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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday – June 1, 2023: A Matter of Perspective
Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
We’ve all seen statistics that seemed too good, too bad, or just too strange to be true. The problem is with the right set of data–analyzed at exactly the correct angle–you get a perspective that generates a particular statistic. But looking at things from a broader perspective, shows something very different.
Today, the local media reported that the 2023 Bay Area tech layoff had reached a “grim milestone.” The latest cuts at Meta will bring the number of people let go this year to 25,000. Gee, that sounds bad, doesn’t it?
Until you consider that there are over 378,000 tech jobs in the Bay Area, and more than 25,000 people were added to the job rolls from mid 2021-2022 alone, plus 16,000 added since mid-2022. In fact, unemployment in the area is now about 2.9%–where 4% is considered full employment (there are always some people in between jobs–that’s the way the world works).
Furthermore, there are more than 200,000 fewer people on the unemployment list now than in mid 2020, at the height of the pandemic.
So what does this all mean? Probably that those companies who hired like crazy for the last couple of years overdid it. Those who thought upward trends would last forever are realizing it’s called a business cycle for a reason.
Silicon Valley is not imploding. Tech is not under siege. And maybe some of this culling will help make organizations stronger for the future.
The next time you see a stat like this, stop and ask what’s really being measured. Then look at things from a more reasonable perspective before becoming too grim.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – May 25, 2023: Doing What You Say You Will
Sometimes I wonder if people ever read their job descriptions.
This is particularly true of those in customer service. As a customer service rep, your job is to help a customer resolve their issue. It’s not to berate the customer for calling, or to make it impossible for them to get to someone who can solve their problem. But there’s one sin CSRs make that beats all the others: telling the customer when their issue will be addressed–and then not making their own deadline.
This past week, I found myself with a dead major appliance. Getting a service rep out was simple–the dryer was dead and replacement parts were not available. Getting the home warranty company to come through with their promise to find or pay for a replacement was not so simple.
Calling their customer service line resulted in extremely long waits–but they had that covered. They would hold your place in the queue and call you back when a rep was available. That sounded reasonable. They even told you when to expect a call–which was estimated at a 90 minute wait.
Unfortunately, in two instances, the call never came. In the third, the waiting time was supposedly 2.5 hours, but the call came 4.5 hours later. Huh? Then the service rep told me the same thing I had been told two days earlier–except the deadline they’d set for resolving the issue had been moved out two more days. And she was annoyed that this didn’t make me happy. Double huh.
Let’s make this simple: For the customer service component of your business, make sure you have people and systems that understand what’s needed. No one calls customer service to tell you how happy they are with your product or service–they call because they have a problem and need help. Hire people who are willing to be helpful, then give them the tools to actually solve the customer’s problem.
AI may be a tool to help CSRs navigate complex problems more quickly, but it won’t replace the human element. We’ve all gotten stuck inside automated systems that provided more aggravation than help, which makes the customer even more frustrated than when they started.
And, most importantly, when you set expectations with a customer, do so knowing it’s your business reputation on the line.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – May 18, 2023: Barking Up the Wrong Tree
My dog needed a refill on one of his prescriptions. How difficult could that be?
For years, we’ve used online pet med companies, like Chewy, who quickly and easily refill pet prescriptions on time and at a reasonable cost.
The problem is our vet has decided they don’t want to take the time and effort to approve online prescriptions. Now you either have to go through their online service (priced at about 25% more than Chewy), or come to the vet, pickup a paper prescription, then physically mail the original prescription to the online provider, who can then fill it and mail the meds back. Or you can get the meds from the vet directly, which is always the most expensive option.
Huh? It should not have been easier for me to fill a prescription for opioid pain killers after my recent knee surgery than to get a refill for doggie-Advil.
In an age when everything is done online–including filling prescriptions for human patients–why have we reverted back a century to doing things the old-fashioned way?
Because the vet is concerned only about their cost of doing business–not about ongoing customer care or providing the best solution for their patients. Why don’t we change vets? Because it’s virtually impossible to get a timely appointment with a new vet, and the current vet isn’t taking new customers–so if you leave, you’re out of luck, therefore you put up with being treated poorly.
Right now, we have a supply constraint–too many pet owners, not enough vets–so the vets can throw customer satisfaction out the window and not worry about it. But that won’t last forever. When conditions change, customers will remember how they were treated, and react accordingly.
Don’t expect us to sit and stay forever when we’ve been relegated to the doghouse. There’s a greener pasture out there somewhere.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – May 11, 2023: Whose Ad Was That Anyway?
It happened again tonight. Watching TV, a cute ad came on that seemed to have no relation to any specific product or brand.
This seems to occur more and more frequently. Advertisers choose music or a comic scenario or some kind of theme. That’s all well and good, but when viewers can’t recognize who the advertiser is, the question is why spend the money on marketing?
Not all marketing is designed to sell products. Some spots are designed to build brand awareness or recognition. Some advertising is meant to show brand values–what that brand stands for. Other promotions are meant to make you feel good about a recent purchase–to both build repeat business and encourage referrals to other potential customers.
But none of that can happen when your audience sees your marketing and has no idea who you are or why you’re running with those messages. It’s one thing to disagree with a brand’s messaging. It’s another to not be able to connect the brand to the message they’ve just shown you. Or, worse yet, to connect that message to one of your competitors.
Are your marketing messages resonating with your customers and prospects? Or are you leaving your audience befuddled as to who just spoke to them?
John Wanamaker famously said half his advertising was wasted, but he wasn’t sure what half. If your customers can’t connect you to your message, you might be wasting both halves of your marketing budget.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com