Late for the party

I am not much of a shopper. At least not in brick-and-mortar stores. I don't enjoy the "experience" of shopping - browsing for just the right item. I much prefer Amazon.com, Zappos and online shopping in general. What's not to love? Easy price comparisons, delivery right to your home or office, no-hassle returns. All that's missing (for me) is being able to touch or try-on the items, and the instant-gratification that buying at a store provides. I do most of my gift buying - and a fair amount of my personal shopping - online. Which makes it all the more puzzling that I have only recently discovered the wonders of eBay, first-hand. Credit my wife. Donna had a Dooney & Bourke all-weather-leather handbag when we met. She loved it, but gave her purse to a friend a few years back. After that, it seemed a fading memory. Until I started teasing about her "man bag" - the not-particularly-attractive purse that seems more like a small piece of luggage; once an item finds its way into it, and settles to the bottom, there's not much chance of it ever being seen again. I've been told in no uncertain terms that they are quite "popular." My comments and her work friend sporting a "vintage" Dooney & Bourke that her husband bought her online spurred Donna to Google research. That led her to eBay and a breathtaking assortment of D&B items. After a quick and steep learning curve about auction bidding, she purchased a beautiful purse. Then another. Then I got hooked, and added to the growing Moon family Dooney & Bourke collection. Again, what's not to love about eBay? It can be online shooping at its best. A massive inventory, which changes by the minute. The fun of competitive bidding - it's almost as addictive as gambling - so that you control the price you're willing to pay. All the watch lists and instant notifications to keep you continually informed about the status of your bids. The social element of sharing photos and descriptions of items with friends. And of course, the ease of PayPal to complete your transactions, and encouragements to rate the sellers. Now Donna teases me about my "murse" - the man-purse D&B satchel I bought to carry my iPad. It's a good thing that I'm confident in my masculinity. Usually.

Fumble Recovered

Among my Christmas presents from daughter Katie was an iTunes card. Music is one of my passions and I view gifts like this as a “permission slip” to load my iPhone with songs outside my usual well-worn comfort zone.

While preparing to add the gift card sum to my iTunes account online, I was a little too eager, evidently, and scratched off a portion of the 16-digit code along with the security tape that covers it from prying eyes. Whoops, now what?! Never fear, there’s an Apple store in San Luis Obispo. So, I thought, I’ll drop by on my lunch hour and see if they can help me. (If this had happened to my wife, she’d be Google-ing within minutes, and in retrospect, her approach would likely have been more efficient.)

My visit to the Apple store was disappointing. A friendly Apple employee reassured me that I was not a complete idiot – my iTunes card scratch-off problem happens to other people. But … he couldn’t help me. The iTunes “store” must be accessed online to reconstruct the secret code. He did not offer to walk me over to one of the dozens of live Apple products to help guide me through the process so I could self-serve myself right there and then.

So, back to work I went. That evening, I used my MacBook Pro to sign in to iTunes, access their “store” and navigate my way to a form to fill out. An immediate automated-response email message confirmed that my form had been received and I now had a problem resolution number and a commitment that I’d receive a personal response, within 24 hours.

Slightly less than 24 hours later I did, in fact, receive a personalized email message from “Manu” the iTunes customer support specialist. He (I’m making an assumption Manu is a man) was polite, seemed to care and, most importantly, fixed my problem; my iTunes Card code was located and step-by-step instructions were provided to redeem it to my account.

Oh, and 24 hours after that, Manu sent another message to see if I was experiencing any difficulties with the card or the iTunes Store. Nice touch.

After a shaky start at the Apple Store, this is a story of good service “recovery” and ultimately a satisfied customer. And I just ordered an iPad 2 … but that experience will have to wait for a future article.

Fair Price, Good Value

There are two dogs in the Moon household. Long-haired dachshunds, to be specific: Chloe and Penny. And we prefer to shop locally. For many of our dog-related toys and treats, Lemo’s Feed and Pet Supply near our home in Arroyo Grande is where we shop, and for wet and dry dog food, Tails Pet Boutique in downtown San Luis Obispo is our store of choice.

Tails carries a special dog food that Donna researched extensively, and the store smartly manages its marketing tactics. As you walk up Higuera Street, you pass their large glass windows, where cats on loan from the local Humane Society are sleeping comfortably, and an easel with photos of dogs up for adoption is on display. I pass there most weekdays and frequently see people stopped at the photos or smiling and pointing at the cats.

Service can make the difference when offering commodity pet products. Tails prices are fair, and not much different than we’ve found on the Internet. The owner and staff are friendly and responsive. When I’ve wanted a case of dog food, and only a couple of cans were on the shelf, they’ve offered to order it for me; a couple of days later, I receive a call to let me know they’re holding the food for me. I like that.

Tails also offers a refreshingly low-tech frequent-buyer program for pet food. The reverse side of the store business card tracks six purchase dates and amounts (pre-tax); the purchases are tallied up and averaged, and the card can then be redeemed for anything the store sells. To me this is icing on the cake – I’d purchase the dogs’ food at Tails anyway, but the rewards program makes me feel appreciated for my patronage.

The products we want, priced fairly, offered with good service, in a pet-friendly environment, by local people who really seem to like what they do … it’s a winning combination. And the licks of appreciation after dinner from Penny and Chloe are warm, moist and priceless.

Give them an experience

I took the train from Grover Beach to Santa Ana for a recent “Moon Family Vacation.” It had been 20 years since I last rode Amtrak, and was pleasantly surprised. We remained on schedule throughout the 6+ hour trip, the passenger cars (and restrooms) were clean, the chairs comfortable, and the staff very professional. When Katie lived in Santa Barbara, she’d take the train to Irvine a couple of times a month to visit her then-boyfriend (now fiancé, soon to be husband) Eddie, and consistently enjoyed the experience; it sure beat LA traffic on Friday evenings and gave her time to grade homework and prep school lessons for the next week.

Monica and her husband Jimi joined us from Sacramento and we all spent the day at Walt Disney’s original theme park. So much has been written about Disneyland as an example of services marketing done well – with attention to every detail to payoff on “The Happiest Place on Earth” promise and make the $76 admission price seem like a good value. I’m from San Diego, just a couple hours south of Anaheim, and my dad would take our family to Disneyland every year when I was growing up. It’s been a few years since Katie, Monica and I have been there, and it remains as clean, well run and crowded as I remember.

We made a full day of it, and decided to have dinner in bustling Downtown Disney, adjacent to Disneyland and California Adventure. After scouting the many restaurants available to us, Katie chose Tortilla Joe’s. And yes, there was a line to get in. Live music outside made the wait more than tolerable.

The restaurant seemed an extension of D’land in every way. It was clean, efficient, and attention to architecture and interior detail screamed clichéd “Mexican cuisine.” While the food was good, if not great, most impressive were the carefully coordinated entertainment elements which added value to the dining experience.

An “artist” came to our table, and with great flair and personality proceeded to construct a ladybug from an impressive stock of colorful balloons. Many laughs and photos ensued as Monica strapped the bulbous insect to her wrist. The artist moved on to the next table to construct a giraffe for a smiling young boy, and we were unaware of the time passing as we waited for our food. As we ate, a strolling all-female mariachi band appeared. They were wonderful, talented musicians and captivating.

After paying for dinner, we didn’t want to leave Tortilla Joe’s. But we still had a few hours until Disneyland closed and hadn’t yet made it to Fantasyland, with our perennial favorite Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and the campy It’s a Small World.

Fourteen hours in the Magic Kingdom. It was a complete “experience.” Just as a great services firm should provide to it’s customers, or “guests” as Disney calls us. We paid our money, exhausted ourselves, and were ready to do it all over again the next morning. But there were planes and trains to catch, and work on Monday.

The Dark Side

I’m proud to be a marketing professional. It’s the career path I willingly chose. I’ve never wanted to do anything else. So, it’s not often that I feel compelled to defend marketing as a business discipline.

A good work and personal friend recently told me that she felt “marketing” was to blame for many of society’s ills. Marketing, she explained, convinces people that they must have things that they really don’t need, can’t afford or are actually bad for them. The Great Recession is rooted in the excesses of marketing. I dismiss this assault on my profession as misguided, inaccurate, simplistic and uninformed.

Donna and I watched the documentary The Tillman Story this weekend. Pat Tillman gave up a successful and lucrative NFL career to enlist in the US Army with his brother, less than a year after 9/11. Pat was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in April, 2004. The film details the misinformation, cover-ups and web of lies told to the Tillman family and the American public surrounding Pat’s “heroic” death.

Some suggest the original story of Pat Tillman’s killing by Taliban fighters, leading his men into battle, was part of a “marketing” effort to avoid the embarrassment of fratricide and to prop up support for the war. Unseemly characterizations of both my government and my profession.

Used to advance a solid product, service, organization, candidate or cause, marketing can certainly be a powerful force for good. Examples of it being used unscrupulously for immoral or unethical purposes – even with profound effect – make me no less proud to be a marketing practitioner. Like a CPA asked to comment about the accounting excesses of Enron, I choose to believe that “I would never do that.”

Re-Boot

Donna and I went to see Black Swan yesterday. And though I can't honestly say that I liked the movie, I was struck by the final words spoken by the main character: "I was perfect."

I periodically consider the notion that I am becoming a dinosaur; at least as far as my marketing skill set. Not naturally drawn to social media personally, and working for a firm whose clientele is primarily local businesses, I struggle with the usefulness of these tools. I know that I'm not alone, but that is small comfort when the feeling of being left behind haunts me as a marketing professional.

OK, so how does that have anything to do with the Black Swan quote? Just that among the advice I read about jumping on the social media bandwagon is that you do NOT have to be perfect to do it well. Get off the sidelines. Join the conversation. Experiment. Make mistakes and learn. And other cliches, which all point to encouraging dinosaurs to refrain from ready-aim-aim-aim-fire.

My training, which fits with my personality propensity, to believe that you have only one opportunity to make a great first impression, is at least a bit inconsistent with the advice I'm reading about using social media to engage customers and prospects. In fact, even using the terms customers and prospects may be another indication that I don't quite "get it" yet with regard to social media.

So, my New Years resolution - better late than never - is to get beyond feeling like I have to be "perfect" at social media. I'm committed to evolving, learning, testing and becoming more at ease with integrating "new media" tools and techniques into my well worn "classic media" (notice I didn't use "old media") tool box. I know that I'm damn good at planning and using classic media. Now I want to become equally good at utilizing the advantages social media are capable of delivering. That's my goal for 2011. And I'm modest enough to know that this will require the help of others.

The Color Splash Effect

Watching HGTV is hazardous to my wallet. Donna and I enjoy several HGTV programs, but we’re hooked on Color Splash with David Bromstad. We watch. We learn – or at least I do. We look around our house and that’s where the trouble starts. The living room needs updating. The bedroom needs a makeover.

Donna has a great eye for design and color, just like her mom. I don’t. I’m functional, utilitarian when it comes to furniture and accessories. Donna’s got her foot on the accelerator, mine’s more on the brake. And as a shopper, I don’t buy things often, but when I do, it can turn into a cascade. Thanks to Color Splash, it just did. New artwork for the living room walls. A new area rug, throw pillows, TV and stand. A new bed frame and comforter.

I prefer to buy locally whenever possible, but shop online when we can’t find exactly what we want. Using the classic 4P’s of Marketing, let’s look at brick-and-mortar and virtual store experiences:
• Product – I like to see and feel the rug, pillows and furniture at a local store. And you can’t beat up close and personal when shopping for a TV. But the depth of product choices is vast online. Add buyer reviews – even if some of them seem “planted” – and you get a dimension unmatched by a smiling salesperson.
• Price – is often lower online, sometimes dramatically so. The advantage is enhanced if the virtual store charges no sales tax and offers free shipping.
• Place – do you want immediate gratification? If so, the local store has the advantage. Two days after ordering a TV stand online, a phone call from the vendor informed us that the style we chose was out of stock. When we found a replacement – at a different virtual store – it took 10 days to be delivered. Meanwhile, our new TV sat on the living room floor.
• Promotion – local radio ads helped us choose where to begin shopping. Google key-word ads have made telephone yellow pages nearly obsolete; we searched locally and the vast Internet expanses with iPhones in hand. There was nothing we could not find!
• Pleasing the Customer – Marketing’s 5th P is where local stores can and should make their advantage evident. Customer service, going the extra mile – helpful advice, quick delivery and set-up, scheduling delivery according to the customer’s needs – can make the difference in clinching the sale.

Donna and I just watched a Color Splash kitchen redesign for the Yemoto sisters – and it was a stunning transformation. If we didn’t live 250 miles south of San Francisco, where David films his home re-design projects, I’d love to have him come up with something uber-fabulous for us. We better start saving for new countertops and appliances now. I can feel a new project bubbling to the surface.