willie jackson

Category: Business

  • Brand disloyalty

    Yesterday I wrote about the human elements that create loyal customers.

    On the flip side of this is the company that plays by the book. The company that goes out of its way to not be personal. The company that tries to create machines out of humans.

    I’m talking about the business that locks its doors at 6:57, despite closing at 7.

    The business that punishes employees for showing empathy and compassion in dealing with customers.

    The business that hires expensive consultants to help extract every dollar from existing customers.

    The business that rewards employees for saving the company money at the expense of their customers.

    The business that has gotten too big to care, too disorganized to try, and too greedy to realize it.

    That’s how you lose.

  • Brand loyalty

    It’s not about the damn coupons.

    Or about the discounts or snazzy marketing or the social media strategy or the ideas are handed down by the suits making decisions.

    It’s the guy who asks me where I’m from when I place an order and give him an out of town number.

    It’s the guy who knows my name and drink order at Starbucks—the one who starts making it when I walk in the door, before the cashier even rings it up.

    It’s the server who tells me that instead of ordering A with a side of B, I can get what I want for half the price if I order X and substitute Y.

    It’s the phone call to make sure I’m enjoying the service I ordered, or to simply thank me for my business.

    It’s the driver who gives me the history of the neighborhoods as we travel to my destination, telling me to call him if I have any questions about the city.

    It’s not complicated, it’s human.

    And that’s how you win.

  • Not today (or ever)

    There’s a restaurant near where I live with a sign on the door that says, “Not accepting credit or debit cards today.” The servers even double-check with you before taking your order, ensuring that you knew of their (ostensibly temporary) inability to process non-cash payments.

    As I quickly learned, “today” is a euphemism for “ever.”

    So upon subsequent visits, mainly to be obnoxious and prove a point, I’d respond with, “just today?” when asked, eliciting coy and knowing glances from servers.

    It’s not the fact that I can’t pay with my credit card there (there are thousands of cash only places of business in NYC) that bothers me; it’s the subtle, insulting dishonesty that’s off-putting.

    I haven’t stopped going to the place completely (it’s still a nice place to take friends and visitors unfamiliar with my neighborhood), but everyone gets a version of the above speech whenever I break my temporary boycott and return.

    Not exactly raving fan marketing.

  • The New Dynamics of Book Publishing Event [Recap]

    A few months ago, I had the pleasure of attending Seth’s live event at the (fabulous) Helen Mills Theater called The New Dynamics of Book Publishing.

    I recalled some of what was mentioned from Seth’s talk in Atlanta when he came for the Linchpin tour. WIth me now being involved with The Domino Project, however, I have a new lens through which to view the material.

    One of the reasons I applied for the opportunity is because I had no experience with the publishing industry. Many of the fundamental concepts and terms were foreign to me initially.

    The event was filled with important people from the publishing industry, many of whom were “scared shitless” about the changes taking place. Seth offered countless anecdotes, ideas, and warnings about the changing landscape.

    As is typical of his events, Seth lectured for about an hour and a half before devoting the rest of the day to the crowd’s questions. Many openly expressed concern and dismay for the predictions offered, despite there being clear alternatives to eventual obscurity.

    We walked through the always-interesting history of the music industry, and the changes (the Compact Disc, greed, and trying to adapt the old way of doing business to the new digital world) that marked the beginning of the end. Seth always mentions the music industry being a perfect system when it was working properly, and I truly saw what he meant that time.

    Next up was the topic of the publishing industry and how rapidly things are changing. We discussed ebooks, the Kindle, and how these things are altering the way people consume ideas. Seth waxed eloquent on the topic of his books being a medium to spread an idea as opposed to something having value because of the pages and ink. The book is just the medium.

    He discussed some specific tactics (along with the hilarious history of bringing Purple Cow to market) used to promote the spreading of his books. From boxed sets, to unique offers, and the like.

    Overall, it was a fabulously illuminating event that helped me grasp some critical concepts related to book publishing, and I’m thrilled to have attended.

  • Wafels & Dinges

    I happened upon this Waffle truck in NYC the other night when out with some friends. In addition to having waffles that are positively fabulous, the service was stellar and they’re doing all the right things online.

    Now if only they were open later…

  • Lazy Business

    My full first name is Willie. Not William, Willis, Willy, or the like. Willie. Just like my father.

    I’ve been getting calls recently from a company that’s looking for a William Jackson. I spoke with someone last week, explained that they had the wrong number, and asked to be removed from their list. I get another call this week and instead of ignoring it, I decided to readdress the issue with them.

    When I picked up the phone, I got a message letting me know that Company X was trying to get in touch with William Jackson and it prompted me to press 1 if I was William and 2 if I was not. I wanted to speak to a human about this, so I pressed 1.
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  • Social Triggers by Derek Halpern

    Derek Halpern is probably smarter than you.

    He’s definitely smarter than me. In addition to regularly making more in a week than most people make in a month, Derek is a genuinely nice guy and very generous with his time.

    Social Triggers

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  • Two types of companies

    Which one of these companies is destined for failure?

    FreeCreditReport.com

    FreeCreditReport.com is a service built on deception. They lure customers in with the promise of a free credit report, requiring that credit card information be submitted (red flag) upon signup.

    If the customer doesn’t enroll in something optional called the “Triple Advantage,” they are faced with monthly charges of up to $14.95. The company has paid over a million dollars in settlements since 2005 as a result of their deceptive tactics1.

    Experian (the company that owns freecreditreports.com) continues to make a mockery of the FTC. (For truly free credit reports, you can visit annualcreditreports.com.)
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  • LessConf 3010—Conference of the Future

    I‘ve known of LessEverything for a little over a year. It’s run by a couple of guys who believe in simple effective software that should be a joy to use. I know Allan personally, and he’s a top-notch dude.

    Anyway, LessEverything put on a pretty legendary conference last year (my friend Celia Dyder over at TechDrawl wrote about it) that I was unable to attend last year because of a last-minute scheduling conflict. I swore I wouldn’t miss the next one, and you better believe I’m looking forward to it.

    LessConf is back, and it’s packed to the brim with speakers that I can’t wait to hear in person. I’m thrilled that the conference is coming to Atlanta this year, and I hope to see many of my friends attending. This is a big year for events in Atlanta, and LessConf 3010 might be the biggest thus far.
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