Process + Brand = Experience

You, too, can improve your organization’s customer experience 100% with a positive attitude (for free!). My expeirence at the post office.

I used to hate going to the post office. I have had a number of bad experiences and long wait times. I used to say going to the post office was like going to the Department of Motor Vehicles - it’s slow, the people are miserable, there’s too much paperwork, it gets confusing, and if feels like you just gave a part of your life away after waiting in line (often up to an hour).

This time I had to go to the post office to drop off my tax returns. I, again, was dreading going. I feared the line, the wait, the frustration. 

But I had a completely different experience at the post office. Like, 180 degrees different. I was pleasantly surprised and couldn’t believe how great it was. 

When I walked in, an official (possibly a manager) came over to ask me what I needed. I told him I wanted to send my package certified mail. He pointed out the form on the counter and told me what to do. I was a little confused at all of the help (I’m not used to this at the post office. This was a new experience). The postmaster (I think that was who it was) let me borrow his pen so I could complete the form and get in line. I then went to the next open clerk at the counter to send my package. 

People were smiling and laughing. I commented that I wanted to go back and use the post office again. Heck, I almost bought stamps to send letters again (I used to send letters all the time. I stopped because the USPS experience became difficult - even to get stamps.). Of course, the postmaster said we hope you come back. (He gets it!)

I was in and out of the post office, successfully sending my envelope, in 10 minutes. In the past, this same task would take me up to 20-30 minutes. It was productive and a positive experience.

All that was a result from a shift in attitude from the management and employees. A positive, energetic attitude costs nothing. This new addition to that USPS location turned into a 100% free upgrade in the customer experience. 

(It’s a lesson many companies could take to improve their own experiences.)

To further explain why the experience was so great, I'll use the help of the 10 characteristics of great experiences (it's actually 9 of them with a recent 10). 

1. The customer feels supported. Someone helped me find the right form, complete it and process it. I didn't feel like I was trying to figure out what to do alone. Someone was available to help me. Actually, many people were available to help me. Sometimes in business, we think that automating knowledge (putting it online in a knowledgebase or FAQ) is the solution for assistance. It can help, but especially for in-person and live environments, this doesn't help. Having a person available to answer questions makes a world of difference. The challenge at the USPS was always that the person who could help was at the counter. That didn't help productivity and caused long lines. Having someone available before the counter helped customers to be prepared before the counter. Now I could see a postal clerk prepared with me ready to pay.
2. The customer doesn't feel pressured. I did feel a little pressured when I came in because I wasn’t used to getting so much help at the post office. However, they didn’t rush me and let me take my time. I could have decided to choose a different product to send the envelope and I would have gotten help. I felt like I could ask questions or change my mind. It was very liberating.
3. The customer feels secure and confident in his or her decisions throughout the process. Usually at the post office I’m confused in general - too many forms and products to choose from. The individuals working there helped me make the right decisions through the process. Their confidence and positivity helped me feel confident. It's catchy! I knew they had it under control.
4. The customer feels that he is experiencing progress - whatever that may mean. I got through the line quickly (there wasn’t really a line, so to speak), got to the counter and someone helped me get what was needed. I felt like the process went smoothly and I wasn't held up without a good reason. And I wasn't able to hold myself up in the process either with questions, challenges, or confusion. There was too much help available.
5. The customer feels a sense of accomplishment for an activity. I sure did when my taxes were on their way to the tax center in less than ten minutes! That was just great!
6. The customer feels informed - knowing all of the options available and understand that there are choices. I knew what I wanted but I felt like I could ask someone questions and get answers if needed. There wasn't a need that day.
7. The customer has a pleasant experience with it. Everyone was smiling - how could I not? The postmaster of the location had such a great attitude! So friendly and happy. That alone makes you want to return.
8. The customer feels it is easy to conduct business with this company.  I typically find the post office difficult to deal with because of the lines and the wait. And if I ask a question, I didn’t always get great advice. Until this time. They gave great help!  
9. The customer feels he can trust the store/site. I left feeling that was true. Again, it was part of the positive attitude, which also bring confidence and courage. The team at that USPS location all had confidence and 
10. Always exceed your customers’ expectations. That day, they more than exceeded my expectations. I’d say the post office reset my expectations. Now I know a great experience is possible and that I can return to that post office for a positive one. The only problem is that they have now set the bar so high, I am curious what the experience will be like round 2. If it's the same, in some ways, they have exceeded my expectations. When you experience something once, that's a fluke. When you experience something twice, that's a standard. I look forward to learning if this is the case.

Again, a significant experience upgrade can be made for free just from a shift in attitude. They created a great experience by being helpful with a smile. It's amazing how far positivity can go. Maybe I need to go buy more stamps? 

Marketing creates relationships...and then sales....but always success

Marketing has always been about building relationships with customers in the same way that advertising has always been about building market awareness. Sometimes, the marketing role may be misinterpreted as having similar responsibilities as sales, especially with the emergence of marketing automation, sales automation, and online stores. But in the end, sales people sell (and they build relationships - but more on that another day). Marketers should build a customer relationships.

 

(As an aside, online stores should be created by a team that includes technologists, sales people, product managers, and marketers. Marketers shouldn’t build a sales site alone.)

 

The problem that I think many organization have with marketing building relationships is how do you measure it (building relationships, that is)? That partially explains why marketing often focuses on online selling - selling is measureable. Honestly, it’s easier to demonstrate contributions and value through a click than it is to understand a perception, an emotion, affinity, and connection.

 

Rather than write about emotions and theory, I figured I'd explore how to make measuring successful relationships more practical.

 

How are relationships built in general?

• You build awareness
• You educate consumers about who and what the company is, the products that they offer, and the value they provide
• You create a sense of trust
• You determine if there is a match between needs and solutions, what’s in common, if there is a connection
• You start to build a relationship by understanding how to best work together

 

You build awareness

If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to see are hear it, does it really fall? 

 

The same is true with products. I hate the expression "if you make it they will come.” It's absolute rubbish. If anything, it’s overconfidence and arrogance at its best. Most people in the world aren’t waiting at the edge of their seats to get any company's product. Believe it or not, it's true for Apple too (ever notice how Apple builds hype before a product launch? How there are "leaks"? Or they have a big announcement? Or let you know something's coming?) Prospects may not even know they have the problem a company is solving. They need someone to reach out and tell them about their problem and its solution, introducing the ideas to them in some way. 

 

This is where PR, television ads, online articles, social media advertising and more happen. As a marketer, you reach out to your prospective audience/customers where they are. You get them to the forest to witness the tree fall.

 

This is true even in real-life relationships. You can’t make friends with someone if you haven't met him yet. To take this further, you can meet a lot of people but to find people you can be friends with takes finding the right people, or people who share similar values.

 

Measurements for awareness: 

This is where I think the problem happened with marketing - tracking the influence of an activity to a sale. Sure, there is a relationship between marketing activities and sales, but this isn’t a one-to-one relationship. There are many activities and interactions that lead to a sale. The key measurement for success, though, is to determine if you are reaching the right audience.

 

This is why personas matter. You can have many people liking your social media posts, reposting them, and more, but if you aren’t reaching the right audience, then you gathered a bunch of witnesses who saw the tree fall but can't share that news with others (they couldn't get to the right forest).

 

The best way to measure awareness isn't just getting someone's attention. It's about getting the right person’s attention.

 

You educate consumers about who and what the company is, the products that they offer, and the value they provide

What do you really sell? To answer that question, you need to ask yourself what is the problem your company is really solving? That’s what your prospects and customers care about.

 

The product you sell isn’t all that you sell. Sure, someone gives you money to own it, but you are selling value that the product will give them in their lives. You are selling what that product or service can do for someone, how it can improve their life or make life easier. 

 

And that’s the catch. Value is personal and hard to define. A device can provide value to someone by saving them time, energy, money - a number of things. But you need to balance that with what it means to your customer. What is their benefit with this value? What are the gains - and how will they use those gains?

 

Saving money can mean using that same money for something else (a hobby, a trip, clothing). Saving time could be put towards time with family or hobbies. Saving personal energy could be used for other projects. And the list goes on.

 

Your prospect needs to understand the value your company provides, the problem your product/service solves, what you do, and why you do it. And they need to understand all of this before considering having a deeper conversation about how this directly applies to them and purchasing.

 

And this works in real-life with friends too. You may choose a friend candidate from a pool of acquaintances, but if you discover that your candidate has very different personal values than you do, he or she may not be a match after all, right?

 

Measurement for education:

 

A success metric at this step is determining if a member of the target persona has a second, third, or more engagement with the company. The person returns to read the Web site, a white paper, the blog, another social media post. Achievements at this stage focus around a customer or prospect returning to the business to learn more. By returning to the site or blog, the prospect/customer is providing the company an opportunity to build rapport with them. 

 

What emerges from this step is a customer/prospect starting to see the company as a helpful expert. They should be starting to see the value the company can offer them.

 

 

Create a sense of trust

 

Trust is key to building any type of relationship. I have written a number of pieces on this. If a prospect doesn’t trust you, you won’t go far. 

 

Stephen Covey's analogy of the bank of trust/emotional bank account is completely accurate and applicable in all situations, especially between customers and prospects. 

 

To sum up what the emotional bank account represents is sharing experiences with someone else to learn about who they are. People can tell you who they are, but nothing beats learning who someone is by observing and witnessing their actions. Can you share a confidence with them? Can you have difficult conversations? Different perspectives? Respect the similarities and differences?

 

 

How can you build trust with a prospective customer?

• Let customers get to know your company through reviews - the good and the bad. People like to know how others experienced your company, how they see you and know you. Product and company reviews are a great way to get information and insights quickly.
• Get certified! Certifications are important. Certifications build credibility with customers. They provide that someone else besides you (and your mother) thinking your product is a solid solution that offers great value. 
• Consistent communication. Stay on point in your company's messaging and information. Being inconsistent in your message about what you sell, what your product does, and who you are doesn’t help a customer get to know you or trust you. Consistency builds trust. 
• Stay squeaky clean in the media. Have a positive reputation and image. What does the media have to say about your company and product? That makes a difference. That reflects your actions, which is also who you are. People also watch to see if you clear negative perceptions quickly and how you do it. It's not just the what - it's the how. How people and company do things tells you who they are.
• Take opportunities for shared experiences. Always. Always try to interact with customers directly. 

 

Measurement for trust:

 

How people in the world perceive you is a measurement of trust. When people call customer support and services, do they give your company the benefit of the doubt? Or is it accusatory? Do callers micromanage your staff? Or are they open to be updated?

 

What are their sentiments of your company on social media? In reviews? Does your company have many positive reviews?

 

What are the articles about your company in the media saying? Is it about corporate achievements? Or is it about failings? 

 

There are ways to measure trust. Trust may be an ooey-gooey sentiment, but you can find a way to show that your company is trusted by prospects and customers by measuring how they see you.

 

 

You determine if there is a match between needs and solutions, what’s in common, if there is a connection

 

Does what the company sell solve customer and prospect problem? Does it improve their lives? Does your customer or prospect even want to solve that problem?

 

Those are the questions that can determine if there is a match between the needs of a prospect or customer and your company. Both sides, especially the customer side, need to see and acknowledge the match. The customer needs to understand that they indeed have a problem, that the company's solution is necessary for their life to improve. 

 

This is where the initial stages of a partnership happen. And a partnership isn't only about a sale - it's how the company can help another company or person be successful.

 

In real life, you determine if there is a match with a prospective friend. You determine if you have shared values, if you share interests, if you share perspectives. Over time, you share experiences to get to know each other. Over time, these experiences determine if there is a connection, or a connection will build. 

 

How do you measure a connection?

 

We have officially reached the step between a prospect and customer and a company - lead gen! This step is less about a prospect/customer understanding what you sell. It's a realization that your company can help them solve their problem, that the company can help them improve their life, and the company can provide value to them in some way. At this step, the prospect/customer is admitting that they have a problem and they need help. 

 

 

You start to build a relationship by understanding how to best work together

 

When both sides realize that there is a match, they find a way to make it work. This happens during the sales discussion when both sides determine how the customer can best use the product. It’s at this step that someone wants to trial use your product, see how it works in their systems, see how it benefits them. This is the step right before the sale - and right after.

 

In real-life, this is the step where a friendship and relationship really builds. It's when both sides come together and see that they can create something bigger than themselves.

 

A relationship is something bigger than its parts. This is true for a corporate partnership, a marriage, a friendship. But how do you measure this?

 

Case studies and stories - the stories can be from employee wins as well as corporate wins. Relationships are about collaborations that push people forward. That's how you measure success. 

 

And failures? What about them? Well, there are really no failures. There are learnings. There are areas for improvement. 

 

As long as value is perceived, there is success, and people want to know about it.

 

 

 

In the new world where the lines between online and offline experiences are blurred, we'll be returning to building customer relationships like we did long ago. It's so important to build a relationship with your customer. Even if that customer or prospect doesn't become a lead, that person could refer others to your company and solution. A sale is a result of a relationship, and given that relationships aren't linear, who knows where any relationship will lead. Well, we do know - relationships always lead to success in some way.

 

Your business may win markets, but does it win customers? Customers are won through their hearts.

 

I loved the movie Gladiator because I could relate to the character Maximus. He was a loyal lieutenant, good at his job, influenced his team, and had a tight bond with his leader, Marcus Aurelius. And then Marcus's son killed him and forced Maximus to support him. When Maximus refused, the son killed his family and then left him to die.

It's a story about loyalty, betrayal, and in a way, business? Yes, business.

In business, we deal with power, loyalties, betrayals. We don’t kill people and their families, but the decisions managers and leadership make do impact a family's livelihood. And sometimes those decisions can have devastating impacts when former employees can’t find new work. These employees may be in a dying industry or coming from a company that’s so messed up people question their judgement for working there, or any number of factors.

A while back, I saw being in business as being similar to a soldier in the military. The business books I read, from Sun Tzu's Art of War to the 48 Laws of Power, often referenced military strategy, specifically Chinese military strategy (which is brilliant by the way). I related to Maximus because I experienced something similar in a work situation regarding loyalties and betrayals. I don't think it helped that I was often referred to as a “loyal lieutenant” by some managers in that company. Watching the movie again and again helped me resolve these mental and emotional conflicts. 

 

War as metaphor 

We don't realize how often we use war as a metaphor for business. There are ethical challenges of this, as well as the dangerous "play war" mentality that can result when such dangerous analogies are made. When we make such comparisons, in a way we are disrespecting the military. We are belittling what war is about and represents. Profits vs life and death. I think the soldiers have more difficult choices.

One of the adverse effects of this perspective in business - we consider our competition as adversaries and use this language to describe them, referencing ancient war to create strategies to dominate them and the industry. In some ways in business, we start to act as if markets were continents in a game of Risk. Yes, we look to not just dominate, but obliterate our competitors. It’s like business has assumed a different type of battlefield.

With these analogies, we are trained to see business through war-like eyes, but is business really a type of battlefield? Or is it a way for people to connect, build relationships, have conversations, and achieve something greater than themselves?

This is artwork from The Dallas Entrepreneur Center, on the second floor in one of the conference rooms. It's one of my favorite pieces that they have from this artist.

Businesspeople often have difficulties with collaboration yet not with competition. Doesn’t that seem odd and counterintuitive? Then again, we are trained to annihilate the competition like a general would an adversary on the battlefield. What I think we forget in business is that without competition, we wouldn’t have a problem to solve, a product to create and improve, or be part of an industry. Competition allows our business space to exist. Competition then makes us better. It helps us see how we are unique compare to others.

When it comes to customers, the war-like analogies often continue. Customers are seen as pawns to be won for increased market share. They aren't people with problems who need help; they are bottom line numbers counting towards success. When marketers are confused because customers have no loyalty, I often chuckle to myself. Usually these culprits don't have relationships with their customers. I want to ask these marketers:

• Did your company see them as anything other than a bottom line figure?
• Were they people with problems and needs, looking for solutions and a better life?
• Do you know who your customers are? Do you even like them?

Business should be moving towards collaboration, but the militaristic tone stands in the way of this transition and mental shift. The "play war" mentality in business may win markets, but it doesn't win customers. We can never forget that in the end, customers are people - their hearts are won through relationships, not a successful battle.

The 10th Characteristic of Great Customer Experiences: Always exceed your customers’ expectations.

 

Always exceed your customers’ expectations. It’s not one of the 9 Characteristics of Great Experiences but it probably should be. So let’s add a 10th.

And the reason why you want to exceed your customers’ expectation is that you want to reset them. You want to show them how it is really done. That’s what makes an experience memorable. And as an added benefit - memorable experiences build loyalty.

Expectations are learned.
We are born not really expecting anything. I think a baby expects someone will feed it and care for it, but there is no expectation for how that happens. Many of us grow up in dysfunctional households and don’t question them until we are older because we don’t know what a healthy family looks like when we are born. It’s not part of our innate or intuitive knowledge. To us, our immediate family is our reality. It’s all we know and it’s perfectly fine. We later learn how to appreciate our family (or see how ridiculous it is) by comparing to others and seeing how they work.

Expectations work the same way for consumers
Let’s consider expectations people have for companies regarding product quality, service, and sales materials. What we expect as a customer experience with a company is defined by other companies. We learn how to interact with companies based on past experiences with companies we know. Some companies “ruined” it for others in the industry. Consumers now expect 2-day free delivery because of Amazon Prime. Google made searching on the Web easy - enter a phrase into a textbox and find what you want and need in less than a second. 

If you think about expectations and how they are established, they don’t really come from us. They come from all around us. And they are based on those experiences that we remember (good or bad).

Exceeding expectations leads to loyalty.
Let’s talk a bit about Stephen Covey’s bank of trust or emotional bank account. You make a deposit into someone’s bank of trust account through actions and deeds. That person starts to build trust with you. Then if you do something damaging - say the wrong words, do the wrong action - there is sentiment available to rebuild a relationship. The person will see the damaging event as an isolated or unique incident. However, if the balance continues heading towards the negative, well, you get the idea.

Loyalty occurs when a company deposits into your bank of trust. But not just any amount of good deeds and keeping their word - it has to be significant. Over the top. Loyalty is built when customer expectations are exceeded at least once. Exceed expectations more often, and loyalty is further established and cemented. Brand loyalty comes from consistent behavior. But the switch for being loyal happens faster and deeper when somehow the brand experience exceeds expectations.

Here are 3 examples of where companies exceeded expectations and I feel greater loyalty to them.

Apple

I had to wait a long time at Apple Computer to pickup a pre-ordered $30 cable. It was to charge my phone and tablet. And I really needed a new cable. My existing cable looked like a small mouse had a snack. I had a lot going on with work and school, so it took me a week to pick it up from the Apple Store. I got to the Apple store and told one of the greeters that I needed to pick up my $30 cable. I figured I’d be in an out of the store in seconds.

I got to the desk for pickup and two people were picking up computers, so the wait took a while. Like 15-20 minutes. For a $30 cable.

I was close to leaving and coming back when it was less busy. I didn’t blame the Apple employees. They were busy being focused on the existing customers and providing them the type of service that Apple typically gives customers. They were great! I didn’t blame the customers. They were buying new computers - they were super excited and wanted the help. However, I tend to get impatient in these situations and fantasize about better ways to fix these situations. I started to wonder if Apple should have a pickup counter so I could get a product and scan out quickly. I could see it now - you can go to a counter, wait to pickup your item, get it scanned and go.

As I was considering logistics in detail, I finally got to the counter. And who did I find? A lovely young man who helped me a few weeks earlier. We remembered each other because we had an awesome conversation about customer experiences and relationships.

He mentioned to me that he was doing something different. I was puzzled but we were catching up and having a great conversation, so no matter.

A few minutes later he told me he refunded my original order and got me a cable for free. He said I shouldn’t have had to wait 15 minute to get a $30 cable.

Believe it or not, I fell in love with Apple again. More loyal than ever. I didn’t expect that.

 

Massachusetts Secretary of State exceeded expectations

I had to get my diplomas Apostilled for school. Attending a university outside of the US teaches you a lot not just about other cultures, but how other cultures approach systems like school. An official university degree from Spain includes a signature from the king. To get that, you needed to provide your diplomas, but you need to submit authentic diplomas. Because I had a US diploma and because of various agreements and treaties, I needed to submitted an Apostilled diploma.

The thought of doing this made me shudder because I’d have to deal with the mail and government agencies. And in the US at least, they tend not to move quickly. When I thought about the USPS, waiting in line, waiting for documents, needing to track these documents when standard mail doesn’t do that - I was scared. Then I read about the Apostille process in the Massachusetts Secretary of State and saw it took 2-3 weeks. Ugh. To me, it was a lot of paperwork that could take months.

I procrastinated starting this process because I was afraid of the bureaucracy. But there was the appeal of an official degree. That had a higher priority for me. I realized I had some time and possibly could make the deadline, so I tried to make the deadline.

I was confident that I’d get copies of my Simmons diploma notarized to use in time. That wasn’t a problem. I wasn’t confident of the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

But they surprised me.

They post on their site that they have a 2-3 week turnaround time for these documents. It was in a rush so I sent it via 2 day mail UPS. They received my document and returned it in a single day. A single day.

I was so surprised!

Then, because I got a copy of my diploma rather than Apostille my existing diploma, I could send it directly to the school and get my official university degree. And yes, I am getting that degree in April 2018.

 

UPS

Part of my Apostille story includes UPS as well. I worked through them because I didn’t want to wait in long times at the USPS or FedEx or pay the ridiculous rates of FedEx.

Why I love UPS? They are a little cheaper than FedEx in my opinion. And they have a 2-day option. We have been brainwashed to believe that overnight is the only way to go. But is it? I realized quickly that a 2-day option usually does the trick, especially if you are mailing something on a Thursday or over a long weekend. People tend not to work on Fridays anyway; Monday works just as well.

And they were able to find me a great rate for shipping to Spain when I had all of the paperwork together. Yes, I decided to ship thru UPS to track my package to Spain. It worked like a charm. I didn’t just get my documents to Spain in time - I got them there with 4 days to spare.

Why is this so surprising for UPS? Shouldn't this be normal UPS? Not for me. I had a VERY negative perspective of UPS about 6-7 years ago. I lived in an apartment that had a front door and no concierge desk. If I order from an online retailer and if they shipped it via UPS, and I wasn't home to receive the package, UPS would hold the package for me. This meant that I'd have to pick up the item at a UPS delivery location that was not conveniently located near my home. And I had to pick it up within 2 weeks. That doesn't sound like too much of a hassle, but it can be if you can only pick up a package between 9am and 5pm weekdays. Most people work during those times. And with the 20 minute commute each way, the errand took an hour. As a consultant, that's an hour I couldn't charge a client during business hours. Getting a package delivered via UPS wasn't convenient at all. I tried to avoid it at all costs.

 

UPS and Amazon

A great innovation has been developed between UPS and Amazon regarding Amazon’s returns. You no longer need to print anything for an Amazon return. Go to your local UPS store with a QBR code, let them scan it, and UPS will print a sticker for you to return your goods. It costs a dollar. Soon, I see this being the free option. It’s so easy! The challenge is the mobile connectivity in the store, but I’m sure that will change over time.

Amazon and UPS keeps working to make returns easier. This is why I shop with them. 

 

What do all of these experiences have in common?

They didn’t only exceeded expectations - they reset my expectations. No lines. Single day turnaround vs 2-3 weeks stated on a Web site. Free items when I had excessive wait times for something small. None of these occurrences were anticipated or expected. They were a surprise. I doubt I will expect these events to happen again. They were unique experiences. However, there is the possibility that it could happen again in extreme circumstances. And they demonstrated how a company should be treating me and my business.  

It's beyond convenient. It's about being friendly. Why not print a label at UPS? Why not turnaround stamping a document in a day? Why not be a friend and make sure that a letter gets to its destination quickly. In those experiences, I felt like the companies were being allies in my goals and activities. They were part of my success.

They built loyalty immediately because they exceeded expectations and deposited warm feelings into the bank of trust. They exceeded expectations in all cases. 

I guess exceeding expectations - and resetting what I should expect from companies - worked.

Use empathy on support/service calls to build connections, improve someone's day, and create a great experience

We talk to sad, angry, grumpy, stressed, even hysterical people at work every day. But how can you help them solve their problems, shift their mood, and maintain your own mood at the same time?

Doesn't seem like it should be part of your job? If you work in customer service or in account management, believe it or not, it probably is. When a customer calls with a problem he or she needs resolved, most likely, that person is in a foul mood. People don't call customer service or support because things are going well. And when things aren't going well, people are emotional, and want someone to help them solve their problem.

Somehow, you need to provide them with a great experience. And that experience includes emotional support, too.

What's also difficult is that these types of interactions often happen over the phone, and virtual interactions are hard. You can only hear their voice; you can't see their faces. That means that it's easy to hide emotions. Further, only solving their problem may not calm them down. That's one part of it, but there may be more to it.

Success in these situations lies in exercising empathy. Here's how I handle these situations so that I can build a connection, develop a relationship, get an issue resolved, and resolve the emotional distress:

Step 1: Build rapport and a relationship with who is calling me. Before we get to business, we learn a bit about each other, talk about the weekend, our hobbies, and similarities. We build some social common ground. Although it sounds trite, talking about the weather or a movie can create a connection between people. If the person calling me for a solution is upset, this tactic can diffuse the tension a little bit, distract the person from their emotions for a few minutes, and changes the dynamic to go from someone needing help to two humans talking to each other. Being on the phone by its nature makes us anonymous. We need to shift from anonymity to connectedness.

Step 2. Get to business and learn about the problem. After some conversation, I find out why the person is calling and hear their story. I listen to them. Really listen. I learn what happened, how it happened, and why it needs to be fixed. I listen to find out how they are feeling about the problem, hearing emotional nuances over the phone. You can learn a lot about a person if you listen to them. Julian Treasure has a lot of information about listening. There's more here. And more here in the virtual team presentation too. And it helps you to communicate with someone better.

Step 3. I then ask why that person called to fix the problem. What's his motivation to make the call and get the issue fixed? According to Srini Pillay, fear may motivates us, but not in the way many think it does. We aren't motivated by the fear of missing out or not solving a problem. We are motivated by our own internal value system. This is different for everyone - some are motivated more by keeping their personal relationships, their job, their home and car, helping their children succeed. I try to learn what's driving someone's decisions - what's the factor behind why they make the decisions they do. And why they need the problem fixed.

Step 4. I consider past experiences I have had and how they are similar to what this person is experiencing now. I try to find an experience from my life that will relate to what this person is experiencing. Some things I will look for when I remember an experience that is similar to what this person is experiencing:

1. I identify an experience that has a similar situation - not exactly the same, but from the same theme. For example, if someone calls looking for a solution to a problem because a large mailing was distributed with an error, I think about times where I had a very public error. I may not have had the same exact event happen, but I need to consider a similar situation in my life (it may be on a smaller or larger scale from my perspective, doesn't matter. I need to reference it for the emotions of it - see next step.)
2. Then I remember the situation and events, but mostly I recollect how I felt at that moment. I'll remember the embarrassment, the nervousness to correct the problem, the pressure from my manager. It helps me frame how I communicate with the caller. I remember the types of statement that may have felt like attacks when they are simply comments. Or statements that felt critical and personal when they were factual. 
3. Put myself in the right frame of mind to communicate with the person calling me. I will start communicating with this person as I wish someone would have communicated with me when I was in a similar situation. I think about the mood the person is in, the mood the person probably wishes he were in, and what I can say to help that person get into a better mood. I focus more on the emotions of the situation and try to help the person shift how they see the situation. Sure, a blunder can be embarrassing, but at the same time, if you can see the humor in it, you may not feel so ashamed and unable to function. Or if you know that it happens to all of us. Or if you know that no one blames only you. I think you see my point.

Step 5. I help them resolve the issue (and get them to feel better about themselves too). 

• Avoid placing blame on the person calling. It's easy to blame someone for their problems. However, that doesn't solve the problem or make the person feel better about the issue. Instead, focus on the solution and talk to the person as you wish someone would talk to you in that situation. If the person has an issue that causes embarrassment, focus the conversation on removing the issue and remove the embarrassment. That, plus some fun, gentle banter, may help the person feel better by the end of the call
• Focus on the new result - not the present moment. We all feel horrible right now in the present moment with the problem. Focus everyone's attention and energy on the solution and new result instead. It gives everyone hope and changes the tone.
• Be positive and focus on the caller's personal strengths. Yes, you barely know this person. You only have been talking to that person for 10-15 minutes. But complement that person on what you are hearing about them right now. There is always something wonderful about someone new you meet and talk to - even over the phone. Complement their laugh, their insights, their creativity, their kindness. Comment on what's great about them. Your focus is to make that person see their greatness in a low moment.

Step 6: Wrap up the call. Make sure the person feels better. Or at least, sounds more positive and upbeat. Don't let people leave upset, even if you can't solve their problem on that same call. Give that caller some hope and a positive outlook that his situation will change and get better.

Leave people better than you found them. If you can resolve someone's issue, you have resolved half of the problem. If you can relate to the other person and make them feel better about their problem and life - you have done more than expected. 

Sometimes, people want to feel heard. And if you hear someone, empathize with them, and solve their problems, you have made a new friend and created a wonderful customer experience. Job well done!

Pulled pork, anyone? Why an informercial for a pressure cooker is so effective.

I was watching an infomercial for the PowerPressure Cooker while I was on the elipitcal the other day. I couldn’t find the remote at the gym to change the channel and got busy working out, so I started watching. I didn’t have the audio, but it didn't matter. The subtitles were on the screen and I was a captive audience for 30 minutes as I was eliptical-ing. 

 

 

 

Believe it or not, after about 15 minutes of watching the infomercial, I felt like I wanted to buy one. 

 

I didn’t need one. I don’t even use pressure cookers, really. So why did I feel the need to get it?

 

It was the customer relationship lifecycle.

 

 

 

Believe it or not, infomercials use tactics that follow the lifecycle during the ad, guiding you to understand the problems you have, present a solution, and encourage you to buy. 

 

How does it work?

 

The video opens by showing a family dinner. It’s something we all like and want to do more often. However if you have ever cooked such a dinner, you know that it can be overwhelming to prepare. The cutting, the chopping, the preparing, the steps to cook each item. And you want cleanup to be easy. The infomercial shows a bunch of cooking disasters - burned pasta, destroyed pans. I thought it was over the top (how many things can you burn?), but it made its point.

 

Cooking isn't always easy.

 

Then they host a chef to demonstrate all of the possible meals you can make using only this pressure cooker - from turkey to chicken to cornish game hens to rice to ribs to chili to wings and more. They show how many purposes it has. It’s pretty amazing! You can even make cornbread and an apple coffeecake with it. 

 

By taking you through the pre-purchase and the purchase decision steps, and by providing some information from post-purchase, if you didn’t think you needed this Pressure Cooker, you will by the end of the 30 minute show. 

 

How they address Pre-Purchase: 

• They define a problem you may have, and figure you'll probably relate to one of these:
  • Your need to make a famiy dinner with easy preparation and cleanup.
  • Your fear of not making certain dishes as good as you could (like rice, pulled pork, turkey). 
  • You find cooking difficult.
  • You think cooking takes too much time.
  • You want to eat healthier, more flavorful food.
  • If you don’t have any of those problems, then you may have a cleaning problem after cooking you’d like to solve or reduce.
• They describe and showcase what the product is and what it generally does.
• They also explain what pressure cooking is, it's benefits, and why you'd want to do it.
  • They explain the health reasons why pressure cooking is a better approach.
  • There is an explanation of the theory behind pressure cooking and how it works.

 

How they address the Purchase Decision

• They provide a solution to the problems outlined above. 
  • Some of the solutions are simply to use the product. 
  • They show how easy it is to cook almost anything.
  • They show how it's easy to make healthy, more flavorful food
  • They demonstrate how easy it is to clean, how it works for cooking. 
• Demonstrate how to use the product.
  • Because it’s a video, they can’t give a demo or have it available ot use in a showroom, so they cook with it. Sure, it’s a time elapsed cooking show only displaying the end products. But you get enough of an idea in the time elapsed story to understand how it works and what it can do. 
  • You fully understand the solution and its capabilities.
• They provide a sense of its size for you by placing containers for canning in it, demonstrating how much it can hold in comparison with other presure cookers.
• They compare the pressure cooker with rice cookers and other similar equipment onscreen. 
  • It's not an in-depth comparison. In the video, they demonstrate enough of a difference to show why the pressure cooker is a better choice/option.
• They don’t use customer stories because they have a chef onscreen doing a demo. In a way, that’s a customer story on it’s own.

 

Post-purchase

• They demonstrate how to clean it, maintain it, and how to store it.
• They post the price with directions how to buy it and own it.
• They mention the guarantee to show that buying it isn't a huge financial risk.
• They provide instructions and cookbooks to help you get started making these great dishes.

 

Yes, the infomercial touches on almost every section of the customer relationship journey except the product experience because you need to own the product for that. I think that’s why it’s so effective. 

 

You understand what you are getting into with your purchase, what problems you'd solve, what the solution would provide, and how it would benefit you. You could see what it would mean to own the product and how it would contribute to your life. There's no risk, it saves you time. At the end of the ad you understand what the product is and how it compares to other solutions. It's easy to make up your mind.

 

Oh yes, and the emotional connection is around food and making meals for your family. If you are challenged cooking and feel bad that you aren't a great cook, this will help. If you are in the pursuit of healthy cooking, this will help. It solves many fears.

 

After hearing how it’s 4 installments of $33, I’m still tempted to get one. I have nothing to lose. Pulled pork, anyone?

 

In a world of options - 2 is never enough. The flaw of dichotomies and the need for greater choice.

Let’s face it - binary decisions are easy. Yes or no. Left or right. Vanilla or chocolate.

 

Life gets complicated when you add the maybe, the forward, or the strawberry.

 

But are all decisions truly binary? No. I think we, as a society, like to believe that to keep things simple, or at least seem simple.

 

Is this the right approach for UX or marketing? Or is this desire to create situations where there are binary decisions an accurate reflection of life and the world around us? 

 

In UX we constantly try to create experiences where users choose what's best from a select few options. We construct paths and experiences with the business to make the choices simpler, often creating questions where there is a yes/no answer or multiple choices. But sometimes I wonder if, when we do this, we are creating a too simplistic view of the world and forget to consider expanded perspectives? 

 

There are some features that always appear in designs. One is delete or remove. I notoriously forget to include delete options in my designs. I often refer to that flaw as my personal signature design approach that reflects my optimism. I always wonder why would someone want to remove something when we always march forward. I sometimes forget that we all make mistakes and need an eraser. 

 

Similar to delete, all designs tend to include some type of exit or overall cancel button. People sometimes want to leave a process and not finish it. I have had some curious discussions with business types about the need to include an exit button. They don't want users to leave, but I have to remind them that at times, users want out. Maybe have an autosave feature associated with the app so no data is lost upon exit (and a version control feature to access earlier versions). But what if the user really does want to leave? You can't stop them and need to consider these types of perspectives.

 

What's ironic about me working in UX, creating experiences with a few multiple choice answers, is that I was horrible at taking multiple choice tests. I saw all answers as being possibilities and had a hard time choosing a single best answer. I'd always look at a question from different perspectives and see all of the ways each answer could work. I know I'm not alone in this style of thinking. (And this is why I really don't like multiple choice tests.)

  

I sometimes wonder if by constructing these simplified environments, I'm helping to create oversimplified experiences with answers or choices and options that fit ok. Am I creating a world with answers and solutions that provide the "right" fit?

 

Maybe complexity isn't so bad?

In marketing we do something similar. At first, we try to help prospects figure out what they should buy and encourage them to narrow down their options to one or two. There should be a period where marketers ENCOURAGE customers to think broadly and consider a number of options, even some unorthodox considerations. Some marketers wouldn’t agree with this approach. However, going wide helps prospects define their problem as well as find a solution and explore all options. Rather than rush a prospect find a solution, that just happens to be your solution, help him find the right solution for him. By doing that, you build trust and breaks down false dilemmas that just don't serve any purpose.

 

 

What's the origins of binary obsessions?

I think our obsession with binary choices lies in our culture. Let's face it - we are trained at an early age to consider choosing between 2 extreme, opposing choices:

• Religion: good and bad or God and Satan
• Sports: two teams and we make them extremes (AFL/NFL)
• Politics: two parties - and we highlight their differences rather than similarities.

Our analytical mind responds well to the 2 options and somehow, we have a tendency to make these types of choices an extension of our identity. Because we are choosing not just the best option, but the best option that reflects who we believe we are, our choice is more of a reflection of ourselves and our beliefs. Our choice becomes very personal, and therefore very emotionally connected to our identity. Our actions around that belief and choice become emotionally driven - something to defend at all costs.

 

Is that really a way to make good, logical decisions? Isn’t this now more about emotions driving decision making? Or is it emotions and facts?

 

Being part of the "right" side

For my undergraduate thesis, I studied Edward Albee's plays. I noticed a trend in each one:

• In the first act, he defined a society with rules and added an individual who didn't really fit into the society or follow the rules
• In the second act, the society kills the individual (in the plays, literally. Or those who don't fit in are dismissed and told to leave forever.)

In Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? the individuals who didn't fit into society adapted; they got to live. I wonder if this was Albee's way of commenting on society's treatment of people who are different, who don't choose the majority choice. He chose to illustrate this using an us/them situation (which it often is anyway).

 

And an us/them situation where one is right and the other is wrong to the majority group. No one likes to be wrong - on the wrong side of history, wrong about their perspective, wrong about their opinion. Enter perceived dichotomies or false dichotomies - the perception that there are only 2 options. One is right; the other wrong. However, there aren't only 2 options. Ever. There are 2 choices that are clear. Or more. But if you take a beat and consider all aspects of a situation, you'll see how many answers exist to the problem. There are dozens of choices. 

They are merely perceived dichotomies – divisions we project onto the world because of our perceptions and biases. For example, in the U.S. we divide people politically as Liberals and Conservatives, but the terms are so poorly defined it’s easy to find examples of people who have some liberal views and some conservative views.  

 

There are other important alternatives for defining a person’s politics (what do you want to liberate? what do you want to conserve? how do you think it should be done?), but the convenience of the false dichotomy of liberal vs. conservative hides them from consideration. The convenience of binary logic blinds us from how poor a foundation for thought it can be.

-- The false dichotomy of false dichotomies, Scott Berkun

 

In this world, there are few real dichotomies. It seems that we use the false dichotomy to make life easier, but in a way, we are making life more complicated because we aren't solving a problem. I wonder if we are being presented with potentially 2 wrong options to avoid getting a real solution. Is it more for social reasons? 

 

 

If we identify with a side, then we are identifying with a group and this becomes part of our identity. It is at this point when things get dangerous. If we rely on our group and community to validate our beliefs and our identity (which is emotionally tied and driven), we are relying on their knowledge for certain issues.  

The key point here is not that people are irrational; it’s that this irrationality comes from a very rational place. People fail to distinguish what they know from what others know because it is often impossible to draw sharp boundaries between what knowledge resides in our heads and what resides elsewhere.

This is especially true of divisive political issues. Your mind cannot master and retain sufficiently detailed knowledge about many of them. You must rely on your community. But if you are not aware that you are piggybacking on the knowledge of others, it can lead to hubris.

-- Philip Fernback and Steven Sloman, Why We Believe Obvious Untruths, New York Times

Are dichotomies (false or perceived) the best approach to take? The circle continues...

 

To bring this discussion back to UX. During usability testing, a number of participants would look to me for confirmation when they selected a button. They wanted to use the tool in the right way, as if it were a right or wrong way. It was like the test was a quiz. This goes back to either/or thinking and being right or wrong and that being tied to identity.

 

Is the Yin/Yang representation more accurate?

At first glance in eastern culture, there seems to be a dichotomy with yin and yang. In reality, the yin and yang are complementary but opposing forces creating balance. It’s a different take on dichotomies. It shows that the two are necessary for the world; you can’t choose one without having the other. You don't understand good without experiencing evil. You need vanilla to understand chocolate. 

What's affirming about this perspective shows that there isn’t really a wrong or right. Everything just is. This reflects the beliefs in ancient polytheistic religions. There was a group of gods who acted like humans. They did good and bad things. They represented different aspects of earth and life. No one was perfect. They all just "were." There was no one better or worse. They simply existed.

 

This comes back full circle to how people don't like to be wrong. In a false dichotomy culture, they are (like the usability test). In a yin/yang culture, they aren't. If we look at the world through yin/yang, every decision is an ok decision. There are better and worse decisions. It's more complicated than the dichotomy, but it's a more complete and accurate representation about the world. 

 

 

Options appear in conversations.

 

We brainstorm through conversations. We learn about new thoughts and ideas through conversations. Ideas are shared through conversations. More than two options appear through conversations.

 

There are many types of conversations. I did some research on this a while back and based on reading a number of articles, came up with 6 major types of conversations:

• Transactional - request an activity to be completed
• Informational - share and provide information/knowledge freely or by request
• Decision Making - come to consensus for a resolution
• Influential - provide information, knowledge, insights and perspectives to help someone make a decision
• Relationship Building - create a connection through the experience of learning about the other person (shared feelings and thoughts)
• Collaboration/Brainstorm - collaborate to create a solution or a new idea

Transactional conversations are more in line with either/or or choose one of these options. The other conversations have nothing to do with choice. They reflect discussions that drive consensus or understanding or build relationships. I've found from my experience that most conversations aren't transactional; they fall into the other categories. We don't really have a binary world in conversations. 

 

I think this is why the next step in interactions is conversations and using voice commands. We'd not only have greater intelligence built into our devices and computing, but we'd be able to accomplish more with our computers at our sides. It would better reflect how we work - less transactional, less choosing the right or best option and more exploring ideas and building connections. Humans are creators. We enjoy exploring options and ideas. We need to do more of that - not narrow our thoughts to what's "best."

 

 

When we construct experiences, it’s ok to be complicated. It’s our job to help guide people to make the best decision to achieve their goals. Sometime this means we need to encourage people to think more broadly about their problems, their issues, their challenges. We may need to have a relationship building conversation with them, talk about emotions and feelings, the goals of the conversation and what we want to achieve. Not every decision results in a single answer or a metric. There may be more aspects to consider about a problem or a process. And we should start raising those options and making them available in the UX (but do it in a clear and simple way).

 

Let's move away from dichotomies, or rather false dichotomies, and move towards conversations and looking at all options and possibilities. In this world, nothing is good or bad. It just is. If we started seeing all options, maybe we'd solve more problems and be open to more solutions rather than choosing a team and picking a side and trying to be right. Even when we use our apps. We don't need to look to our app creators to validate if we are right. We are right simply by our existence.

Communications is the future of UX

I've been noticing a convergence of social media, content strategy, and UX with the rise of mobile, IoT, and AI. 

The days of having a conversation with your computer is near! I honestly can't wait for it. I think it's going to be super exciting to observe the developments over the next few years. 

I decided to attend a blended executive masters program to get ready for this switch to content being emperor. 

Here's the article over at LinkedIn. Curious to hear your thoughts! 

What are some signs that you are on a "fake news" site?

We often hear how the election was impacted by "fake news," but what does that mean?

 

Lately we hear a lot about "fake news." But what does it mean? Where does it come from? I have outlined some of my thoughts about where we are getting political influence, and sadly, it may be coming from a new marketing approach gone wrong.

 

 

Let’s start with some background in content marketing

As most know, many companies use content to build trust with their prospects and customers by giving away free knowledge. They don’t give away the farm - it’s usually basic, introductory information, but enough to help someone know what they don’t know and get additional information.

 

However, content marketing can be used for less noble purposes. Most often that purpose includes pushing specific messages or perspectives to unknowing readers. An article may infuse opinions and editorial commentary among facts, making it seem authoritative and informative. Add some social media posts to show how many people agree with you, as if they are a source of truth, and you have what seems to most readers as a solid argument for your opinion. 

 

A number of news organizations have used a strategy like this in the past to “create” news (there was a rise of editorializing news on some networks because there just wasn’t enough news to talk about). I think we have learned that this approach typically confuses viewers and readers from understanding what’s a fact and what’s an opinion.   

 

So what is "fake news?"

Well, there are two types of "fake news":

1. Poor journalism. This includes when an article is not fact-checked, biased and opinionated. It also includes when an article reports on situations taken out of context or the report doesn't include the entire story (including backstory, which can change the perspective of a situation). Poor journalism also happens when, more recently, a journalist will turn a blind eye to a problem to get access to a leader for an interview. However, the more common case happens when a journalist will infuse his or her own opinion into news and editorialize, not being unbiased in covering. Or use a part of situation to support his own perspective (and leave out what doesn't support it).

2. Content marketing posing as news. There is a new breed of "fake news” that uses content marketing principles to influence readers to believe a certain way. It tries to appear as news, but it really isn’t news at all. It is content marketing for news and politics. 

 

I’ll be addressing the second type of news. The first type, poor journalism, can be determined by validating news sources. So if you see something outrageous in an article or headline, do a quick search and validate if what you are reading is true - or not. I recommend reading 2-4 publications per day to stay balanced, notice consistencies, and suss out the true story on your own. To stay informed you need to get a full picture of what's happening. Unfortunately, reading one news source won’t do it anymore.

 

How do you know if what you are reading is news or content marketing? Here are some signs to look for:

 

 

Click bait or sensational headlines

If you read a headline that sounds sensational, like something like it is from the National Enquirer or Star, it probably is. Anything that starts with, “You won’t believe,” or “Shocker:” or “Yuuuge!” probably isn’t all that shocking or "yuge" in the first place. If anything it’s alarmist. 

 

The goal of these headlines is for you to click on them and read the article. These publications are looking for clicks and page views. They aren’t concerned about the accuracy of the news they are presenting. They aren’t concerned about journalistic integrity. They want to get you shocked, fearful, curious - wanting to know more. 

 

You may want to stay away from anything that sounds straight out of an alarmist toolkit. Sure, there may be truth to it, but most likely, you aren’t going to read as many facts as you do unfounded opinions that twist events into a perspective that will make sense to you and support your worldview.

 

 

No original reporting and a lot of newsjacking

I think this is vital to tell the difference between a news site and a content marketing site. The basis of good journalism lies in original news research and reporting, which includes

• Interviews
• Eyewitness accounts
• Live footage
• On-site fact gathering
• Referencing 3rd party research in an article

Most content marketing sites don’t have this. What they will do is reference a Reuters or Associated Press news item, link to it, and then proceed to put their own spin on it. Some publications are shameless and will reference news that originated from the NYT, Washington Post, or other publication. 

 

If most of the articles at the site you are reading use other publications as original sources, you have a content marketing site on your hands. 

 

 

Topic of the site hits home a key message and theme - not much else

What’s great about news sites is that they cover what’s happening around the world - in all countries. A great publication will also include different editorial viewpoints and perspectives to keep it balanced. Sites like Al Jazeera can include news that challenge your perspectives and make you see the world differently.

 

A fake news site has a theme and a definite point it is trying to get across. There is an underlying “agenda" and strong opinions presented. It seems like every article, no matter what the topic, will lead you to the same opinion in the end. And that’s the goal. The goal isn’t to present news. The goal is to present “news” that supports an agenda.

 

 

Is the content slightly gossipy?

Gossip columns aren’t news. Respectable news outlets don’t really concern themselves with reporting news that is unsubstantiated and could be perceived as gossip. What’s an example? More recently, the BuzzFeed published intelligence claims that Donald Trump was being blackmailed by Russia (as if that wasn’t bad enough) through recorded activity of him with prostitutes doing a lewd sexual act (I’m not going to go into it here because I think this pushed journalism into a whole new low). The claims couldn’t be fully substantiated so many news outlets wouldn’t report on it or publish it. BuzzFeed released it. Although there may be truth in there somewhere, unless a story is 100% true, releasing it could be seen as fake news, ruin a publication’s reputation and be slanderous.

 

Note: it was consistent for BuzzFeed to release it because it is not a respectable news source. 

 

 

Light on facts, heavy on opinion?

If you are reading an article and it seems that you know more about the author’s perspective than you do about what happened, you have fake news. Or if the article has an opinion without facts to back it up, bingo! Fake news.

 

I just read an article on Huffington Post like this yesterday. It was about Trump thinking that Barak Obama likes him. Now, we don’t know if this is entirely true from the article. We have Trump’s perspective but we don’t have Obama’s perspective. We could assume that Obama doesn’t, but do we know? 

 

I’m not a Trump fan, but to make an opinion about Obama’s perspective without a fact is, well, slanderous and presumptive. it’s great for discussion, but it’s not based on facts.

 

 

Ads, ads, ads

Real news sites have ads (most publications make their revenue from ads) but they are usually placed somewhere tasteful, away from the news itself. The focus is on the story and the headlines, the true content. 

 

Take a look at CNN, Democracy Now, The Daily Beast, The New York Times. They may use ads, but not in line with the article content (examples to follow below).

 

Now, take a look at the average content marketing news site, like Trump.news or LiberalAmerica.org. It is riddled with ads. Here’s an article from Breitbart.com. Notice there isn’t original reporting included (it references an article of someone else’s research) and it hits points home for most Breitbart readers regarding white nationalism (it's fairly severe). In this snippet, notice the ads. The “You Might Like” section is ads. “We recommend” is ads. 

 

 

For Trump.news, the entire right column is filled with ads. 

 

 

 

Now, look at Democracy Now’s site. 

 

 

I didn't see an ad....did you?

 

 

Or the New York Times:

 

I saw 2 ads on the page - header and footer. 

 

News sites get their revenue from subscriptions and other revenue sources. Blog sites are notorious for getting money from ads.

 

 

Design 

What makes this quality difficult to discuss is that today, almost anyone who has access to WordPress can create a fairly decent site in 30 minutes. Most people are aware of and sensitive to design and UX in general (even hackers and phishers). It is difficult to identify a site that is one of the these content marketing sites vs a real news site. In the past, one could easily say that the design of a content marketing news site would be a simple, non-professional design. That's not true today. It's definitely more nuanced.

 

If you take a look at most serious journalism sites, there are qualities to look for regarding image styles, font usage and white space. 

 

The Daily Beast

They use a distinct photo treatment for their articles. They also use a complementary serif/sans serif font combination and they have a great use of balanced white space.

 

 

 

CBS News

Again, balances serif/sans-serif fonts, distinct photo style that focuses on faces and emotional expressions, and a balanced use of modules and white space (different sized modules that are appealing to the eye).

 

 

 

Democracy Now

Similar trends (see screenshot above). 

 

There is a finished quality about these sites - a crispness and elegance to the design. There is a simplicity to the look - it's direct where you know what you need to do on these sites (click on headlines and images as they interest you) and the hero here is the news.

 

Content marketing for news sites look like a fancy blog that uses a theme. 

 

There are many links to choose from, and although the design is clean, there is a casualness to it. These pages don’t have the elegance that The Daily Beast or Democracy Now have. And there are those pesky ads.

 

Trump News is one. 

Notice how there isn't a lot of white space. The site is busy and not well designed. It's very blocky. 

 

 

Compared to the other sites, there are huge gaps of whitespace or lots of text. It is pretty inconsistent how the design appears on the page.

 

One clue for great design and a professional site - everything is in a neat, proportional grid. When text wraps too much out of a grid, it is sloppy. That's when you can tell non-design experts are involved.

 

The same is true for Occupy Democrats. See the example below. The design is super simple, not a lot of columns or variation to get attention. Photos seem to be taken from other sources (not original photos or stylized). And notice the right column - all whitespace or ads.

 

 

 

 

 

What are qualities of real news sites?

I found an article that lists a number of real news sites.  All of these sites have these qualities:

• Diverse topics - cover international news, sports, local news, science, politics, and more
• Different perspectives - they will present both sides of a story. And if they don't, then they at least present the facts
• Original interviews drive the content
• Fact checked - their story matches other stories at other publications. Sure, there may be a different interpretation for a story. However, a fake news site will  twist a story to present its version of truth, whether it is true or not. It will twist the truth to make it work. Real news won't do that.
• Story in the press matches the story of witnesses.
• Great design at the site - neat, follows a grid pattern, doesn't have text that is too long or short.

 

Before you believe a story you read online, take a quick inventory of where you are reading the story and what's in it. You may realize that where you were getting your news is really a content marketing site. This is fine if it is referencing sources like Reuters and Associated Press. However, content marketing news sites are not ok if you want to read original reporting and challenge your current worldview. 

 

More marketing approaches that have done some "damage"...

 

Bad business impacts everyone. A tale about a rental car.

I traveled to San Francisco International Airport for work. I needed to make my way to Mountain View to sleep that night and then Sunnyvale for meetings the next morning. It should have been a fairly straightforward trip, but when I heard that my flight was delayed, I knew that I was in for an adventure. I guess United's computer system was down that day, causing a number of re-routing problems, from passengers to planes.

It all started with my flight being delayed by 30 minutes, which is nothing in the world of travel. That can be made up in a flight. The real delay occurred when we started to land at SFO but the pilots abandoned the landing at the last minute because of the weather conditions. 

The weather was just a mess.

I finally made it to the car rental building to pickup the car by 10:15pm. I originally booked the reservation to pickup the car at 8pm. Yes, we're talking a 2 hour delay at this point. 

I made it to Car Rental Company A (or rather, FOX Rental Car) counter, where there were about 6 people in line before me. I figured it wouldn't be long now. 

45 minutes later, I finally got to talk to an agent. At this point, rather than 2 agents working there was only 1. I guess the other one was on his meal break? I gave the agent my info - my name, my license - and she went to find my reservation. A few seconds later she told me that my reservation was cancelled because the system automatically cancels car reservations after 3 hours.

Yes, cancelled. Through no fault of my own, my car reservation was cancelled.

What made it worse was that my reservation wasn't just cancelled, I was told to pay $25 extra per day for it. Yes - my booked rate was gone, I already had to wait an additional hour in line causing my reservation to be cancelled, and I'd have to pay more money to get a car. They had to be kidding! 

I decided to take my chances elsewhere.

I went to the Car Rental Company B (Budget) counter to see what they would charge for what I wanted to do. A lovely woman there immediately helped me get a price. Actually, it wasn't too much more money. In fact, the daily charge was about the same. I was on my way in 20 minutes.

I also learned that Car Rental Company A has done this before, especially for international travelers who don't know any different about American car rental companies. 

The next day, I sent an email to the woman's manager to tell them how much I appreciated her kindness and service. She really helped me out and got me on my way.

I got a response.

Sure, they appreciated getting feedback on the woman at the counter. She's a rockstar.

But apparently, I wasn't the only person having a problem with Car Rental Company A. Car Rental Company B is often cleaning up the problems that A creates. It's becoming a pattern. The customer satisfaction manager contacted me to better understand my problem with Car Rental Company A because it was impacting B's business. Sure, they love the business that A inadvertently sends their way, but people are coming to B on the furious side. It's not fair to any customer nor to Company B. They were repairing the broken relationships A caused.

You could say that A was doing all of these rental car companies a favor. But were they?

• They ruined the travel experience for some at SFO.
• They made their competitors clean up their mess. 
• They are giving rental car companies a bad name - sketchy, sly, and an industry that takes advantage of a customer's situation. Just not helpful.

 

So what are the morals of this story?

• When you have a complaint about a company, share it. Others probably have a similar complaint. You are never alone when you experience a problem with a company. There are probably 5 or 6 more people having experiences like yours, waiting to voice their challenges.

• Not all companies want to make a fast buck. Some genuinely want to help customers. And not just their own customers - any customers. I think some companies truly like helping people find solutions to their problems. Thank God for those companies!

• Complaining to a competitor isn't being gossipy. There may actually be a larger problem there. In this case, Company A was providing a sketchy experience to customers. This wasn't just impacting their own business and improving business for competitors, it was impacting the experience people were having with the airport. This is why the competitors were getting annoyed. They were getting unhappy customers looking for solutions at their counters. Sure, they got the business. But at the same time, they got challenging customers who were annoyed and they had to fix a competitor's problem. That can win customers, but it can also cost a company money.

• Just because someone doesn't share a complaint with you doesn't mean you did a great job. Most people won't complain about terrible service. See the first bullet. Often people don't complain.

• Always complement those who help you. They deserve the praise. They made your day - make theirs. Or help make their year if this goes on their record and contributes towards a bonus.

• If you are a company that's part of a larger ecosystem, remember that your challenging business practices don't simply impact you; they impact the perception people have of your competitors or the experience in that ecosystem. It's like a stone in a shoe. It hurts. It's annoying. And a small stone ruins how you experience wearing that shoe. And you may need to replace the shoe over a stone. Don't be that stone.