Biznology Blog: September 2006

« August 2006 | Main | October 2006 »

September 21, 2006

A "Real" Example

After my recent post on the Three R's of Web Marketing, I was challenged on the premise of being real with customers. Is honesty always the best policy? Well, nothing is always the right approach in any situation, but being authentic with your customers makes a lot of sense. Coke doesn't have to divulge their secret formula if asked, but they don't have to lie about it either. I ran across a recent case of extreme honesty in the face of difficult circumstances that is a good example of what "getting real" means.

What do you do when you have customers counting on your service and you fail? Many of us marketers would do nothing—that kind of communication is for the tech support department. And of course the sales reps need to be briefed on what to say, because they may be dealing with some angry customers.

Few marketers would decide to post a blog entry entitled “Anatomy of a(n ongoing) Disaster"—but that is exactly what DreamHost did, when they had a series of snafus that produced service outages for their customers.

DreamHost operates the computer servers that run other companies’ Web sites, so when DreamHost fails, their customers’ Web sites fail. Having the company’s Web site down can be a disaster for many businesses, but how many marketers would use that word to describe their own service to their customers? DreamHost did.

And DreamHost went into exhausting detail on what went wrong, which was actually a series of errors, many by DreamHost, but a few out of their control (by their suppliers) that made the problem as bad as it was.

And what was their customers’ response? Some changed to the competition, but many stayed. And the comments posted to that blog entry were overwhelmingly positive:

• “I’m not going anywhere and this blog post is a big reason why.”


• “Posts like this are the reason I love dreamhost and continue to pimp you guys out to all my friends.”


• “…try not to beat yourselves up too much over this period of bad luck..”


• “I have to say that without this post, I’d be outta here.”


• “It’s rare to find a company who is willing to own up to their mistakes and be honest with customers.”


• “…I am rooting for you.”


• "Without this post I would seriously consider moving.”

Did every customer respond that way? No. There were a few flaming comments that took DreamHost to task. DreamHost left them in there along with all the positive comments, for everyone to read.

And then a funny thing happened. Famous bloggers linked to the DreamHost blog to show such a great example for a company being honest under fire. For all we know, DreamHost actually attracted more customers than it lost.

Now will marketing like this make DreamHost a success? Not by itself. DreamHost must actually fix these problems or their customers will flee no matter how honest they are about them. But this kind of authenticity may have forged stronger relationships. It would have been easier to keep a lid on information, to placate customers privately, or to make excuses. And customers are smart enough to know that.

Getting real is not just about avoiding ethical lapses, but about using truthfulness as a differentiator to build trust in your customer relationships.

Posted by mikemoran at 8:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 9, 2006

Podcast on WSRadio about Search Marketing with Blogs and Podcasts

RSS Ray has posted a podcast the interview he did with me on Wednesday on his Online Marketing Radio Show on WSRadio. We had a wide-ranging discussion of the value of blogs and podcasts to your search marketing campaigns and also discussed the use of search metrics. I was honored to be the first person Ray brought back for a second interview on his show and I hope you enjoy the replay as well.

Ray spoke with me for the full one-hour program. The broadcast is divided into separate podcasts to make it more convenient for you:

• Blogs


• Podcasts


• Search Metrics


• Search Metrics MIstakes

Thanks again to Ray for this opportunity.

Posted by mikemoran at 9:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 6, 2006

Radio Interview Today

Tune in today to WSRadio at 1 pm ET to hear me interviewed by RSS Ray on his Online Marketing show. Ray will be talking to me about using blogs and podcasts to assist your search marketing and also touch on what the right metrics are for search marketing. If you're unable to hear the show live, I will post the podcast information for reply after the show airs.

Posted by mikemoran at 6:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 3, 2006

Content-Driven Web Site Course

I was recently interviewed by Lorie Parch as part of her preparation for a course on content-driven Web sites, offered by Mediabistro. Lori asked good questions, so I expect that the course will be worth your while. If your business plan is built upon monetizing strong content, Lori's course may just what you need.

Posted by mikemoran at 8:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 2, 2006

B2B Search Marketing Advice

It's always nice when your book is cited, so we were very happy to see Kelly Shermach extract some advice for her recent article in TechNewsWorld on B2B search marketing.

Posted by mikemoran at 8:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 1, 2006

Danny Sullivan Leaves Search Engine Watch

I rarely post personal entries, but this story is so big that I can't resist. Danny Sullivan, the leading advocate for the search marketing industry over the last ten years, has announced that he is leaving Incisive Media, the current owner of the Search Engine Watch Web site and the Search Engine Strategies conferences. Reaction from around the industry was immediate—an outpouring of support for Danny, in recognition of all he has done for the industry.

I support Danny as well. I first met him years ago at a Search Engine Strategies conference in Boston, where there were only a couple of hundred attendees. At the time, I was an expert in search technology, but I had a lot to learn about search marketing. That conference began my education, as SES has done for so many in this growing industry.

But Danny has meant a lot more to search marketing than just helping it grow. He has constantly sought to expand the knowledge available, to make connections between experts, and to make sure those experts explain things in a down-to-earth way to newbies, all the while holding the search engines themselves to their responsibilities to searchers and to the industry.

When I began speaking at SES, Danny was always tremendously supportive to me (as has Chris Sherman) and I won't forget the opportunities presented to me back then. That platform made possible the opportunity (and a lot of the success) of our book, for which I am deeply grateful.

Many people are angry at Incisive Media, because they have not ensured Danny's continuing association with his Web site and conference. They long for the world to stay as it has been. I wish nothing were changing also.

But cry no sad songs for Danny. He sold his interest in these properties years ago knowing that this day might come. And Danny does not need Incisive Media to continue to be a force in the search marketing industry. Danny has not announced plans for what he will do next, but he can continue to be as successful as he wants to be. Danny has been a big part of the history of the search marketing industry and can continue to be a big part of its future.

Best wishes to you, Danny, in whatever you choose to do next. SEW and SES will miss you, but I suspect that the search marketing industry will not, because you aren't going anywhere.

Posted by mikemoran at 9:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Let Customers Segment Themselves

The Web has forever changed marketing, but one of the ways that is often overlooked is its effect on traditional market segmentation. In a world where your customers are anonymous, how can you do market segmentation? It's easy. Let customers segment themselves. That's the subject of September's Biznology newsletter.

Posted by mikemoran at 12:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack