The Spirit of Detroit

Do you know who your competition is? The marketing team at GM spends big bucks to say Chevy trucks have better resale value than any other American-made trucks. Consumer Reports hasn't picked up on that angle and neither has the American auto buyer.

What about who your customer is? Chrysler says their $1.4 billion dollar loss and restructuring of 13,000 jobs is a result of a waning market in trucks and SUV's. Toyota announced today they're building a $1.3 billion plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi -- to build SUV's. The first step to solving a problem is honesty.

America's love affair with the automobile still carries a lot of loyalty, but Detroit needs to wake up and realize it's become nostalgic. The global market won't allow it to rest on its laurels and a culture of entitlement. When it comes to the biggest investment most Americans make outside their home, financing the appetites past and present of the UAW is no substitute for competing on quality and innovation.

I've a feeling we're not in Seattle anymore...

Earlier this month McDonald's coffee gets a higher rating... now here's another interesting predicament for Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz getting too big as the chain passes 13,000 on their way to 40,000 stores.

Tell me again, is big the new small or is small the new big?

Opportunity Out of the Blue

There are two points that bear noting as the Jet Blue story continues to play itself out. One is that even a great unique value proposition can become an Achilles' Heel. The second is that catastrophe often brings out true character in companies just as it does in individuals. You can buck up and figure out where you made your mistake or you can shave your head and get a new tattoo.

There's a saying that perfection is the enemy of the good -- when you have a strength in a certain area you can overfocus and it becomes a weakness. Jet Blue has worked its way up over the last seven years to become the eighth-largest domestic airline by having, among other things, the least number of cancelled flights. In that micro-macro shift we all need from time to time, avoiding cancellations is now a lesser piece of the low-fare customer-service strategy that can keep them on their 25% growth path. The announcement of a loss expected for the first quarter is offset by a minor effect predicted for total earnings this year.

David Neeleman, Jet Blue's CEO, has beat congress to the punch in their drafting of a passengers bill of rights with his Customer Bill of Rights. The bill reaffirms Jet Blue's commitment to "superior service" by spelling out a range of compensation from $25 to $1000 and free travel for delays of various lengths and overbooked flights. Neeleman's youtube video promise on the JB home page creatively spins one of the "challenges that comes along" into an advantage, not in a crazy giveaway but in a measured response of transparent sincerity. His emphasis in the three-minute diatribe is on employee flexibility and accessibility, as well as beefing-up staffing in general. In Neeleman's words, "This will be an aberration..."

Empowering Messages

Are you interested in improving your business communication and networking skills? Lillian Bjorseth of Duoforce Enterprises has put together a tremendous program called "Empowering Messages." For a look at her newsletter and learning tools, click on her web site here. Thanks Lillian!

The Power of Washington

At the time of his acceptance of command of the American forces, George Washington had never taken an army into battle, and had in fact been retired from the military for fifteen years.

"I am truly sensible of the high honor done me in this appointment, yet I feel great distress from a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service and for the support of the glorious Cause... But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room that I this day declare with utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with."

George Washington, June 16, 1775

Legislating Customer Service

Considering that the government is normally in last place when it comes to customer service, it's at least ironic that legislation of minimum levels of customer service a company must provide are being drafted by both the House and Senate. This "passengers bill of rights" would extend beyond health- and safety-related issues to quality of service, for example how long travelers can be kept waiting on the tarmac or to find out whether a flight has been cancelled.

Jet Blue kept its customers waiting as long as ten hours on some flights due to weather starting on Wednesday and has now cancelled almost 25% of its weekend flights trying to catch up. For those who finally got on their way to Aruba on Wednesday evening instead of Wednesday morning, Jet Blue's concession of "unacceptable" was underwhelming.

The bills being drafted in congress requiring maximum waiting time on a runway and for notices of cancellations couldn't have gotten a bigger boost in their push to better synchronize corporate perception of customer service with customers'. Jet Blue is not alone, and neither is the airline industry. Last year, a Bain and Company survey found the gap across 362 companies to be as great as 70% between customer and corporate perception of "superior experience."

Marcotte, McEwan and Edwards - Hello I Must Be Going

Web 2.0 has extended further into the political arena. X-treme (read "progressive") political bloggers Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan were just following Anna Nicole Smith's mantra as described by Smith's mother -- any press, good or bad, helps me make money.

In this case the publicity has not helped John Edwards campaign, and he's called off the partnership just as it was gaining some momentum. As vicious, off-color humor becomes more common on the web, the line of acceptability is shifting (Marcotte holds she has been "censored" for being a woman, pro-choice, anti-religious, etc.), but it still hasn't become a free-for-all.

Some x-treme blogging or a feisty video interview could be good for Hillary in a youtube strike against Barack Obama. But John, we hardly knew ye.

The Five Levels of Customer Service

Customer service and marketing are joined at the hip -- if you do a remarkable job in the area of customer experience, good marketing gets the word out. If not, your marketing efforts have little to talk about. Here are five levels of customer service I've experienced recently:

1. "Over the top service is what we're about." (Lands' End) - I talked to Mary who answered after two rings. It was like talking to my long-lost aunt or grandmother. She was friendly, helpful, a good communicator, answered all my questions, and graciously transferred me only when it was necessary - one transfer to talk with another (friendly, helpful, gracious) lady in accounts, with very little wait time.

2. "We do value our customers." (Dell) - Gets the transaction done politely. I started online in spite of the ambiguous choices on the order-screen; called back later when the part was wrong, made three re-explanations of the fairly simple problem. After four transfers and longer waits, was finally offered the correct part. There was no expression of intent to correct the original online problem for future customers, but no charge for the wrong order and no need for me to send it back. I got two calls back to make sure I had received the credit to my account.

3. "We know customer service is important." (Citibank) - A sincere but hollow claim of concern for the customer. After many rings, the voice intones, "We've added more features for your convenience - you must now press one to continue in English." Just to see what would happen, I wait. Again the voice declares, "You must now press one to continue in English." OK, I press one. After a short pause, "For your convenience, we are open from 7:30-4:30 EST. Our offices are now closed."

4. "Hey, we got a business to run here." (Biggers Auto Dealership) - Bordering between apathetic and hostile. I e-mailed this local dealership about a part through their web site, including my VIN, and got an immediate auto-response, "We value your business, etc... we will be in touch,..." I waited a month and called - the service department is closed on Saturdays. (No one would want to get their car fixed on a Saturday, right?) I e-mailed again to a different person who told me I needed to send the VIN again. I did and mentioned I had already included it with my original request a month ago. No comment - just the price. (Did you know there are ten ways to apologize to your customer?)

5. "Next!" (DMV) Customers-Serve-Us. Of course state and local government has no real competition and responds to customers accordingly. Lines, forms, carbon copies, white out, attach this other form, 7-10 days response -- customer service is when you can buy a $40 transponder to make it easier for you to pay Rod Blagojevich to build more toll booths. Some businesses go this direction but they don't last long.

Which level of service is your company on and how are you working to get to the next one?

Lisa Nowak and the Human Race

We've got to figure this thing out.

What was it that caused Lisa Nowak to snap? There must be something in her past or her genetics that has caused this and will eventually be explained. Maybe it's a malady of some sort that could strike any one of us.

The Houston Chronicle calls it an explanation of "why a person as average as the next guy fell apart." But that's the rub -- Nowak is not as average as the next guy (or gal). She was already a celebrity. Not in the Anna Nicole Smith sense, but being selected in the space program is not like getting your driver's license. Nowak was a spokesperson for NASA who had gone through some of the most rigorous physical and mental testing and qualification possible for a human being.

If, as Stephen Hawking suggests, we need to be establishing colonies outside earth in the next hundred years to preserve the species, we're going to need some better testing.

There's Always XLII...

After getting off to a Jack Bauer start in the first 14 seconds, avoiding interceptions was destined to be key to Chicago's winning or losing. You'll notice the correct jersey order - Urlacher, Hester, Grossman. But in the real media event, Careerbuilder came out the winner. What a contrast in their approach with the same theme in a little different package each time, in contrast to the predictably gratuitous go daddy.com replaying the same ad. (Everybody wants to be in marketing - get it?) The 'bood-lite' ESL class and is-Charles-Barkley-Dwyane-Wade's-father? from T-Mobile also ranked up in the memorable column. Did you miss one of those? See it here.

But who picked the Clown Prince of Ambiguity for the halftime show? It was more than the doves crying about that torturous bit of showmanship. If the half-time show is going to be a circus, bring in Cirque du Soleil. Can the NFL find no real musical talent out there (Norah Jones, John Legend...) for the most widely watched media event of the year? Some things can't be fixed even by putting a giant bow on top of your head.

As for HP's strategy -- "Hmmm... It's a Harley ad, no it's an Orange County Choppers ad, no it's an HP ad, is there any more salsa?" For any of these advertisers, it's going to be a 60-yard field goal to demonstrate a break-even before XLII.

Selling Technology at the Super Bowl

How about 'dem Bears? The flags are flying on the antennas down the Dan Ryan today and all the kids who aren't wearing Urlacher, Hester and Grossman jerseys to school at least have their blue and orange socks on.

And of course how about that holy grail (and last bastion) of TV advertising, 'da commercials? As Smith and Dungee run their strategies, you'll be seeing some of the biggest investments in annual marketing strategy unfolding in HD. For Americans, XLI shares the title of biggest sporting event and biggest marketing event. At $2.5 million for 30 seconds, and even allowing for a halo-effect of an entire quarter of reruns on youtube, advertisers will need to see a marginal profit of about $30,000 a day to break even.

That's a lot of ambivalent Pepsi-Coke railsitters being pushed one way or the other. And a lot of beer bought on the basis of horses playing football in the snow. And a lot of computer buyers being swayed in their next laptop purchase. Yup, HP breaks into the football-technology market with their Orange County Choppers-themed ad this year, following a long break since the top Super Bowl ad of all time, Apple's "1984" piece.

On Sunday, temperatures in Chicago will warm up to a balmy 7 degrees (from 5 at the moment), but Chicagoans who aren't in Miami in person will be there in spirit anyway -- where it should top out in the low 70's.