Category: Customer Experience

Customer Experience

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Forrester Consumer Conference – Tuning Into Mobile TV

Charles Glovin gave the presentation

TV be gone!

Mobile video takes many forms.

What is the timetable for success?

Key elements for success…

                        Person to Person       Application to Person
Not Real Time   Video Messaging          Video Downloads 
                        Video Streaming
Real Time         Video Phone                Broadcast TV
                        P2P video streaming     Live Video Streaming
– SeeMeTV

– I-report on CNN

– MobiTV >= 32 channels well known brands – currently repurposed cable content

– GoTV >10 channels

High speed cellular networks are expanding adoption during 2007 to 2008

Broadcast is more efficient than streaming

And new networks are under construction

– True broadcast video, optimized for mobile devices
  – Launching in early 2007 in limited markets
  – Around 25 video channels, plus audio programming
– These new network operators will be wholesalers to the mobile carriers
  – All interactivity will come from the cellular network
  – Excess capacity can be used for datacasting and personalization

New mobile services are slow to catch on.
  – Price, battery life, size and style are decision points
  – Service has to be widely available.
  – Consumers have to understand the proposition
 
Mobile TV has some additional hurdles
  – Content with broad appeal
  – TV needs to look like TV

TV is just one piece
  – TV on mobile will always be inferior
  – Differentiation lies in its interactive capabilities and in location
  – Enables conversations

Mobile TV’s success is several years away

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Forrester Consumer Conference – NASCAR Presentation

Mike Helton, President of NASCAR, was a fascinating marketing keynote speaker. He talked about many things that as someone who was a big NASCAR fan as a kid, I was never even aware of that were amazing to learn. Two things stand out:

1. NASCAR is intensely focused on relationships and partnerships.

2. NASCAR has always been focused on customers.

It’s no wonder that they are so successful!

The thirty-one degree banking at Daytona built with customer experience in mind – being able to see the whole track at once! I never thought about it before, maybe the best customer experience involves things you don’t even notice. 

NASCAR is now the #2 sport on TV only behind only the NFL, 75 million viewers

Mr. Helton  believes that access to the drivers is critical piece of the success.

Recently opened a new LA office, NYC office, creating opportunities of NASCAR drivers to be in everyday life and making appearances in show business.

All of the sponsors work closely with licensing and headquarters. Sponsors are critical not only to underwriting the costs, but to other aspects of the sport as well.

NASCAR has always taken advantage of technology. (what a great mantra and it’s true)

NASCAR has racetracks, car owners and drivers who are independent – Mr. Helton expressed amazement that it all works sometimes. 

All in all, when I saw Mr. Helton on the agenda, I truly had no idea what to expect, I saw a new side of NASCAR, one that made me appreciate the other side of NASCAR.

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My Speech at eComXpo Now Has a Contest

In conjunction with my discussion at eComXpo about “Mobile Search Marketing: The Coming Evolution of Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Customer Officer”, I’m announing a contest! Prizes will be awarded via random drawing on Monday, October 30th, 2006, odds of winning depend on number of entries received and viewed via blog search engines.
Prize #1 – Dalka will be giving out one of his famous blog interviews to one lucky winner! (estimated value – priceless!)
Prize #2 – One eComXpo University Pass to allow leisurely viewing of content at a later time after the close of the conference, a great value if you missed part of the show. (estimated value – $99)

To enter, simply answer the following questions in a blog entry before the close of eComXpo:
1) Who exports what cereal to what country and why?
2) Who had a flat tire?
3) What three disparate data sets does David advocate tying together to create a customer driven experience?

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Another Established Personalized Service Put to Rest by Macy’s

Marshall Field’s was slaughtered, now Macy’s killed the personalized stationary in the store too. It’s interesting how much this relates to recruiting.  

Personal stationery makes you feel like you’ve arrived. For the person on the receiving end, opening the envelope is like opening a gift.

The ladies of the Personalized Stationery Team were like fairy godmothers. They knew their products, their manners and what was appropriate for every occasion. They helped customers create a first impression that made a statement before the recipient read a single word.

It could easily take hours to choose stationery, which is nothing when you consider it can take years to use it up. A few weeks after placing an order, the stationery arrived in the mail, appropriately. Inside the cardboard mailing boxes were the stationery boxes themselves, sturdy, tasteful yet fancy. The stationery fit perfectly inside its box. The paper was bundled with a sealed paper ring, the envelopes underneath neatly stacked like folded laundry.

It then goes on to say:

The online stationery shopping experience promises the full dose of isolation and frustration. There we’ll be, staring at the computer screen, clicking down endless selections of paper, trying to discern on a flickering screen the true texture and weight of paper, wondering what color it will it be in real life. No one will be there to suggest the perfect color of ink, or a squiggle or flourish or icon that will turn mere paper and ink into a personal trademark.

Sounds to me like an exact replica of what is happening in online recruiting, a working process has been replaced with and isolating and frustrating process that doesn’t bring true thought leaders into leadership roles. What is the quality of the paper and sentence structure – who is this person? We need to put the most talented hiring managers back into the final selection of sourced resumes before recruiters call.

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Just Where is Steven Berkowitz?????

Robert Scoble’s got a nice post about Youtube and Ballmer making comments…the post has some interesting detractors in the comments…I like this part the best he says: “The thing is, YouTube is two SEPARATE things: 1) the technology. 2) the community/brand.” I agree, most people focus too much on the technology.

But here’s my bigger question. Earlier this year, MSN hired Steven Berkowitz, the CEO of ASK. I have yet to see one meaningful interview in a five months now of this man, why hire him at all if you can’t delegate the spotlight properly to him?

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Recruting Best Practice : Brightcove

At 11:10PM EDT today, I got an e-mail from an actual Brightcove employee in Boston, yes actually living in the same time zone in the company, reading and then replying to my resume!

Let me repeat, a real live person was reading my resume and physically at 11:10PM!!! Wow!!!

This tells me some things:

1) The odds of Brightcove beign a long-term success just rose significantly in my view by the way they conduct business

2) They might find and hire thought leaders and not drones hired from keywords. Good for them.

3) My desire to be a part of this organization is stronger than it was before this interaction.

Thanks for the reply…I look forward to the next step in the conversation when appropriate. Jeremy Allaire should be proud.