Deceit has hit peer-to-peers reviews.

Some businesses are now writing so called “peer reviews” or producing fake “customer-generated content” lauding their own products.

Apparently, this not an isolated occurrence. It happens enough that next year the European Union will introduce consumer protection laws to battle it. Those that post fake reviews will get “shamed and named” and some will face criminal prosecution.

The most recent issue of Travel + Leisure magazine (Sept. 2007) provides some tips for spotting fakes. Here are a few examples:

- Beware of ad-copy clichés like a hotel review that says it offers “affordably elegant serenity.” Customers don’t speak or write like that.

- Watch out for vague praise, actual guests mention specific events.

- Name dropping of features like Kiehl’s products in the bathroom. Real guests tend to tout the experience not the product.

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What is the status of the relationships Professional Services Professional have with their small business clients?

Not very strong according a new report by Business Week (The August 2007 Small Business Confidence Study).

One half of small businesses say that their most trusted business advisor is a colleague or friend.  No single professional services group does very well. Even in aggregate they don’t rate as highly as colleagues and friends.

Apparently, small businesses see and use CPA/Accountants, Lawyers, Consultants and Bankers for the tasks they take care, not for the value in the relationship.

At first I was a little shocked. But then I thought about my own “relationships” with these professionals. I don’t seek any of them out for business advice beyond the task at hand. Why would I, none have made an effort to established the requisite trust and credibility. Yet, all have tried to sell me additional services or products.

Then I look at the open dialog going on through Social Media and communities of interest. Professional services, like many businesses, are losing influence with there customers and, without influence they are commodities.

Check out our white paper, Customer Trust and Loyalty.

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The Big Picture

Influence – Power exerted over the minds, behaviors and actions of others; it can be received unconsciously or consciously.

Customer Relationships – The value that customers derive from interactions with a company rather than the utility of their products, and the value the company derives from this influence.

Web 2.0 World – The Internet has evolved FROM being websites displaying information about a company and its products…

TO a content rich network of information and people that enables much more participation by customers. Customers now generate content, share experiences, engage in discussions. When they search for information and guidance they are influenced by one another.

A Growing Buyer-Seller Disconnect – Changing business dynamics are contributing to a growing disconnection between what business practices are serving-up and what today’s customers’ value. The net result—businesses are losing influence with customers and their products are more rapidly becoming commoditized.

Two powerful examples of this disconnect:

Eighty percent of business executives believe they are doing a good job in serving customers. Only 8% of customers agree!  Bain & Co., 2006.

Consumers rank companies, their executives, employees, marketing and products in the bottom third of trust scales. They rank peers near the top.
2006 Edelman Trust Barometer.

Communities of Interest & Influence – Customers are increasingly relying on social networking and social media to establish interactive relationships. “Social” is used here as a relational connection that motivates customers to participate and contribute. These relationships help customers extract more value from present experiences and provide guidance in dealing with a fast-changing and increasingly complex world. These networks and communities have lasting influence in customers’ lives.

Shifting the Focus of Customer Relationships – Companies that focus on shifting the focus of the relationships with customers can regain influence. The shift needs to be from selling and servicing “things” to building trust and credibility with customers. These are the interactions that help customers extract greater experiential value and predispose them to meaningful relationships.

Online and Offline Strategies – Companies that embrace the interactive, networked nature of a Web 2.0 world can regain influence with customers and online and in physical world interactions.

Click the link to get our full white paper on this topic: Customer Relationships in a Web 2.0 World

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Over the past few weeks I have been posting my blogs on other sites. I apologize for neglecting you. Stay tune, more posts are coming to “www.OnCustomers.com”

Here are the links to those posts. There are some interesting issues.

The Evolution of Customer-to-Customer Relationships

Co-Creation of the Fiat 500

The Facts on Word of Mouth

Do Customers Care About Your Green-ness?

The following are on The Perfect Customer Experience Blog - scroll down to the date

7/26 - What’s of Value and What’s Meaningful—the Customer’s Perspective

7/20 - Web 2.0 Marketing: Look Before You Leap

7/18 The Language of Customer Experience

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Top performing auto dealerships are three times more profitable than the average. This comes from a McKinsey Quarterly report (June, 2007). Three times more profitable!

I believe there is an important lesson here for business in other industries.

Here are the key factors that differentiated the Top from the Average:

• Employees - Top performing dealerships put more energy and resources into employees—selecting them, training them and providing long-term incentives.
• Customer Loyalty - Customer loyalty strategies were put into action in a more comprehensive way by top performers. Strategies that helped customers understand the value of maintenance, how to get the most our of the dealership, and ways that simplified the process for the customer.
• Competitive Differentiation - The relationship between the automaker’s representative and top performing dealership was much stronger. They spent much more time coaching and long-term business planning all directed at addressing that dealerships’ unique challenges.

The top dealers were more profitable because they had lower acquisition costs and made more profits from services.

When I take an integrated look at the key factors I see a concerted effort to deliver a compelling customer experience.

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Apple Inc. sold more iPhones in its first 3 days than the first month of sales of Motorola Razr phones. How? Motorola spent a lot of money on traditional marketing and advertising. But Apple leveraged word-of-mouth and the power of networked communities of interest to create customer based buzz.

One week after the iPhone hit the market a spontaneous community of engineers, designers, entrepreneurs and iPhone users are meeting to add features and functionality that customers want to the technology. Dubbed “iPhone Developers Camp”, the event is not sponsored by Apple. It is supported by many other businesses. Adobe Systems is providing space for about 300 people to meet in their San Francisco office. Red Bull and Kettle Chips will provide nourishment. Yahoo will be buying some of the meals and other local businesses are kicking in.

This should be a big wake-up call to business leaders and marketers who are not proactively leveraging online and offline communities of interest. The message should be clear. When customers are engaged they fuel desire, passion and conviction.

Traditional advertising and product-centered marketing cannot compete. But it doesn’t engage customers, nor does it ignite passion, commitment, and advocacy.

Check out our new enewsletter: Hooked: The Psychology of the Customer Experience where we will be covering this topic in more detail in the coming weeks.

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Apple Inc. sold more iPhones in its first 3 days than the first month of sales of Motorola Razr phones.

Apple did very little advertising and promotion in the traditional media. One guy (Steve Jobs) talked about it in January and let the world know it would be available in June. The word-of-mouth by Apple product advocates took over and fueled a vigorous conversation in both online and offline communities.

The traditional media picked up on the buzz and gave the iPhone a lot of free publicity, included heavy coverage of the lines forming outside Apple Stores the day before the iPhone when on sale.

Online communities are more prominent today than when the Razr phone came on the market so it is not a pure test of marketing strategy. Nontheless, in my opinion, Motorola missed the mark. Motorola doesn’t have enough customer mindshare and consumer passion to fuel this type of marketing strategy.

This is a wake-up call to Motorola and other product-focused companies—start shifting the focus of your customer relationships. Build trust and credibility with a passionate base of customers so they fuel the fire and passion for your innovation.

Check out our new enewsletter: Hooked: The Psychology of the Customer Experience, we will be dealing with this issue in more detail in the coming weeks.

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Keeping operational cost down is an essential part of staying profitable. However, there is a paradox in play. Streamlining operations can undermine the customer experience, reduce the value customers see in your offering and miss out on an opportunity to increase customer loyalty.

When the Atkin’s and South Beach diets encourage people to reduce there intake of carbohydrates many restaurants felt compelled to charge extra for substituting items on the menu. “Could I have a few sliced tomatoes in place of the hash browns” lead some to reprint their menus with the extra charge clearly note.

Seeing the glass as half full! There seems to be a growing number of people who are discovering they are gluten intolerant and must avoid all wheat products. Then there are others who prefer whole grain products. Café Pomodoro chose to turn this into a welcome sign. At the top of their menus they state “We gladly substitute whole grain or gluten-free pasta at your request.”

Sure, delivering on this requires a little more effort and cost on their part, but consider the benefits. First, both the gluten-intolerant and whole grain enthusiasts can dine-out at an Italian restaurant without being made to feel awkward. Second, they seldom dine alone so at least one other person now sees Café Pomodoro as a favorite. Then there is word-of-mouth. Not only do those with special diet needs become vocal, so do their dining partners. And, they tend to tout other aspects of the Café Pomodoro dining experience as well.

Interested in learning more about related issues? Check out our free newsletter, Hooked: The Psychology of the Customer Experience.

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How do you create engaging customer experiences that:

• Are so desirable customers will work to participate?
• Create word of mouth draws in new prospects?
• Encourage existing customers to evangelize your virtues and draw the less engaged into a deeper relationship with your company?
• Have a multiplier effect that continues to attract new prospective customers?
• Give free publicity that further builds your reputation for engaging customers in experiences they find compelling?

You take a lesson from St Supery Winery in Napa Valley California.

This past Saturday I joined 29 other enthusiasts on an early morning photographic adventure. For me, this meant getting up around 5:30 am and driving 50 miles. For one group, it meant traveling about 800 miles from Oregon. By 8 am we were all mingling with anticipation in the winery parking lot.
 
What motivated us? The opportunity to gain open photographic access to St. Supery’s Dollarhide Ranch vineyards hidden away in Pope Valley. Wineries don’t normally let 30 people wander freely through their precious crops.

Here’s the lure that attracted two passionate groups. St. Supery announced their “Shutterbug” event in their enewsletter and in the local newspaper. Word-of-mouth did the rest as the 30 available slots filled quickly.

The first group was wine enthusiasts who loved St. Supery wines and wanted an opportunity of get behind the scenes. The second were committed wine country photographers who relished the opportunity to add the prestigious Dollarhide Ranch vineyard to their portfolio.

Both groups are invited to exhibit their best photos in the Winery Gallery during the month of December and participate in a wine reception. Each participant is responsible for printing and framing their own work and all signed a waiver allowing St. Supery to make use of their photos without charge.

As an amateur photographer I will be spending many pleasurable hours making sure my photographs measure up to the more professional group. And, I am fantasizing about out-doing them and taking home the first prize of 6 bottles of award winning wine. Of course, all of us will be inviting friends to the reception.

I am not sure if St. Supery planned for the lively interactions that started in the parking lot and continued all morning. Those of us who had a relationship with St. Supery evangelized not only their wine but their other experiential events like the hands-on blending contest held during a wine release party.

I got some great photographic tips and look forward to seeing what the more accomplished photographers do with the same subject. I won’t have to wait until December since the “pros” will be exhibited on websites and in local galleries in a few weeks.

Want to learn more about the art and science of customer engagement? Download my latest paper – Why Customer Engagement Pays Dividends?

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Interested in gaining provocative insights, learning about the latest research and gaining practical strategies for dealing with today’s customers?

Our new enewsletter,

Hooked: The Psychology of the Customer Experience

gets into the mind of today’s customers and discusses what they value and how they make decisions. It will give you a sound basis for engineering compelling customer experiences—ones that get customers’ Hooked and build committed relationship.

Here are some of the topics we cover:

The Trust Barrier
Why Engaged Customers Equals Competitive Advantage
Do Customers Care About Your “Green-ness?”
When Emotions Rule

To give it a try: subscribe

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