5 ways to put your yellow pages to good use

February 15, 2012

A strange present arrived on our doorstep a recent afternoon.

It was bathed in yellow cellophane; as if the world’s most precious cargo was trapped inside.

Yellow pages once held top shelf positioning in most households. Now, they're an afterthought.

I opened it and immediately thought: “How can I easily discard this monstrous waste of space and resources?” This is hardly a ringing endorsement for its contents.

Yellow pages used to be a central research starting point in our household. Now, they are considered clutter. How does this medium survive? I guess merchants are still buying advertisements in these large books? I have to imagine that Yellow Pages sales representatives are throwing in the print advertising when someone buys a Web ad, or at least they are offering at a serious discount.

So what to do if you don’t want to trash your thick and hearty yellow pages book?

Here are five ways to put your Yellow Pages to good use:

  1. Firewood
  2. Reading practice. (for the children, of course)
  3. Computer Monitor Stand
  4. Crude Frisbee
  5. Dog Chew Toy

Besides these can’t miss repurposes of the Yellow Pages, I did find some value from the Yellow pages: a few pages of coupons in the back of the directory.

Looking up something in the Yellow pages seems so isolated, empty.

  • No reviews are alongside the merchants.
  • No easy way to branch out into other communities (most Yellow pages target a small geographical area).
  • No simple way to figure out how to get from here to there (driving directions).

That’s all for now; time to go; sun’s nearly down. It’s getting cold; time to throw L-Z on the fire.

Final note: I can’t slight the importance of the yellow pages as an informational resource for the senior market. Many in the over 65+ crowd aren’t on board with new technologies and dutifully use this medium every day. The yellow pages’ days are numbered, yet the big books still have a loyal following for a small segment of the market.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

Leave a Comment » | marketing, Technology | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

@Hertz: The Virtual Agent Lightens the Pain of Waiting

January 16, 2012

I’ll admit it; I hate waiting.

I try to be patient, yet I am spoiled by the immediacy of everything.

When the train gates fall and bring my car to a standstill, I sigh.

When all lines at the grocery store look like a LA freeway, smoke drifts out my ears.

Before you join the masses on the road, wouldn't it great if you didn't have to wait?

When the number at the deli counter is 14 and I am number 36, I silently groan.

The Hertz Rental Car place in Atlanta, Georgia was a busy place a few weeks ago.

As I strolled up to the counter, the line was interminable; tense business professionals attempted to pass the time stuck in their smartphones.

I glanced to the left and noticed a bank of open monitors.

Simultaneously, a friendly young lady invited me to meet a virtual agent by guiding to an open computer.

“It will be much shorter than waiting in this long line,” she said.

I was a bit skeptical that I appeared to be the first taker (sucker!), but I was intrigued to test-drive the process.

“What’s your name, sir,” the smiling Hertz representative asked.

“Dan,” I responded.

“Dan, I’d like you to meet Mary. Mary will take care of you this morning.”

As the friendly young lady stepped away from the monitor, the smiling Mary appeared on the screen and began to quickly, courteously, effortlessly find me an affordable vehicle for my stay in Atlanta. The entire process probably took 2 minutes less than a face-to-face exchange – that’s efficiency.

I was impressed by how Hertz made the ‘impersonal’ exchange via computer very personal. Think Skype with a smile.

If the metrics make sense, other service industries (airports, ticket counters, car service stations) should seriously consider virtual agents to alleviate longer lines, harried travelers.

I may still dislike waiting, yet Hertz serves up a smidgen of joy while you wait.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

1 Comment | customer experience, Customer Service, knowing your customers, marketing | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Blackberry’s customer service misfortunes

December 21, 2011

With my flight hours away, and my departure gate in sight, I decided to move off the main pathway of Atlanta’s airport and into one of its many retail stores.

Moving past smoothie factories, cheery sports bars and bustling departure gates, I ventured into a Blackberry store.

Blackberry's in-store experience was extremely underwhelming.

The young man glared at me as if I were the first visitor in hours. No greeting. No welcome. He stared straight ahead as if his job were torture.

Being a former Blackberry customer and ‘in the market’ for a new phone, I had an interest in the past, present and future on this once proud leader of mobile devices.

After browsing the many phones available in the store, I thought the staffer would inquire about my needs, yet the silence continued.

I took the first step and asked:

“Do you have any specials today?”
“No,” the worker responded, quickly retreating to his comfort of silence.

“Are all of the recent outages affecting Blackberry resolved.”
“Yes,” he muttered.

“Do you have any Sprint phones?”
He then pointed to a row of Sprint-enabled phones against the wall.

I tipped and tapped a few keyboards, touched some screens, read some feature descriptions and then it happened as I prepared to exit the store.

“Are there any questions I can answer for you?” the Blackberry representative asked meekly. Amazingly, he finally woke up to his role as customer advocate.

I turned and shook my head from side to side as I stepped back into the main artery of the airport.

Blackberry’s problems are much more fundamental and far-reaching than this dispirited exchange, yet this is clearly are a microcosm of this floundering mobile machine.

Years ago, Blackberry lost the touch of the customer. Apple brought products to market that inspired and energized the masses. Now, Blackberry’s doing its finest to ignore customers on their doorstep.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

3 Comments | advertising, Communication, Customer Service, experience, knowing your customers, marketing, merchandising, shopping, simplicity, Uncategorized, user experience | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

What One Restaurant Did to Guarantee Repeat Business

December 7, 2011

A typical day becomes extraordinary when a SURPRISE appears.

For restaurants, surprises are repeat business. If you can get someone to return to your location, you’re well on your way to survival ability. Restaurants might bring in a person one time via a Groupon, advertisement, word of mouth, yet can they ‘wow’ you enough to bring you back for a 2nd visit?

The stats of restaurant flops are astounding:

Will a restaurant 'wow' you enough to bring you back?

About one in four restaurants close or change ownership within their first year of business. Over three years, that number rises to three in five.

Personally, I’ll try most restaurants once. A friend may say: “Hey, you must try that new Mexican restaurant that just opened up down the street.”

If I don’t get a personal recommendation, I’ll sometimes succumb to a 2 for 1 Groupon offer at a steakhouse.

A warning for all restaurant owners: If something about the experience doesn’t dazzle, I won’t return – my money and time are too valuable to waste on the mediocre.

My family recently visited a breakfast place in San Antonio named, the Egg and I.

Like most new places we frequent, we were referred by a friend. The noise of radio, TV, billboards, newspaper, Web, F’book, Twitter becomes just a little noisy to remember anything.  The power of word of mouth marketing can’t be contained.

We stumbled into the Egg and I at a slow pace. The previous day’s excitement at the super-fun Sea World amusement park had us moving at a whisper.

The food: stupendous.

The service: timely.

The finish: something to remember.

We received the check from our server and then she handed us a red envelope.

Who doesn’t like receiving things in a red envelope?

I proceeded to start to tear open the envelope when our waitress said:

“Sir, please don’t open the envelope now. When you return to visit us here at The Egg and I, please hand the red envelope to your waitress and she’ll open it for you at your table. It’s a gift for you for returning to visit us here at the Egg and I. We thank you for your business.”

So what’s in the envelope? It’s pure marketing genius.

“Do you have what it takes to win?”

Free gift inside

Winning is all about discipline; do you have what it takes?
Can you contain yourself? Big time prizes are calling your name if you can wait to open this envelope.

I remember ticking the days off a calendar until Christmas morning. Now, years later, I experience a similar tension as I count the days until my next visit to The Egg and I. I can hear the sound of the envelope being torn open now. The waiting game until the prize is revealed.

Think deeply about what surprises you can bring to your business. It’s a no-brainer that you must deliver a spectacular experience, yet strive to create an event that your customers will remember: an event that will keep them scurrying back for more.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

Leave a Comment » | Atmosphere. Customer Service, marketing, Marketing Event, restaurants, retail, shopping, simplicity | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Chik-Fil-A’s Cows on the Loose

November 7, 2011

A barren water tower stretches over metropolitan Atlanta.

Thousands pass each day without even a furtive glance toward the metallic beast.

Then, one day, the water tower changes.

Who knew a water tower could incite me to eat biscuits?

On Wednesday, it’s a dark gray, bland, corrosive tower.

On Thursday, it transforms into a work of architecture that draws looks.

  • Why are there cows climbing the water tower?
  • How does this tower look so lively amidst a mass of dilapidation?
  • What’s with the graffiti scribbled across the tower’s façade?

Within moments, I understood the tower’s new purpose; its injection of life amongst a multitude of wear and tear.

The cows: Chik-Fil-A’s emblematic cows were climbing towards the tower’s peak; their crusade against beef goes skyward.

The graffiti: Chik-Fil-A’s broken English in edgy-cool font is instantly recognizable and humorous. What’s there not to like about: “This morning try de-calf.”

The coffee cup: The tower’s top had been re-crafted to look like a steaming coffee cup. Genius.

I don’t normally gaze at water towers; I try to keep my eyes on the road. This one, however, nearly caused me to drive onto the median.

Many billboards surround the highways of Atlanta and other major cities. These billboards are so ubiquitous that I see them as white noise. Companies that look for other canvases to communicate their ‘outdoor’ message and blend their messaging into the structure score points. Fine job @ChickfilA.

Have you seen any crazy good advertisements incorporating the natural structure of a building, bus stop, or other entity? Share.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

1 Comment | advertising, billboards, call to actions, marketing, Marketing Event, personal connection | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

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