Crayon, join the conversation

If you've followed me and this blog for the past 2 years, you would have no doubt heard about Delta Skelter, the story of how an airline broke up a relationship with a loyal, valuable and tenured customer.

• Part of the story was how poorly they treated a Platinum Medallion customer that had purchased a Business class fare - both in the moment and after the fact.
• Part of the story was how anemically they responded and how they gave up and literally "went away" when they got tired/bored of the customer interaction.
• Part of the story was how they refused to "haggle" and negotiate a win-win solution with me (I asked for the moon, they delivered a grain of sand)
• Part of the story was how - 1 and 2 years later - they still haven't "acknowledged" me (hat tip to "Flip the Funnel") and my problem
• Part of the story was the meme (do a search on Google for Delta Platinum Business Class) and the conversation around "will they or won't they" and my attempt at walking my talk (I ain't no Dave Carroll apparently)

So long story short, I cut up my American Express Skymiles credit card. I went from Gold Medallion to Silver Medallion to No Status in 2 years. In fact I flew less than 10,000 miles the first calendar year after #deltaskelter.

I flew only when I absolutely had no other choice to fly Delta Skelter, but this year - after a trip to South Africa (sadly, American does not fly there), I suddenly noticed I had Silver status and with only 16,000 miles to go to Gold (plus I've already qualified for Executive Platinum on American for 2011), I decided to give Delta Skelter a second chance to lose the "Skelter" once and for all.

Big mistake.

I paid $2,500 to fly Business Class to San Francisco, expecting their advertised BusinessElite(tm) service. Instead, they did the ole switcheroo....changed planes and seating configurations....put me in a seat I didn't want to be in....and offered me a choice of chicken or beef (when I don't eat either). I spoke to the flight attendant who very kindly offered me the cheese and crackers from the coach food for purchase menu (she didn't charge).

...and then I tweeted using their GoGo service.

 
To my surprise I get back this:

OK, so maybe you've changed. Maybe you've read "Flip the Funnel" and the story of Delta Skelter included in the book. Maybe you've learned your lesson and this begins an entirely new chapter in our turbulent relationship:

 
...and maybe not:

So 24 hours without response and in the spirit of full disclosure, here's a DM (direct message) I got from them within moments of my follow-up tweet:

Actually it's not ok.

And I don't accept your apology.

You didn't reach out until I reminded you.

It's not my problem that you have no contact management/hand off process in place.

And if so, you need to communicate that.

And FYI: you still haven't resolved my June 2008 issue.

And you still haven't resolved this one.

#deltafail all over again

PS Think I'll do an entire series of posts about the "new rules of customer service" and how Delta can improve their service by following this protocol.

Last week, Comcast's Twitter man Frank Eliason (better known as @comcastcares) announced that he would be leaving his post at the nation's biggest cable provider for a similar social media job at Citigroup. As @comcastcares Frank not only played an instrumental role in his company's social media turnaround, and driving a real world shift in brand perception -- we also gave social media gadflies one of the first concrete examples of how big business could use Twitter (or more generally real-time interactions) to deliver tangible benefits for its customers.

For many in the social media space, and I'd suspect many of the customers Frank and his team helped with just-in-time Twitter support, Frank and Comcast were practically synonymous. And now -- to my knowledge at least -- he is the first of his kind to leave the company with which he has become social-media-connected-at-the-hip.

Frank will no doubt do great things at Citi, but the real question is: What does this move mean for Comcast?

From a business perspective, it seems as if Frank and Comcast have it under control (Frank's vision is that his team will step in and man the stream). But here the real question isn't whether the business can hack it at customer care 2.0; it's whether (in @comcastcares) Frank Eliason has built up a corporate asset or simply a personal brand.

My thinking: Frank has built a balanced brand. And I think the idea of the balanced brand is a key concept for social businesses.

OK, so what is a balanced brand?

It's one part business, one part human, and (done right) 100% sustainable long after the humans move on to be replaced by other humans.

We're all familiar with the traditional notion of brand (a corporate thing that, right or wrong, typically comes to life through logos, slogans, taglines and the like) and -- thanks to the interwebz -- most are familiar with the concept of the personal brand (a human thing that some celebrate, others denigrate and the rest of us realize is something that we all possess to one degree or another whether we cultivate it or not. In other words: you are what you is.) The idea of the balanced brand argues that the one and the other don't necessarily serve conflicting goals -- in fact, the can work in tandem for the benefit of both the business and the people in the business.

A balanced brand, as the term implies, strikes the right (wait for it...) balance between the corporate and the human. It's a balance that effectively gives a company a friendly face and familiar voice, but doesn't sacrifice the underlying business drivers in the process.

Err too far toward the personal and the individual becomes so inextricably linked with the company's social presence that a departure can be devastating.

Err to far toward the corporate and what's the point, really? This is where you see companies turning to social as just another branding channel, another way of pushing promotions, or some other marketing 1.0 retrofit of web 2.0 tools.

Stick pretty close to the gooey center and you've got it just right. A social media reverse-mullet of sorts (but in a good way) that is personal in the front and business in the back.

I have no illusions that this idea is earth shattering. It's interesting (to me at least) but to be frank (pun intended, I suppose) it should be common sense. Fortunately, unlike in the early days of social and even in many of today's social missteps, it's starting to become common practice.

Clearly, Frank hasn't built the only balanced brand in social business. Dell's Lionel Menchaca comes to mind, as do the thousands of real people offering twitterati electronics advice as Best Buy's Twelpforce (the tweets may come from the corporate account, but each is "signed" with the employee's personal handle as well.) In these cases, the consumer is well aware they're dealing with a real person but it's also amply clear that the real person is speaking as a representative of the company that keeps them.

Of course, for every positive example there are plenty of negatives -- the people who use their company's social presences as their personal pulpits (the people who give personal branding a bad name, and likely give themselves bad names in the process); the companies who are so stiff and faceless in social that they'd be better off investing in bigger banner buys (the companies that that people may not hate, but companies that simply can't relate).

As usual, my half-baked thinking will be better with your more fully baked thinking. What do you think? Useful concept? Total BS? Let those comments rip.

Twitter's iPhone App sucks. Yes, they purchased Tweetie and are attempting to go it alone so to speak....but why?

Twitter is going the same way that every other company that came before it went. It's forgetting it's roots, equity and heritage i.e. its community that ultimately crowdsourced Twitter to its perceived supremacy.

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• Tweet or RT: New JJTV - Twitter Hubris in 140 characters or less - http://bit.ly/twitterhubris 
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How do you scale Humanity? That's the real question to be answered when it comes to adopting and truly delivering on social media.

If you truly want to scale your brand, you're going to have to scale the human beings that power your brand. 

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• Share JJTV with your twintern, colleagues, clients and followers
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The power of advocacy, retention and word of mouth in action for the Roger Smith Hotel and how authentic connections (as opposed to tools) helped an otherwise unknown hotel become a Social Media Mecca.

This is my conversation with Brian Simpson (@bsimi on Twitter) at the launch party for "Flip the Funnel" at - where else - the Roger Smith Hotel.

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The ease of spitting out something inflammatory or defamatory shows how vulnerable companies are in this day and age, especially when we're giving employees access to our corporate messaging in the form of Facebook, Twitter etc.

This is the danger of what happens when "familiarity breeds contempt".

This doesn't mean abstain....it just means that companies need social media corporate guidelines now...more than ever before.

Story being referenced here is with Vodafone in the UK. Click here for more information.

What do you think?

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With social media usage approaching something like ubiquity, it's not surprising to see creative endeavors that are are hatched and nurtured in social find their way into the more traditional mainstream media. To name just a few: Twitter's @shitmydadsays has been optioned for television, countless writers have gone from blog to book including the successful and surprisingly good horror send-up John Dies at the End, more still -- like J.C. Hutchins (who is profiled in my book) -- go from podcast to print.

It's practically harping on yesterday's news to talk about social media projects making the jump into the so-called real world. But I'd like to call your attention to a crossover that is near to my heart and for which I'd love to solicit your support (hey, I don't ask for much - the next time I do, it will be to ask you to buy my book - so indulge me for a few minutes.)

Enter David Niall Wilson: a horror and science fiction novelist turned Twitter fanatic. Early in 2009, a couple of chance remarks made on Twitter got his creative juices flowing and, as often happens with creative types, before long those stray remarks had inspired the basic plot for a horror screenplay that is equal parts slasher movie, serial killer story and ecological thriller. David called his script Killer Green, began publishing it to his blog one scene at a time (the first two scenes are still online), and letting his Twitter followers know when they should tune in for more. 

With the script written, David quietly went about optioning the screenplay to a small indie production house that, in turn, secured commitments from some talent to play key roles. And so the movie sits, awaiting production which -- as you undoubtedly realize -- costs money... More on that in a second but first:

Why am I telling you all of this?

Well, for one thing David is a friend (disclosure: he has also sent Amanda and me some free stuff over the course of the past couple of years and suffered through a very bizarre phone call on Thanksgiving 2008). For another, taking his inspiration from Twitter in more ways than one, David loosely modeled Killer Green's cast of characters after people he had gotten to know 140-characters at a time. One of the film's main protagonists -- Professor Gregory Verdino -- is, well, inspired yours truly; Professor Verdino's love interest is inspired by my love interest; and other social media notables like geekosaurus Chris Brogan feature prominently as well. So hell yeah I'd love to see this thing on the silver screen.

Cut to close-up of you: It's fitting that a movie inspired by the social media community find its funding in the social media community as well. And that's exactly what the Killer Green crew are aiming to do -- which is why I'm writing this post, because I'm hoping you can help.

How?

Most of all, I'd like to encourage you to check out the Killer Green fundraising page on IndieGoGo -- if you're familiar with social fundraising startups like Kickstarter or the music-focused SellaBand, think of IndieGoGo as something similar, with a big focus around helping indie producers get their movies made through small financial contributions from regular people.

You can learn more about the movie and, if you like the idea or just want to support it, you can contribute toward its $50,000 fundraising goal.

Even if you can't contribute money, you can certainly help to build the buzz. I'd love it if you would share this post on Twitter, Facebook or with your friends. Point people to the Killer Green page. Tell David Niall Wilson you love him (ok - I can't ask that much, but it doesn't take much to spread the word and help something social come to life on the screen.)

Professor Gregory Verdino will thank you. I will too.

As many of you know, I join Bob Knorpp once a month as he hosts one of the best marketing podcasts on the Web, The BeanCast.

If you currently subscribe to Marketing Podcasts via iTunes, then do yourself a favor and subscribe today.

For me, it's been a great way to stay connected to "audio" and in that regard, I've pushed out the show once a month to my own podcast subscribers, "Jaffe Juice - The New Marketing Podcast." It's also probably inspired me to get back to podcasting (which I just found out, the Podfather - Adam Curry, has started to do again with his legendary Daily Source Code show) and I'm currently recording at least once a month with brother-from-another-mother, Mitch Joel.

...and while you're at it, you can subscribe to mine via iTunes here. I hear I'm great on the iPad for what it's worth.

This week on the show, I shared the panel with John Wall, Darryl Ohrt and Alan Wolk as we discussed:

• Facebook's slew of announcements coming out of F8
• The maligned Nielsen Facebook study (and implications on social media efficacy in general)
• Free goes Fee (Hulu)
• Marketers "blaming" consumers as their new "green spin"
• the Lane Bryant-ABC "too big for Prime Time" kerfuffle

It's amazing how many companies are selling fringe social media solutions to mainstream brands that have mainstream audiences.

Prove to me that you have enough people that count. And enough people that matter.

If you're trying to experiment as part of your R&D or innovation process, go for it...but if you're trying to sell more stuff, you need to worry about reach.

I sound like a heretic, don't I? Or do I?

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