Used car dealerships love to give away hot dogs. They think that giving away something small in order to bring in people to buy something big is a worthwhile concept. Why? Because the people who don’t make a purchase will think nicely of you while those hesitant to buy are more easily convinced (ostensibly) because you’ve given them something already. They “owe” you in the same irrational way a girl owes a guy sex after dinner and drinks.

Read the rest of this entry »

This post is a response to Ben Kunz’ rant about paying for wireless access at StarbucksSocial Media has a way of connecting things that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. If I didn’t know Edward Boches, I’d probably not have known about Ben Kunz or read his rant about Starbucks (commentary below – I disagree with him) charging for wireless internet access. If I’d not decided to post a response on my blog, I’d have never searched for a photo to include with this post. If I’d never searched for a photo, the ones posted by Starbucks employees in Miami would not have come to my attention.

That said, Ben Kunz recently signed up for the Starbucks wireless access plan. A $20USD monthly fee gets you unlimited wireless internet access at any Starbucks location. Ben is of the mind that wireless should be free at Starbucks and expressed his intensity by tweeting “PS. Starbucks, I HATE YOU.” As he concluded his post, Ben remarked:

But what if we were all honest? What if you had Starbucks as a client, they suggested charging for Wi-Fi, and you looked Howard Schultz in the eye and said, friend, that is one big, dumb-ass move? Howard might be insulted. He might fire you, and have security kick you into the street. But then again, he might avoid a mistake, Starbucks customer loyalty would improve, and the chain might stop closing stores.

If your best argument against an idea is “that is one big, dumb-ass move.” Then you deserve to be treated like the 14 year-old you’re borrowing verbiage from and tossed out of the boardroom. Why? Because it isn’t helpful. It isn’t insightful. It’s just noise.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Free” is a word we’re passionate about. We fight for it, die for it, and when Starbucks makes it from coffee and heavy cream we eat it.

According to some marketers, (ala Seth Godin) “Free” is the way of the future. Until people get tired of enjoying products and services at no cost–which is unlikely–we’ll continue to see products and services promoted through giveaways and free trials.

This brings me to the question I’ve been stewing over for the past few days: What sort of support should we expect to come along with free products and services?

If your pint of Starbucks tastes bad, should you expect to get a replacement without hassle? Yes! I think you should get another free pint. The savvy employee will even go so far as to check with a manager and get clearance to give you coupons for free coffee, etc. It’s important that Starbucks treat you just like a paying customer because their entire promotion is about creating more paying customers.

What about all the free services we enjoy online? Twitter, Gmail, Flick’r, Youtube, etc. Should we expect prompt and courteous responses to our concerns just as if we were paying customers? I think so. I see customer service and tech support as a big part of what makes a product or service unique.

It’s expensive to take this approach to “free.” But the benefits can be dramatic and long-lasting. Consider:

• Starbucks, if they planned their promotion well, has extra staff scheduled to keep lines short and service brisk at retail locations that carry the ice cream. The cost of the promotion is much higher than just the cost of the product because the savvy promoter carefully presents the complete product experience to potential customers. In this case, a short line, quality product, and friendly barista.
• Twitter, if they invested in a “welcome team” that greeted new users and helped them figure out the service, would not be losing users at such a high rate. (Remember Myspace’s Tom? He made a difference. Having a suggested user list of accounts that don’t reply to “normal” people is a recipe for disaster.) Would it be expensive to develop an effective team? Sure. Worth it? I think so.
• Moonfruit, had they assigned a team to Twitter during their weeklong promotion, could have generated a dramatic increase in value-added awareness (sales) just by responding to the question: “WTF is moonfruit?” popping up all over Twitter. By focusing on just building buzz they missed out on a lot of honey.

“Free” is not a new concept to those with experience in the gratuity-driven parts of the hospitality industry. “On the house” are a patron’s three favorite words. But the staff charged with distributing the free good or services rarely feel the same way. Why? Because people who get free food, drinks, massages, etc. seldom remember to tip. In the moment of “free” they fail to behave like paying customers.

A departure from normal behavior often takes place on both sides of “free.” Consumers, given the chance, take advantage (in the pejorative sense) of promotions. Producers and service providers give a lower level of service because they think it’s enough to simply give something away for nothing.

I don’t think it is enough.

What do you think?

Share this post on Twitter

photo: kevin dooley

Update: Since we’re talking about “Free” I should note that I didn’t lift any portion of this article’s content from Wikipedia. =)