Archive for August, 2008

Businessweek’s June 2nd edition, Special Report on blogging had the following comment.

BLOGS. UP and UP (And Lots of Zombies) -

In the spring of 2005, search engine Technorati reported indexing 9 million blogs. Today’s figure? 74 million. It sounds impressive, but only a fraction of all bloggers have posted within the last two months. Eliminate the sleepers, and the blog universe shrivels to 5.2 million. Kevin Burton, CEO of FeedBlog, argues that there are even fewer active blogs, about 2 to 4 million. In either case, more than enough to read. In fact only one in four Americans online, according to Forester Research, reads a blog every month.”

When I finished reading this these few thoughts ran through my head.

1. People might like to hear what you or your business is thinking but not as much as one might believe.
2. Blogging like any other medium is a type of fad taken on by everyone and then once the real users figure out how to use the tool, they become the true users. Akin to the ONLINE business in early 2000s and then when the brick and mortar businesses figured out how the entire model worked, they transformed and now use the internet as one of the tools in their arsenal.
3. One must write well enough to capture readers. Too many people can’t write. It’s why I have most of my work edited by Lorrie. I write well but there are times when I’m lost as to what I’ve just written.
4. It’s easy to get caught in hype and people love to jump on the next trend train. The problem is, just like many other fad booms, the train is going no where.
5. Consistency is key to much of life’s successes. Blogging is no different.
6. Blogging alone won’t bring readers. It should supplement other marketing tools: TV, magazines, radio market. Use blogging as an additional value. Then readers get this extra as part of their experience.
7. The blogger must have something to say that your niche finds worth reading. Just because someone can type does not mean others will read it.
8. By setting up a blog it does not mean you’re all done. Blogging is a technology that requires technological knowledge OR money to pay others to do it. Setting up an RSS…tied to Feedburner or AddThis, putting code for optimization, offering email this, Digg This, Save to Del.icio.us, configuring podcasting, fixing htaccess files to allow photos, or achieving an artistic look to a site requires time and energy. Without anything but a personal reward, this activity soon falls to the bottom of the to do list.
9. Blogging will transform into just another vehicle to get a message out for those that can write, will write, and can do it well.
10. It’s not nice to write when no one reads what is said. You’ve got to have tough skin.
11. The net has allowed innovation to spread quickly. but has not insured any success. It still requires intelligent thought to make something successful.

12. For many people and organizations, the “blog,” is launched to bring fame and fortune. Those that understand blogging often consider the blog as an online database of thoughts that can be used in the future. This is a very different perspective and one that allows for the less than sonic boom celebrity status.
13. I hope someone reads this!

Where does the responsibility lie when a customer wants to do business with a certain company? Is the person who’s been a customer responsible for keeping track of records to insure accuracy for future business or is it the responsibility of the firm that has conducted the business in the past, and profited from the exchange, to keep these records.

One might suggest it’s the responsibility of the buyer. They make the decision to use the vendor and therefore they must keep the records especially in a B2B relationship. In a B2C the clarity as not as clear. Or at least in my opinion.

In this day and age, organizations, once given personal data including name, address, and phone are more prepared to take care of purchasing records than the average consumer. Especially on larger size purchases. For that matter if a purchasing discount card is used as a tracking method. The technology exists.

In both cases there is a need for someone to take responsibility for their record keeping however when the two records don’t match then someone must step up to the plate.

Case in point. For the past 3 years we’ve been purchasing mulch from a company called local garden center. They’ve charged about $25.99US for yard and about $40US for delivery.

This year I called for another 5 yards as our records in our CRM said we purchased $180 US for 5 yards plus delivery. This year when speaking with one of the employees, she said that her records say that we purchased not 5 but 6 yards.

She should be right. She’s holding the invoice for last year!

As promised the firm delivered the mulch and we started to work to beat a rain storm headed our way. As we were finishing up we still had quite a large pile of mulch sitting in our driveway. At least a yard.

Not wanting to be wasteful, we bagged up the goods and decided call the company about the extra goods. We’d offer to bring it up to the store and they can then give us a store credit for $20-30. Think about it; $20-$30 is a small amount of money, especially when you consider that the client would stand to make several hundred dollars off the two trees we wanted to purchase for our yard.

Besides, the only thing we can do right now is send the goods to the dump!!! What a waste of money and energy used to produce the mulch.

The first person on the phone could not help me so I was transferred. The second person who answered was no use. The third person, the person who told us to buy the 6 yards versus 5 yards of mulch, finally answered the phone. During this telephone tag we also looked up last year’s credit card transaction and there was a $180 charge on our card. Exactly 5 yards worth. When I told the vendor’s employee this, she said that she would not take back the goods. In essence we should trash it.

The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth for what’s right.

Even though there is a balance that must be kept, here are some rules I would recommend.

* Small purchases B2C (soda, candy, shirt) both parties must keep records.

* Mid to large purchases B2C (Grocery bag, Videos, anyone with a purchase card, Furniture, etc) and the responsibility should fall on the organization/company to keep track of all commerce. Consider this; compared to an office how well do you keep records on household activities? When did you order the last pool supply or had your rugs shampooed?

The values can be enormous. Marketing efforts, clean and efficient reordering. Scheduling employee and managing cash flow. Even in the B2C market.

* Small, medium, large purchases B2B – Here I would put the onus on the company making the sale to keep accurate records if only for the purposes of aiding your customer in future purchases of your product or service. This does not mean the buyer is off the hook. Yes, you can trust the vendor to keep records but people go out of business and your time and purchasing power are worth its weight in gold. Time because the faster you can find who you purchase from the faster you can create reorders and go on to delivering your own product or service. Purchase Power because this becomes leverage for future business and shifting from supplier to supplier.

You do $375,000 US from one company and there are 5 others in the space, you can open your books to negotiation for better services, decreased pricing or even preferred status.

Customers in the B2C environment can do the same however it’s not as common. For example in our household we spend between $25-$60 a week in dry cleaning. If the records indicate the volume is about $1400 per year we might be able to leverage a constant discount rate instead of grabbing coupons out of our newspaper every week to get the same deal. A waste of time.

The garden center’s employee (could be one of the owners) never thought that her records were wrong and when I called to offer to return the goods for a small credit to be used in their store, she refused. Not only did she lose out on the next sale, but she lost out on two tree sales.

Always remember, it’s not whether you are right or wrong, it’s perception that matters and in the case of who’s responsible, make sure you’re covering what other consider to be your responsibility.

Unless you’ve lived under a rock for centuries you most likely heard the phrase, “Think outside the box.” Think about it for a minute. How do you know if you are outside of the box or for that matter inside the box? If I suggested to you that you should use round tires on your car, that would be outside of the box. You’d also think I were nuts. Square tires won’t roll. Sometimes we be better off inside the box! If there were any box we can define. Yes, I understand the phrase is used so that people are creative. Then let them be creative and not stupid. Don’t say it any more.

I’d like to introduce you to Paul Asiedo. An immigrant from New Guinea who’s raised three children in the United States as a cabbie.

And what a cabbie.

Comment: All three children came to the US not having spoken a word of English. On the day I jumped in his cab he told me his 11th grader was just pronounced top in her class. His other two had both risen to similar status in thier prospective grades.

Thought: Makes you wonder what happens to children who’ve been pampered.

Comment: He says, “Never vote for a democrat, they always complain about something and never say anything positive.”

Thought: Coming from an outsider it’s an interesting statement given that he’s trying to make a living as a cab driver. This is no wealthy man.

Comment: He loves that there are role models for “black” people including Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell. He added, “I tell my children, in America if you work hard you can be one of the most powerful people on this planet. Nothing is stopping you.”

Thought: He’s got his head on straight and he’s obvioulsy teaching his children that life’s no picnic, however, if you work hard, you can have it all.

(Paul, I very much enjoyed the ride and wish you the best of luck… and obviously you don’t need it.)

Can you remember a few of the failures you’ve had in your life? Of course you can. The reason is that failures tend to be reviewed over and over again in your head for years. When you’re 86, you’ll still be able to play those life experiences in your head, and if you’re lucky you will pass those great stories and their lessons down to your children.

Starting in college, I took a different spin. I started collecting successes. Yes, a list of successes. Surprisingly, success I consider grand today I might not consider to be a success; however, these events help me to keep life in perspective. When I feel a little down or that I’ve not achieved what I’ve wanted fast, I can easily reach for my notes (or go online to my server) to see that life is full of roses, lots of them.

I’ve just found that my memory is not as good as a list. Start doing it yourself. You’ll be amazed at that small success that you lose track of as you move through life. What’s even more powerful is you’ll appreciate life even more.

PS. I don’t think I’ve ever shared the list. It’s just for me. A little score card.