Mitch and I get together for our monthly "debate". In this episode, we talk about Jet Blue's CMO Marty St George's twitter test to ascertain his agencies' digital savviness. We use this as a leaping off point to discuss the future of traditional agencies in an ever digitizing and socializing world.
Perhaps the big winner at this year's Super Bowl was Pepsi, scoring a P.R. coupe by pulling *out* of the Big Game and reallocating their dollars to community/cause related efforts.
That said, the irony of ironies here is that the idea and execution itself is so good that it *should* have been on the Super Bowl.
Put differently, when we have the platform, we have nothing to say and when we have something to say, we don't have a platform. Go figure...
Thank you to HP for sponsoring this show. In addition to their Employee Purchase Program (see below), you can also participate in their very worthy Create Change program. In a nutshell, for every purchase you make at the Direct Store, HP will donate 4% of the total product purchase to support a range of charities in the areas of conservation, education, enrichment systems, healthcare support, disaster recovery and the battle to fight poverty. These charities include: WWF, Junior Achievement, American Red Cross, CARE, Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish Foundation®, and DonorsChoose.org
You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:
Thank you to HP for sponsoring this show. In addition to their
Employee Purchase Program (see below), you can also participate in
their very worthy Create Change program.
In a nutshell, for every purchase you make at the Direct Store, HP will
donate 4% of the total product purchase to support a range of charities
in the areas of conservation, education, enrichment systems, healthcare
support, disaster recovery and the battle to fight poverty. These
charities include: WWF, Junior Achievement, American Red Cross, CARE,
Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish Foundation®, and DonorsChoose.org
You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program
(EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and
Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:
Xfinity is Xcruciating. It's like AT&T changing it's name to XCingular and then back to the Xat&t.
Instead of pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into convincing us you've changed (when in actual fact, you haven't), why not just change? Why not invest that money into better customer service and better customer experience?
Or if all else fails, just crowdsource it all.
Spread the word:
Share JJTV and FTF with Frank Eliason, your clients, co-workers, colleagues, friends and family
Tweet or RT: New JJTV - Comcast's new name Xfinity totally misses the spot. Here's why: http://bit.ly/9SZAXH
Thank you to HP for sponsoring this show. In addition to their
Employee Purchase Program (see below), you can also participate in
their very worthy Create Change program.
In a nutshell, for every purchase you make at the Direct Store, HP will
donate 4% of the total product purchase to support a range of charities
in the areas of conservation, education, enrichment systems, healthcare
support, disaster recovery and the battle to fight poverty. These
charities include: WWF, Junior Achievement, American Red Cross, CARE,
Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish Foundation®, and DonorsChoose.org
You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program
(EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and
Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:
Update: Marty has since contacted me via DM on Twitter (although he's not following me back). Nice one, mate! See you in the friendly skies (or in Queens)
It was an innocent tweet and to Marty's credit, he responded quickly and with the same cheek, personality and tone that is very much "on brand". In other words, he did a great job with a Mea Culpa that was a little irreverent and self deprecating (my personal recipe)
So in the same spirit, I thought I'd share some thoughts and feedback with Marty on his approach and more importantly his hypothesis or experiment. I would've tried 140 characters or less, but there's already a pun for that.
For starters, you don't need to learn anything from agencies (at least the traditional ones); they could learn a lot from you...after all you (Jet Blue) were the first brand (or one of the first) to amass 1,000,000 followers. That's a pretty sublime critical mass to tap into during both good and bad times.
Here's where the experiment goes a little pear-shaped though....
Current TV tried the Twitter experiment before and it blew up pretty badly in their face. I should know as crayon was one of the companies that jumped on the bandwagon and although we ended up in the final shortlist...that shortlist ended up being sucked into the black hole of inaction.
Here's my biggest concern...having an agency exec or two on Twitter means nothing. What you really want to be testing (in the NARROW context of Twitter alone as a proxy of digital savvy) is the following:
How long have they been on twitter? Not measured in days, weeks or months...but years
How many followers do they have? Sure, it's easy (REALLY easy) to game the system, but newbies wouldn't know that
How active are they? Are they ascertaining the full breadth and depth of Twitter's potential and possibilities first-hand (like customer service) or reading about it on an analyst report or in Ad Age?
How many people in their agency follow suit? Does the agency employ a smoke and mirrors misdirection of having one or two very public personas that "get it", but behind them...they are as sparse as an AT&T 3G map
How do they stack up in the other digital, social and emerging platforms, spaces, hubs and communities?
And what's their staying power and track record like with the stalwarts of the conversational space like the lowly "blog" for example?
Unless of course the goal was more of an elementary due diligence process which any teenage daughter about to go on a date can teach her inept father (present company not included) as she Google's her would-be suitor (remember, the curfew is 10pm or else!)...in which case: mission accomplished.
My biggest concern is that you're bypassing your digital agency (which you crowed about), which perhaps should be awarded an elevated status or higher strategic position. Or perhaps you should consider the conversational marketing (or ugggh, social media) solution that is as horizontal as it is vertical.
What you don't want is an AOR that mentions the word, "twitter" in the body copy because that's where the puck is right now, insists on augmented reality as the Killer App and whilst we're on the subject, lives and dies by FourSquare (although a travel related brand does have obvious synergies). Trust me, it'll come..
To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure there are many newcomers (digital, social or otherwise) that have enough experience building world class brands, but then again....I'm not sure that building brands today looks (or works) anything remotely like it did in the very near past. One thing I do know is that it's pretty tough to find the optimal balance between digital and social natives AND the experience, tenure and maturity capable of finding its role and place in the integrated mix - possibly even to lead the entire process.
If you're asking my opinion (and you kind of are as you put it out there in the public domain), focus (or continue to focus) on customer service, customer experience and proving out how "retention is the new acquisition". That's the subject of my new book, Flip the Funnel: How to use existing customers to gain new ones".
Also continue to innovate from the front like your Entertainment-for-all offering and stay true to your democratization of the flying experience (equal rights for all).
You're even included in it with your proactive "Customer Bill of Rights" which followed your infamous Valentine's Day incident (itself included in my second book, "Join the Conversation")
And don't worry, I'm not trying to sell you the book. In fact, I'll send you (and any colleagues you'd volunteer) a signed copy. Just DM me your physical address and I'll ship a copy off to you.
As for your search for your AOR, best of luck. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't personally interested in the brand's journey and evolution...my recently acquired company worked on American, I fly over 100,000 miles a year and am what you call, an obsessed frequent flyer and "road warrior", and as you'll read in the book, I've been studying the airline business for a while now (the book includes anecdotes, case studies and insights associated with Southwest, American, United, Delta, Virgin America and of course yourselves)
So just stay in touch...especially now that you're one of my 18,000 friends.
P.S. I'm also flying Jet Blue again....as AUS and IAD are on my more frequent destinations of late. Bring back the Blue Terra Chips
There's an auto brand called Toyota. Maybe you've heard of them. This episode talks about the importance of having a "direct dialogue with ones customers" ESPECIALLY during times of need (or even crisis)
There's also an interesting follow-up in terms of how Toyota are reacting and trying to "move forward".
Thank you to HP for sponsoring this show. In addition to their
Employee Purchase Program (see below), you can also participate in
their very worthy Create Change program.
In a nutshell, for every purchase you make at the Direct Store, HP will
donate 4% of the total product purchase to support a range of charities
in the areas of conservation, education, enrichment systems, healthcare
support, disaster recovery and the battle to fight poverty. These
charities include: WWF, Junior Achievement, American Red Cross, CARE,
Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish Foundation®, and DonorsChoose.org
You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program
(EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and
Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:
If you haven't subscribed yet, what are you waiting for? The first 1,000 subscribers will win a chance for a free webinar, an HP Netbook or 25 copies of "Flip the Funnel". Subscribe here.
In a newish feature, I'll be giving you a sneak preview of upcoming episodes (order and theme subject to change):
JJTV #75 - Toyota recall redux
JJTV #76 - x(Finity) marks the spot of a missed opportunity for Comcast
JJTV #77 - Google and the Super Bowl â Hit? Miss? Or both?
JJTV #78 - Pepsi & Refresh Everything (even the Super Bowl)
JJTV #79 - Keynote for a Cause
JJTV #80 - Grammy Fail
JJTV #81 - AT&T attempts to Flip the Funnel with new iPhone App
JJTV #82 - iHAGE/ iHABE
JJTV #83 - Sour Grapes (are there truly any new ideas?)
JJTV #84 - One Fish Two Fish
JJTV #85 - Leave it to Beaver (Vodafone rogue tweet)
JJTV #86 - The real Web (Burger King and Tony Stewart)
Thank you to HP for sponsoring this show. In addition to their
Employee Purchase Program (see below), you can also participate in
their very worthy Create Change program.
In a nutshell, for every purchase you make at the Direct Store, HP will
donate 4% of the total product purchase to support a range of charities
in the areas of conservation, education, enrichment systems, healthcare
support, disaster recovery and the battle to fight poverty. These
charities include: WWF, Junior Achievement, American Red Cross, CARE,
Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish Foundation®, and DonorsChoose.org
You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program
(EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and
Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:
RSVP: On this post, at the Facebook event page (so far according to the Facebook page, we have close to 90 confirmed attendees and 50 maybe's...but with the snowy weather, who knows what will transpire; we have capacity for about 125 or so)
Why: On my end, because you're my customer and you're special to me and if you need more of a reason, you'll get a signed book and get to network with some of the industry's finest :)
It's time. It's time to talk about my new book. Finally. It's time to talk about why retention is the new acquisition. it's time to talk about the new rules of customer service and how customer service can become THE key strategic differentiator. It's time to talk about the REAL role of social media.
It's time to ask this question, "what if we got it all wrong?" What if all of marketing was completely backwards? If 75% (or more) of our revenue comes from returning customers, why on earth are we only investing 25% (or less) against them? If 20% (or less) of our customers are responsible for 80% (or more) of our revenue or volume, why don't we know each and every one of these customers by name? What are we explicitly doing for them? Or just watch this video:
The other day my colleague, Greg Verdino (himself an author) basically said to me, "what the hell is going on with promoting your new book?" loosely paraphrased and translated as, "what the hell is going on with promoting your new book?" Or why haven't you done a thing to pre-sell and ramp up buzz etc about the book's release?
Actually until this post, I haven't even officially acknowledged the NAME of the book (with a dedicated post). Here's why:
There's way too much artificial hype, misdirection and fluff associated with books nowadays. When I began my author journey with "Life after the 30-second spot" in 2004/2005, getting a book deal actually meant something. Today, anyone with a budget can buy a book deal. Or anyone willing to pretty much whore out their integrity by including the word, "Twitter" in a headline gets published. Then there's all the "marketing" tactics hype and the fluff support from cronies (poorly veiled as community). I'm not going for any of this, this time round. I've done it before, but this time - more than ever - I want the content to speak for itself. And I want my readers to help me with the marketing as in "use your existing customers to gain new ones" (the book's sub-head), which brings me to...
I'm a big believer in "Using New Marketing to Prove New Marketing" (UNM2PNM) - in other words, letting the book's principles and practices market itself. One of the central messages in the book is, "instead of ending with the purchase, BEGIN with the purchase." Start with the narrow end of the funnel and build from there. Translation: it's less about a big bang and more about "slow and steady wins the race." That's what I'm doing this time round.
So what's the book about?
It's about the rise of customer experience; the new rules of customer service; the reinvention of retention, loyalty, CRM and service not as a passive, defensive, reactive and static "back office" funtion, but instead as a proactive, offensive, dynamic and "front office" strategic imperative.
It's about slaughtering one of the all-time sacred cows of marketing, the traditional marketing (and sales) funnel and replacing it with the flipped funnel.
It's about restablishing order, balance and equilibrium from a lopsided and disproportionate acquisition obsessed and heavy end to an optimized and self-fulfilling ecosystem which builds existing customers into the ongoing go-to-market process and strategy.
It's about merging customer service and word-of-mouth
It's about converting loyalists and advocates into evangelists, influencers and ambassadors
It's about winning in a recession by recognizing that without our customers, we have no business; and without our employees, we have no way of doing business (there's a dedicated chapter on the importance of flipping the funnel for employees)
It's about A.D.I.A.
I could go on, but hopefully that's enough to get you hungry enough to find out more.
The book's foreword was written by The Consumerist's Ben Popken and the likes of Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, Best-selling authors Seth Godin and Jeffrey Gitomer, HP CMO, Michael Mendenhall and Panasonic's CMO, Bob Greenberg have endorsed the book.
Case studies include a host of very recent and topical examples, as well as a ton of unexpected and original illustrations including: Zappos, USAA, Virgin America, United (breaks Guitars), Domino's, Umpqua Bank, President Obama (he flipped the funnel and he may need to again...), Delta (Skelter), American Express (#fail), American Airlines, Hyundai, Best Buy, Panasonic, Comcast (cares), CustomInk, Three Wolf Moon, Coca-Cola and more.
Or just watch this video:
Here's a litany of information you might find useful:
If you're in New York City this Thursday, February 11th, come join me for a launch party and mixer at the Roger Smith Hotel from 6-8pm. More information here.
There's more....
I want the marketing thrust to come from "customers" i.e. readers i.e. hopefully you :) Here are a bunch of ways I'm going to be doing this:
"Bulk Sales"
Sounds crude, but in reality it's very much "on strategy" in the form of recognizing and rewarding my customers. So here's how it works: If you purchase...
75 books, I'll give you 1 x 30 minute telephone or VoIP Q&A about the book
250 books, I'll set up 1 x 1 hour in-person meeting (plus expenses) which can be Q&A book related or can be used for a general brainstorm
500 books, I'll provide a 1 x 1 hour webinar presentation with a 30 minute Q&A afterwards
1,000 books, you'll get 1 x in person keynote presentation (US/North America) plus expenses
1,500+ books, I'll hop across the border for a 1 x in person keynote presentation (international) plus expenses
There aren't many terms or conditions, but I will just call out the following:
This is obviously schedule permitting
My travel preferences are quite particular and I'll need them adhered to (it's a loyalty thing)
Any requests that involve travel to places like Japan, Australia, Russia, Brazil, South Africa etc. may involve a little more noodling (hell, you're far away!)
"Barnes & Noble (and Borders) Groundswell"
I'm not going to whine too much (more), but let's just say that most of the books you see on the "New Releases" and "Best in Business" section are 100% paid for placements. There's a sucker born every minute and I guess the old school publishers and buyers think you're dumb and I'm dumb. We're not.
So here's what I'd REALLY REALLY REALLY like you to do. Purchase your copy of "Flip the Funnel" in-store at a Barnes & Noble or a Borders. Specifically go in and pick it up and if there aren't copies available, order one. Or two. Or three. Or more.
And let me know about it...so I can let them know about it. As a thank you, I'll sign your copy (or copies for your clients, customers or colleagues perhaps) when I see you. I'll also acknowledge you on my blog or the book's website.
"I've reviewed the book"
There's no reason why "Flip the Funnel" shouldn't get more reviews than Twilight, Harry Potter, Good to Great or even "Three Wolf Moon". Why? Because I'm specifically asking you to review the book on a Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com site.
It's part of the "C" of Content Creation and Commendations in the 3-C Customer Activation Model
As I write in the book, I'd prefer an honest 4-star review over an empty 5-star review (although let me clear, an honest 5-star review is always best!)
When you've done this, please add yourself to the dedicated section on the book's site.
As an incentive (the "I" in A.D.I.A.), I'll pick one (or more) person randomly every month and give them something special (like a phone or meeting Q&A or even a guest slot on the Flip the Funnel podcast)
Of course you can still request a review copy via my publicist...
The Flip the Funnel Podcast
I haven't started it yet, but I promise to have the first episode out in February. This is the "D" of Dialogue in the Flipped Funnel. Every month, I'll tackle one chapter of the book and answer questions about the chapter in particular, but also general themes behind the book. Think of it like a Director's Cut or Commentary, except that you get to interact and participate as you wish.
"The Flip the Funnel Roadshow"
I'll be on the road soon. Dates to be announced. There will be meet-up or tweet-ups which ONLY people who have purchased the book can attend. This cuts right through Acknowledgement (of purchase), Dialogue (as in a delicious glass of Stella Artois), Incentive (see: Stella) and Activation (the community element).
New Keynote Material
I've also developed an entirely new set of material for keynote presentations (and based on reaction at MarketingSherpa's e-mail conference, this is resonating strongly) to complement my "Life after the 30-second spot" and "Join the Conversation" keynotes about new media innovation and social media respectively. If you want to book me for a speaking engagement, find out more here.
Here's a sneak peak at 3 new titles:
Flip the Funnel: How to use existing customers to gain new ones - In his keynote, Joseph Jaffe will outline how retention can become the new acquisition for businesses today and in doing so, literally transform the way companies go to market and establish a critical competitive edge and advantage. Using his new âflipped funnelâ methodology, Jaffe will outline the notion of customer experience, introduce the 10 new rules of customer service and present a social media-powered customer activation model that harnesses the true potential and impact of customer-generated word-of-mouth, reviews and referrals. If âgetting more from lessâ has become your new mandate, you wonât want to miss a new approach which presents the possibility of doubling your revenues whilst halving your budget in the process.
Retention is the new acquisition - For too long loyalty, customer service and relationship marketing have been thought of as passive, reactionary and/or defensive tactics. No more. In a world that is becoming ever more transparent, networked and dynamic, listening and responding has become a cultural imperative. But the real question is, âwith whom?â And the answer is an unequivocal, âour customersâ. In fact if you think about it, without our customers we have no business; we have no budget to invest in acquisition or awareness efforts. If this is in fact the case, why do we continue to throw good money after bad wooing strangers with no overt or explicit affinity towards our brand? Why do we relatively ignore our lifeblood â our customers? What would happen if we turn conventional business practices on its head and in doing so, elevate CRM, loyalty and retention marketing to head of the class; from back to front office; give it its deserved seat at the strategic planning table? What might the result be? Flip the funnel and youâll find out for yourself!
The new customer service - This is no longer your grandfatherâs customer service. With the explosive and exponential advances and evolution in technology innovation and adoption, companies have limitless opportunities to connect with their customers in unprecedented ways. No longer considered to be a cost center, but indeed a strategic imperative capable of building the business â efficiently and effectively â from the inside-out. Using a revolutionary âflipped funnelâ methodology, author and thought leader Joseph Jaffe will introduce and outline how customer service 2.0 â and its umbrella parent, customer experience â can become a powerful 1-2 punch capable of profoundly differentiating a brand from its competitors, establishing powerful relationships with customer evangelists and influencers and more importantly, arming this base with tools, techniques and incentives to spread word-of-mouth, recommendations and referrals to social networks, trusted peers and communities.
Flip the Funnel for your business - Powered by Powered
So far, pretty much every marketing exec I've spoken to has been incredibly enamored with the potential and possibility of implementing a flipped funnel methodology for their own business. Over the months to come, I'll be working closely with my new colleagues to develop and implement the book's vision, ideas and processes for key brand (perhaps even yours).
I think that's enough for now. Assuming you've even read this far. Can you tell how energized and passionate I am about this subject? It's my third book and feels the closest to the "truth". They say there's no silver bullet in marketing, but honestly....I think this just might be it!
What are you waiting for? It's time to Flip the Funnel. Now!
PS The idea of doubling your revenues WHILST SIMULTANESOULY halving your marketing budget is both anecdotal and aspirational, but I don't think it's far fetched at all.
to the reincarnated and reinvigorated Jaffe Juice.
What was once a weekly op-ed column is now an unshackled, uncensored and uninhibited dialogue
on the subjects of new marketing, advertising and creativity.
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