Lynnwood Circuit City ROCKS!

I went to Circuit City a couple of months ago to buy my laptop, let me just say that it was a wonderful experience, it's really hard spending $1200.00 on a laptop and yet, I was happy to do so! Those employees were so nice, so helpful and very fun to chat with, they weren't money hungry, they were actually happy to help me. It was a little to good, so, I went in the next week to return a wireless mouse that I had broke. The receipt I had said that I wouldn't be able to return it, however, they did! What?! Not only that, but they helped me pick out a new one and even though it was a little more money, they just exchanged it! I didn't have to pay extra, they just wanted to make me happy. Hmmm... I was still a little skeptical, 2 weeks later, my son wanted to buy a computer game to play online, he had done his research online to find the best price, it was Circuit City of course. When he got there, the game was $10.00 more then whaat the internet showed, they gave it to him for the "online" price. He bought his game, got it home, unwrapped it, and then realized it was an extended version of a game he thought he bought. Uh oh, I told him to read the back of the receipt to find out about their return policy, "open games cannot be returned", I told my son that we'd go back to see what they could do. They took the game back so that he could buy the one he meant to get. While I was there with my son, the guy that sold me my laptop remembered me and asked me how my new laptop was. The gal that sold my daughter her ipod a week before asked me how my daughter was liking her ipod! The way the employees treated my 11 year old was so incredible, instead of treating him like he was an annoying child, like so many other people do, they were very respectful and genuinely nice to him. I go into Circuit City alot these days, probably not good for my wallet, but I love to buy things there because of the customer service!

Are You Ready For Some Super Bowl Ads?

Well, it is quickly approaching that time of the year again - Super Bowl, possibly one of the few times of the year when the ads are actually (hopefully) better (or at least more hyped) than the show. I admit it, I like watching many of the Super Bowl ads - for me humor is a great motivator to buy. Granted some of the ads border on offensive, but Super Bowl ads have launched companies (Apple Macintosh, many dot coms), products (Xerox, Pepsi, McDonalds, ED medications), and sold more beer than anyone can imagine (who could forget the "Bud-Why-Zer" frogs in the swamp?).

With a 30 second ad spot going for $2.6 million this year, it is out of the question for most marketing budgets to advertise during "the big game". But, one has to wonder if the amount of exposure during the Super Bowl is worth the money spent. However, with more than 130 million people in the U.S. and perhaps a billion worldwide watching the Super Bowl it is hard to find a larger TV audience.

Do commercials make us buy the product they advertise? Nobody really knows. After the game, there is a flurry of opinions from marketing experts and focus groups of what was the most effective Super Bowl ad. The tricky part I suppose would be determining the difference between an ad that gets me to buy the product or service versus just finding the advertising gimmick amusing. For instance, I loved the streaking sheep from last years S.B., but I still won't drink Budweiser, so I guess the commercial really wasn't effective, just memorable.

Do you have a favorite Super Bowl commercial? We'd love to hear from you!!!!

Have a happy and safe Super Bowl! Go Bears!!!

2006 Best and Worst

Imedia just came out with their best and worst of 2006. They had a panel of experts who told what they thought were the best and worst of several catagories, including:

Brands
Campaigns
Agencies
Marketing Tools and Strategies
Other

The article can be accessed at www.imediaconnection.com.

I would love to hear what people thought of the list and why. We will take your responses and rank them and see how close they are to imedia. I'll throw out my best and worst for consideration as well.

How much is too much

OK, I admit it. I am an advertising and marketing junkie. I actually LOVE commercials and watch the Clio awards with great anticipation. I love analyzing why a company would pay good money to design certain ads, or look at some commercials just trying to figure out who they are targeting and how. I know, crazy huh? But that's one of the reasons I am in the field I'm in, I am just simply fascinated by it all.

However, I read an article in the NY Times yesterday that brought up an interesting point. As it is my job to find unique and intersting ways to get my clients' message out, some have taken it to the extreme. How much is too much? In the article a market research firm is quoted as saying that consumers are bombarded with 5,000 messages a day, and in a survey about half of the people felt that advertising was out of control.

So, have we gone too far? Are we turning consumers off with so many ads? Is technology helping or making it worse?

Most of us know that while in your face advertising may get attention, classy and clever advertising and marketing will always get the sale. What the article doesn't address is what to do to keep customers, once they have reached them with all this advertising. Or if advertising truly is "out of control" what do we do now?

It's an interesting article, read it at www.nytimes.com published January 15, 2007 titled Anywhere the eye can see, it's likely to see an ad. The author is Louise Story.

And just in case you are interested, the 2006 Clio winners can be found at www.clioawards.com Click on the 2006 winners in the left hand column.

Why Blog??

Blogging has gone mainstream. According to the the Pew Internet & American Life Project, there are an estimated 12 million blogs online right now (and that number grows everyday).

People are blogging, businesses are blogging, it is the big thing. And, if you have a business, you need a blog. A blog gives you the opportunity to easily share your knowledge with people across the globe or around the block. Want to build your credibility? A blog can help position you as the expert in your field. You already know a great deal about the products you sell or the services you offer so why not share them? Want more reasons to blog?

• Because you have something to say
  
• Further Customer Relationships (make your business more personal)
  
• Enhance Media Relations
• Internal Collaboration
• Knowledge Management
• Recruitment
• Test ideas or products
• Rank high in Search Engines

Does anybody really care about what I have to think or say? The answer is a resounding yes. An estimated 58 million Americans online are reading blogs (maybe not everyday, maybe not widely, but they are reading blogs!) 30% of general U.S. public surveyed in 2005 said that they have read blogs to find information, news, commentary. And the minority (only 39%) felt that a newspaper was a more reliable source of information. It is time to get blogging!!!!!

Do you have a blog? Post a link to yours! Make a comment, we'd love to hear from you!

Better Customer Service

I have been thinking a lot about Customer Service lately and just what it means. We've all had bad experiences with retail stores or online purchases that we've shared with friends. And we've all had great experiences we may or may not have passed along to others. I really believe in customer service as a tangible service companies should be offering to customers and potential customers. It effects the bottom line. And it goes beyond a greeting when you enter the store. It's how employees treat each other. How supervisors treat employees, and how employees treat supervisors. Anybody visiting Seattle has probably gone to the fish market in Pike Place market. It's on my favorites list to take people when they visit. These guys yell, and laugh and throw the fish for each other to catch. Ever tried to catch a fish that weighs 30 pounds? Everyone who works there looks like they are having the time of their life. Whether they are or not. And everyone who leaves there feels just a little better and smiles a little longer. That's customer service.

Above and Beyond...

Today I'm thinking about the single best form of marketing - word of mouth. You can't put a price tag on a happy consumer who leaves your business a satisfied customer. Along that line of thought, here is my great customer service story...

In a day and age when getting overcharged at the check out stand has become common place it is refreshing to have an experience with a company that defies that. Last week, I was accidentally overcharged for a pair of ballet shoes I'd purchased from Dancewear Center of Kirkland, WA. Not being any the wiser I left the store with my purchases happy with my buying experience. A couple of hours later, I received a phone call from the small stores owner alerting me that I had been overcharged. She immediately apologized and then sent me a refund the very next day. I am in awe with the Dancewear Center's level of customer service. The time Patrice Heston, the owner, spent researching receipts, tracking down my telephone number, and then calling me was certainly extensive. I really, really appreciate it!

Have you got a rave review for a local business? I'd love to hear it.

We always choose Dancewear Center of Kirkland, WA http://www.danceonin.com/ because of the phenomenal level of expertise, selection, and price they offer when choosing dance shoes.

Verizon: A Customer Service Nightmare!

After receiving a collections notice from Verizon for a bill of $112.84, for a set up fee for my dsl line, that I had already paid 9 months earlier, I called Verizon to discuss the notice and to clear it up right away. The customer service agent was very nice and helpful and told me that she had reversed the charge to my account and to ignore the collections notice. Boy was I happy to have someone hear me for once and take care of this small issue right away! Well, 3 weeks later I received another notice from a collections agency for a $112.84 bill. I called the 800 number on the notice to clear this up right away. Once I reached a collections agent I explained what had happened 3 weeks earlier and that the charge should have been reversed, the agent told me that Verizon had to contact them to close the collections matter. I was told to call Verizon back and to give them the information. So… I called Verizon and talked to a Customer Service Representative, I again had to repeat not only the conversation with the first Verizon rep but also the conversation with the collections agency and then asked them to call the agency to close the collections account. The agent then told me that they don’t do that, instead the collections agency has to call Verizon to get the updated information. After 2 hours on the phone already I decided to call back the next day and relay the last message that I got.

The next day, I called early in the morning, because I had to get out of the house by 11:00 for a doctors appointment. I called at 8:00am, talked to the collections customer service agent and had to, once again, explain my story. After feeling like she didn’t care what I was saying, she then replied back with, “so Dawn, tell me why you don’t think you owe this bill?” WHAT! Are you kidding me? Did she not just hear my 5 minute speech on this whole stupid mess? I finally told her that if she would just listen to me for a moment she’d understand my problem. Once again, I repeated myself, she referred me to someone else that would be able to assist me better. Yes, I had to tell my story again… but I did it, and with a smile on my face because by now this was kind of humorous. The agent told me that they don’t call Verizon for these things, Verizon can either call them or email them the information so that they could take me off of their collections list. I called Verizon back… after being on hold for 45 minutes I hung up because I had to go to my doctors appointment. Yes, I was on the phone for 2 ½ hours, but I could try this again in a couple of days, its not like it was going anywhere.

A new day, I was rested up and ready to make that last phone call, I was finally assured by Verizon that they’d contact the collections agency and take care of the account. Thank GOD!

I’ve gotta giggle now, I received another collections notice 3 weeks later. I not only had to call the collections agency again that day, but I had to call back every month for 6 months. After the 6th month, I finally called Verizon again and actually started crying with all the built up aggravation. I actually talked to someone that wanted to help me, she actually listened to my whole story and she actually felt bad. With me on the line, she called the collection agency and cancelled the collections account and apologized for all of my aggravation! After adding up all the time I was on the phone to clear up an accounting error on Verizon’s part, I spent 11 hours on the phone! I cringe every time I have to call Verizon, if my phone service is down or if I have a question on my account, because every time I hear that “hold” music, it brings back all the lonely memories of waiting on hold for hours and hours. Verizon customer service definitely needs help, out of the 20 people I actually talked to, only 2 were nice and only 1 listened to my drawn out story and actually took care of it. I think Verizon will give me nightmares for years to come. Good luck to anyone out there that needs to clear up an accounting error with Verizon, I hope you have a lot of time on your hands.

The Best and Worst.... Customer Service

This has got to be one of the funniest sites customer service, please click through and check it out. If any of the things listed strikes you as familiar, please come back and post your experience here.

Enjoy!

http://www.crmlowdown.com/2007/01/the_10_best_and.html