Customer knowledge – The Great Vine

July 2, 2014January 24, 2017

Anatomy of a web solution: the case of the golden converter.

In our search for a better use of the web we can fall for the usual obstacles of fancy technology, nice design or popularity; but real solutions with an impact on our bottom line need a business anchor like the one illustrated by the case of the golden converter.

Platinum "cool" fountain pen — Platinum “cool” fountain pen

While looking for his next fountain pen, our consumer stumbles upon the Platinum Cool, a clear or “demonstrator” fountain pen made by Platinum of Japan. While researching other consumers’ experience with this pen he forms an opinion on its performance (nib, flow, ergonomics), design, desirability and accessibility (price).

He uses his pens with converters, as opposed to cartridges, but then finds a problem: the only converter Platinum apparently sells has a golden part which he intensely dislikes, and would show through the transparent pen. In the old economy, this would be the end of the story, our consumer loses interest and Platinum loses a sale.

Platinum Cool with Goulet Pens sanded converter

In the new economy our customer searches for “platinum converter silver” and lo and behold, finds an answer from a Platinum distributor (with whom TheGreatVine has no relation), in the form of a web page with a video and text which explains how the converter can be disassembled and the annoying golden bit sanded; he even mentions the material that can be used.

The result is that the brand recovers potential sales, the distributor earns the gratitude of potential customers and thus potential sales, even if the price elsewhere is lower.

The lessons from this case are:

Breadth of the experience: Our consumer’s experience begins way before he sets foot in a physical pen shop (if he ever does), and ends much later (all those who have the pen but were unhappy about the golden converter and ask related questions, all those who try the solution and say whether it works or not).
Depth of the experience: our consumer now knows that the product can be customized to his needs.
Someone from the brand or distribution channels must know enough about consumers and their tribulations, about the product, and have the right incentives to be able to offer a solution.
The web solution itself has two parts: (a) it needs to be found, in this case through the keywords consumers are using (platinum converter silver), and (b) it needs to be easy to understand (both in text and during the video), in other words we value ease of use much higher than fancy technology. The solution proposed (website and video) must also be easy and cheap to produce.
In this case the brand is out of the loop, while it should be giving its distributors the incentives to generate this type of solution.

February 14, 2014

So I’ve been put in charge of our web projects… Where do I begin?

One day the boss decides that someone should be in charge of “our web site”, “our Facebook page” or whatever it is that our company has been using… Usually when a refresh is required and no one quite knows who is in charge… And you are the one chosen by the gods. Congratulations, this is a great opportunity, and I will try to give you some ideas.

The good news is this position can be a learning experience, a good stepping stone for your career and even a lot of fun. Beyond being the “it” guy or gal at your company, at the center of all things new and cool, you will also have the opportunity to generate actual value for your company, by making your customer’s lives easier, more interesting and more productive.

The bad new is there is a confusion between web media and its actual use. In the mind of your boss you will be in charge of “being on the web”, coordinating with existing marketing campaigns and presenting reports on the number of visitors and “Likes”. None of that will actually generate any value for your company, and while your boss means well, you will need to change this perception so everyone is on the same frequency and has the right expectations for the web and for you. In the end your boss is thinking of results, sales, costs, profits, growth, and you will need to make the connection with the web; fear not, you won’t be doing this on your own.

The first thing you need to ask for is a job description; If the job description doesn’t exist your HR department may need to ask a specialist to generate one, but you need to be aware that not all descriptions are equally useful, and some may put you on the wrong track.

The right job description for a Web Coordinator (or whatever it’s called at your company) will first establish two high level goals, which are “How the web affects our business” and “How we can use the web to improve our business”; together they can be heartily accepted by your boss and define a Web Medium Strategy. At the heart of these goals is knowing our business and our customers, and is not something that can be expected immediately of someone new to the position. Knowledge of our customer already exists somewhere in your company, and your first task may be to find a way to collect it, usually from stakeholders; the second part of the equation is for you to express to these stakeholders how the web is affecting their customers and how we can use the web to help their results.

A second level goal derived from this is a Content Strategy defined by specific projects, their goals, and scope. My way of generating a content strategy is through the customer’s experience with our product, unearthing specific opportunities to improve it.

A third level goal is to manage projects and in particular to understand the resources involved in each project, from Information Architecture, to Usability, to Development and Design. The Web Coordinator doesn’t need to be a specialist in these areas but needs to understand them well enough to know which ones are more important for each project and what to ask of each web specialist. There are many courses and books available to understand each area, but your boss needs to understand they will require a specific investment, mostly in time.

The wrong job description will make your life a lot harder because it falls back on a default that isn’t working, which will have you running after specialists who in the end can only generate empty media like web sites and social pages devoid of any interest for your customers and thus of results for your company. You can find a way of rating your website here.

The wrong assumption here is that we will be generating web forms like web sites, or social pages, or pretty design, or fancy technology, to which we can later bolt on some content or functionality; what we need is to be generating whatever it is that helps our customers and our business, which defines our content, which we can then deliver in whichever form our customer is using or is likely to find most useful: a very clear case of function first, form second.

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February 11, 2014January 25, 2017

We’re a small company, what can we do on the web?

Small boat

As a small business you may feel that you should be on the web but that it may be too costly or complex; while there is certainly an investment that needs to be undertaken the good news is that it may be well within your means once you realize the resources required; it is also something you need to be doing for the health of your business.

Investment in what? Ultimately the web can be used as a marketing tool to attract more clients and retain them better, which may be exactly what your company needs to survive and grow in times of a seemingly perpetual recession.

If your local or regional customers cannot afford your products, you may be able to attract national or international customers.
You may find that your expert knowledge of clients, their needs, and your products is something that cannot be matched by bigger competitors even if they have a cost advantage, as customers fail to find the exact solution they are looking for with them, which you may be able to offer.
You could have specific skills which may seem very normal to you but may be uncommon and scarce, and which the customer is looking for.

Marketing? But we barely have money for the usual things available for small businesses, like leaflets and directories, if at all in times of a recession, how can we afford web marketing?

You can probably afford marketing on the web because most of the work hinges on the knowledge of your customers, which only you have; the web is only a set of tools which helps you do more with this knowledge. The need for an investment remains, but most of it will be your own time, which is usually the one resource small business have some flexibility with.

I would suggest that beyond working more hours, which is the usual reaction of a small business manager, you should allocate a specific amount of time, say one or two hours a day, and establish that as part of your marketing budget (so the price of your salary for one hour, times the number of hours per month): don’t let this work go outside your budget or go unappreciated, this isn’t a hobby but part of the business.

The decisions you need to take are:

Establish a need for marketing in general, to attract more clients. Most small businesses rely on location, word of mouth, fliers, while traditional advertising is outside of their reach. The good news is that web marketing can be more efficient than any of these.
Establish how the web in particular can help you (a web medium strategy): audience, specific opportunities and goals.
Establish web solutions for each opportunity, which defines a content strategy. You will be generating this content.
Establish the additional resources required: functionality, technology, interface design… This may sound daunting but if you think of the quickest, cheapest, most efficient way to get your content across to your audience, there are many resources available for free or at a price within your budget. The better defined a project, the easiest and cheapest it will be for a developer to help you.

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