jessie newburn dot com

Co-knitting at Borders?

The local Border's where I live in Columbia hasn't received many of my dollars in recent years. The appeal of being in an endless big-box store, crammed (over-crammed?) with merchandise has lost its appeal. Yet, I've been to the local Borders more times in the last month than I've been in the last few years. Why? I'm interested in co-working: that is, working with others in a productive and social space.

Interestingly, for as large as my hometown is, I almost always run into someone I know there. I love it. I can work. I can have light interactions with weak social ties, and I feel included and connected to the human race when I'm out and about.

Wednesday evenings host the knitting club at Border's. The ladies, and they are all ladies, were chatty, happy and loud. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation and announcement that Border's was, in essence, cutting them off. "The Fire Marshal this ... " "The Fire Marshal that ..." Essentially, their success as a group means they are beginning to outgrow the place. Their announcement to the group: We're looking for a place that can hold us all, like an empty room in a school or church.

Yeah, right.

Half the fun of getting out of the house and meeting up with friends to knit, cowork, study is being out. The chance encounters, running into friends I haven't seen in ages, and striking up conversations with new people is why it's worth going. Knitting in a school room? They'll solve their problem right away, I'd bet. Their group numbers would plummet.

So, there I was in Borders on knitting night. Every table was full, as is almost always the case, regardless of the evening. The adjacent magazine area was packed. It was a chatty, friendly and productive environment. Once again, I found myself irritated at Border's lack of understanding the business model that will take them forward into the next decade or two of financial success: People want public spaces to be together.

I decided to sleuth. I roamed the store and counted 57 people. This is a HUGE store in a grayfield of the suburban nightmare of one-story big-box stores spread over vast amounts of land. There were 63 people in the small bit of space in the cafe and magazine area.

I've blogged about this before here and what I think the solutions for Border's are, so kindly click the link and read on if you're curious.

Enough with businesses trying to do good with pink this, and red that and 10-percent-of-profits-go-to-X kind of overplayed, mediocre, boring corporate do-gooded-ness. It's ineffective. It's noise. It does little.

Just watch what your customers are doing and pay attention to trends. All the answers are right there!

“No, thanks, I’ve got enough.”

Wouldn’t it be something if a slew of our elder citizens, those with more than enough money in their pockets, bank accounts and stashes, would demonstrate civic leadership and personal virtue by agreeing *not* to receive their Social Security checks. You know, to give the cash back.

Come on. We know you’re out there. You made plenty of money buying property back in the day. Perhaps you inherited some highly successful stocks your mama bought decades ago. Maybe you just lived in an era when a blue-collar job was enough income to support your family, own a home, vacation here and there, and sock away some money for retirement.

There’s a significant chunk of elder Social Security check recipients who will never have to pay for the low-cost (below-cost) natural resources they helped deplete: water, agricultural land, mineral resources and petroleum come to mind. There’s a number of SS check recipients who will never pay for the federal deficit that helped create a booming economy where they made their money in land, business or stocks. There’s a number of them that will receive pretty much endless health care when they paid a fraction into the system for what they get out of it.

And, golly, if they got enough in their pockets, wouldn’t it just be the nicest show of citizenship and good will toward their fellow (and younger) Americans to say, “No, thanks. I have enough.”

Maybe they could create a memorial wall, kinda like the stunning Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.. Maybe they could create a special fund with the money to help less-fortunate elder-folk in their generation. Maybe, bless their souls, they’d direct those extra funds to the younger generations who will – have no doubt about it – pay for their generous access to and economically unsustainable costs of national debt and natural resources.

Gee, that would be swell.

Could you, um, wish me well first?

Trend coming down the pike: companies that actually educate their customers *not* to use their products (to help customers save money, be environmentally conscious about their consumption patterns, etc.), and therefore build loyalty if they do need to use them down the road.

Sounds odd? Imagine this. A pharmaceutical company -- rather than spending zillions-o-dollars on branding their purple pill and other cure-all remedies -- could, for example, divert some of its marketing dollars to public health education: in a big way!Serious, practical information and tools to help people *not* need their drugs. By filling the role of public health information distributors, they earn trust and loyalty. Ride the alternative health care / self-care / preventive practices wave in a big way. In the back of their public health info can be a message of, "And if your condition gets to the point where you do need medications, we're here." Rather than, "Hey, we have sexy medication that is well-branded and it'll solve your problems. Ask for it by name!"

Or what if Proctor & Gamble created an entire public health campaign about "healthy homes," with a robust public health education campaign about natural alternatives for daily cleaning, with a "We're here for the tough jobs," type of message. Loyalty. Trust. Appreciation. All will translate to more dollars at the end of the day.

What if Visa educated people about the cost of credit and the importance of living within their means and minimizing the use of credit cards? Imagine how refreshing it would be to see a company caring about its customers, helping them make more informed choices and becoming savvy customers?

Mapquest on the Metro

I was in Manhattan a couple weeks back and faced the somewhat daunting task of figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B on the metro -- 'scuse me, I'm a DC-oriented gal -- I mean, the Subway.

There wasn't even a Subway map anywhere near the ticket machine.

Wouldn't it be nice ... if when purchasing a ticket, a customer had the option for Mapquest-like support. For example, the ticket machine would know my current location, I'd type in the address to where I'm going, and the system would calculate a Subway route plus simple directions on which direction to walk in after getting off the Subway. Then I'd buy my ticket, get a mini route print-out and be on my way.

I think this would be best as an option, of course, rather than a required step, in the ticketing process.

Just an idea ...

Getting copies at Kinko’s? Take a number.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Kinko’s had a customer service set up where all arriving customers went up to the counter, took a number (just like at a deli), got a card for 10 free minutes of internet access in their shop and then were basically able to check their email or surf the internet for a few minutes before their number was called and the Kinko’s staff was ready to assist them?

Waiting in line just isn’t that fun, and Kinko’s has one of those businesses where it’s difficult to staff accurately for every minute of every day. How do they know when someone is going to come in with a mega-huge rush job, or when 12 people in a four-minute period are going to walk in wanting to place complex orders. Or when the thunderstorms that afternoon will be so fierce that no sane person would leave protected shelter unless absolutely required? They don’t. And the result is that they often have long waits at the service counter. At least that’s what I’ve experienced.

Enter the “take a number / surf the internet on us” system. Plus, I bet it’d increase customer loyalty and have people considering that doing business with Kinko's is really quite convenient. They might even find Kinko’s highly service-oriented (even while waiting a long time to be served).

Or imagine a mom with a bored eleven-year-old in tow. Her kid could play on the interent for a couple of minutes and be occupied, while she took care of business. Little stuff like that makes for happy (and loyal) customers.

Personally, I really like Kinko’s and find them an important component of how I run my business. I’d just like them to be more successful.

Stamps 4 Sale at BofA?

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do two simple errands at one spot, such as buying a book of first-class stamps while depositing some checks at the bank?

Faith Popcorn, author of Clicking and the less-popular but equally informative EVEolution, says that one way for a business to earn the loyalty of its female customers is to allow them to multitask with ease. Buying stamps is one really way for BofA, and other banks, to earn loyalty.

Of late, I find BofA branches looking junky. They seem to be cluttering their branches with too many messages, “in-store” displays and attempts to be all-things-financial to their customers. That’s OK. But they feel on the edge of going overboard to me. Just a sense I have. I'm always wary when something feels explosively close to the edge ... and BofA feels that way to me.

Super-simple things like stamps, and maybe even arranging with the Post Office to have a mailbox outside or near their branches, might do wonders where, currently, too many marketing messages at once fall on overburdened ears.

Just a perspective ...

Don't I get a choice if we're "friends"?

About a year ago, I signed up for MyBlogLog, a great service offering great blog stats. The proprietor built in a networking function of sorts, where people could read my blog, join in my "blog's community" and such.

I'm ready to cancel my service.

Not because the core quality of stats and analytics decreased but because there is no vetting of the social technology. Anybody can join my "blog community," but the only Anybodys that seem interested are people hawking there wares.

Hawk all you want, folks. Really, I'm a capitalist. Sell away. Be successful.

But there is some responsibility about social networking and online connections. Don't just spend hours on the internet connecting your link anywhere, any day with no value or reason for the connection. Think a minute. Find a reason. Add value. Otherwise, you're littering! Data litter. Mucking up the internet.

(Yes, I have my rants about this, as my umbrella principle for my business is "Expanding local relationships through social technology.") On Facebook.com I get to agree to let someone be "my friend." It's a two-way street.

Anyway, I'm feeling ticked right now because I'm about to cancel a service I like because the proprietor geek created a cool tool but didn't put controls and good management tools inside the function.

Wouldn't it be nice if, in such "social networks," there was ...
More vetting. More control. More two-way  A-G-R-E-E-M-E-N-T-S about links and public relationships. Less litter. Less chaos. Less look at me-me-me. More value. More thinking. More conscious choices.

Arrrrgggh.

Paypal, I want you on my side.

I like PayPal and what it has allowed in the realm of American commerce. You can read my eBay love letter here. I know eBay owns PayPal.

OK, I can feel myself hemming and hawing, so I’ll just say it straight.

What the heck is up with PayPal’s database and reporting system that every single one of my PayPal transactions noted on my bank account statement looks something like this PAYPAL; DES=INST XFER ;ID=4B8XX

Why can’t it say PAYPAL; GoDaddy ;ID=4B8XX or PAYPAL Frisco Grille & Cantina ;ID=4B8XX?

Why isn’t the transaction information clear? When I use PayPal as a tool, I don’t PAY PayPal; I pay a merchant. When I use a debit card, the payee gets noted in my bank statements and looks something like this: METRORAIL 10/20 #000691XXX PURCHASE METRORAIL SILVER SPRING DC. 

Now, if my debit card was handled the way PayPal handles their customer reporting, then my debit card transactions on my bank statement would look something like this: BANKOFAMER ; DES=INST XFER ;ID=4B8XX. Every single one of them!

Yuk! Sorry to sound whiny, but that’s how I feel. Yuk. Why do I have to point out to a mega huge company that a key element of their process, i.e., the bank record of the transaction, sucks?  ... I mean, it could use some improvements, if you want me to say it in a nicer way.

Dear Gentle Businesspeople, sometimes the stuff to address in business operations is "energetic." It's about subtle things. What I be meanin' is this (using PayPal as an example): Each time I download my bank transactions or reconcile my bank statement, I have to DEAL WITH PayPal. I have to track back. I have to research. I have to dig out paper receipts or my checkbook ledger. I have to work because PayPal didn't. Now, on one  hand, in the scheme of things, big whopping deal. "Get a life, Jessie!" one might say to me.

But through my lens -- and I am a Glitch Spotter, you see -- I sense the small energetic hit from PayPal. My loyalty, love-for, appreciation-for their business lessens each time I am slightly inconvenienced (even if it's on an UNconscious level). Now I doubt many people are consciously walking around saying, "Damn those folks at PayPal! Do you know I had to spend 187 extra seconds -- 187 seconds! -- of my time reconciling my bank statement this month because that behemoth of a business can't bother to do right by me!?"

I highly doubt it.

But I understand as well that most people, in any given day, take dozens of minute "energetic hits" in the forms of inconvenience, extra layers of cold bureacracy that serve no one, customer "service" from sullen and arrogant retail staff, and so on.

I know I'm going into unscientific, non-corporate territory here, but if you've read this far, it's just a few more paragraphs til I'm done here.

People (your customers, current and potential, that is) make decisions by calculating zillions of factors, including the pit in their stomach or the hint-of-a-hint-of-a-hint of a headache they feel each time they interact with your business and have to --

1. pick up the phone to try to resolve, again, the billing problem on their monthly statement,
2. walk into your store to purchase an item that (first, with a quick prayer to the heavens) they hope they can find in a logical place in your store, or
3. try to navigate your poorly programmed, illogical voicemail system rife with "lost in space" loops that go nowhere, for example.

Their particular level of consciousness about how and why they make decisions will vary, of course. But trust you me, it's part of their survival skills and navigation process in an economy rich in data, resources, goods and services. Think you not that you're the only company that can provide X, Y or Z. They will jump ship and may never tell you why. And you'll just be spending more time in marketing meetings developing strategies to "capture more market share." Blech.

So, lest I write a book here: I say SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF! Pay attention. Heck, dare to design your business beyond what is convenient and efficient for you. Experience what it's like to be on the other end of your business. Note every single iota where the flow (the ease, the happy feeling) stops ... where things aren't smooth. In the minutia -- in the tiniest of details is where, I believe, you may find some of the most profound and profitable opportunities to transform your business.   

And here's a bonus for you: small things are often very easy to adjust. "They" simply ask that they be noticed and given their due within the structure of The Big Picture. I believe, obviously strongly by my posting about the subject, that tending to "the small stuff" is how to effect changes of huge magnitude.

So, back to PayPal, could you help me out here, folks? I just want you to give me good (useful) data from the transactions I make using your services. Really. I don't think I'm asking for too much.

5 Black Holes

The Trend:

You know those websites that allow viewers to rate content provided by online community members? The kind where you can give someone 5 stars, or 2 stars or whatever strikes your fancy?

I like them. They help me as a viewer make decisions about what might be interesting and valuable to see on the internet. They also give good feedback to the person who posted the information.

The Opportunity (1):

OK, so why the heck don't we have a BLACK HOLES rating system, for ultra-crappy useless content? I'm not talking censorship or micro-legislation here, just an equal and opposite opportunity to mark content as having really, really low perceived value.

Now, in all fairness, and because I'm completely uninterested in whining without offering solutions, any website that has a "black holes" rating system should -- if I were in charge of it -- have a mandatory field or list of options to check off as to WHY the content got the black holes rating.

For example, reasons for the black-hole rating could be --

• misleading tagging
• dishonest titling
• inaccurate descriptions
• content with little to no value to the subject at hand
• no quality-checking on posts (not even running spell check)
• and so forth, depending on the type of website and the type of content being posted by community members.

Just imagine if someone could add a layer to search engine results with user-rated stars and particularly with user-rated "black holes."

The Opportunity (2):

And while I'm at it: Why in the world isn't there a consumer reporting system to the search engines?
Interested? Read by blog post here.

All Aboard the Quiet Train!

The Trend:

Just this past weekend, I took the train up to Rhode Island to attend an absolutely fabulous music festival: Rhythm & Roots.

When my party and I boarded the train and learned there was a "quiet car," we headed straight for it. How absolutely civilized to travel on a train: comfortable seats, attentive conductors, dining cars, bathrooms available as needed ... and "quiet cars." Rather delightful, I say.

Wouldn't it be nice if more and more businesses offered quiet options? Quiet cafés, for example. How about quiet movie theaters? Or quiet restaurants, where one could dine and enjoy the pleasant din of conversation ... natural conversation ... two-way conversation, di-a-logue, as I believe it's  called, rather than the unnatural one-sided, often unnaturally loud conversations occurring over cel phones.

I want to hear soft, civilized conversation. I can't be the only one.

I would pay extra money to be on a quiet car on Amtrak, under one condition: the Amtrak's staff would have to diligently ensure adherence to the "quiet zone." I want to read. Or nap. Not be the hallway monitor.

I would spend more money on a cup of coffee to sit in a "quiet cafe." And I might actually be seen in a public movie theater if staff and managers actually enforced their "no cel phones" policy. Now, wouldn't it be nice if businesses started to offer such options.

The opportunity:

Dear proprietors, Perhaps you might just discover that catering to your civilized clientele might be more profitable than catering to all possible paying customers. You might un-earth an entirely new vein of profits and customized options for clients. You might just help restore some civility and gentleness to an increasingly loud World.

Another option is the Cell Zone. From the company's website:

The Cell Zone™ is the first commercial, sound-resistant "cell phone booth" enabling nightclubs, restaurants, libraries, and other entertainment venues to offer people a quiet environment where they can place and receive phone calls without disturbing others.

These Cell Zones are rather stylish and sleek booths, and I believe they can be had for about $2,500.

I'd pronounce any ordinary citizen a super-hero for bounding into one of these booths to take or make a phone call rather than in the middle of a restaurant. And I'd call the restaurateur, super smart ... and a super hero.