Fact: The average youtube video only gets watched for 6 seconds.
The average Youtube video lasts for 5 minutes. It’s a rare event indeed for a video to get watched until the end. That’s why most view counts are so low, only those watched until completion count.
With almost 90 million videos on the site;
Start up blog says: Review your Youtube videos. Make it clear what they’re getting in first few seconds, or they wont have the patience to ever find out.
(read in digital voice)
Hello, (pause)
Your call is important to us. We are unable to take you call at this time. (what?)
If you wish to change your account details press 1
If you’d like to listen to your account balance press 2
If you’d like to make a payment press 3
If you’d like to hear these options again press 4
If you wish to talk to an operator press 0 – the expected wait time is: 17 minutes…..
I hang up. My call is not important to them.
What surprises me is that companies spend millions on TV advertising attempting to create an interaction with potential customers who aren’t listening. Then when people try to interact with the same company, they get given the machine – the finger.
Most companies invest in the wrong area. Automation is only a benefit when it increases interactions with people. When it facilitates the conversation, not circumvents it. It’s a classic case of balance sheet marketing.
Everything big companies do here is wrong.
Start ups: Talk to your people. Give them a real phone number to ring with a real person at the end of the line. Be there when they call. Have a conversation. Make it personal. Over invest in this area.
I recently ordered this most rad t-shirt on line from cafe press:
My order was meant to arrive between these times: Estimated Arrival: Monday 6/30/08 – Monday 7/7/08. But I am still yet to receive it and I am getting worried that It will never arrive. It is now 7/13/08 so it has been nearly a month! Can you please follow up for me. I am a first time cafe press customer and so far it hasn’t been a good experience.
1st cafe press response:
Dear Steve,
Thank you for contacting CafePress.com! This note is to inform you that we have received your inquiry and are assigning it to a representative. We respond to all email messages within 24 hours. If you do not receive an answer within 24 hours please call us toll-free at 1-877-809-1659 during our customer service hours Monday – Saturday 9:00 am to 9:00 pm EST.
To help track your inquiry we have generated the following reference number LTK419015882692X. Please use this number in any further communication.
2nd ‘real person’ cafe press response:
Dear Steve, I am sorry to hear you haven’t received your order. I checked and it is past the date it should have arrived. To make sure there are no further delays please confirm back with your correct shipping address. As soon as I get this information I will replace your order at no charge. I look forward to your reply.
If there is anything else I can do for you please let me know.
Best Regards, Crystal R.
A few things for startups to notice:
They offered a toll free number for me to call on if a didn’t hear within 24 hours. All websites should have someone you can call.
They advised they would replace the order, no questions & immediatly. They accepted fault.
They included a link where I could rate there customer service even though, I was potentially an upset customer. No excuses, no hiding on their behalf.
In short, cafe press offered; guarantees, to fix the proble, they accepted fault, and started a feedback loop which has lead to great customer service, from a potentially negative situation. Now I’m blogging about a positive situation when it may well have been the opposite.
Webpreneurs – Be like cafe press.
On a recent business trip to Singapore I was surprised at how much cool stuff I saw. Not just start ups, but general marketing insight. It’s my general belief ( & many others) that globalisation has taken some of the joy away from travel. It’s harder to find new stuff, different concepts, and fresh ideas. Things just cross boundaries so much quicker now with the advent of $10 air tickets and the web.
But to my pleasure, it’s still out there if you look hard enough. So enjoy the next week’s blog entiries sub branded the “Singapore Series”.
Singapore personified!
By the way: How many brands are positively identified by their employees?
You’ve probably heard that Ebay is about to enforce the use of it’s wholly owned payment service “Paypal” on every Ebay transaction.
The blogosphere and government regulatory bodies are up in arms about this. As they should be. In fact the ACCC (Competitive regulator in Australia) has just made a draft ruling blocking the move as Anti-competitive. Although Ebay claims it ‘significantly enhances protection of buyers and sellers against fraud” – which it may well do.
Here’s the thing Ebay – you’re clearly using monopoly power to force people to use a service you own, to extract more revenue. And your customers know this.
Startup blog says – Ebay should be true to the launch platform of being open, transparent, a market where users decide, what to pay and how to pay.
Never let the arrogance of success change how you treat those who made you successful in the first place.
“I cannot control how I am perceived, I can only control how I am presented.”
This quote came from (of all places) Tim Gunn’s guide to style TV show. (it was on in the background while I was working… honest)
It’s the same for our brands and websites. Do what we can and ignore the uncontrollables.
