GoToMeeting Has a Customer for Life!

Recently as a company Brandswag has decided to utilize the web conferencing application called GoToMeeting. We signed up for a free account and have used the service twice in the past month. We had been testing out other web conferencing software much like GoToMeeting. The past few days the company has been deciding which service to invest money.

Today I received an email from a woman named Amalia Asan. Basically, the email stated the following:

We show that on Jul. 16, 2008, you created a GoToMeeting trial account. I am contacting you to provide you with my direct telephone number and email address in case that you may have any questions, or would like any assistance in using GoToMeeting.

BORING. I yawned and moved that nice email to my trash can.

And then something absolutely wonderful happened, my phone started ringing. Hmmm, California area code I wonder who that could be? I answered and Amalia was on the other line asking if I had received her email about assistance sing GoToMeeting.

Talk about customer relationship! GoToMeeting just recruited a customer evangelist for life because of a simple phone call. This goes to show the power of working two forms of communication towards the same goal. Email + Phone or Social Media + Face to Face. When have trouble communicating with a person, try two forms instead of one.

And go check out GoToMeeting.com.

Are you reading this Men’s Wearhouse?

My Problem with Mr. Tux

We have all experienced it. We have all scurried around Target, Crate & Barrel, or Bed-Bath-and-Beyond to quell the list registered by the lucky couple. If you are not a complete hermit and have at least one friend, you have been to a wedding and have experienced the WEDDING SEASON. I am on the tail end of the wedding season. Two of my good friends have taken the leap and another is on the way.

Other than Target and Crate & Barrel, another store looms on the onset of every wedding: Men’s Wearhouse. I guess you can call Men’s Wearhouse a suit store, as well as, a tux rental location. The two wedding I was blessed to be a part of had rented their wedding attire from this store.

As a personal preference I have never understood the idea of renting a tux (fancy suit) for the price of buying a nice suit from a place like Express or Macys. Many people decide to go the tux route for their wedding and to that I say, “To each his own.” I was happy to fork up the money to honor my friend and his soon to be wife.

I did have an interesting interaction at the Men’s Wearhouse in Castleton last Friday. I ran into the store to pick up the tux for a wedding I was to be in that evening. The nice man at the store handed me the massive tux bag and added that I probably should try the tux on before I left the store. Everything fit perfectly except for the shirt. It was a little large. Unapologetically he searched for a new shirt, which he found and gave to me. It fit perfectly except for a large stain on the shoulder. Hell, stains happen. I’m cool with it.

He proceeded to tell me they didn’t have my shirt here at the store but it was at another location for me to pick up. Excuse me? Did I hear you correctly? You want me to waste more of my day to go pick up a shirt in the mall because you didn’t have the right product to begin with?

Needless to say, I left the store in search for the shirt only after I informed the man that next time it would probably be best to go get the shirt for the customer. The last thing you want to do is give the customer another errand to run because of YOUR mistake.

It has happened numerous times, not only to me but also to many friends. A tux doesn’t fit. The measurements for the arms are two sizes to small. Is it that hard to get something right the first time? A tux rental costs between $130-$175 and this is a RENTAL! They get the tux back the day after.

I can only imagine the margin Men’s Wearhouse makes off of tux rentals, assuming they all come back in one piece. You would think they could afford customer relationship training for their employees.

Why would Google buy Digg?

(hat tip to Mashable’s Stan Schoeder)

There is a qualified rumor being spread around pertaining to Google’s recent developments on the purchase of Digg. From the Digg site:

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users. You won’t find editors at Digg — we’re here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and we’re changing the way people consume information online.

Long story short, Digg exists to rank blogs or content based on qualification from a group of people. You can usually find the DIGG button on blogs in your Google Reader or any type of blog aggregation tool. If you like the blog you should digg it!

So why would Google want to buy Digg? Ever since the purchase of Myspace by Murdoch’s Media Company we have seen a decline in the value of a large group of people on a social network. Today the social media world is judged based on an active and vibrant community it represents.

Digg has great traffic and it allows for the ranking of content whether visible to the Internet community or not. Stan makes a great point by stating that one of the reasons Google might want to purchase the site is the influence it has in the blogging and content community.

Another reason Google may want to purchase Digg is simple: They can. Whether or not the Digg community will bring any validity to Google as a company doesn’t matter.

When purchasing the Digg community there is one thing Google needs to remember. Keep it the same. The last thing Google needs to do is change the Digg platform or try to reinvent a wheel that already works. The acquisition will work if Google remembers not to alienate the Digg community.

The Web Doesn’t Care About You

Seth Godin has an amazing post, yet again. He never ceases to amaze.

In the past when an information medium was invented it was built by marketing. Advertising has supported every information medium since the inception of radio, newspapers, and television. When a specific medium was invented marketers asked the question. “How does this help me?”

Seth Godin adds to this by saying:

If a newspaper, a radio station or a TV station doesn’t please advertisers, it disappears. It exists to make you (the marketer) happy.

The problem, nay the beauty, of the Internet is the fact the shameless advertising does not support this medium of communication. But (being a marketer myself) it begs the question, “How do I use this medium to help my business?”

The question Seth Going asks, which business owners should ask themselves is this:

“How are people (the people I need to reach, interact with and tell stories to) going to use this new power and how can I help them achieve their goals?”

Help your clients first and you will reap the benefits of the amazing power of the Internet.

Thoughts of a Child

Please ignore the grammar. This is a thought stream.

I remember how big everything seemed…The aisles, the racks of toys, the awesome ten-speed I wanted to ride down the street in my neighborhood. I was four years old and with my mother at the local Kmart in Anderson, Indiana. It was always an exciting experience to take a trip into town because of one thing: toys. It didn’t matter what we were there to purchase.. I always wanted to hit the toy rack.

I specifically remember that day. Matchbox had just released a new car. I don’t remember exactly what the car was.. I assume a red ferrari? Assumptions always have there place in memories. I wanted it. I remember picking up the glossy package with a shiny red car… begging for me to drive it down the driveway of my Lego mansion.  I wanted it…so naturally, being four years old, I assumed mom would get it for me. I stood on my tip-toes, reaching over the iron grate of the shopping cart.. gently dropping the box to the bottom. I knew mom wouldn’t notice, because well… she had better things to do than worry about me.. her four year-old. Unfortunately my four year-old mind was completely wrong and she told me I didn’t need the car right now. Well that didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever… Why not? Why didn’t I need the car? I only had six for my Lego mansion and any four year-old worth their spit needed to have seven cars parked outside my multi-colored building. What would my friends say?

I was upset and rightfully so! She handed me the car and told me to put it back where I found it… maybe Santa Claus would bring it to me for Christmas. CHRISTMAS! That had to be fifteen months away! I would have a new mansion by then.. maybe even two! I pouted and went to put the car back.

When I turned around my mother was gone. She had completely vanished out of thin air. I hurried through the aisles looking for her. I was terrified. What did I do? Did my mother just abandon me? I would have picked the blue car instead… if that is what she wanted.

I remember crying in the aisle because I was completely ruined. I couldn’t find my mother. I can still remember the desperation I felt. The thoughts I had going through my head on why she would leave me.

At that moment I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around.. It was her. I can’t really explain the feeling I had when I saw my mother’s face. Nothing else in the world mattered to me. I completely forgot about the red car… everything in my small world completely made sense. I had no worries, no thoughts of desperation.. not a care in the world. All that mattered was that I was safe and with my mom.

I can’t explain why I remembered this specific incident in my life. I can’t recall much of my life before seven or eight years old. It made me think about the stresses and worries we have in life. The problems that are blown way out of proportion because we forget the simple nature of life itself. The simplicity of just caring for each other.

I can distinctively remember the feeling when I saw that red sweatshirt. Comfort. Peace.  I encourage all of you to think back on that day in your childhood where everything made sense. Where the only thing that mattered was the one thing that brought you comfort.

Blue Chip Expert :: Is It Worth It?

Many of you have probably been getting hundreds of invites for a site called Blue Chip Expert. I decided to join and check it out for myself. The site touts itself as being the “Premier Talent Source.”

In the about section of the site they state:
Blue Chip Expert is in the business of making recruiters more efficient and more effective by automating the agency search process through a combination of premier social networks, advanced people search technology, and targeted job referrals.

Basically the concept of the site is to gain multiple network professionals within a certain area to refer their contact list. The site pulls white collar workers into the site by stating they will give referral dollars to any of the contacts that receive a placement through the Blue Chip Network. Good idea? Maybe.

The Blue Chip site has created a network which creates a database of white collar workers throughout the country. My guess is that they are betting on a small number of the thousands of invitations being sent out to be credible sources for job placement.

Can they get it done? Maybe. Hopefully soon. I am tired of getting invitations.

The Self-Centered Tech World and Voicemail

hat tip to Doug Karr for the link to TechCrunch

I have read and re-read a post by Michael Arrington or Tech Crunch called Think Before You Voicemail.

The first line of the post states:

Voicemail is dead. Please tell everyone so they’ll stop using it.

Now, I happen to agree with Michael when he comments on voice mail being a little dated in the new world of email, instant messaging, twittering, and SMS texting. I would rather email a person than listen to a voice mail but that is my personal opinion.

The problem I have with Mr. Arrington’s post is the fact that it is all about HIS well being, HIS time, HIS technological prowess. ME. ME. ME. When did the tech world become this self-centered?

I can understand that it takes time to leave a voice mail. It takes time to pick up your phone, hit the little green phone, and listen to 30 SECONDS of a message.

Voicemail should be given up if and only if your peers/clients/partners/whatever have chosen not to use the service. I am not going to sit here and say voicemail is dead when 85% of my clients would rather leave a voicemail than send me an email.

Just because I would rather not leave a voicemail or listen to a voicemail does not mean I should decide to leave an away message saying, “I would prefer it if you didn’t leave a voicemail. I wont check it. I would rather you email me and inconvenience you for a second time. Because you will learn, my young one, that it is my time that is more important…not yours.”

Voicemail is only an inconvenience if you are thinking only about yourself. If my clients, prospective clients, or friends would rather leave a voicemail I am going to listen to it and return it.

In the world of business there is no ME factor. It is all about THEM.

**disclaimer**
Doug, I still love you.