Customer Crossroads

This just in: WD-40 finally fixes the straw problem

WD-40 and the Red Straw

Marketing Daily reports that WD-40 has finally created an attached "red straw," which formerly was taped to the side of the can. The company has been making the product for 55 years, and losing the straw has been customers' most consistent complaint. The straw is used to direct the lubricant into hard-to-reach places. My question is this: why on earth did it take them so long???

Where the heck is Susan these days?

If you've noticed a notable absence of the usual biting insight on this blog, it's not because my brain has shriveled away. Not yet anyway. [Or perhaps I'm just the last to hear.] But I'm having the annual spring convergence of events, among which the following:

[1] Various volunteer commitments came home to roost [Learn from my mistakes. Assume that all such commitments will take 4 - 5 times the expected time, and generate 10 times the anticipated e-mail. Plus if you start having fun, you're cooked.]

[2] I've just bought a Vespa 150S, and I am as excited as a kid going to Disneyland. It's more distracting than Facebook, and I haven't even taken delivery yet

[3]  All the clients who weren't in a rush in February are in a rush now [Of course I don't mean you, I know this is a genuine crisis. I mean those other clients.] The projects that had no clear timetable, they have one now. That delivery date that was flexible before? Now it's not.

[4]  I have a personal life. Every now and again I get reminded of that. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. Sometimes the blog just has to wait.

[5]  When the sun is shining, we all want to go play. If you live somewhere the sun always shines, you may not understand this. But here in the great white north, this is the time of year we all crawl out of our cave, grab our ball glove, and put a smile on. It's hard to focus on reports and proposals when the crocuses start to come up.

Things will get back to normal soon. But I bet you are having the same problems, and you're probably as behind on your blog reading as I am!

[Yes, it's red. Everyone asks. And I need to know where I can find cool-looking girl-type scooter boots. If you see some, call me immediately.]

This just in: total sensory environments; emotions; service recovery; avoiding middle markets

Welcome to our Friday roundup of bits of interesting info...

Environmental design smelling better all the time

Why would Credit Suisse be attending a marketing research conference about fragrance? Perhaps because they were thinking about their five senses project. Customer experience guy David McQuillen is leading the charge with pilot branches that play customized music that varies throughout the day, as well as providing a blend of aromas that make people feel at ease. [And you thought your new carpeting was cool.]

Advances in chemistry are enabling more scent related products, including devices that will let you design your own scents, scent devices connected to computer games, and even scents in fabrics. (Businessweek April 18, 2008)

Emotions in advertising

I heard Terry O'Reilly speak a few weeks ago, and came across this in my notes. "Emotions should be felt, never stated." How very true this is. Consider a vodka ad that evokes the emotion of feeling special, versus one that says, this vodka can make you feel special. Makes total sense. But it's easy to lose that clarity when you're in the middle of message development.

He had other gems too. Consider these:

"People don't want to be targeted, they want to be understood"

"The only way to explode a paradigm is to be armed with a detonator called 'the insight'"

Service recovery at Air Canada

Avid reader Bruce W. told us about his recent experience with Air Canada on a five hour flight. When the entertainment system didn't work, apologies were made and vouchers were handed out. Vouchers were reported to be for "future travel" or Aeroplan points. When BW went to collect via the internet, there was a choice of "Goodwill Options", either points or a travel voucher. But how could he choose when no value was provided for each? A quick call to the customer service centre revealed that the points option is usually a better deal. But you couldn't tell from the form.

Still, it's a big improvement over the past. It's just such a big hill for them to climb.

Avoiding the mushy middle

Coach, the luxury handbag maker, announced in March that they are opening 40 more stores and are upgrading stores to the larger flagship format (as large as 5000 sq.ft.). They see more of their sales coming from the high end stores, and also have research that suggests women are still splurging on bags even if they cut back elsewhere.

Tiffany, on the other hand, is opening smaller stores that focus on the lower end of the product line.

The middle is often the danger zone, where you are too expensive for the mass-market, and too ubiquitous for the luxury market. Plus the middle is where all the competitors are.

Doesn't this just make you wonder where Starbucks is going to go?

Better Thinking -- save the world, or just save your sanity

I've heard Tim Hurson speak a couple of times, and he's a good speaker. So I got his book, Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking. Now, consultant's books are often a waste of time, as I'm sure you know. This one isn't.*

What I liked about Think Better

I liked the book for several reasons. It's readable, it's clear, it's demystifying, and there are some decent graphics to break up the text.

The book sets forth a useful process for solving problems that is built on the Osborne-Parnes Creative Problem Solving (CPS) framework. Osborne-Parnes is the granddaddy of creativity models. Mr. Hurson has taken his considerable learning and experience in this model and others, and distilled it into a six-step approach. It's similar to CPS, but seems more grounded and approachable.

One element that makes a lot of sense to me is establishing some success criteria before generating ideas, which is a bit different than the CPS framework. While this might seem limiting, it can also be energizing.

Here are the six steps to thinking better as Mr. Hurson has reframed them: [1] What's going on [2] What's success [3] What's the question [4] Generate answers [5] Forge the solution and [6] Align Resources.

Each of these steps has examples and exercises that can get you started.

There is also a very good beginning section to the book that explains why our hard-wiring tends to lead us to too-quick solutions and wrong solutions (Chapter 2: Monkey Mind, Gator Brain and the Elephant's Tether.) And there is a good description about the difference between reproductive thinking and productive thinking, and the importance of staying with a problem long enough to generate really innovative ideas, (Chapters 3 to 5)

We need both kinds of thinking, of course. But reproductive thinking is the type of process that can lead us to incremental improvements in things, to supporting productivity initiatives and six-sigma initiatives, and similar approaches. Best practices studies are a great example of seeking out the best in reproductive thinking and figuring out how to apply it.

Productive thinking is new thinking. It is thinking that takes us to improvements or changes that are more than incremental. Sometimes it means really redefining what the problem is.

My everyday example

When we planted new bulbs last year, the squirrels started eating them. My problem: how to stop the squirrels from eating the bulbs.

I did have some success criteria. The solution could not be ugly. It had to leave a good-looking garden. And no squirrels could be cruelly harmed.

Helpful neighbors suggested using chicken wire as a physical barrier. [Just too ugly for my refined sensibilities.] So we tried a number of other remedies, such as scattering everything from blood meal to chili pepper flakes and cloves. Not totally satisfactory.

Upon further consideration, perhaps I need to redefine the problem. Maybe the challenge is to plant bulbs that squirrels don't like to eat? Or even rethinking my ideas about what can be planted in a front garden? Why not tomatoes and lettuce instead of flowering bulbs? You get the idea.

These methods can be used on your own, or in groups. They can be used for day-to-day problem solving, or addressing big, world-changing issues.

If you are tired of reading books on creative thinking that leave you wondering how to get started, this one is a good choice. It's practical and tactical.

What I missed in this book:

As a researcher, I was looking for ways to incorporate the voice of customers into this process. I largely found that missing. For the most part, the assumption is that the team has direct access to the data related to the challenge at hand.

Don't let that stop you, however. The next book I'm going to review is very strong on the listening-to-customers element, and weaker on the creative problem-solving process. Together, they're dynamite.

Resources:

Sites that describe the Osborne-Parnes model well:

Six-stage model on one page: http://members.optusnet.com.au/charles57/Creative/Brain/cps.htm

This web site presents a nice, simple, guide to the basic core of the Osborne-Parnes approach. You can read it in the time it takes to sip a coffee and put it to work immediately.

Wikipedia starting point

Tim Hurson's book: Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking. He's also started a blog which looks promising, here.

Alex Osborne's book, Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking is currently not available via Amazon. Try a library or look for it used if you want to go back to the source.

*  My book, The Innovative Organization, is not like this either. It's not tactical, but several people have told me it is clear and useful. All proceeds of the book go to the business school that funded the research. If you read it, I'd welcome your feedback.

 Addendum April 17:

In my efforts to sift out blatant promotions from comments, I threw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. Apologies to reader Peter (see comments below), who has a great recommendation for a book he enjoyed. His comments really make me want to read the book.

Authenticity and the call centre experience

"Your call is important to us."

"We are experiencing higher than normal call volumes."

"Our agents are currently busy handling other enquiries -- please hold and someone will be with you shortly."

"If you know the last name of the person you wish to reach, please use our company directory."

I know you've heard these things too.
They have become the antithesis of authenticity.

I had the ultimate today. I've been trying to reach an educational institution in regard to a client project. [I can't tell you more or I'd have to ... you know the drill]. They publish exactly one phone number and one e-mail address. For students. Except I was trying to reach the marketing department. And I had a name. I was advised they can't put through calls to head office, and suggested I fax my request to customer service so it could be passed on to the right person.

Rarely have I seen an organization so hostile to the outside world. Quite remarkable. [and not in a good way!]

This just in: bits of news to start your Friday

There are so many interesting things going on in the world, are there not? I want to share more of these with you as I hear about them, but they're not all worthy of a full post. So starting this week, I'm going to periodically bundle up a few of these in a Friday "This just in."

These summaries will not have our regular level of analysis. For those of you using an e-mail subscriber, I'll keep the title the same so you can easier manage your in-box. 

So off we go.

Everyone can be a creative director: Getty Images has sound
Stock art libraries put high-quality photos and illustrations in more hands, and gave visual artists new outlets. Now the same thing is happening to sound. Let's say I want to add some sound to my PowerPoint presentations. Or to my website. I can now do that *legally* and relatively cheaply, with someone else managing the rights.

The me generation plans for transition: Requiem For You

You don't have to wait for a composer to write something in your honor, you can commission a Requiem or Laudatio to mark the major milestones in your life (or death, as the case may be). Vienna-based company Requiem For You will commission a composition to commemorate your life and achievements, arrange for an audio recording in your choice of media, and arrange a performance.

Social networking for the stock-option crowd:  FT Executive membership forums

You have to apply. You have to qualify. And a one-year membership costs 1700 £.

Social networking for the no-stock-options worker bee

The latest to add internal social networks is Scotiabank. IBM and other major tech/knowlege organizations have been working on internal social networks to share knowledge for a while now. Seeing a bank join in suggests that there will be much more of this happening in future. Will it prove to be a competitive advantage? Stay tuned.

Responding to customers with a sense of humor: Creating good or bad publicity

I saw a good story illustrating the power of an unusual situation to create either good news or bad news. A fellow by the name of Ron Borgna in Binghamton N.Y. was frustrated by the size of increases in the water rate. So he made up his cheque for $2,509.66 on three squares of toilet paper and presented it at the water office. The office refused to accept it.

Mr. Borgna has been in dispute with the municipality since 2006, and was trying to settle the whole outstanding amount, including fees and late penalties. Clearly, the man was trying to save face. But the municipality would not let him. This is sometimes called a moral victory.

Now there is no way that you could process a cheque like that in the normal manner. It would probably be called a "special item," and would be manually handled by every bank that touched it. (With a bunch of manual handling charges to match.) But, if it had all the correct information on it, I think it would be legal.

The water authority had two options, and it chose the worst one. If they had accepted the payment, they would have demonstrated a sense of humor. By continuing to fight with the man, think of the hours of management time being wasted. Much more than the value of this unpaid bill, I would wager.

In the photo above, found here, you can see two senior people from the municipality on the left.

A better way

Instead of creating all this bad press, good press could have been created. The banks involved could have been asked to co-operate, and the city could have said, in effect, "hey, we know people hate paying bills, and we don't want to encourage this, but we have a sense of humor and we are glad to see Mr. Borgna meeting his legal obligations."

This way, they look like a bunch of heavy-handed jerks. Plus, they're not yet done with this thing!

Here are a few of the news-type references I found:
How I first heard about it: from Finextra, a financial newsletter: Man tries to pay water bill with toilet paper cheque

The American spelling, toilet paper check, generated over 500,000 entries. Associated Press covered it, so it was picked up over a wide area by networks like MSNBC and papers like the Denver Post.

Even the Canadian/British spelling toilet paper cheque yielded results: CNews, Citynews are two examples of Canadian news outlets that picked the story up.