Which way to enjoy Fortune?

1. Hassles:  As I have experienced before, big files like a magazine are quirky downloading.  You get download errors.  I never did get that Sports Illustrated issue downloaded and it took 3 or 4 shots to get the Fortune downloaded.  I have plenty of memory so I don’t understand the nature of the problem.
2. Puzzles:  As I began the process of downloading the Fortune issue, I saw no mention of what my “deal” was going to be since I am a paper subscriber to the magazine.  Copy price on the iPad is $4.99.  But what is my “deal” since I am already a subscriber?  I emailed Customer Service with this very question.  And the answer came back that there is no deal for me.  I am one of the stupid people who is getting Fortune magazine and that’s my tough luck when it comes to the iPad version.
3. Joy! As I have predicted in the past,  the iPad can be the making of magazines – showcasing more pix and video, keeping the issue current, making feedback easy etc.  And so it was, I:
   1. Enjoyed seeing the celebrity pix of shoppers at Trader Joe’s
   2. Found the video clip most interesting of Flipboard.  Brought the idea home in a more compelling manner than just the story.  (I’ll be exploring Flipboard further in later blog posts.)
   3. Relished seeing the actual examples of Salman Khan’s tutorials which really brought home the article, “Bill Gates’ Favorite Teacher”.  (Ooops, slight pause in composing this blog while I listen to the post about the French revolution.)
   4. Reflected on how times change when I looked over the pictures and timeline for Lehman Brothers over 100 years, including their assistance “some time ago” to a small retailer named Sears!

I’m looking forward to more magazines online and the offers they make to their print subscribers to make it a true multimedia experience.

Got the bus schedule mobile site to check times on the Droid.

You’re able to press a button, engage your GPS and find the nearest bus stop.

I did this standing under the bus stop sign and it replied no bus stop within a 1/4 mile.

Hmmm.

But I liked the functionality that tells you the time of the next three buses.

But, this morning we turn our attention to how marketing applies to small businesses right here near the office.

The Crock Spot at the Farmers’ Market.

I happened to try this at a food fair recently and thought the food was delicious.

Why are there no people?

They have a booth at our busiest Farmers Market and are the nicest folks….but I wonder how long they will last as they don’t seem to do the business that other food booths do.

First, I thought it was the brand name – Crock Spot.  I guess the food is cooked in crock pots, but what you see if a conventional set-up with pans sitting over hot water.  No crock pots.  And then, as a marketer, I take issue with a brand name that is about “what we do” vs. “the benefit we deliver”.

However, I am now more convinced that this is a product design problem.  You, the customer, assemble a custom lunch from them.  There are signs that tell you what to do in steps.  (See them pasted to the case.)  So, you have to make lots of choices to get your lunch.  Which grain?  Which meat?  It doesn’t seem like a menu so much as a science project.

I hope they can make it.

I’m not alone in thinking their food is quite yummy.  Our local magazine, 5280, gave them a sweet review, which the folks in the booth told me about but, of course, they had no mention of in the booth.  (See http://www.5280.com/blog/?cat=5)

Marketing in terms of brand identity, product composition and promotion is key in every business, from small to large.

Off to the Saturday Farmers Market!

When I have both the paper and the iPad option right in front of me, I am moving to doing my business reading on the iPad.  Easier form factor and the video clips are right there as well as color pictures.

Which form factor to use?

Now, you can’t really be completely spontaneous in that decision since when you reach for the iPad, you have to wait for The Journal to download.

Speaking of downloads, keep checking for Updates.  They pile up and they take a little bit of time to get downloaded.

So, if you impulsively grab the iPad, it slows you down while it gets ready for you.

But the Updates are worth it.  Love where The Weather Channel is going, for example!

Thanks to all who pointed out in my last post that I can get speakers for the iPad.  Apple just recommended a set but some buyer comments were mixed on sound quality.  Hmmm.   More to follow.

I suppose I could get going on researching this but I have to allow time for Solitaire on the iPad.

And to those of you who followed my guidance to download Angry Birds, it is not my fault that this is addictive.

I’ve always felt that targeted advertising was the next big opportunity for cable TV.  I’m ready to sign up right now to change the ad mix on The Golf Channel from Viagara, luxury cars and insurance to travel, clothes and cooking!

However, the web is increasingly able to deliver this targeting, which I think is great….but like the Journal’s Nicholas Carr article where he points to danger, I’d like these providers to try to be careful with my information and maybe show me an ad for something that isn’t exactly matching my profile so it’s not all endless trips, fashion and recipes!  I’d like to stay part of the general conversation of American life, not just buried in my micro-segment.

What do you think?

I’m so busy playing Angry Birds that I just can’t step away from my luscious iPad.

A complete addiction

But coming back to pluses and minuses.

1. It’s a great device to travel with and leave the laptop at home if you are only consuming media vs. creating spreadsheets, documents etc.
2. I’m glad to have the 3G as I know I will have signal without looking for wi-fi.  (Except in Montana and Wyoming – see my earlier post on that.)  In fact, I’ve found it very convenient at client sites to just bring the iPad.
3. It’s a nice device for leaving on the kitchen counter and grabbing anytime.
   

   Waiting to be used!

   You might think that the laptop can perform the same function but it’s just bigger and has a higher profile.  Compare below:

   

   The laptop seems bulky and in the way....

4. The iPad is great on the plane.  The form factor lets you sit with it in your lap without the guy ahead of you crushing your laptop when he puts the seat back.  (Flying tip:  get stuff downloaded before you go into Plane mode!)
5. The iPad is so nice when sharing info with someone else.  Easy to tilt the iPad in any direction so your viewer can have a good look.  Great to grab to look up a location and both look at the route there.
6. Now, this will make you laugh.  My two top applications are both major enhancements over the radio – an invention more than 100 years old.
   

   Wow - I've found a superior radio!!!

I’m a huge user of Pandora and love that I can use the iPad wherever.  But my absolute favorite is using the NPR application and time-shifting various shows like Car Talk and putting individual reports into my playlist to hear them while I cook or tackle other tasks.

This brings me to my top minus on the iPad.  The top sound level is TOO LOW.  If I am banging pots and pans, I can’t hear NPR.  The Sony gadget above (aka a radio) would produce more volume but not any on-demand programming.

7. Netflix is very nice on the iPad for spontaneous entertainment.

So, overall, I come out that this is a superior media consumption device with great sharing features.  I could probably go on but I’ve got to get back to Plants vs. Zombies.

Here she is, with 3G!

Here are my pluses and minuses.

Minuses:

1. AT&T network: How would they know that I would pick up the iPad and head off to Montana where I can only get some partner’s Edge network?  Very slow.  Not the time to download apps.  Some apps just don’t work
2. AT&T network, while in the car in Wyoming: No network there either
   

   Beautiful country/no 3G

3. Apps that are just ported over from the iPhone:  They seem sad!  In the little box surrounded by a sea of black.  If you expand them, you think you need new glasses.  Blurry.

Pluses:

1. Love the size and weight: Workable in most handbags, gym bags, tote bags etc.
   

   The iPad can go with you in a medium-sized purse

2. Easier to read than the paper at breakfast: The fun golf article in the Journal is nicer on the iPad than on the big paper when eating cereal.  I did a side by side test.
3. Quite the co-pilot device in the car: I liked the form factor of the iPad sitting in my lap while I checked ball game scores, golf, directions, client email etc via 3G.  I just don’t think this would have been as nice with a laptop and the need to tilt the screen to view and then tilt back to type
   

   Very usable in the car/excellent device for the co-pilot!

4. Multimedia experience great: Instead of just reading the BMW article in the paper, I was able to view the video about the car and check out the photos.
5. Makes a great mirror: When off, you can definitely apply lipstick.  That screen is quite shiny (and full of finger marks)

How about on your end?

A tale for all marketers to remember user testing before they roll out major tactics.

“Comcast and the happiness of all my TVs”

Here we go again with Jennifer Bater, amateur service tech!

What can be observed as a marketer, new product developer and strategist about the challenge of transitioning large swaths of customers to a new technical arrangement? A transition customers must make?

Such as Comcast going all digital here in Denver?

Right off, you have to figure customers are not going to be thrilled. My two secondary sets are not digital…..so each set needs a box. Blech…..more stuff plugged in, more remotes, more batteries to go dead etc. Blech.

Shades of the digital transition that blew up my kitchen TV. I’ve never been able to remedy that…..(No really small TV sets available with digital incorporated, the freestanding digital boxes can’t seem to tune in the kitchen, no coax in the kitchen. But that’s another story.)

I got a letter from Comcast. I ignored it. The main set with the super STB (Set Top Box – I’m onto this lingo) is working.

This is all about marketing strategy, customer communications, customer service, perceptions of value, etc. I’ll recap at the end on my thoughts.

Before the new gear arrived:

• Comcast called me (and miraculously got me) and clarified the letter. I had glanced down at the letter and my eyes only saw another $1.99 a set. (The rep admitted that many people only saw the $1.99 point. But apparently, I get two free boxes before the $1.99 kicks in. This I didn’t understand in the letter. Letter pre-tested?)

• The second dilemma was that I didn’t know what a Digital Transport Adaptor (DTA) was from the letter. I still don’t really know what it is other than it’s a low end STB but not called that. It’s a DTA. (The rep couldn’t really explain it either, but what the heck?)

• I liked the call. I actually had the letter right in the kitchen trying to decide what to do.

• The rep seemed weirdly interested in which sets these DTAs were for. Which rooms are these for? Is the reason that people are stockpiling devices? Signal theft/resale market? Are they trying to smoke out customers who would ask for a box in “reserve”?

My DTAs arrive:

• Lovely packaging. Very slick!

Very attractive packaging/But what's with the "white cable"?

• I start pondering the instructions. They are more than 3 feet long, nearly a foot wide and two-sided. A little daunting. But to their credit, the type is nice and big.

"Lengthy" instructions

• Each set must be set up before any are activated. There was a stern message to this effect. Why?

o Do they have to be synchronized?
o What does the phrase “set up” mean?
o In many ways, I’d rather do one TV at a time and complete the task vs. doing two in parallel. Maybe that’s just me.

• You need to be ready with your serial numbers to do activation and there is a very convenient spot on the giant instruction form to complete this task. But, I can’t write on the paper to get ready for activation. Too shiny. The pen doesn’t work well. More on that in a minute.

• Plus, remember I have to note where each DTA is on the shiny paper. Is this like Google where they are collecting data on the side? Is the little box taking pictures of the room? Do they think my house is so vast that I’ll forget where these boxes are?  Hmmm.

• And then there is Secret Step 4B. You must get the remote set up as it’s the only way to operate the DTA. It’s not optional…..I don’t know why it’s not explicitly in the instructions flow. This is not something you can do later or if you want to. I feel clever that I realized this. Somewhat offsets the fact that I didn’t realize that the original letter offered me two DTAs for free.

At this point, I am also thinking that I spend $120 a month for cable…..and you can’t come out and set this up for me for a nominal sum…..$25 for the visit. I’d pay it. $100 to set this up, then I have to think.

The Install

Here I go – service tech, Jennifer….no, let me pause and have a cup of tea.

Now I’m ready:

1. Go to the guest room set. I get the cables hooked up, the DTA powered up, and then the remote doesn’t work according to the instructions on the 3 foot piece of paper. I go to the detailed instructions and “win” on the first NEC code. I am feeling good.

I believe the guest room set is waiting for activation.

However, the guest room set did flash the message that “you are experiencing a service interruption” and need to call Comcast. I don’t think Comcast really means this, but I wish the message said, “Congratulations, you are ready for activation on this set. Don’t activate until all sets are ready.” This would make me happier.

2. Go to the office set. I’ve got the 2nd serial number noted down by pressing hard on the shiny paper. But then I notice that I’ve written 12 digits and not 13 digits like the first box, so back to the first number where I have misread my attempt to write on the shiny paper. Back to the other set to double-check the DTA serial number. Sure enough, I misread the number I wrote on the shiny paper.

3. Really go to the office set. Off I go, confidently ready to set up set two.

4. “No job is so important that we cannot do it safely”. I’m feeling very confident as I unpack the power cord for DTA #2 and stretch it out.

Unfortunately, I was almost knocked unconscious when I tip over a heavy candle that clunked me on the side of the head and that fell off and nearly broke my reading glasses. I had to have a pause for ice. (This tells you why marketers have to review their instructions with Legal fifty times. I also, at this point, am willing to pay $50 to have someone else do it.)

The candles are heavier than you think!

5. I “win” again! The remote works on the first NEC code. Both sets are on and I am ready for activation. Am I sure both sets are on? Let me back up and check again that both sets are on. This requires climbing up and down 3 sets of stairs.

6. Best part so far: I liked the Comcast web experience. It was obvious where to put in my special number and once I did, the web site KNEW MY DTA SERIAL NUMBERs. Yippeee!!!

So I don’t have to try to read the numbers I wrote on the shiny paper.

When I pushed the button to activate, it backed me up to have me check that the sets were connected and tuned to channel 3. Which they were.

But, I believe it should also have asked me if the sets were turned on. (Or maybe it would work if the sets were off?  Not clear.)

And, it does ask me to Take Our Survey, but I can’t do that right now, I don’t know if I’ve got service working……Hold your horses!

7. Next steps: The web site says it could take up to 45 minutes to have this process go through. The shiny brochure says “a few minutes”. Hmm. I wish the brochure had said it could take up to 45 minutes as I would have had a clearer picture of the time this requires. Goodness, no wonder they don’t want to roll a truck. This could be an hour at the customer’s home.

8. First check-in: It’s been a “few minutes”, let me go see if the light on the front of either set is solid. Up the stairs I go, BINGO! The set is on and playing video. I have lots more channels than I had before without a box. I have the GOLF CHANNEL!

Golf Channel! (complete with the perky white cable!)

9. Check on Number 2 DTA: Down the stairs I go. Sure enough. Set 2 is working!!! With Bloomberg TV. Did I have that before? Certainly not on set 2 in the office.

And Bloomberg too!/See those dangerous candles lurking!

10. The survey: Good, crisp survey. Good job. I was able to mention a few things that hung me up.

But I was bummed out on the question about whether I had watched the online video as an aid to connecting the equipment. I saw no mention of that video. Bummer. I think that could have helped me. Did I once again misread something? There is no mention on the 3 foot long instructions of a video. I would have watched the video.

Also, since I had to check “30 minutes or more” vs. two choices for less time spent, this has to confirm that I was in the slow group on setup. But I did do two devices. Maybe I get credit for that.

Overall, I rate this as a very good experience with Comcast. Yes, I had a few hiccups but I accomplished this in about an hour. Not including the pause to ice my head.

And my lessons learned for all marketers and new product developers –

a) There is true value of naïve testers – you get so close to things that you forget that regular citizens don’t know what DTAs are, for example.

And that reading skills aren’t what they should be. I see the main letter in the box said “go to www.comcast.com/digitalnow for live online support” – would that have gotten me to the instructional video? It doesn’t sound like a video?

b) There is real value in human factors testing – I think that would have caught the shiny paper problem. As well as:

a. The remote not being right in the instructions flow.
b. The funny on screen message about calling about a service interruption.
c. The fact that both of my DTAs were set physically to channel 4, even though the instructions seemed to suggest that channel 4 was the rarity.

i. Why wasn’t the box set to channel 3 then?
ii. Were they all shipped set to channel 4? So, should the instructions have been different?

c) The reminder to all of us as marketers and new product people to do a beta test with regular customers and see how they do.

a. Modify methods as needed
b. Change processes that cause extra customer service cost (Was I the only one inclined to call about the on screen message about “service interruption”?)

d) Track metrics and collect customer feedback. Good survey by Comcast. I would think that they have a target cost per average customer and that they are collecting metrics to see if they met their cost and service call goals.

e) Are incentives a piece of the puzzle when you want customers to do something for you? I felt like a deserved a present from Comcast for having served as amateur customer service tech. I know I got a few more channels but I felt like I merited a credit on the bill or a free VOD for taking an hour of my time.

I’m also hearing advertising in the Denver market about what a “hassle all of this is” by at least one satellite provider. So maybe a small present was merited. Of relatively high perceived value, but relatively low cost for the service provider.

I’m sure I have more thoughts to offer but I must go watch Bloomberg TV in the office and The Golf Channel in the guest room!

• An operagoer in our arts group sold the tickets she couldn’t use last minute on Craig’s List
• I found a Mexican restaurant via my smartphone during an out of town trip.  A restaurant that diners raved about and that was exceptionally close to my hotel!
• I used the food diary function on that same smartphone, scanning bar codes to put foods I ate in the diary and checking restaurant listings for calorie counts.  (This became essential after the Mexican restaurant!)
• And I looked for a Mickey Mouse gift online for a friend vs. conventional methods, getting something more special and at a better price with less aggravation.
  • Had to make last minute bid changes via the very same smartphone.
  • Was encouraged by my dining companion when she saw the excellent picture on the smartphone!

The list goes on and on.  We often talk about an adoption curve for new solutions, but right now, it feels a bit more like a step function.  Once you’ve shifted, you aren’t going back.

And have you seen the crowd at the Apple store every day in every store?

You have to admire Apple.