Seth Godin - I DISAGREE on being "satisfied"...

On average, I agree with 90%+ of what Seth Godin talks about on his blog, writes in his books, or speaks about in his speeches.  However, today I have to disagree with Seth.

Seth wrote a blog post, "Dissatisfaction Guaranteed," where he closed with a line, "Satisfied means done, finished, I don't need any more."  I don't agree - satisfied is not the end state, not even close to it actually.

My brother, Gary, and I wrote a book a few years back, "Creating and Delivering a Totally Awesome Customer Experiences" where we addressed this elusive issue of customer satisfaction.  We are not strangers to this world of customer satisfaction and after our studies and consulting work, we have a different definition of "Customer Satisfaction."

We created a statement that people have used and enjoyed for years, "A 'satisfied' customer is a customer simply looking and waiting for the 'next best' DEAL".  What we found was that a satisfied customer was "satisfied" as long as there wasn't a better product, price, or terms available for them to choose from.  If there was a better "deal" that came along, the so called "satisfied" customer would "defect" and take advantage of the better deal.  The most valuable word we should be focusing on is "LOYALTY". 

For example, let's say you were buying a new barbecue grill (since it is close to the end of summer).  You usually buy it from your local hardware big box store.  Then, you see the same grill at another store for $50 less - exact same grill.  The majority of "satisfied" customers would "defect" and go to the other store to buy it for the $50 savings.  Why?  Because they were not "loyal" to your store and as soon as they see the next best deal they left.  Until you saw this deal, you were "satisfied" and would have continued buying from them.  It is only if you are "loyal" to the store and would pay extra that you are "finished and done" as Seth would say.

So when people talk about having "satisfied" customers, you can see why I cringe.  I want LOYAL customers who are also my ADVOCATES.  That is when you are "done and finished".  Actually, it's just the beginning as well - how to do ensure you retain them and get them proactively spreading the word about you.  That is the topic for another post...

Ogilvy gets it....Word-of-Mouth IS the answer

Brian Featherstonhaugh, CEO and Chairman of Ogilvy One Worldwide wrote a great blog post for iMedia yesterday that really hit home with what we have been focused on with organizations and executives for a long time - Word-of-Mouth RULES! In his blog post, "Did the Birth of Social Media Change Everything?", he wrote, "It wasn't just social media that entered the game. There is a new phenomenon in marketing, which is actually an old idea but with new tools. It's called word of mouth. It's faster and allows us to amplify the voice a million times more, instantly, and globally."

How profound. Brian really gets it and being part of the eighth largest ad agencies in the world gives him the horsepower to support these views. It is so refreshing to see someone in the advertising industry "get it" the way Brian does - most don't. Most are pushing control and the 4P's of traditional marketing - not willing to admit the world has changed forever. Brian had several great quotes in this article that I wanted to share because they were so accurate and really tell the story.

For example, he said, "Marketers shouldn’t try to control conversations. You can influence and participate in a healthy way, but a new form of leadership is necessary, a braver one, a more inventive one. It’s about seeing the whole picture and letting little things happen." If any leader isn't getting the message that "traditional marketing and communication" is dying off very rapidly, hopefully this will help you see it from another perspective.

He also said, "The deepest change that has occurred isn’t technological. It is that the consumer has taken control, all over the planet. Marketing no longer has the power to control or decide, it has to be where the consumer is and find a way to relate to him or her." This is where people get hung up - they thing this is a "technological revolution" with the advent of social media. Wrong again - this is about who is now in control of your message and how they can use it to help you or hurt you. It is finally coming back around that if your product sucks, marketing can't rescue you any longer.

Finally, Brian said, "We can’t control where the consumer is when they want to but things. We have to join him where he is and create relationships." To me, the true goal of social media is building "trusted relationships" because at the end of the day, these are the ones that will create the "word-of-mouth" you really want. You can't expect to get consistent and positive word-of-mouth from someone if they don't have a relationship with you - doesn't work. Focus on the relationship and building trust and let the new, "cool tools" of social media do the heavy lifting for you.

How to become a "Famous Blogger"

Knowing how much we support blogging and that we talk about it as the "Cornerstone" of Social Media, I thought it would be appropriate to give you the scientific formula for what it takes to become a "Famous Blogger", courtesy of Dave Walker.  Leave me a comment if you have any thoughts about improving upon this perfect model.  Enjoy!!