It became obvious very rapidly that there was tension between these two groups. While the goal of both groups was to have fun and be entertained, their means by which to achieve it were greatly different. It was a very awkward situation that only ended when one group departed from the event.

This really got me thinking about companies who are trying to communicate with customers and prospects. While you may have a product that is a strong solution for different groups you really need to do you homework and make sure your message and communication style correctly target your audience based on their personality and expectations. If you don’t get this right, while your intentions may be good, could blow up in your face and produce the opposite results.

During my train of deep thought I realized that in a way I have become a zombie myself. Not the brain eating, shuffling kind, but the brain-numb digital kind. I whole-heartedly admit that I surf the web almost continuously. Whether I am at work, on my laptop at home or my iPhone, I am hardly ever disconnected for more than 30 minutes at a time.  As a person with an insatiable thirst for knowledge I am always reading. The problem is that I often find myself just looking at drivel.

I frequent numerous, news, industry and entertainment sites looking for content. However, when there is not a specific topic I am looking for I tend to digitally graze. This can bring about some interesting topics and tidbits of knowledge but more often than not I waste an hour or more of my life and truly get nothing out of it. Imagine reading a book while thinking about numerous tasks you need to accomplish at home and at work. You simply won’t retain any of the information you consume. While you may have a general emotional sensation regarding the contents of the book the actual meat will be left on the pages.

With the continued proliferation of new online content providers and aggregators and the new devices being sold to enhance our consumption of them, at what point do we just become brain-numb digital zombies? If we really aren’t paying attention while we surf, no ad or marketing message will get through to us. Have we already hit the apocalypse and just not noticed it?

As marketers we can tend to focus on the latest trends looking for the next silver bullet. Well, while we may get lucky from time to time, we probably waste more time than we should on unproven tactics.

I’m not implying we shouldn’t try new things but let’s be sure to temper our ambitions and make sure we work hard on a few things to bring them to fruition. Remember slow and steady wins the race.

Google’s Featured Reading Lists

The idea of a RFM or request for meeting is perhaps one of the simplest solutions. Any decent agency will come to the meeting with good strategic thinking and a grasp of the prospects business problems and possible solutions. But this could dramatically reduce the time needed for the agency selection process and reduce the upfront financial commitment by the agency to compete for your business. Why is this benneficial? More agencies will be willing to take the time to talk with your company and compete for your business.

Please read the article “The end of the agency RFP era” by Bob Wheatley

A couple of weeks after my trial expired I received a direct mail piece giving me a special offer. I was standing in my kitchen reading the ad when I got a call from an XM telemarketer. My initial response was “damn, these guys are good.” I decided to go ahead and get the paid subscription by verifying my info with the telemarketer. Things were going fine and we were almost done with the call when all of a sudden “drop” the call ended. Ahh crap I thought, but then I looked down at the direct mail piece and figured I’d just call them back and finish the process.

I called the 800 number on the card and started speaking with the nice gentleman on the other end. I explained to him what happened and he checked the computer. There was no record of the transaction I had begun. I was a little irritated but hey thing happen, no biggie. So we started the process again. When we got to the end it became apparent that this inbound telemarketing rep had no information about the special first 90 days for $5 special that was plainly printed on the marketing piece I held in my hand. I nicely explained to the man that I wanted the promotional price. He said he would make a note of it and it was billed for the full amount to call them and straighten it out. Wait, I am supposed to call and straighten it out when your company screwed up? ooookay!

So after leaving my car with  the ignition on in my driveway for 1 hour, I finally had my service back up and running. The car has to sit with direct line of sight to the satellite to reset. Makes sense to me but I’m glad I live in a good neighborhood.  

All of this left me a little irritated with the company but I knew I would get over it quickly. Unfortunately for XM they decided to call me no less than 5 times over the following few weeks asking me to renew my subscription!!! These calls continued after I told them I had already subscribed. 

This is a brand that I had a very positive opinion of before my actual interaction with them had begun. In one fell swoop I have lost a great deal of respect for the company and will have a harder time recommending them to others. I just hope that my peers stay vigilant in all our client and vendor touch points to ensure a positive experience. It doesn’t take much to tarnish a strong reputation.