Clever Unsubscribe Moment
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 matters, but we rank #1!
Chiming in on Privacy in the Philly Inquirer
(Click on that smiling face to read the whole article. Or just click here.)
Align Your Brand to the Products You Push
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:
Three Ways To Get The Media To Pay Attention To Your Young Company
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
great article from mathew ingram @ gigaom.
What’s it Like to Get a Product Featured in Thrillist?
Ya gotta click the screenshot to get to the video. (It’s embedded in Thrillist.)
In PR, Numbers > Awareness
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.
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.“
