Even a small pain for the customer is one too many

...Unless there’s something really good for them in it - and no, getting on your mailing list doesn’t count.

In explaining to someone in (one of) my social sphere(s) this week why I don’t respond to Plaxo requests anymore, I overly complicated things. All I should have said is that going through the Plaxo palaver is a pain for me, despite how easy it is for those who urge me to do it. As Seth Godin asks:

[I]f it’s easier for you but a pain for me, why should you do it?

Jackie - I wonder if you’ve ever considered joining the Plaxo service (rather than simply replying or not replying, as the case may be, to update requests).  As a member, you can connect to other members who are your contacts making it easier (automated, typically) to stay in touch.  Whenever one member updates their own details, Plaxo automatically updates the address books of other connected members.

We certainly feel there’s significant pain for all parties associated with staying in touch.  From a business perspective, the cost is real for businesses when they lose touch with a customer, and for customers, it’s a huge pain to update the various places and services when they change their contact details change.  We have a large number of Plaxo members using the service to address this very problem.

Since a service like Plaxo can automate this update process when two contacts choose to share their details with each other, I wonder if you believe there is reciprocal value to joining the Plaxo service?  Admittedly, I have a biased opinion, but I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on services like Plaxo and if and how they can be effectively used to help businesses effectively reach their customers.

Stacy Martin
Plaxo Privacy Officer
privacy @t plaxo.com

Hi Stacy,

Thanks for your comment.

I definitely see what some people see in services like Plaxo. But for me, the pain I feel around keeping updated contacts records is minimal. I feel much more pain from interruptive and intrusive services. Like I said, I see why people go the Plaxo route, but I neither like intruding on others nor being intruded on by them. I’m sure it won’t be long until everyone just updates their own personal contact details RSS feed to let those they’ve let subscribe know that they’ve lost their phone and got a new number or whatever. In the meantime, I’ll take my chances without Plaxo. Your mileage may - and obviously does! - vary.

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