible kid in the family. They shouldn’t need to play tricks like this. These days, even the smallest, seediest internet companies allow you to choose not to receive “Special offers, events, new products and services from trustworthy third parties” during the account setup process. Spam carries such a contagious stygma that most companies want to make absolutely sure that they have express permission from you to distribute your e-mail address to third parties right up front, even if it means that they also lose you from their own list. This sort of thing (automatically putting you on the third party marketing list, simply because you entrusted a company with your e-mail address under the assumption that it would only be used for purposes of taking care of your account) can only be described as, well, sneaky. It’s a sin of omission. Sure, I never told you to exclude my name from third-party e-mail lists, but you never asked. Barnes and Noble, I think you should have.