When Zune was released to the world I found it curious that few commented on the the Microsoft choice of interface – a text based menu system vs. Apples icon alternative.  To navigate through the Microsoft menu system – you scroll through text descriptions of the various options – “Music”, “Videos”, “Photos”, etc.   On an Apple iTouch, iPhone – users press on icons denoting various features (a TV for the video player).

By opting for a text only interface design, I believe Microsoft seriously limited it’s chances of attracting a wide audience to its product.  It created an unfriendly barrier to entry to the casual users.    Text isn’t friendly, bright or cheerful – Icons are.  Text is very serious, and most importantly – it’s not universal.

I can pass my iTouch to someone who doesn’t speak English and within minutes they can be up and running, same can’t be said when it’s text.  Likewise if the default language is in Cantonese or Russian.

It’s curious that some very large American companies really struggle with localization.  Even residing here in Canada it’s a major pet peeve when U.S. companies fail to deliver products that don’t utilize Canadian English Adobe, Microsoft by default use U.S. English – which could easily be fixed by checking computer settings on install.

For any company that hopes for international adoption – they need to think on an international level.  Products get sold on the street – consumers talking to consumers.  If a product can’t bridge language barriers, there’s no hope for the product to expand it’s reach outside it’s region.

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9:30 AM.  Man walks into the office.  He’s greeted by an executive.  Offered a glass of water and is lead to a screening room.  The guest positions himself comfortably on a chesterfield in a simulation of home living room.  Once sat down the visitor is asked to put on their head a device that looks like a bike helmet.

The room is darkened and and a Television commercial is played.  As quick as takes to play the 30 second spot, the meeting is over and our guest is free to leave with a 10$ cheque in hand.   That’s it.  And in those 30 seconds more is learned about the performance of a television commercial than 20 hours worth of group panel discussions.
Welcome to the future, welcome to the neuromarketing age.  An era where all commercials will be hyper-optimized to generate some of the most manipulative consumption propaganda the world has ever seen.

For those who don’t know what neuromarketing is, it basically is analyzing brainwaves to see what areas of the human brain responds well to various sensory elements.  For get what people say (as they often mislead or don’t truthfully express their likes and desires), by pass the bias of communication and go straight to source.

Ad agencies will in record time be able to get feedback on whether their targeted demographics like or dislike a campaign.  Think of the power, think of the abuse of such a system.

Advertising to the reptilian brain.  I have a lot to say on this subject – so watch for more posts.

Here’s my idea of the day – for Starbucks or any other coffee joint.  The idea of this is to help out staff during peak times ensure customer satisfaction.   I’ve noticed that at busy peak times often all the containers of milk and coffee cream empty out.  With the stainless steel thermos casing – there’s no visual clue to let the staff know if the contents have been exhausted.

Well here’s my idea to improve efficiency:  containters would have a built in sensor that would measure weight (or some other permaiter).  Meanwhile at the counter, a dashboard would show the status of all the containers (nothing major just a few lights).  A glance of the eye would allow the staff to quickly see on the status of all their milk containers.  Allowing them to more proactively address any supply issues immediately.

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A local grocery store of my is notorious for having it’s employees stock the shelves at what seems to be it’s busiest time. This results in clogged isles and frustrated customers. Clearly busy periods of the day are cyclical, so it shouldn’t come of any surprise that the store is busy at x hour. The store manager must alter the duties of his staff to mirror the influx of customers (especially at evening rush-hour).

Have the shelves ready to go, and staff out making sure their guests are finding the products they want. Have the staff monitoring areas that get picked over often – and pull the merchandise out to the front so the customer doesn’t have to.

It’s the little things that can help make for a better shopping experience.

If BlackBerry hopes to be around in five years and not end up as another Palm – they need to do a radical rethink of their business model.  BlackBerry is not going out of business and it will be healthy for the next few years – but their USP is all but gone.

My recommendation is that BlackBerry focus soley on the Business market – let the other players fight it out for the tweens and hockey moms.  But in doing so, they need to recognize that they are not a content company and never will be.  Once they get over that herdle, look for partnerships to provide media content to their user base.  Lets face it, business users want music and movies as well.  As crazy as it may sound – maybe even work with an iTunes or other similar content like storefront.  BlackBerry will take their cut – and let other players negotiate with Metallica for distribution rights.

This will allow them to keep their customers happy with the fluff that most people want – and lets the company focus on it’s strengths.  Win – Win.

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BAD CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE – So yet another Friday night, 8 PM, the start of the weekend, Ring Ring. “Hello?”. “Hi Stephen Crooks this is Bank of Montreal calling …”.  And this is probably the 4th call I’ve received from Bank of Montreal (or with their trying to pretend they aren’t Canadian acronym: BMO) in the past few months. Do they not get that No means NO?

But here’s the thing – I know why they’re calling: IT WORKS. They’re making money doing this – why else do it?  But my question is “at what cost?”. I know somewhere in their white head office tower theirs a spreadsheet that shows executives the ROI by telemarketing. 2%? 3%. I’m sure it’s low, but lucrative enough.

But at what cost do these conversions come at? Of the 100% of people they contact what % of their customer base develops disdain for the brand? What about people like me who’s on the fence. My only service with the bank is a credit card, with a high interest rate. So they offer me little value. But now I have a negative association with the brand and it makes me more willing to entertain offers (on my terms) with other financial institutions.  Therefore BMO has turned me into a Negative Conversion – def. someone who is positive or neutral towards the brand who due to their own actions turned me against the brand.

SOLUTION: Telemarketing must always be permission based.  I know BMO is using a loophole set-up by the Canadian Government that allows them to call me because I’m an existing client.  But did I ask to be called?  I know how to find them, I’ll call if somethings up.  If they looked at my customer profile they’d know that I call occasionally to see what my balance is.  So use those calls as a method to interact with me – I’m willing at that time.  Maybe make me an offer “Sir, when you’ve completed your banking please press #5 – we have an agent who wants to speak with you”.

Obviously any bank is bottom-line focused. But this obsession with short term profits will come at a cost. I’m a big fan of ING, and watch for many of my glowing articles that I plan to publish and it will help further demonstrate the radically different approaches Canadian and International banks take in dealing with their customers.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Questions Marketing Managers must ask themselves in determining the true Customer Experience ROI:

- Is this the best way to reach our customers?  Not everyone falls into the same bucket – time for a brainstorm.

- For every conversion we obtain – what is the % of Negative conversions we might result in getting from such a campaign?

- How much are our Negative Conversions worth to the company (they could be your crap customers – like me – or those with an extensive portfolio)

- Do sample and conversion testing – what is the response of the Negative Conversions?  Feisty? Passive? Angry?  And how many negative conversions did you create?

Related articles on other Sites:

• BMO quarterly profit up 16% (cbc.ca)
• Big Banks Say Go Elsewhere! (thehiddennews.blogspot.com)

Evaluate your goals, there is no cookie cutter solution for what you should or shouldn’t be doing in the online world.  You need to be informed of what your competition is or is not doing and strike out from there.  A simple SWOT analysis should provide you with some insights into the opportunities that you can take on.

Remember not everyone needs to be on Twitter, Facebook or be writing a blog.  It’s about finding the best ways of connecting with your customers, and going forward from there.