According to Google’s “Ten things we know to be true”, Google strives to “Focus on the user…” knowing, “…all else will follow.” Google became the dominant search engine by offering a simple, usable interface on top of great search technology. It just works.

Apple introduced a new voice-activated personal assistant, called Siri, in its new iPhone 4S. I have one and it’s amazing. Ask it “Will it rain tomorrow?” and it responds with a quick look at the forecast. Tell it to send a text to your business partner, or your daughter, and it opens the messaging app and asks you what you’d like to say. Speak your message, tell it to send, and you’re done. Again, it just works.

I bring this up because there’s a raging debate right now on Google+ about whether Siri is just a re-heated version of Android’s Voice Actions, who got there first, and, near as I can figure, whose dad can beat up whose.

One commenter on the thread noted, “Everyone is spitting chips about [Siri's] useless ‘Natural speach (sic) recognition’ – Basically for idiots that cant (sic) remember 5 commands…”

Pity his spell checker doesn’t just work.

Ignoring the “idiots” part for a moment, the key here is “can’t remember 5 commands.” I’ve had an Android phone for the better part of three years. And I used Voice Actions maybe 5 times. Why? Because it didn’t “just work.” I had to learn how the tool wanted me to work. And, frankly, remembering those 5 commands wasn’t worth the time or benefit. With Siri, I don’t have to remember any commands. I just say what I want to say and, more often than not, it just works.

Now, this isn’t meant as a review of Apple’s iPhone or Google’s Android operating systems. I also don’t care whose dad can beat up whose.

More importantly, neither do your customers.

You see, the problem with Android Voice Actions is that it focuses on the technology, not the user. I don’t know if Apple is using superior technology than Google. Maybe they’re not. I don’t know if Siri is going to “win” the race forever. Maybe they won’t. But, as an “idiot user” (though I prefer “moron in a hurry”), I can tell you that Siri is much more useful than Voice Actions and that, at least over the last few days, I use it all the time.

Maybe the novelty will wear off. And, if Google focuses on its users’ needs with the next version of Voice Actions—as they’ve done with their search engine for years—maybe they’ll have the best tool on the marketplace. But, right now, there’s no question in my mind that Siri is the best user experience on the market for voice control. It just works.

If you think your customers consist of “idiots” who “can’t remember” what you want them to do, then that’s your problem, not theirs. Because they’re not idiots. Or “morons in a hurry.” What they care about is whether your product solves their problem—and whether or not it just works.

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Technorati Tags: Apple, continuous improvement, conversion rate, conversion rate optimization, customer satisfaction, customer service, Don’t Make Me Think, E-commerce, e-commerce, e-commerce satisfaction, E-commerce strategy, e-marketing, ecommerce, Google, google, Google+, integrated marketing, internet business, internet marketing, iphone, marketing best practices, page design, strategy, Product Management, Design

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Has this ever happened to you? I was standing in line at my local Rite Aid, waiting to buy a bottle of water and some Excedrin for an increasing-by-the-minute tension headache while watching four employees (two cashiers, an assistant manager and the store manager), debating the value of a coupon with one customer.

Now, I’m all for personalized service, but that’s crazy.

During the wait, I watched a few people quit standing in line, put their purchases down and leave the store.

I wonder if any of them came back.

Judging by the items on the counter, the amount of the coupon couldn’t have been more than a couple of bucks. Why didn’t the manager just credit the first customer, then shove her out the door to handle the growing line behind her? Or better yet, ask the assistant manager and one of the cashiers to open additional registers to deal with the growing line?!?

Now ask yourself: Do I ever do that to my customers?

1. Is your website or e-commerce provider too slow, making your customers “wait in line” to pay?
2. Are your product descriptions unclear, making your customers search for more information?
3. Are your pictures or screen font too small, making your customers squint or lean in?
4. Is your value proposition poorly stated, making your customers unsure why they should buy from you?

Amazon has killed many bookstores (and other retailers) by ensuring fast, free shipping, reasonable prices and a broad selection. So, ask yourself, why does Powell’s Books continue to do well? (Full disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate.)

Zappos has reinvented the retail shoe business by providing unbelievable customer service (though, not at the expense of other customers), good selection and a simple return policy. But Nordstrom’s doesn’t seem to suffer. Why?

Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity have hurt many “traditional” travel agents by offering a range of travel products, loads of travel content, and (relatively) transparent prices. And yet, many niche travel agents have excelled during this same period. Again, why?

In all these cases, and many more, the long-time industry players have adapted to the needs of their customers and differentiated themselves from the larger, online-only players. Powell’s focuses on rare and used books, along with hiring committed, book-loving readers. And sells plenty of new books, too, because people who love to read recognize that Powell’s shares their concerns. Nordstrom’s continues its legendary return policy and, again, excels at customer service. Those niche travel agents? Same thing. Relentless customer service, typically building truly extraordinary trips for their well-heeled clients and fulfilling the most unusual requests with grace and style.

Your business is under siege. New entrants, online and offline (though, really, who’s only “offline” these days) seek to help your customers with their problems. And if their problem is you, you’ve now got a bigger problem.

Mobile only makes it worse. For you, that is. For the customer it’s great. Not happy with the service you’re getting? Take a look on Foursquare or Google Mobile or Facebook and find a better option.

Those with deep pockets have one advantage: their deep pockets may buy them a little time while they work out the kinks in their operation. But, too many better options exist for your customers if you’re not paying attention. And too many customers will get out of line, put their purchases down and leave the store.

Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

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Technorati Tags: achievement, amazon, Amazon, continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, customer service, Do It Wrong Quickly, E-commerce, e-commerce, e-commerce satisfaction, E-commerce strategy, ecommerce, Expedia, F-commerce, Facebook, Google, Groupon, internet business, internet marketing, marketing, marketing best practices, mobile, online marketing, reputation management, social media, social strategy, strategy, success, Zappos

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I am (more or less) an Apple fanboy. Not of their products (though I do love some of them). No, I’m a huge fan of their vision: Making “insanely great” products. That vision comes directly from now-former CEO Steve Jobs. What do I mean? Well, here’s a partial list of Jobs’ “insanely great” offerings over the years:

• Apple II
• Mac
• iPod
• iTunes
• iPhone
• iPad
• App stores
• Pixar Animation
• Executive Producer of “Toy Story”
• Oh, and founder of Apple

That’s a hell of résumé, one that reflects a continual commitment to excellence we all should aspire to.

There’s a report that Jobs will remain hands-on, albeit in a greatly diminished role. And that “…Jobs, while seriously ill, is very much alive.” That’s good news. Obviously, Jobs’ first concern needs to be his health. He’s still a young man, a husband and a father. His health takes priority over anything his company does.

At the same time, I have no idea what will happen to Apple without Jobs at the helm. But I hope, for the sake of the company and consumers, that they maintain Jobs’ commitment to excellence, with or without him. When companies like HP have to shut down their tablet division just 6 weeks following the introduction of their first tablet, you have to wonder who else can deliver such game-changing devices and customer experiences—or will make the effort to do so if not chasing Apple.

If not, Jobs will be missed by many more people than just Apple’s employees and shareholders.

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Technorati Tags: achievement, business, creativity, how to be creative, inspiration, ipad, iphone, leaders, leadership, learning, strategy, success, vision, Steve Jobs, Apple

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I hate to kick a company when they’re down, but I can see at least one reason why Border’s is in so much trouble. There’s no question that customers shifting from brick-and-mortar and hardbacks to clicks and e-books hurt them. But the bigger question is, why didn’t Borders, one of the “…original big box superstores that rewarded shoppers by offering thousands of book and music titles in a single location” not see this coming?

Give me a second and I’ll let you know why. But first, a story…

A couple of weeks ago, I learned on a Saturday that I needed a specific DVD on Sunday (I’ll spare you the gory details, but, suffice to say… teenagers). Clearly, there was no way to order it online and have it delivered before Sunday. Neither Netflix nor OnDemand offered the movie for viewing. And, we could find no one from whom to borrow the blasted thing. (Again… teenagers!)

Happily, I found a “click and mortar” solution that let me reserve the DVD online then pick it up in-store the next day. While there, I fell for a terrific in-store promotion targeted at loyalty club members (of which I am one) and picked up a second DVD at a discount. I cheerfully handed over both my credit card to buy and my loyalty club card to complete the purchase.

As it happens, the second DVD (the impulse buy) was defective, featuring two disks of special features within the package, instead of one disk of special features. No fault of the retailer, mind you. And, whoops, I’d tossed out the receipt after getting the disk home (apparently, I can’t blame teenagers for everything).

But, no biggie, thinks I, I’ll just go to the store and have them look up the purchase using my quote-unquote “loyalty” membership. Oh, if only life was that easy. When I got to the store and explained my lack-of-receipt, I was told, effectively, “bummer, dude, can’t help you.” Admittedly, not a direct quote, but, believe me, the intent was clear.

“But,” I say, “I’m a loyal guy. I gave you my membership ID when I purchased. Surely you can use that to verify my purchase?”

Boy, am I dumb.

Turns out, the store doesn’t use the loyalty program for anything other than to send me coupons and partner offers. They don’t know anything about my individual purchases. My loyalty to the store helped me not at all.

Only after I pulled up my credit card statement online (via my iPad), and showed it to the store’s manager was he willing to go find the original purchase record and let me swap out the defective DVD for one with a disk I could actually, y’know, watch.

Give you one guess as to the store name.

Yep… Borders.

As I see it, Borders’ financial woes and my recent in-store disappointment were due to the same thing: a failure to adapt to their customers’ needs. As the ACSI study I mentioned earlier this week shows, customer service matters. Borders, despite great locations and good ideas (as the “reserve online/pickup in-store” story demonstrated), seems to have missed their customers’ changing needs. Sometimes, customers want to get their merchandise in-store, sometimes online. Borders gave away the second one to Amazon. Sometimes customers want paperbacks, sometimes e-books. Amazon won that second battle, too. And sometimes, customers want to be treated as a loyal customer, not just someone to market to.

It’s no secret that I believe the most important things you can do are to listen to your customer and learn from what they tell you. The evidence suggests that Borders didn’t do that. The more important question is, do you?

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The American Customer Satisfaction Index’s E-Commerce Report, produced in partnership with ForeSee Results, came out today and shows that customer satisfaction with e-commerce websites fell 2.6% to 79.3 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale. That’s the lowest score since 2004. That’s not good.

According to ACSI,

“…falling satisfaction with online retail pulls down aggregate satisfaction with the e-commerce sector overall, which also includes online brokerage and online travel.”

But the news isn’t all bad. Claes Fornell, ACSI’s founder and a University of Michigan Ross School of Business professor says,

“Satisfaction with e-commerce and retail is off from a year ago overall, but the individual company results are mixed, and some organizations manage to find ways and resources to improve the customer experience. Still, any downward pressure on satisfaction does not bode well for sustained spending growth at a time when the economy could use it.” [Emphasis mine]

When I saw the data, I wondered first whether this decline represented, at least in part, customers’ increased expectations for their e-commerce experience.

And, yet, the movement within the individual categories suggests otherwise.

Companies as diverse as Overstock, Amazon, Netflix, Expedia, Exchange, Sears and Whole Foods did very well year-on-year. These companies don’t seem to be suffering due to anyone’s increased expectations—or are managing to meet/exceed those expectations in any case. Professor Fornell’s comment above is spot on: The drop in overall satisfaction hurts everybody online to some degree, but it’s clear that you can satisfy your customers if you work on it.

Here are some of the other “highlights” from the report:

• Satisfaction with e-commerce is down 3% since last year to 79.3 on ACSI’s 100-point scale, its lowest level since 2004.
• The drop in the overall e-commerce sector score is driven by a big decline in e-retail.
• The e-retail industry, always the strongest within the e-commerce sector, falls 3.6% to 80, a drop that is largely driven by the “all others” category, which dives 6% to 78. Amazon passes Netflix for the top spot.
• The online travel industry reaches a new all-time high aggregate score of 78. Increases by Travelocity and the “all others” category more than offset declines by Orbitz and Priceline. Expedia maintains the number one spot with a score of 79.
• The online brokerage industry remains flat at 78, but Charles Schwab overtakes Fidelity for the top spot for the first time since 2006. E*TRADE has climbed an impressive 10 points since 2000.
• Satisfaction with mobile commerce (use of mobile apps and websites accessed via mobile phone) for e-retail, online brokerage, and online travel is included for the first time in this report. At 81, online brokerage leads satisfaction with mobile commerce. Retail and travel tie the industry aggregate at 75.

Take a look at the numbers in more detail and then look at your own online efforts. What are they doing that would work for your customers—and you can offer? As I mentioned yesterday, “you can choose to offer limited service, fewer features, tiered pricing—and still succeed.”

As the data above shows, customer satisfaction depends on a number of factors. You can pay attention to the leaders to learn some of those factors. Or you can pay attention to your customers to learn them all.

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So I don’t know if you heard the news, but Verizon finally started offering the iPhone. I know, right? You’d think it would have gotten more attention in the press.

Anyway, MediaPost says let the battle begin between the AT&T iPhone and the Verizon iPhone (ViPhone?). And even with the suggestion that Apple adding Verizon as a channel will hurt Android sales, there’s no question that Android sales—and those of smartphones generally—are crazy high. And growing.

Now what does that have to do with your sales and marketing? Well, years ago, we used to say that in e-commerce, competitors are just a click away. It’s still true. It’s just so obvious, no one says it anymore.

But, increasingly, the same is true for retail locations, too. Whether on an iPhone, Android, Blackberry or some other smartphone, your customers can easily find reviews of your business or better deals via their mobile phones while they’re standing in your location. And they trust online merchants for quality service and prices enough that they may easily choose to make purchases somewhere else while standing right in front of you. As Linda Bustos notes, 30% of shoppers are researching on their phones, almost 3x higher than in 2009, and mobile purchases are up 500%—though, admittedly, still at a relatively small percentage. How many of those are happening in your store?

In the online space, the most common ways to deal with this “one click away” threat are:

1. Tighten up your selling process. Make it hard for your customers to buy and they’ll do it somewhere else.
2. Work to establish trust. Nobody opens up their wallet when they’re uncomfortable.
3. Increase purchasing options. Much like #1, customers usually choose to buy the way they want to. By offering additional payment types, prominent phone support, click-to-call or myriad alternatives, e-commerce retailers seek to address the most common barriers to purchase.
4. Eliminate risk. Check out at what’s happened to the cost of shipping and return policies in the last decade. Online merchants have worked hard to make every step of the transaction less painful.

There are others, of course. But these hit the highlights. By improving the online purchasing experience, companies large and small have put customers in their pocket. Now, with the growth of mobile, customers are returning the favor.

Which begs the question: Are you working to do the same for your offline customers?

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This past week, The New York Times gave readers insights into a new way to game Google: Grab tons of negative reviews and let the link love follow. Fortunately, Google caught wind of the scheme and has adjusted its algorithm to block this sort of thing.

As longtime FOT (that’s Friend of thinks) Mike Moran noted on Twitter the other day:

“The SEO tail wags the business dog again. Someone promotes bad reviews of his own business to gain rankings. Bizarre.”

Of course, I’ve long believed there are better things to do with your time than try to outsmart Google. Score one for the big G. Trying to outsmart Google seems like an especially bad idea when it involves screwing your customers over. Some thought that this guy (sorry, I simply refuse to link to him) was crazy like a fox. I’m pretty sure that screwing your customers is just plain crazy.

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Last week, TechCrunch outlined a speech given by former PayPal executive and founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, where he discussed how important it is to “fail fast.” Here’s his thinking:

“Hoffman also talked about some of the pivots he’s been through during his time as an executive at PayPal and later at LinkedIn. He subscribes to the ‘fail fast’ mantra — you need to ship your product as soon as you can, and if you’re not embarrassed by the first product you launch, you’ve waiting too long.

He recalled one relevant anecdote to this theory: just before LinkedIn was due to launch, his team of engineers said that they had to wait until they could implement a ‘contact finder’ that would help users hone in on the kind of people they wanted to connect with. Hoffman asked his team if it would be possible to wait and implement this after the launch. The answer was yes, so Hoffman said to launch as planned, and that they’d implement the Contact Finder as soon as possible if it was clear that users wanted it. Seven years later, LinkedIn has yet to launch the feature — it simply isn’t needed.“

Generally, I agree. In fact, “fail fast” is something of a mantra of mine (though, admittedly, I’ve also been partial to Mike Moran’s “Do It Wrong Quickly” verbiage).

Unfortunately, something happened today that forces internet marketers and small business owners to perk up and say, “Can you fail too fast? Is it possible that doing it wrong quickly is the wrong thing to do?”

What is that something?

Well, it looks like Facebook has managed to jack with the privacy of its customers. Again. To be fair to Facebook, this looks like an oversight, rather than overstepping its bounds. But, is it possible that they’re failing a little too quickly? And is that a model you want to emulate?

I believe the answer is… maybe. I don’t think it’s possible to fail too fast overall. But it’s clear some areas – your customer’s privacy being right at the top of the list – are a good place to take your time.

If you do have an issue, be proactive. Own up to the issue and make it right for your customers. There’s nothing wrong with failing fast online. Just be prepared to recover as quickly.

What do you think? Can you fail too fast? Or is this just the reality of the web? Tell me what you think in the comments.

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I get asked all the time, “what’s the most amazing thing you’ve seen lately?” And I’m continually amazed by how often I have I am amazed. What amazes me:

• How quickly Twitter came from nowhere to offer us something this compelling we didn’t know we needed
• Facebook – ditto
• Last.fm.
• Flickr
• Google Reader’s new “Sort by magic” feature
• iPhoto and Picasa organizing photos by face

I could go on.

The point is, magic happens. Sometimes, as with The Beatles Sgt. Pepper or Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog, in the name of art. Or Art. And sometimes, as in the examples above, in the name of commerce. But always in the name of taking people – your listeners, your viewers, your customers – somewhere new. Teaching them something. Making their dreams real.

Seth Godin once listed how you can be remarkable, which is very much the same thing. The key to both: put aside your fear. Tell it to come back tomorrow. Today is for magic.

And if you do it today, why not tomorrow, too?

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Which is more important to building your brand:

• Your marketing?
• Your customer service?

To Conversation Agent’s 7 sins of customer service, I’d add the First Commandment of Marketing and Customer Service: Customers don’t care what your marketing says. They care what you do.

Case in point: I had a credit card stolen last week. My main personal card, no less. I use it every day, for common purchases like parking, lunch and groceries to less frequent purchases like family vacations and big-screen TV’s. I pay it off almost every month in full and redeem my rewards regularly, so I know the company isn’t making huge money on me, despite how frequently I use the card. But, I do occasionally carry a balance, so they’re not going broke, either. They snail me and email me all the time, telling me how valuable a customer I am, encouraging me to buy more stuff, take advantage of their rewards and transfer additional balances. The card issuer even calls it a “Platinum Plus” account. Between all the attention and the “Platinum Plus-ness,” I expected to be treated like royalty. Boy, was I wrong.

I called my card issuer and followed their phone tree for lost/stolen cards, only to get a recorded message stating all systems were down. And then they disconnected me. So I called again. Same thing. After a quick check of the GetHuman database, I called a third time, pressing “0″ repeatedly in hopes of getting an operator. And I was getting pissed. But, I expected that, as Platinum Plus Boy, they’d make it right once I got to a person. Um… right.

The customer service representative who answered opened with, “Welcome to Big Card Issuer, can I provide you superior service?“

I fought the impulse to respond, “I doubt it.”

I’m sure that sounded like a great line when their marketing folks wrote it. But it was the last thing I wanted to hear right then. Particularly since, as you’re about to learn, they actually had no intent of providing it.

I explained my situation, that my main card, one I used every day, was stolen and that I needed a replacement ASAP. The agent told me it was no problem, they’d close that account and happily send me a replacement card. In 7-10 business days.

Did I happen to mention that I use this card every day? Doesn’t their account system tell them this?

I explained that wasn’t acceptable and I’d need the card sooner. The agent replied they’d be happy to expedite it and send me a new card in 2 business days. For a fee of $35.

What?!?

I asked why they charged me – Me! Platinum Plus Boy! – a $35 dollar fee. The CSM’s response: “As it’s not our fault your card was stolen, any expedite fees get charged to you.”

I couldn’t help myself. I bellowed, “How is limiting my access to your service for 7-10 days or charging me $35 for more timely response superior service?“

The response? “I’m sorry, sir. That’s the best I can do.”

After much back and forth – including asking to speak with a supervisor and being told none were available as it was late on a Sunday – I decided the $35 wasn’t worth it to me. And, as their actions showed, I wasn’t worth the $35 to the company. I’m now using a different card for my daily transactions and soon will use another for my larger purchases.

I recognize why it’s important for companies to decide for themselves whether someone is a valuable customer or not. I do it mysefl all the time. And maybe this issuer feels that I’m not profitable enough, what with all my crazy paying off the monthly balance most of the time. That’s OK. But then don’t give me the impression that I am a valuable customer. Don’t give me a “Platinum Plus” card. Don’t contact me twice a week with offers telling me how valuable I am as a customer. And don’t ask me if you can provide “superior service” if you don’t plan to. Because when your marketing and your customer service don’t connect, you fail at both.

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