Typing Out Loud

Business

In modern day retailing, margins can be tight and costs need to be kept down. But being overly zealous will also cost you your reputation. Communicating with your customers and establishing trust is essential. Positive word of mouth means you will spend less on advertising. And customer loyalty equals repeat business. The more loyal your customers, the more you can charge over your competitors.

Indeed, times are such that local customers will window shop on the high street and then go online to buy. The obvious reason for this is cost, but that’s only part of the equation. A well executed sales process, customer reviews and favourable distant selling laws also weigh on the customers mind.

It is worth reminding ourselves that bad customer reviews are believed more easily than good customer reviews, regardless of when they were written. And no matter how much you improve your customer relations, those reviews will be found for many years to come.

Consumers sometimes shop locally as they feel there is a greater sense of accountability. But will they make big ticket purchases when you are receiving bad reviews? A good way to tackle this is to lower your sights and improve the customer experience on cheaper items. Let the customer build their trust.

I have a few tips for those online businesses seeking to build trust.

1. On your contact page, do not say “our preferred method of communication is by email” because actually my preferred method is to pick up the phone and talk to you for real.

2. Do not hide behind a generic telephone number like 0871. It might be convenient for your business but it will often put your customers off. It is better to go with a local number, although for certain types of business, a freephone number might work quite well.

3. Add photos of your business, warehouse, shop and staff. Add a map with directions. This re-enforces you are real and accountable.

Business and Life

In the real world, people talk and transact face-to-face. Compliments and complaints are both dealt with face-to-face. There’s no fast or reliable disconnect, our actions and inactions are held to account.

But then get online or on the end of a phone and suddenly we feel empowered. People we can filter and run from because there’s always another agent to deal with that nuisance we call a “customer”. Yes, if only business could eliminate the last mile in a money machine, humans. We’ll automate the phones and demand websites and emails. And finally, we’ll curse those pesky emails and let them disappear into the proverbial black hole. Ah yes, where’s the easy life with babes and beaches?

Do we carry those same values to our social life? Does the ability to search and filter new friends and partners lead us to elitist thinking? Does the who-you-know become more important than why-you-know?

In a world more connected than ever, I can’t help thinking we are simultaneously letting slip the value of listening and responding to people for whom we may or may not normally choose.

“I belong here, choice and independence is my right. I choose you, or not, for this is my function of modern living” or so it seems.

Business

Mark goes to a jeweller and asks how much to remove links from his watch bracelet. The jeweller says £7 to which Mark declines and moves on.

Mark goes to another jeweller and asks the same question. This time he is told £10. Again Mark declines and ponders, how can it be so expensive for two minutes work?

By chance, Mark talks to a man selling mobile phone mods and unlocking. Again he asks about his watch bracelet… just £2 he says. Sure enough, two minutes later the watch fitted perfectly. Mark tipped £1 and thanked him kindly.

Mark reflected. The jewellers had no other customers and no materials to purchase… a simple task with simple tools. Once upon-a-time this would of been free.

If the short term greed was set aside… if a smile with courtesy was forthcoming… Mark would of recommended the jewellers to friends… or later thought to buy a precious ring.

But the bad vibes were spread and it came at a cost, Two minutes of kind could barely be lost. To one kind person, to many Mark say, returning with money, another day.

Business and Current Events

I can’t tell you just how impressed I am with the X Factor. It’s not the competition itself that blows me away, it’s how the events management, production and marketing comes together to be, without doubt, the best there is, period.

A lot of that excellence comes from Syco TV. Every week I watch Syco TV do their magic and tonight’s X Factor final was simply jaw dropping; how good that must be for all attendees. If I could invest in Syco TV then I would of done it a long time ago and faster than I can blink.

I am sure there is something to be learned here and I’m thinking it simply comes down to the idea that if you want to give the best experience then you MUST demand exceptional teamwork and you MUST MUST MUST hire exceptional people.

Life and Net

In the online world, “what are you wearing?” is a turning point; a phrase widely interpreted as flirtatious. Some might say the question defines a relationship, that the question may or may not be welcomed. Yet when we meet people in Real Life, the question disappears as the answers are obvious. More so, in Real Life compliments of someone’s appearance will often be flattering and appreciated.

With that thought I want to ask, why does the abstraction to text or voice make the net such a personal place? And if a growing relationship leads you to ask that question, maybe it’s a smarter move to meet the person for real?

Current Events and Technology

In recent years there has been some controversy about amputees competing against able-bodied athletes. This is the result of significant advancements in prosthetics. Amputees are mutating from “brave individuals” to “dirty cheats”. That someone with titanium legs might actually be considered unfair competition. So how long before the Paralympics become the main event with a completely new and defining set of rules? Right now you’re going to laugh at me for considering a human running 100m in 4 seconds… but when they do it you will be hooked.

Fast forward to current events about the Smarthand European Research Project in Sweden. A robotic hand wired to the users brain, returning the sensation of touch. Yes, amazing and undoubtedly the birth of a new race, a new human race bringing us closer to our science fantasies.

But as I started, the excitement for such liberation is a bumpy road and the war against cyborgs will come. No, really, a difference between humans and super humans. The fight for employment on a different front and the fight for religious values.

To know this is the future we simply look to the past. In the 1950s science fiction sold us a happy future, lots of free time because robots were going to do everything for us. Many of us would never have to work again. But today, the unemployed are the cancer in society, an unwanted tax.

My question to you is, as we redefine ourselves, can we retain compassion and humanity or must we go to war?

Net

Google AdWords:

We’re sorry, the new AdWords interface does not work with Opera. We recommend using Firefox 3, Internet Explorer 8, Safari, or Chrome to manage your AdWords campaigns.

…unless, of course, you change the browser identification in preferences. So what is it about a giant tech company, overflowing with talent, that it can’t write a web app compatible with Opera? Conflict of interest?

Business and Net

The volume of people trying to monetise their content is ever growing. All the things we consume for free is begging for a universal micro-payment system.

Tiny-tiny payments for news, sports, emails, music, games, porn, twitter… As the train rolls, as more money feeds new startups and applications, the possibility of that need being satisfied is getting closer.

We are comfortable paying online. The problem is, we tend to pay one provider at a time, often in a form of stored credit. It could be better.

There is a fear that charges, however small, can turn consumers away very easily. A need for fearless; consumers will pay and stay if there’s convenience, simplicity and widespread acceptance.

As consumers, we’re waiting for a super cheap and widely accepted currency which has no passwords and is built into our web browsers. The key is automation. It would auto-accept payments for specified users and sites. It would feature price controls and sport an online meter in a status bar.

There are plenty of micro payment systems and sometimes their media attention seem to burst into life; remember how e-gold was going to change everything?

The big credit card companies could do more but, frankly, I think they are too greedy and too icebound. This revolution will be taken by fresher players.

The alternative to micro payments is a prolific rise of content from aggregators and portals. A single point of content, not just all-you-can-eat music but all-you-can-eat-everything.

Domain Names

Moniker have a portfolio lock feature and they also claim to of never lost a domain. I think they should back that up with an insurance policy… that way, you know if they ever had to pay out, for sure they would not want to pay out more than it’s true worth.

I know their appraisals are recognised by the IRS but I think something like this would bring a lot more legitimacy to this business. A put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is philosophy.

Business

It is often said, smaller businesses can be more agile than their bigger competitors. This is especially more important when you consider the big guys can often deliver lower prices. So today I just want to remind people how communications, making yourself accessible and approachable, can help to differentiate yourself from your rivals. Consider this; as a consumer, how easy is it for you to talk to the big companies?

Look at your competitors website, where is their telephone number? Do they make you jump through hoops before giving out their number or contact form? Is their telephone service costly or drawn out? Does their telephone service try to push you back onto their website?

Of course, a lot depends on individual companies and the markets they serve, but generally speaking, having thousands of customers can lead companies to become too zealous in their cost cutting. That equates to more automation and more customers per account manager than ever before. Some would say you have to be tough, but honestly, a bad reputation spreads quicker and last longer than a good name.

So here are some quick fixes:

1. Put your telephone number at the top of every page, or at least a direct link at the top of every page.

2. Don’t make your customers register or sign-in first. Make it instantly useful and to the point.

3. On a contact page, don’t offer FAQs or knowledge silos, put them on a different page. Give them real human-to-human contact; build real relationships with the hands that feed you.

4. Make your phone menus to the point. Don’t drag it out with the human operator as the last option. And don’t try to steer your customers to your website… honestly, if a customer wanted your website they would figure it out, really.

5. Feel free to put your email addresses on your web pages too. Simple screening is possible to block unsolicited mail.

Rethink your philosophy. Break down barriers, open your arms and welcome your guests with enthusiasm. Good luck!

Business

When Chip-and-PIN came out it was touted as a more secure system. In reality, it was a shift of liability from the card company onto the customer i.e. you are responsible for protecting your PIN.

Now I’ve wondered this from day one; if Chip-and-PIN was for the better security of it’s customers, why to this date has none of the card companies introduced a duress code? - the option of a second PIN to silently alert emergency services that you have been frogmarched to an ATM to withdraw money.

Domain Names

I sometimes get frustrated with this virus going around whereby everyone likens domain names to real estate. They’re not.

Domain names, indeed DNS in general, runs a very real risk of evolving or even being supplanted wholesale by a superior system; the “cloud computer”? Reinventing DNS is one thing, reinventing your real estate is something entirely different.

If domain names are really like real estate, what is a domain’s neighbourhood? Can we honestly say “shoes.com” and “toys.com” are in the same neighbourhood simply because of visitor stats and sales price? What if one of those were to plummet in value or rocket in value, did they thus move neighbourhood? Can we find direction or community in a domain name?

Real estate and neighbourhoods are relatively fixed objects. We can think of certain areas as affluent or slums or renowned for celebrities.

The nearest I can get to thinking of domain names as real estate is to think of the TLD, much more so that we are on the verge of being flooded with them. That .tv lives in an areas heavily associated with video… but I wouldn’t call it elite. That .com lives in a highly popular, average residential, area.

So let’s wait for the designer TLDs huh. Anyone up for a google TLD “.g”? Or a French Connection TLD “.fcuk”? Going to pay the price for one of those? - YES, that’s what I call something approaching a neighbourhood. Just wondering why Calvin Klein hasn’t sued the Cook Islands, “.ck” :-p

Business and Technology

Science fiction has long predicted the ultimate destiny of computing; to compute the ability to feel pain and happiness, to share and empathise, to express emotions of a human kind. When that day comes, I’m sure it will bring it’s own set of problems. Until then, do me a favour.. let’s not pretend we’re already there.

When I’m standing on a platform and a computer announces, “I’m sorry, your train has been delayed” - really, a computer program is not sorry. When I’m in a telephone queuing system, no one knows or cares I am being told, “thank you for waiting, you are in position 23”. And finally, yes, it is my birthday and come midnight a whole bunch of computer programs send me emails wishing me a “Happy Birthday!” - yeah, that really brought a tear to my eye.

If you want to really connect with people, then you need to do two things; First of all you need to make your automated messages informative and to the point, don’t condescend! And secondly, get a diary and make a point of delivering your messages personally - honestly, it will go a long way. And it’s not just birthdays, think anniversaries, events and random acts of kindness!

Domain Names

Some people say it’s too late to enter the domain market as they start with the premise that all the good names have gone. However, to this day I am still finding excellent opportunities and hidden gems. There’s a never ending flow of buzzwords, fads, celebrities, news and technologies to keep us going for a long time.

Moreover, through natural progression, domainers increasingly transform themselves into webmasters. Taking a tiny subset of their best domains and building them out into virtual properties; moving from parking to applications and content. In this sense, the global village can still be seen as very much in it’s infancy.

For me, one of the biggest clues to the future explosion in web development and consolidation is when I see obvious destinations as either under-developed or non-existent. Take, for example, thailand.org… previously bought in March 2007 for $10,000 yet in 2009 there is no web presence! For sure, it is the owners prerogative to do (or not) with their property as they choose. Right now, their main objective may simply be capital gain on resale.. who knows.. but the opportunity for this great domain to be developed is surely an itch that must be scratched?

Domain Names

On Snapnames, auctions have a time remaining estimate in one minute decrements. If you refresh the page frequently, you can figure out when the time estimate is revised. I did this and noted the following… When the time remaining estimate says “1m” (one minute remaining), you will get that minute to bid and then for another 59 seconds it will say “<1m”. So actually, “1m” remaining is pretty much 2 minutes.

Business

Earlier this year, in the midst of a recession (2009), Shriti Vadera was famously lambasted for being too optimistic, seeing possible “green shoots” of economic recovery. I never understood why some people responded so harshly, as though insulted, by a simple analytical opinion.

Likewise, while many people were bombarding me with the negativity of “the worst recession since blah blah blah”, I always held to the belief that the rich were still rich. That given any economic downturn for the masses, there is always money to be made selling to the rich.

And so now, I turn on the television and stumble upon a high value shopping channel with diamond rings costing thousands.

My point is simple, don’t listen to ANYONE except your natural instinct. It’s times like these that reaffirm for me that money can be had in any economic circumstance. Better to be optimistic and ignore the naysayers.