Target Marketing -- Full Sterne Ahead -March, 1999

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Full Sterne Ahead

by Jim Sterne

March, 1999

Full Sterne Ahead contains the mostly monthly musings of Jim Sterne, author, speaker, and Web marketing consultant to business and industry.

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Welcome to the March, 1999 issue of Full Sterne Ahead.

No, you didn't miss the February issue. There wasn't
one. This is the sort of plan-ahead kind of guy I am.
Instead of planning ahead and getting 12 issues out per
year, I simply label this newsletter as my 'mostly monthly
musing'. (Clever, huh?)

In this issue, I wonder when large companies think the real
work is going to get done in When Will They Ever Learn?,
points to 1to1Web.com as this month's Resource of Note,
ponders just how local localization must be in While I
Was Out, spots vending machines that don't take money in
The Crystal Ball, laments the nose-bleedingly high levels
of idiocity In My In-Box, begs you to wear customer-colored
glasses in The Big Idea, suggests that 24 by 7 live chat
with your customers is something You Can Do, and wraps up
with a Classic Comment from jolly olde England.
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WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?
--------------------------

While lunching with three wildly capable ladies from a
Very Large Computer company, I listened to their lament
about the latest way the Internet was expected to save
the company money.

Instead of turning over content to the Webmaster for converting
and posting on the site, individuals were now responsible for
designing and creating their own Web pages. This sounded
reasonable to me, so I held my tongue, waiting for the other
shoe to drop.

Why does this change evoke the same fears that flooded
through the executive washroom when we were all told there
would be no more typing pool and no more secretaries, and
we'd have to learn word processing ourselves...?

   No tools were offered.
   No training was scheduled.
   No templates were distributed.

The magic wand was waved and people who used to be
responsible for getting real work done were now expected
to learn HTML or some WYSIWYG tool overnight.

Many would turn to their teen-age offspring. "Junior?
Can you help me with my homework?"

"Mother! If you don't do it yourself, you're never going
to learn how!"

By all means: Turn over the creation of Web pages to the people
who are responsible for the content. But please folks,
let's provide tools, training, and templates. And that
goes for intranets, too.
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RESOURCE OF NOTE
----------------
Deborah Kania, Cliff Allen and and Beth Yaeckel wrote a
book called One-To-One Web Marketing:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0471251666/targetmarketingA

But they didn't stop there. They created a literary
legacy at www.1to1Web.com as an adjunct to the
book. Not only does it offer lots of what you'd expect
from a book promotion Web site, it offers more to those
who actually buy the book.

Go sign up for the free monthly online newsletter. Read
the articles about one-to-one marketing, web interactivity,
e-mail, Web site personalization, Web community, Web
presentation and conferencing, online advertising and
promotion, Web site tracking and analysis, Web-to-database
integration, and online privacy. All for free.

But, if you buy the book by clicking on the link I've so
graciously given you above, it'll put tuppence in my
pocket and give you access to the case studies from the
book.

But there's something that makes this site worth your
attention: a database of one-to-one goodies.

Search by type of application or type of technology for
articles, books, Web sites, products and services focused
on doing business one-to-one. This database all by itself
makes this site a real resource of note.
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WHILE I WAS OUT
---------------
On my way to London this month, I sat next to the human
resources manager of a large software company. He was
on his way to Paris to review the company's operations
and training processes in various European countries.

The conversation meandered hither and yon as it is wont
to do on a 10-hour flight and we got to talking about
the difficulties - in fact, the impossibilities -- of
having a single compensation plan for disparate territories.

The things that motivate a Brit don't really do it for
the French. That which would sparkle the eyes of an
Italian simply aren't important to a German. Of course.
it's not as cut and dried as all that. But when you're
balancing income, title, responsibility, time off,
desk location, office size and a dozen other perks,
prizes and payoffs, it gets rather tricky to do it
internationally.

If you're selling to an international marketplace, you
must take your localization to a deeper level than mere
translation. Take a look at http://www.transimage.com
just to admire all the different ways to say, "killing
two birds with one stone."

Spanish in Barcelona is not the same as in Mexico City.
Portuguese in Lisbon is not the same as in Sao Paulo.
English in Liverpool is not the same as  in Los Angeles.

When you localize... let the locals do it.
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THE CRYSTAL BALL
--------------------------
Some kind soul on the UK marketing list (sorry, I didn't
keep the post - e-mail me and I'll send you a copy of
my latest book) described what happens when mobile phone
use becomes ubiquitous. In Finland, some vending machines
and automated car washes have no coin slots - they have
telephone numbers. Dial the number from your cell phone
(or your mobile as they say in the UK, or your handy as
the call it in Germany), make your selection and the charge
shows up on your phone bill.

You have now seen the future.
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MY IN-BOX
--------
This month, my inbox overfloweth. I swear the level of
online idiocity increases palpably with every million
people who decide to e-cash in.

For your consideration, I give you the following Spam,
reproduced in its entirety, and with no names changed to
protect the brainless:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: remove@intlmktg.cx
Delivered-To: intlmktg-maillist@intlmktg.cx
Date: 23 Feb 1999 05:28:07 -0000
To: remove@intlmktg.cx
Subject: UCE...

You are receiving this email because your address is on
an available mailing list. If you do not wish to receive
commercial emails from our organization or any of our
affiliate members... please reply to this email with the
word "remove" in the subject and it will be removed from
all our lists.

Note that this is not an attempt to get you on a list,
but rather to get you off one.

Answers to your concerns about asking to be removed from
list:

1) You are not trying to remove me from any list but are
just trying to see if my email address is active.

Answer: Since you are reading this email it means your
address is valid. In the past it was necessary to get a
response from you to verify that your address was active.
Using automated mailing software today that is no longer
necessary.

2) By requesting to be removed from this list I will just
be made part of another list that you will sell and I
will receive even more mail.

Answer: Again in the past this was an unfortunate practice
used by many as a way to generate revenue. However, it
is not ours. Our remove lists are not sold to anyone.

3) Requesting to be removed from your list will not
stop me from getting more mail from other parties.

Answer: You are right. We can only promise that you will
not receive any mail from within our organization. We are
part of a group that has been trying to establish a true
global remove list, which would be available to all mailers.
Until that becomes a reality then we can only control
the mail that originates with us.

4) Even if i request removal I will still receive mail
from you at other email addresses I have or my children
will receive it at their address.

Answer: To have additional addresses added to the remove
list add them to the body of your reply remove request.
Please enter full address and only one address per line.

Example:
john@aol.com
billsplace@att.worldnet.net

This is our attempt to get you off our lists. It will only
work with your help

___________________________________________________________
This Message was Composed using Extractor Pro '98 Bulk E-
Mail Software. If you wish to be removed from this advertiser's
future mailings, please reply with the subject "Remove" and
this software will automatically block you from their future
mailings.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And while I was shaking my head in wonder, along came a
message that made me LOL.

I will be the first to admit that I use the Laugh Out Loud
abbreviation when I haven't actually let out an audible
expression of mirth. Usually, I just want to get across
the feeling that I *might* have laughed out loud had the
teller of the story (or the sharer of the joke) been in
the room, if only out of social grace. But the last line
of the following woke up my dog, Puck, when I actually
*did* LOL:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: ml097h@irisa.fr
To:
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 16:58:04

If I could show you how to earn an additional
$100,000 - $500,000 a year doing absolutley
nothing with NO RISK of losing a dime
would I have your attention?

Click Here to see exactly what I mean.

http://members.tripod.com/successishere/

P.S. You won't waste your time on this!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Truer words were never Spammed.
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THE BIG IDEA - Customer Colored Glasses
------------
It is astonishing just how many tiny details must be just
right on a Web site to gain customer trust and derive customer
knowledge to create customer relationships.

Customers put up with ignorant store clerks, cold food, rude
service and shoddy merchandise. But when it comes to the Internet,
they've been trained to expect rapture.

When we first started using the Web (each of us, individually),
it was so wonderful just to see pictures from some distant
computer. Then we were thrilled to see personalization and
recommendation engines that responded to us by name.

Now, if there is the smallest spelling mistake, the slightest
hitch in the process, or one missing detail about a product
we want to buy, our whole opinion of the site goes pear-shaped
and the Brand takes a hit.

Paying close attention to the details is not a luxury, it's a
necessity.

You must look at your customer relationships from your customers'
perspective. It's the only perspective that matters.
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YOU CAN DO IT
---------------
You can implement live chat on your site in one day. Really -
you can. Just outsource it.

I had to think twice when I first learned that some companies
outsource that most sacred activity: talking to their customers.
Takes a little getting used to, doesn't it?

But once I got used to the idea that having a team of people
talk to your customers was just as valid across the hall as
across the country, I became intrigued by the ability for
anybody to have live chat on their Web site - twenty-four
by seven.

If you're leaning toward this sort of service, you're going
to head to the sites run by companies such as www.LiveAssistance.com,
www.LivePerson.com, www.LiveResponse.com, and www. PeopleSupport.com and test their ability to chat with you about their offerings.

You're also going to have some serious conversations with their
reference customers to see how well they train their operators.
But one thing you *must* focus on is the quality of their
feedback loop.

Some are happy to send you a copy of every so you'll know what
your on-line customers are thinking. PeopleSupport lets clients
log in at any time and see relevant statistics about customers'
inquiries, buying habits and preferences, as well as statistics
such as session duration, customer satisfaction, etc.

The folks at 1-800 Flowers found that online chat lowered their
e-mail costs by 50% and increased customer satisfaction my 20%.
Not bad. Maybe you can do it too.
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CLASSIC COMMENT
---------------
When asked if he really thought his Virgin Empire could beat
out the Americans by spending millions of pounds to create an
Online Empire, Richard Branson said:

"We've got the brand name to do it, the will to do it, the
resources to do it and we're determined to do it."

What else would you need?
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How about you?
I'm interested in what is on *your* mind. What issues are you
facing these days? Drop me a line.
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This newsletter is going to be better if it reaches more people.
You can help. The Net is a powerful word-of-mouth mechanism, so
if you know somebody who might like to be on the receiving end,
please point them to www.targeting.com or have them send
a message to subscribe@targeting.com.

And I'll bet you know what will happen if you send a message to
unsubscribe@targeting.com.
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Full Sterne Ahead contains the mostly monthly musings of
Jim Sterne, author, speaker, and Web marketing consultant
to business and industry.

Copyright 1999 - Target Marketing of Santa Barbara

Target Marketing
211 E. Victoria St., Suite E
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
+1 (805) 965-3184 phone
+1 (805) 965-8687 fax

www.targeting.com