AuthenticMatters

Clever Unsubscribe Moment

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:53:21 -0400

So I unsubscribed from Groupon today. It was simply too much email. And as our work routinely involves customer service and customer feedback, I told Groupon why I was unsubscribing and selected the “too much email” choice. What popped up next was clever:

In the video, Derrick’s boss walks in, hassles him, and then… throws water in his face. Clearly this is a bit, but here’s why it’s clever, from a customer interaction perspective…

For starters, most unsubscribers of any product (particularly email) are doing so in a negative mood. They’re angry, overwhelmed, annoyed. In short, there was a reason they unsubscribed, and the chances they were doing so because they just loved the product too much are way slim. (“It’s not you, Groupon… it’s me. We can still be friends.” Ha. Highly unlikely.) But this little “Punish Derrick” gadget made me smile, thus reducing my level of irritation. And note the “Resubscribe” button below. I’d be interested to know how successful that is. Does this tactic move the user (or former user) from anger to empathy to reconsideration? Not sure. But it certainly made me less angry. However, I did not subscribe.

Either way, it’s a good idea. It’s a last ditch effort to keep a customer that doesn’t reek of desperate salesmanship. It even makes Groupon appear more human. And anytime a web product can do that, it’s a win.

Page rank #2 may have “proved” that authenticity...

Sat, 19 May 2012 17:53:11 -0400

Page rank #2 may have “proved” that authenticity matters, but we rank #1!

Chiming in on Privacy in the Philly Inquirer

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:31:47 -0400

(Click on that smiling face to read the whole article. Or just click here.)

Align Your Brand to the Products You Push

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:58:00 -0400

The Drive-By Truckers are my favorite band. (To anyone who hasn’t heard ‘em, listen to them. Now. They’re the last bastion of American music.) Led by Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, DBT has been around a while. Endless tours… a stack of albums… playing sold out clubs… but they’ve never really “made it.” And frankly, that’s fine. However, recently, the band lent two of their songs to STP Motor Oil for some TV spots. Cooley, with his gravely voice, did the voiceovers too.

Most of the feedback from fans was great: “Kick ass, Cooley!” “DBT finally makes a buck!” On the flip side, some fans felt it was selling out: “No self-respecting rock band would huck motor oil!”

But here’s the difference: Motor oil is very DBT. These guys write whole songs dedicated to cars. “Daddy’s Cup” is about a son learning how to race. “Outfit” mentions a “302 Mach One in green.” (If I knew anything about cars like my fiance does, I’d know what that means.) Point is, in a rare foray into product promotion (and honestly, it’s surprising that STP had even heard of DBT), the band chose wisely. They aligned themselves with a product that their fan base actually uses. A lot. They seemed to have maintained a good deal of influence on creative direction of the ads (tough, mean, badass). And they weren’t in-your-face about it: unless you know their songs or Cooley’s voice, you have no idea who’s behind it.

This isn’t like Shaq shilling Buicks. (Seriously, you really think Shaq drives a Buick? Not a chance. But there’s a good chance Cooley uses STP.) And lyrics like this back it up:

I got 350 heads on a 305 engine / I get ten miles to the gallon / I ain’t got no good intentions (“Zip City” - Southern Rock Opera)

Here’s one of the spots:

Oh hey, Adam Neary in Inc.

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:35:00 -0400

Oh hey, Adam Neary in Inc.

With Kashoo, we’re doing a “Why I love Kashoo”...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:08:20 -0400

With Kashoo, we’re doing a “Why I love Kashoo” video contest with our customers - and this one is just awesome.

Three Ways To Get The Media To Pay Attention To Your Young Company

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:32:08 -0400

Some blatant self-promotion here…

The first post to my column @ Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Young Entrepreneur” …

Three Ways To Get The Media To Pay Attention To Your Young Company

Why You Should Have Comments, Even When They're Bad

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:23:33 -0400

Why You Should Have Comments, Even When They're Bad:

great article from mathew ingram @ gigaom.

Really Good PR Insight from Chris Wink @ TechnicallyPhilly

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:59:49 -0400

Really Good PR Insight from Chris Wink @ TechnicallyPhilly

What's it Like to Get a Product Featured in Thrillist?

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Ya gotta click the screenshot to get to the video. (It’s embedded in Thrillist.)

In PR, Numbers > Awareness

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:48:00 -0400

PR types love to throw around words like “brand awareness” and “company presence.” And while there is certainly value in those terms, nothing proves the value of quality PR quite like numbers. Traffic. Conversions. Downloads. Proof positive that your efforts are resulting in the right action with the right target.

So here’s that idea in action…

We’re currently working on a project that has an iPad app that essentially allows the user to access the product from wherever, whenever. The product is ideal for independent creative professionals: photographers, web developers and designers, freelance writers, consultants, etc. Given that audience, one arm of our strategy was (and still is) to pursue app reviews with specific targets. (“Specific” is italicized there to convey the “small batch” mentality. It makes more sense to go after 25 prime targets than 100 so-so targets.)

Essentially, we identified a handful of outlets that have the eyes and ears of… wait for it… our target customer! And as an example, let’s look at TheUnofficialAppleWeblog (TUAW). Their reader profile matches our customer profile. Their traffic is strong, loyal and lasting. And we hand-researched a contributing writer who would actually care about the product.

After a little back and forth (aka “PR magic” which is really just well-timed, skilled, effective and efficient communication), we landed a resplendent app review. (Side note: How often do you hear the word “resplendent?” Not that often.) Anyway, a few days after the review, we looked under the hood at our analytics. So without further delay…

In terms of iPad app downloads, the TUAW review led to our biggest AppStore day ever: 7x our daily average and 1.5x our previous biggest day.
We had more downloads of the app in the 3 days after the review than the previous 2 weeks combined.
The immediate effect was a substantial 4-day lift: almost 300% over previous 3 days.

Feels a bit stronger than “awareness,” no?

Shoot me an email if you want to hear the full story - you know… with names and such.

Check out 0m20s of this video...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:52:48 -0400

Check out 0m20s of this video...

Couple things here…. Looks like there was a mailmerge...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:43:19 -0400

Couple things here….

Looks like there was a mailmerge hiccup (“Dave, Hey Dave,”).
Is this a threat?
“Our self” is one word.
Telling me that the “results have shown it” means nothing. By not including even one ounce of data, I am immediately skeptical. You can’t just say that the “results have shown it” with zero support or evidence. Even a qualitative testimonial would have sufficed.

Separately, the whole “any quotes that were given previously will no long be valid” thing is a terrible approach to customer service and loyalty. A better policy? “Our prices are changing, but any quotes documented before April 1 will be honored - because we value your business.“

The Email Signature: From Efficient to Overkill

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:59:17 -0400

(I wrote this article for GigaOm eons ago back in the Churnless days, but a recent bloated email sig reminded me that it’s still relevant and worth reviving. The full article on GigaOm appears here.)

Dave Clarke

Communications Strategist

Churnless — “Work Worth Doing.”

XXX.8X9.X50X

That’s my email signature. Name, title, company/slogan, mobile. I’d like to think that it’s pretty basic. It’s not overloaded with content, but it’s sufficient in communicating who I am, what I do, where I do it and how you can hear my voice if you so desire.

My personal preferences aside, the sig is an interesting element of email communication and etiquette. Too often, we see email signatures so jammed with information that our eyes just glaze over: Name, title, division, company, email address, office number, cell number, fax number, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn links (complete with icons), trite words of wisdom about not printing this email or a variation on carpe diem … the list goes on.

So let’s figure out what’s helpful, what’s overkill and how the email signature can be refined:

Name. This is a pretty essential piece. There’s not much to say here, but I do have one suggestion: The name in your sig should reflect what you prefer to go by. I say this from personal experience. My actual name is Francis David Clarke. Naturally, I’m not going to go by Francis. And David is just so, well, I don’t know — it’s just not me. The point is, I go by Dave and, therefore, my signature reads Dave. Whatever you’d like people to address you as, that’s what should be in your sig.

Title. Your title is helpful if it succinctly communicates what you do. I like to think that the shorter it is, the better. When you start getting into the lengthy “Senior Director, Vice President of Inter-Department Collaboration” territory, reader apathy begins to set in. All I know is that the person is probably important (which may be the point, of course). But I could also perceive that as, “Well, this guy sure thinks he’s important.”

I understand that sometimes you can’t do anything about your title — this is particularly true within large companies. But it might be worth economizing where possible.

Company. Like your name, this is pretty standard. One idea worth mentioning is to be sure that you spell your company as it’s known. Why? Beyond the obvious, for search purposes. There’s a big difference when I search “LendingTree” versus “Lending Tree.” One turns up emails related to the company, the other turns up threads related to Christmas tree donations. (Not an actual conversation topic in my inbox, but you get my point.)

Website. You should probably include this, especially if you’re a writer, blogger, photographer, Etsy retailer, designer or in any other job where you need to showcase your product or drive traffic somewhere. For neatness, it’s best to hyperlink your company’s name, particularly if you want to drive people to a specific department or area of your site.

Slogan. Personally, I dig this if, and only if, it’s concise. (Of course, I may be biased — see “Work Worth Doing.”) I’d say it comes down to word count. I’d suggest no more than five words. You certainly wouldn’t want to include your company’s mission or vision statement — that just gets verbose.

Phone Numbers. Personally — and I think this might hold true to the web worker community at large — I feel including only your mobile number is sufficient. Who among us is ever more than 20 feet away from his or her mobile? It’s the number by which you’re most accessible. And it’s also the number by which you can be the most inaccessible for those “there’s no way I’m talking to her right now” moments.

Email Address. This is overkill. Think about it. You’re emailing someone and, generally, you’re seeking some sort of reply. The fact that the recipient received your email guarantees that they have your email address. Nix the email address from your sig — it’s redundant.

Fax Number. I suppose people still use these, but the infrequency at which we fax (primarily due to cheap scanners) means that the fax number can be dropped from the email signature. If someone really needs to fax you something, they’ll ask for the number.

Mailing Address. This really depends on your line of work. If your job involves physical product that requires shipping, delivery, returns, etc., then by all means, include your address. Same goes if you’re in billing. If not, and you only occasionally need to share your address, you can leave it out.

Social Network Links. This one’s interesting. We’ve all seen email sigs that include Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn icons. And we’ve also seen those that have just the links (twitter.com/thedaveclarke, linkedin.com/in/daveclarke4, etc.). If you’re going to include these elements, here are a couple suggestions:

Only include two social methods of contact. Listing every social network in which you participate reads, “See! Look how social I am! I do everything!” This, by default, shows that you’re on those networks for the wrong reasons and all of them are probably void of content. So if you’re heavy on the social media side of things, go with Facebook and Twitter. More business-oriented? LinkedIn and Twitter.
Go with links instead of icons. More often than not, the icons won’t display properly in someone’s inbox. They’ll have to “Always display images from rhonda@cupcakesonline.net,” and mobile viewing has its image issues. While it may look sharp in your email, there’s no guarantee others will see the same thing.

Quotes, Suggestions. First, it’s important to point out that these are different from slogans. A slogan reflects a company brand. What we’re talking about here are those inspirational quotes and smarmy admonishments at the bottom of an email. They’re usually pertaining to things like passion, teamwork or recycling. These one-liners — while they can be witty, deep and/or moving — don’t really have a place in professional email communication. Leave them out.

Rich Text Signatures. Gmail recently started supporting rich text signatures. The idea is to allow more customization (think links, color, images, etc.). While this is a great way to template a dynamic signature, don’t go overboard. As we’ve discussed above, your sig file isn’t a resume: Smart, useful, easy content is all you need.

So in the spirit of brevity, let’s wrap it up. Drop your two cents in the comments if you have thoughts on the above or to point out anything I’ve missed.

Small-Batch Whiskey, Startup PR, Authenticity & More

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:03:00 -0500

Avi (one of our advisors) shot me an email today:

I was at the first growth venture network startup advisor day yesterday and the topic was user acquisition where for half an hour we talked about PR and authenticity. Keep hammering “Authentic PR for Startups.”

So I thought about that a bit. And cutting right to it, here are a few ideas as to what that means. (Naturally, this list will evolve.)

Authentic PR Takes Time. Lots of startups think about their roadmap in terms of chunks. Design, development, fund raising, entity formation… all these things are happening first. Once compete (or at least presentable), it’s time to turn on biz dev, marketing, paid/unpaid acquisition and a whole slew of other things, including PR. But this idea of “turning on PR” only when the product’s ready leads some issues, namely the expectation that things are going to go from zero to 60 in just a matter of days - and that’s often because the CEO, CTO, engineers and designers have been eating, sleeping and breathing the product for so long. They can’t believe someone (a reporter) wouldn’t share that same obsession. The problem is, THERE ARE A TON OF PRODUCTS OUT THERE! Journalists, bloggers and other influencers are being bombarded every day by startups and their PR operatives - and it’s usually done in the manner mentioned above: when engineering’s done and the team’s ready to pull the curtain. But that’s not what’s going to catch the attention of those you’re trying to woo. Conversely, and perhaps, more authentically, the PR “push” of any startup or product needs to overlap with the last quarter mile of development. Seeding conversations and relationships takes time. And bringing in a small batch of people you really want to connect with during that last quarter mile is going to bear all sorts of fruit because you’re not emailing them out of the blue asking for coverage. Instead, you’re asking for their opinion. You’re asking them to pop out for a beer to talk about the space. You’re bringing them in as a beta tester. You’re introducing them to other founders/startups that you think they might dig. YOU’RE BUILDING TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. And you’re doing it while keeping your “We’ve Launched!” email out of your intended’s ever-expanding “Unread Launch Emails” file. The point is… PR - real, genuine relationship building - takes time. And if a startup can initiate that during the last quarter mile push of dev, the effort will be in a much better place. (And hell, your “PR guy” will have had the opportunity to live in the product with the rest of the team so instead of having to tell a reporter that they’ll need to “circle back” to that question, they can answer it themselves. NOTE: Any PR type that doesn’t want to get under the hood isn’t worth keeping around.)
Authentic PR isn’t Lame. That’s tough to define, but so much of PR is perceived as lame. Maybe “slick” is a better word. Either way, the commonly felt “PR vibe” is the antithesis of authenticity. Reporters feel it. Founders feel it. Investors feel it. And most PR people are in denial of it. They’re self-proclaimed news junkies who have a real nose for a story with a “great rolodex” (see our sister blog, Things PR People Say, for more on this). And what this all really comes down to is communicative skill and having an actual point of existence. First, the communicative skill. Most PR types email, speak and pontificate this way. Example: “Strategic message alignment amongst all stakeholders…” Does that mean anything to anyone? Communicating like an actual human being will improve your PR efforts tenfold. Seriously. This idea that we have to cram as much jargon and fluff in to our communicative outreach is not only silly, but it isn’t fooling anyone. You know what “best-in-class proprietary functionality” tells a journalist or blogger? It tells them you have no idea what you’re talking about. Next. So communicate as you speak. Communicate (as you’ve diligently researched) in the way the people you’re trying to get cozy with do. Just be, in the words of Charles Grodin, “a normal human being.” Seriously. It’s that easy of a start. And that segues nicely (or not at all) in to the other aspect: having a point of existence. To do PR the right way, especially in the tech space, just knowing your roll will take you miles. You’re a facilitator. A helper who gets people what they want. You don’t force stuff. You help a journalist even when it’s not helping your product/company/startup/whatever. You pay it forward. Always. That is your existence. You’re not the focus. To be sort of blunt, you’re not important.
Authentic PR is Handcrafted. Every PR agency subscribes to a media database service. It’s expensive, massive and not terribly accurate all the time. When an account manager is assigned a client, he or she enters some keywords relevant to the product or company, gets a ton of results back and whips it in to a spreadsheet. This is how media lists are made in agency land. Unscrubbed, unchecked data that hasn’t been researched. Think of a media list like this as BudLight. It’s massive, but it’s not really all that quality. But authentic PR… Authentic PR is handcrafted. Screw media databases. If your product is financial planning and analysis software (or “awesome dashboards”), USE THIS INTERNET THING AND FIND OUT WHO CARE ABOUT, IS CONVERSATIONAL IN, AND COVERS FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ANALYSIS SOFTWARE. Make a Twitter list. Set Google alerts. Actually read what they write (and not just the most recent article). And start small. Remember the BudLight analogy? Handcrafted PR is like good whiskey. It’s small-batch. It’s refined. It’s sipped. If you start piecemeal, you’re going to be able to dedicate more time and more effort to the folks who really matter. (Aside: I once had a boss who said, “PR is a numbers game,” implying that if 10 pitches yield 1 article, 100 will yield 10. That’s bull. And frankly, it’s disrespectful to your pitch recipients. I’ll never forget that quote - because it’s the exact opposite of how PR gets done the right way.)
Authentic PR is Numbers. All this qualitative stuff is great, but at the end of the day, PR is about flooding the top of the conversion funnel and measuring the size of that flood. It’s about spreading the word (or convincing others to spread the word) to ideal potential users. So part of doing PR authentically is understanding that your job doesn’t just end at coverage. Roll up your sleeves, login to GoogleAnalytics and figure out what’s happening. (And hey, you young agency rookies, even asking for the login creds will earn you points.)

So this is getting pretty long (for now). I’ll wrap it up. Bottom line: Startup PR needs to happen over time, while the product’s nearing the last quarter mile of development. It needs to be handcrafted. And it needs to be all about the numbers.

Misspellings in headlines. (C’mon Inc.)

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:27:49 -0500

Misspellings in headlines. (C’mon Inc.)

Tone and Time Diffuse All

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:45:52 -0500

By now, everyone knows about Google’s impending privacy policy changes. Regardless of what you think of them (and you’re still going to use their products as you always did), Google did an incredible job of making these changes known. Yes, they took a PR hit when the announcement became public - that always happens. But what was smart on Google’s behalf is that they made the announcement incredibly early. Policy changes that are to go in to effect on March 1 were announced in mid-January, right? End result: most consumers will have long forgotten. They’ll get tired of seeing the notification on every Google product, finally click “Dismiss” (or not do anything at all) and their use will not change. I caveat that with “most consumers.” Webworkers already operate with terms of service and privacy policies in mind, for the most part. The general public, not so much.

And that brings up another “smart move by Google.” In communicating this entire change, they’ve done so in a tone that is casual, yet mildly stern. It’s not your dad yelling at you. “This stuff matters,” says, “We care about you. We’re doing this for you!” It’s a, “Hey bud - just take a few seconds to check out what we’re changing… we want to be as up front as possible with you.”

But you have to wonder if that lulls the general consumer in to thinking, “If Google’s casual about it, I probably don’t need to think or care about it.” It’d be fascinating to see the analytics comparing “Learn More” and “Dismiss” once this announcement period is over. Better yet, inaction would be great to see too.

So Google took the initial hit (see: “What Happened to ‘Don’t Be Evil?’” headlines back in January). Then things quieted down a bit. They’ve been totally up front and transparent about the changes since then, providing users with access to all the relevant information. And the tone embraced says, “Yeah, this stuff absolutely is important - but don’t worry… we’re doing this for you. It’ll all be cool.”

The last part’s a slippery slope. Interpret as you wish. But taking a human tone approach - and doing it early - is a great way to push out news like this.

Kashoo PaymentEvolution Partnership Coverage: TechVibes

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:07:00 -0500

Kashoo PaymentEvolution Partnership Coverage: TechVibes

"Another invisible threat to Facebook and its new investors, say tech pros: boredom. People tire of..."

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:10:41 -0500

“Another invisible threat to Facebook and its new investors, say tech pros: boredom. People tire of reading status updates about what others had for breakfast, says social psychologist Matt Wallaert. There could be greater user control over the newsfeed to allow people to select limit updates along subject matter like births, weddings or their friends’ sporting activities, he says. “At the moment, a lot of users are just browsing, keeping general tabs on friends and checking out the occasional funny thing on YouTube,” he says.”

- AuthenticMatters advisor, Matt Wallaert, in SmartMoney.

Do You Take The Business?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:06:11 -0500

Most people - especially those in a consulting role - will agree that not all business is good business. The challenge, though, is being able to accurately gauge what’s good business and what’s not. Then it’s about taking on the new work… or passing. And while no two situations are the same, below are a few criteria that can help us determine whether or not a piece of business is worth it…

One of our biggest determining factors? Risk/Reward. Are we exposing ourselves to increased risk (i.e., losses, impracticality of scope, instability, reputation impact, etc.) by taking on a deal? On the flip side, what are the expected/potential rewards in a deal whether it appears risky or not? Could a so-so deal lead to new work with other companies? Might a deal that sounds great actually be logistically challenging? Could a low paying deal have a higher long tail value? Ultimately, determining the risk/reward balance of a piece of new business is the determining factor. (Guess that’s why it came first.)
Next we look at historical experience. Have we done something like this before? Were we successful? Do we know what to avoid? Hindsight is 20-20, especially once you’ve found your niche channel. So use it.
Another important evaluator: capacity. We all tend to have the “get more” mentality when it comes to work. While that’s all well and good, that appetite has to be matched with a capacity. If you and your team are at 100 percent, then taking a new piece of business requires a reactive action (i.e., hire, contract out, shed existing business, etc.). Does the piece of business (and it’s risk/reward analysis) warrant more team? Short- or long-term? Do you have prospective candidates in mind? Would these be temp hires? Are existing contracts coming to a close, allowing for open capacity amongst current team members? Capacity is a huge piece of the puzzle because, if you think about it, an overworked team leads to lesser quality output. And the domino effect from there is not so awesome.
In a more qualitative way, look at passion. Sure, you sometimes have to take work because you need the actual work, but if you’re not interested in it or passionate about it, what you turn back isn’t going to be top quality. It just isn’t. It’s certainly not a B-school principle, but if a piece of new business isn’t going to be, for the most part, enjoyable, you need to really think about it. If you know you’re going to dread dedicating time to it, it’s probably not the right fit. If your team indirectly communicates that this project is awful, the work will suffer. So whenever possible, win business that’s fun. Easier said than done, we know… but when at all possible…
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly is the bottom line. (Yes, we said risk/reward was the most important, but you know what? They’re all important.) The bottom line comes down to planning and forecasting. (Little nod to the guys at Profitably, a great tool for small business planning and analysis. Also a client. Transparency, FTW!) If you’re maintaining real-time financial planning and analysis and you’re staying on track, it makes it that much easier to say yes or no to a piece of new business. If it’s a project that you’re not super-keen on and your bottom line is on track, then you pass. If things are falling short, maybe you take that work.

So. Do you take the business?