Friday, March 31, 2006
Blog blindfolds should have no place in business
Last night at a dinner for my day job as Head of Marketing for the UK’s largest search engine marketing company, some of the attendees (from the online dating sector) were discussing their companies’ fear surrounding blogging. They know they’ve got to get in on this somehow, but they’re not sure quite how, and they are very afraid of ‘giving up control’.
As I said last night, it is natural that these companies are afraid: By and large, they have little idea of what they are getting into. Plunging in without an understanding of this space is ill-advised at best. The good news is, if they do endeavour to gain that understanding, and figure out how to control what they can and let the rest bring them benefits, there is really nothing to be afraid of. I have yet to encounter a business that understood this space, moved into it, and lived to regret it.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The simplicity of free wifi for customers
My friend Michael Jennings is currently on holiday in China. From a café in Shanghai, he blogs:
It is pleasant, but for me there is one more possibly more important thing, which is there is WiFi. And the attitude to the WiFi is right. The internet access if free, and I was smiled at when I sat down, ordered a pot of tea, and got out my laptop. A couple of minutes later, a waiter came over to me and pointed out the electrical outlet on the wall, next to the table.
...The free WiFi and the electrical outlet that I was encouraged to use. I left my power adaptor in my hotel, as I was not expecting to find anything this good. The reason why I was not expecting this is that I find it so seldom in London. WiFi in cafes and coffee chains in London is far too often of the “This will cost £7 per hour” variety. A cafe can set up WiFi on this basis if it wants to, but I am simply not going to pay that. However, if you provide me with free WiFi (which will cost you hardly anything) I will buy more coffee and food, possibly more than £7 worth. And then a cafe might provide WiFi, but will not provide an electrical outlet, or (even worse) if it has one conveniently placed they will tell you that you are “stealing electricicy” if you try to use it, or they will put a cap over it to prevent you using it. This isn’t greed, but just stupidity. There is a lack of appreciation as to what customers want and value, and a lack of appreciation of the cost of providing it. (My laptop will run for about four days on 10 pence worth of electricity). And a lack of appreciation about how providing it will create warm and fuzzy feelings about your business.
And if a chain of teahouses in Shanghai can understand this, why can’t a chain of coffee houses in London? Just one. If you figure out what your customers want and give it to them, then you will get repeat business. It is that simple. If I lived in Shanghai (and who knows, someday I might) I would have lunch here all the time. And I will recommend it to my friends. As in fact I just have. Thousands of them.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Icône vs House of Bath
This is the first in an occasional series, Battle of the E-commerce Sites, where I will test two e-commerce websites in the same vertical.
After seeing it in their print catalogue, I waited the requisite 24 hours, and still I found myself thinking every hour, on the hour, about owning the large version of this pitcher from House of Bath. Fed up of wasting my brain space on such a matter, I shifted over to the House of Bath site to buy it.
What a nightmare. House of Bath wants to know your date of birth before you can register to buy. House of Bath also wants to know how long you’ve been at your current address. But only online; telephone ordering doesn’t pose any of these irritating questions. By the time I was finished, I almost resented the company for offering such a pretty item through such a horribly annoying website.
I was really in the mood for domestic purchases tonight. Once I’d found Icône (via Nigella), there was no hope left for me. Within moments, I’d bought this - talk about a sexpot. And, as everything in the Nigella range seemed to be on sale, I also bought this curvy creamer (in duck egg blue, of course).
The experience of shopping on Icône could not have been a bigger contrast with shopping at House of Bath. It was easy, took less than a minute from checkout to registration to completed purchase, and the specials-via-email update option was opt-in. I opted in.
House of Bath’s stuff is generally less appealing, with a few stand-out items (like my new jug, and the pink and baby blue enameled steel colanders they offer), while Icône is very design-centric and full of gorgeous things. All told, I know which one will get my custom again soon.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Thoughts on Guardian Changing Media Summit
I was speaking at the Media Guardian Changing Media Summit yesterday.
One of the topics discussed was “finding new ways to connect with consumers in a collaborative world.” It’s interesting to me that the focus was purely on “consumers and consumption,” as I believe that the changes we are witnessing at a societal level require us to think about these issues in a wider context.
"Thoughts on Guardian Changing Media Summit" continued...