1 Email's Broken Promise

What happens when you hype something up and create a ravenous appetite in your customers?  They’re chomping at the bit, right?  They wait in eager anticipation for that delivered good/service/X that you’ve so tantalizingly described to them and the minutes seem like hours.  What happens when you don’t follow through after all that build up?  Tremendous disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Last year, I wrote this post about how Southwest proudly touted their “last to market” approach to offering WiFi on their planes.  As their story went, they wanted to get the mechanics and the pricing right before offering it to us, their valued customers.  They were so unselfishly worried about our experience that it was best to be last but perfect.  We are their loyal customers, after all.

Created Needs

When airlines started offering WiFi in planes they put structure and shape to a need that was there but not fully formed.  Prior to inflight WiFi, some of us enjoyed the forced unplugging either to read a book, nap, etc.  This created need is not unlike the created need for heated seats in cars, the microwave, daily trips to Starbucks, etc.  Living in Chicago, I give thanks to my heated seats but it’s not like we couldn’t survive without them when they didn’t exist twenty years ago.

Because of this created need for WiFi, we look to see if the airlines we’re flying offer them…  For some, it’s been sold so successfully that it’s a must have.  For others like me, it’s nice but other factors influence more.  And with this, airlines are feeding the need’s appetite.

Practical Experience

Case in point: as I’m writing this (though posting later), I’m sitting on a Southwest plane.  Yesterday, I got an email from Southwest informing me that the plane that I am on is equipped with WiFi so I can tweet sweet nothings to you all from 30,000 feet.  Prior to getting this email, I knew there was a chance that I could join the Facebook mile high club but I hadn’t given it much thought.  Either way, I was going to get on this flight.

After I got the email, I have to admit weakness.  It built an expectation of productivity in me: to write a post, to catch up on email, to fix up some things on the 678 Partners site, etc.  I built a huge laundry list of interactive goodness in my mind.  Never in my life would I be a dynamo like this morning!

As soon as we hit 10,000 feet, I was amped with delusions of Chris Brogan/Mitch Joel/Joe Jaffe like grandeur.  I pulled out my trusty MacBook and searched for the connection.  Nothing.  Nothing again.  I checked the email that I had saved and I also looked for instructions in their magazine.  At last, the flight attendant did inform us that while the plane was equipped with WiFi, it was not working.

*Womp Womp*

I got a case of the sads.  I felt I was so close and yet so far.  I felt thwarted and frustrated.  I felt unproductive and panicked at the thought of all that HAD TO BE FINISHED on the flight that now WOULD NOT BE FINISHED.  The horror.

Once I took some deep cleansing breaths, I realized my emotion and panic, though self made, were due to created expectation of a created need that I didn’t really have in the first place because truly, the original plan was to tackle the crossword.  Had I not received the email, I wouldn’t be where I am now: writing a post because I feel like a promise was broken…  because I feel like I was somewhat misled.

Perception is reality.  And when customers perceive that something has been promised and then reneged upon, it’s hard to maintain the same level of trust and respect you had with them before.  After all, if a friend makes and then breaks a promise, we're somewhat taken aback and it's no different with our favorite brands.  So it's incumbent upon us to be very careful and serious about the promises we make.

Trust and respect are difficult to earn but easy to lose.  And while I believe that Southwest truly wished to offer WiFi in this flight and was so excited that they had to tell me yesterday about it, the fact that they couldn’t deliver it today is a bummer.

That can’t be a good thing.  What’s your take?  Please comment below and if you’ve enjoyed reading this post, please share it with others.

Parissa Behnia

Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com

678Partners.com

LinkedIn

Twitter

P.S. In fairness, there was a disclaimer but it only covered switching planes out.  Here it is:

“You are currently scheduled to be on one of our WiFi planes; however, in the event of operational challenges throughout our system, we might have to "swap" the aircraft and put it on a different route. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience that might cause. This information is accurate as of March 14, 2011.”

Get Out and Be Social -- Scavenger Hunts and Marriage Proposals

"Get out of your nice comfortable office and meet with your potential customers. Use what you learn to create valuable stuff online." -- @dmscott

I can't exactly remember when David Meerman Scott tweeted that but it was definitely within the last week.  And, the reason why I held onto it is that I've come across so many good examples of this brought to life.  I'm convinced it's because that I'm to learn what social actually means.

Since January, I've been blogging, building a business and banding together to launch ProductCamp Chicago.  I've also immersed myself into a self fashioned social media education: what it means, how it can be a tool for good (and bad), its vocabulary, its etiquette, its ability to make connections that but for the channel(s) would never happen, etc.  I've met many people, had many wonderful opportunities but, ultimately, I'm learning that I still have so much to learn.  Daunting yet dazzling all at the same time.

One of the things I've come to believe is that while these social media channels are powerful, they mean nothing without a multisensory human experience accompanying them - either as the driver or the passenger.  We can't always be parked behind a laptop or an iPad...  At some point, we have to engage with others.  It may be solely due to new technologies but we have to engage with others.  It's why food trucks are all the rage now if you think about it...  They may tweet their location but we run with joy to get our favorite bite and sit outside to enjoy the weather -- both of which are intensely human experiences.

So, there are other intensely human experiences I've come across lately that I'd like to share with you...  And I think they underscore my point.  Even before that @dmscott tweet, I saw an interesting tweet from Chris Brogan directing me to FIJI Water Urban Hunt (here) and taking place on August 14. It's a scavenger hunt social media style.  Nope, it's not an online scavenger hunt where you steal someone's Farmville cow on Facebook.  It is real, honest to goodness scavenger hunt that scours all of Chicago but uses social media tools in the process.

How?  Teams race around town to find the required items.  As soon as they find each item, they have to check in on Foursquare, shout it from Twitter rooftops (#FIJIhunt) and upload video on YouTube to earn points from the judges.  Like any fun scavenger hunt, there is the "thrill of the chase" adrenalin high and competition.  The other fun thing is that because of the checkins, friends/family members can track progress, cheer friends on and maybe also clue them in on what the competition is doing.  

In other words, you can have an intensely human experience like a scavenger hunt enhanced by social media tools.  The nature of a scavenger hunt requires team playing, exchange of ideas, creativity, rapid fire thoughts...  hard to do online but most excellent in person.  The extra element of the social checkins allow this human experience to go out in concentric circles.  Yes, I know that this is about FIJI and the sponsors but it wouldn't be nearly as fun if this were executed behind a laptop at a WiFi cafe.  This only works because there is a swarm of people competing for bragging rights and some prizes.  

There's another intensely human experience that I just learned of this morning thanks to Mashable.  It has to do with a marriage proposal that, at its core was romantic and traditional but engineered with social media savvy.  He used Twitter, Foursquare and Qik (a video stream) to engineer the right location so he could rendezvous with his intended but also to let family know the proposal was taking place so that they could watch the live video... It's insanely charming (but a bit long).

If you made it through the bulk of it, you see the joy and surprise but you also see greetings to family that are watching via the video stream.  Imagine the rejoicing of the happy parents that they could witness the traditionally proposal on bended knee and the acceptance.  You can't propose over the internet...  It's got to be done in person... but you can share an intensely human experience with those you love using social media tools.

So, to me, @dmscott is right...  There is benefit in getting out and being social with people so that you can be more effectively social onine.  What's your take?

Best,

Parissa Behnia

Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com

678Partners.com

LinkedIn

@SouthwestAir: Last to Market and Proud!

Greetings from Florida!


I'm mixing business with pleasure for the next few days or so -- spending time with parents, friends and Amir Rafizadeh, the Network Sommelier!


Why share this with you? Well, I flew Southwest this time around and bided some of my time thumbing through Spirit, their inflight magazine.  I was woefully unprepared: I forgot to bring a book and my hopes were dashed for some sort of wi-fi connectivity similar to what I had when I flew AirTran earlier this year or even Delta last week.  Sure, I should have planned in advance and research wi-fi availability on Southwest but as I mentioned in this post, that sort of organization often eludes me.  


So there I was, bemoaning my fate, flipping pages and trying to block out the noise of the retiree gin rummy game to my right.  And then, I got to page 225: Southwest Spotlight.  The title of the article? "Coming Up: Wi-Fi"  My curiosity was piqued, I dove right in and was duly rewarded.


What did I learn?  Apparently, being one of the last to the inflight wi-fi party is intentional.  Here are some of the reasons why:

• Southwest likes to take the road less traveled (pardon the pun): online fares only through their website, bags fly free, humor, etc., all with the customer in mind.
• Southwest wants to deliver the most robust inflight wi-fi solution and that takes time.  Robust means faster sending and receiving speeds than other carriers because of satellite technology versus air to ground technology.
• Southwest wants to control the wi-fi "Customer Experience" (title case was theirs, not mine).  This means that instead of Gogo Inflight driving pricing, Southwest has the "flexibility" to offer the service however they wish at whatever price point they wish.
• Southwest conducted a year's worth of market research: usability, customer preference and the like to maximize both productivity and/or entertainment inflight.
• Southwest says that, all in all, the road to superior wi-fi experience at a fair price is paved with patience and is indirectly asking us for continued patience.

That was marketing poetry right there.  Truly.  Here is Southwest saying, "Yeah, I'm late or last."  However, its defensive posture is woven so beautifully in a story about you the customer and how every waking moment is spent conjuring up ways to satisfy you the customer.  The spin is essentially, I may be one of the last to fulfill your need, but I'll be the best at fulfilling your need because I'm building this with you, my loyal customer, in mind every step of the way.


Imagine if, instead of the above, Southwest had said the following:

• I like doing things my way and on my terms.
• I like being better than everyone else.  I didn't think it would take as long, though.
• I don't like the idea of paying for a third party as it cuts into my revenues and I'm all about efficiency.  Maybe I can make more money doing things with my own built in network.  Let me tinker with that a little bit and I'll let you know when I'm done.
• Oops.  People didn't seem to like some of my original ideas and the others ones are hard to implement.  My developers and product managers have had to go back to the drawing board a few times so my milestone schedule is shot.  And oh yeah, this stuff is expensive!  My financials need some tweaking.
• You'll just have to wait.  Like I said, this is on my terms.

Admittedly, I've taken some creative license and there is some exaggeration here to prove a point.  In this post that was borne of a Chris Brogan retweet, we talked about why a "You" story always trumps a "Me" story and this anecdote is no different.  To be a trusted provider of a good or service, I have to take great pains to demonstrate that I'm fashioning said good or service in the mirror image that you the customer expect and that would enhance your overall user experience.  As I said then, if I am effective as a marketer in delivering what you need and I treat you the way you require to be satisfied, I earn your loyalty as my customer and maybe, if I'm lucky, you'll tell a few friends or strangers.


This is why the article was particularly enjoyable to me.  It took my disgruntled self filled with semi uncharitable feelings about the wi-fi situation and convinced me that waiting interminably for wi-fi on Southwest was good even though I didn't know how the waiting would pay off or what the pay off would be.  It also converted me back into a Southwest fan even though I was starting to see what else was out there in the airline dating pool that might better suit my inflight wi-fi needs.  It's embarrassing to say but it took a few minutes to snap out of it and say, "Hey...  that was clever!"


Good marketing.  Hard to argue with it.  What's your take?  Send your thoughts or please share below.  I look forward to hearing from you!


Best,

Parissa Behnia

Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com

678Partners.com

LinkedIn

Marketing Haiku, Forrest Gump and Authenticity

Greetings,


On Friday afternoon, I was multitasking: enjoying nice Southern Cali weather, reading emails, talking to my inlaws, etc.  It was a multimedia cocktail of activity.  Sometimes, I paid attention to what TweetDeck had to offer.  One of the tweets that popped up was from Chris Brogan:

@chrisbrogan: #observation: people don't read to comprehend; they read to check off or comment.

Something stirred in me to retweet (and edit) to come up with this:

and some tweet to tweet RT @chrisbrogan: #observation: people don't read to comprehend; they read to check off or comment.

Now some may say that I tweeted for attention seeking purposes and hence I was guilty of the "tweet to tweet."  Maybe.  Others may say that I was being sassy to Chris Brogan and since he is famous and I am not, I have committed what is tantamount to career suicide.  Also maybe.

My intent is neither attention seeking nor sass.  In the first case, maybe all of 10 people are reading my posts on a regular basis (I'm related to half of them) and, as I've said in this post, I find Twitter to be like trading pits of yore so the chances of someone paying attention to little old me at that snapshot in time is slim to none.  In the second, I can be much sassier if I wanted.  My objection is that there are a million articles, webinars and blog posts about the attention span of the reader, the proper length of a blog/vlog what the right words are to present at the right time, etc.  The level of mass hysteria these days about what is "right" is borderline comical.

I've mentioned Mitch Joel quite a bit to you.  One of his recent posts was about how his blog is essentially a failure.  At least, his blog is a failure according to Julien Smith (co author of Trust Agents with Chris Brogan).  Essentially, Julien Smith's view is that Mitch Joel's blog does the following things "wrong" (for lack of a better word): it's too elite, all of the topics are heady, it's too long, it's not controversial and it's too far "out there" (aka not accessible).

To each his own but I respectfully disagree.  Everyone that writes should be authentic to their own voice and if it were any different, it would be painfully obvious.  If Mitch Joel is smart, writes "smart" and publishes as he goes but all of a sudden switches to a quick hit / marketing haiku style of gimmicky sexy delivery and posts for maximum tweeting effect, it would go "pear shaped" as my English friends like to say.

So, just now, I travelled over to Seth's Godin wildly popular blog and arrived upon this post which is essentially a primer on arrogance.  I travelled a little further along and found this post on elites.  The former essentially says to go forth with confidence and swagger to share your thoughts with the world and run the risk of being arrogant.  The latter describes the world as an us versus them type of environment... That if you write or read blogs of a certain ilk means that you choose to be aware, challenged and actively engaged in the lively art of marketing conversation with the effect of challenging the status quo.  And it means that you are part of the elite.

Well herein lies the problem with any type of marketing expression or strategy: that of who to believe.  Also, that of why we should believe.  Julien Smith says that Mitch Joel's blog is too elitist.  Seth Godin says that we should choose to be and proud to be elitist...  And that we should run the risk of being labelled arrogant if we deliver the next "big idea" to our clients and peers.  These two brand names are contradicting one another...  If you follow or think you follow both, what do you do?

Which takes me back to Chris Brogan's tweet and my retweet.  There's an inherent pressure to read a certain person or comment in a witty kind of way to elevate our profile (and our natural search results).  Sometimes, we're not sure what it is we're reading or why it is we are reading.  We get dazzled by the idea of something or personal brand and get drawn in as opposed to listening to our voice or what our gut dictates.  Also, when we see someone influential say "Please RT" or similar, there's often the temptation to do so without even reading the link.  Hey, I've been there.  I catch myself contributing to Twitter "noise" pollution.

I was watching "Forrest Gump" over the weekend and it struck me that the famous running scene (after Jenny leaves him) illustrates this point.  He slowly gets a stream of followers who think they understand him and look to him for inspiration that he's not necessarily there to provide.  He's doing this for healing his broken heart but serendipitously (and fictitiously) is the muse for the "Sh** Happens" bumper sticker and the "Have a Nice Day" smiley face t-shirt.  When he stops running, they're confused, lost and not quite sure what to do next.  


And it's because they're not listening to the voice within.  Do we believe in what we're reading?  Are we courageous enough to unsubscribe from certain blogs or newsletters from "elites" if we don't see or (dare I say) understand the value?  Are we courageous enough to say we've done that out loud?  I'll put it out in the public domain that I unsubscribed from Seth Godin's blog recently mainly for posts like the Arrogance and the Elites that I mentioned above.  My personal view is that I feel that some of his posts are "Intro to the Obvious" and like marketing haiku but having said that, I would be delighted to be proved wrong.  I guess it's because, as per Seth, I'm an elitist and enjoy conversation.  ;).


Who have you stopped following or reading and why?  I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Best,


Parissa Behnia
Idea Chef


678Partners@gmail.com
678Partners.com
LinkedIn

P.S.  Here's the scene from Forrest Gump:

RT @chrisbrogan A "you" story always trumps a "me" story.

Happy Friday!


It's such a beautiful day and the sun is beckoning me for a long walk.  I'm going to listen to it but first I want to share some thoughts with you.


I've had writer's block this week.  I had trouble fixing on something that inspired me to put digital pen to paper.  I've had flashes of ideas (you should see the started posts on Blogger) but I've not been able to crystallize the "aha!" in a meaningful way...  Until I came upon that RT by David Alston (aka @davidalston), the VP of Marketing and Community at Radian6 (a nifty company). 


I've a funny little story to tell you.  I started following someone on Twitter some time ago.  I liked her tweets and RT on some of the same webinars (and simultaneous tweets).  She'd always start the day with something bright and shiny and then fire off content through the day and into the night.  Staying power is an understatement!  One day, in response to a cheery note, I thanked her for her bright sunshiny-ness.  A few minutes later, she invites me to connect on LinkedIn which I accepted with a request to chat live "in the spirit of multi sensory connecting."  She quickly responded that while that would be lovely, she's in the middle of buying and selling a home, extremely busy and not available for two to three weeks.  I said I understood and wished her well in her house adventures.


Since that day, I have continued to build a network, meet new partners in person or over the phone, connect new partners with others, share information and land some great opportunities at the same time.  Since that day, I have watched her tweet constantly from morning through night (love TweetDeck).  Very few of those tweets had to do with an impassioned selling of her home.  Lest you think I was obsessed, it was impossible to have TweetDeck running without seeing at least one of her tweets in a fifteen minute block of time.  It got to the point where I wondered how she was tweeting and eating, doing laundry, maintaing personal relationships, etc.  It also got to the point where I realized that she was either quoting some inspirational speaker or retweeting someone else.  Not valuable to me but maybe to others and I've stopped following her.


I just re read that paragraph and it seems like my feelings were hurt.  No, I really do think this was comical.  Truly.  I've learned, late in this career game, the difference between the "me" story and the "you" story.  There's so much pressure to get this social media thing right, to tweet at the "right" time, the "right" way to get others to RT your 140 character tome, to use hashtags effectively, to get your "personal brand" out there, to create buzz, to create buzzworthy social objects, to be a Chief Editorial Officer (quoting Brian Solis), etc.  It can border on obsession especially for people who are perfectionists and need to get everything right the first time.


Sometimes, I feel that Twitter is like a room full of hundreds of people shouting stuff at the same time not unlike commodities trading pits of yore with paper flying everywhere and people growing hoarse.  And, this is what I feel this woman is doing to elevate her profile and develop a following.  You've got to tweet and retweet (and make sure it's good!) to get some momentum.  Hey, she's running a business and this is absolutely a part of it and which is not unlike this blog.


I may never be a Mitch Joel, a Joseph Jaffe or a Jay Baer and may never have thousands following me on Twitter or reading my posts.  I've made my peace with that.  They have the luxury of speaking to many now based on their many hours of hard work and their excellent insight and value they've brought to clients.  To get to where they are now tweeting to many, they made it a "you" story.  As I mentioned in my last post, just because it's online, doesn't mean you cut in line to get there.  And I think many of us forget that very salient point.


Which brings me to the title of this post.  The personal and the brand story I deliver should always be all about you the listener and/or customer to truly be successful, to truly be meaningful and, to truly earn a role as a "trusted advisor" in the long term.  I may be cute and I may occasionally deliver a bon mot but none of that ever matters if my focus isn't laser honed on the person with whom I'm having the conversation.


The personal touch matters.  The listening matters.  The focus matters.  The authenticity matters.  What you bring to the table as a marketer in response to the listening also matters.  Relationships are not one sided; they are borne of the value shared and the trust earned by both parties.  If I am effective as a marketer in delivering what you need and I treat you the way that you require to be satisfied, I earn your loyalty as my customer and maybe, if I'm lucky, you'll tell a few friends or strangers.


Which is why I've got no choice but to pound the meaningful networking/connecting pavement beyond what I write here, tweet or RT.  I've no choice but to speak via either email (but preferably phone) and then in person to see how I can be a good partner to someone.  Sure, it takes work and time.  But, I'm not complaining.  The road to being seen as someone's "trusted advisor" is paved with these steps.  And, the scenery is great!


What's your take?  Please send me your thoughts.


Regards,


Parissa Behnia
Idea Chef


678Partners@gmail.com
678Partners.com
www.linkedin.com/in/behnia


p.s.  Some footage of a trading pit to illustrate my point!