The social media 'full' loop

I always like chatting business with my pal Bryn Griffiths (Fan 960 in Calgary) as we have such ying-yang conversations.

Often he's on one side of an issue and I'm on the opposite side, which really helps bring 'me' back into perspective on occasion.

In discussing the differences in Social Media in both Canada and the United States our debate the other day was very interesting as I tried to explain the difference (in my opinion) of companies that 'get it' versus companies 'that don't.'

Bryn's point was that the current business climate (coming out of a recession) has limited companies from truly engaging in adding a social media element to their businesses. Many are still 'recovering' and don't have a bunch of extra cash to throw at an evolving media.

My point is that 'those that don't may find themselves in trouble sooner rather than later.'

It's very clear that the business template is changing, and alot of it is tied to demographic expectations.

My daughter Rayanne, for example, chimed in and carefully pointed out that she only cares about "coupons" and "exclusive opportunities" with offerings she can access on her smart phone or newly aquired iPad.

"Why would businesses simply direct you to their website with a QR code Dad? I could easily just dial it in on my computer. I want something different and special."


Great point!

Next, one of the big differences I see from businesses that get Social Media is the 'full use of technology' - or in other words 'looping' all their social media tools in a very positive manner.

One such group that I'm totally impressed with is the PF Changs/Pei Wei restaurant group.

Pei Wei is the offshoot of the highly successful PF Changs restaurant. PF's specializes in family style dining...you know...order several dishes to split amongst the group....whereas Pei Wei has select dishes designed for one and has a tremendous 'take away' business.

Both are highly enjoyable and have absolutely tremendous positive images within the restaurant business in the United States. (Montreal and Toronto are in store for PF Changs this spring by the way)

The Pei Wei Social Media plan is superb. First off, when you go to their site and register you are offered an opportunity to 'join the club for benefits' down the road. Then you start to receive what I call "premium email offers."

These are works of art....very well written....tempting...colorful....and quite often will unveil a new product.

But they don't stop there.

There's a link on the 'premium' email where you go to a second site featuring a map of the world. On that map you are invited to check out the new product and click on the area of the globe where that dish has been featured.

Up will come a very well done video featuring a Pei Wei Chef who describes in details why they choose this dish; what ingrediants they are using; nutrition information; details on how they put it together and why they brought it to North America; and other highly enjoyable visuals from the area where the 'info-mercial' was video taped.

This message is short - to the point - and very well presented.

After the video is viewed you are automatically connected to a direct email, that arrives very quickly to your computer with a FREE coupon for that dish. As you travel around the world more and more of these offerings are yours and you begin to earn an Expert stamp.

Time to complete?

Less than 3 minutes. You're given a date range to enjoy the dish and the coupon provided to you has a bar code for them to measure in store response.

And most importantly 'measuring response and interacting with your customer is everything in a social media world' as my radio consulting pal Dave Lange adds:

"The key to building a social media plan is to engage an audience. To engage them you can’t just SELL the unique qualities of the brand – that’s what we did in the old days of marketing.

Social Media is not ‘broadcasting’ it is interacting with the fans of the brand and the goal is to spread the brand’s fans to bigger and bigger numbers.

To do that you have to enlist the heavy users and get them buzzing. The first step is building a creative interaction and then scheduling it so that as many of your fans as possible catch the news.

The 2nd step is to make sure you know when they have seen the message with your metrics and analytics. 3rd you have to monitor and follow up on your engagements – the news that over 79% of comments from fans on brand pages go unanswered is not a healthy stat on the brands efforts in Social Media.

You have to lead and engage the conversation to really be effective here. Just pumping out 1 sentence sales pitches will not build your fan base to any actions for your brand.

Random acts of Social Media won’t catch any fish. You need to research the lake, pull out the sonar, light up the fish finders and get a good lure in the water – you also better have a really cool fast bass boat."

From start to finish the PEI WEI program is as slick a presentation as you'll ever see. No television commercial could compete with the 'length' factor - nor the 'on demand' factor - nor the 'instant response' factor.

The 'loop' as I call it is thus complete. Customer loyalty means I receive those offers first - they reward me instantly - and the opportunity to dine for free is something 'everybody' can surely enjoy.

I have not found any other company anywhere in either Canada or the United States with that full loop and I'd be interested in hearing from anybody else who can. In the changing world of new media new and innovative ways to engage with your customer can make a really big difference on a go forward basis.

In fact I've found the opposite recently by using the COMMENT or EMAIL connection on several websites where I tried to connect to the client and had 'no response.' Some of these are rather large or highly important businesses and it seems that 'nobody' is checking their email and they don't even have an 'auto response' sent back with other important information - like a name or telephone number to contact the business.

Giant Fail!

So Bryn, I enjoyed our discussion as always and invite you to come along for dinner to Pei Wei...it's on me!


**If you want to check out Dave Langes great social media work please feel free to reach out dlange210@att.net – Engaging Social – Social Media Platforms.**

The REAL CRTC leadership criteria

The following is an excerpt from the head hunters description for their search for the new head of Canada's regulatory group - the CRTC.

"As Chief Executive Officer of the CRTC, the Chairperson establishes the corporate vision and values, defines the strategic priorities and plans and sets up the organization structure and operational systems and processes to guide the work of members and staff. This includes assigning members to panels and providing strong functional direction and expertise to members to enhance their conduct of delegated panel responsibilities and other areas of activity and to ensure executive direction of professional staff. He or she directs the development of policies, recommends their approval to the CRTC members and oversees their implementation."


I think we need a more ground level look at exactly what this position is going to demand in the coming years.

First off - REAL POWER

The new head of the CRTC is going to have the toughest challenges 'ever' in a rapidly changing media world. He/She will have to have enough power to work directly with the heads of the many 'billion dollar corporations' who have multi holdings in cities big and small across our country that impact on each other on a daily basis.

These giant media companies have radio stations, television stations, cable tv operations, satellite distributors; cell phone companies; internet companies; specialty channels; music companies; program distribution companies, and on and on and on.

In recent CRTC hearings it was quite obvious that some of the leaders of these companies feel they are indeed 'above the agenda' and to quote one very very rich gentleman who spoke at a hearing last fall "this is a total waste of my time."

The recent 'throttling' of internet speed is yet another concern that is an example of 'we're over and above' the rules and regulation in Canada.

The new leader will have to have the 'balls' to separate each and every one of these regulated business into a 'sole issue' where his/her decision is focussed directly on the one company that is dealing with the CRTC rather than the impact it could have on one or more other holdings down the line that the broadcaster holds in Canada.

Next: TECHNOLOGY SAVY

More than ever before technology is moving faster than the speed of the decision process and radio and television, specifically, is being affected by new devices, new ways of viewing/listening, and new 'options' for the consumer.

He/She will have to be fully up to speed 'personally' on all the technological developments that are happening around the world that will affect viewing and listening habits due to advances in technology. This alone requires a very hands on understanding of the cause/effect of new 'appliances' being developed as the border is now virtually gone between Canada and the United States with cyberspace delivery so much a part of our daily lives.

NEXT: COMPASSION

It's far too late to close the barn door as the horses are long gone from the pasture with our licencing process. Consolodation is here to stay and the 'chain store' style of running radio and television stations is now a coast to coast reality.

However, it must surely be realized that the game 'can' be changed by allowing new competitors on to the landscape with a 'real' opportunity to provide new and innovative programming in both radio and tv.

Over the past decade it has been nearly impossible, other than in the smaller markets, for this type of programming to evolve due to the decision making process of granting new licences.

In market after market, in the major cities in Canada, these new competitors have been licenced in 'stand alone' situations only to find that it is nearly impossible to compete on an even playing field with the billion dollar companies.

In markets where the new radio stations have been granted a licence the stations often only last about a year or two before they are a) either flipping formats 100% and giving up a 'niche' format or b) appearing before the CRTC again asking for 'another' licence with the criteria being that they need a second (or third) licence 'simply to survive.'

In television the United States has just seen the biggest quarter 'ever' of cancellations for cable/satellite service as viewers are moving to a 'mobile' platform - and when you're in the US you can now access virtually every major networks entire year of programming on demand (with few commercials or promos) via PC, laptop or tablet viewing.

Mobile is becoming a huge growth area and the new smart phones and tablets have triple the power they had a few years back with screen sizes (or apps to transfer to a big screen) that are very easy to watch.

The growth of Apple's iPad alone should be frightening to any terrestrial broadcaster - and as we've seen in the recent past when the impact is financial the only way to react is to 'cut service' (ie programming and people) to survive.

Finally, to me, the loss of the CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS (CAB) a few years back was a sad statement meaning there is little meaningful dialogue between the broadcasters and the regulators.

The 'smaller market' guys are the ones hit the hardest - and they're the ones that need the greatest assistance to crash through the barriers to success that they have to deal with in Canada.

There hasn't been a 'major' review of CAN CON levels in years and we never did come up with a 'new and emerging music' policy so that new talent isn't being forced off the air by 40 year old badly over played Can Con. (With the deepest apologies to Trooper!)

Indeed we need 'more communication in the communications business.'

It's going to be a tough gig. This person will have to be 'extremely' in touch with where the radio and television industries are going as viewing and listening habits are being affected by the biggest paradign shift in a lifetime.

He/She will also need a Canadian Government that also understands these changes AND the CRTC must be given a set of rules and regulations that are strong; clearly understood; monitored; and practical so that the Canadian airwaves don't just simply slide away from the next generation of consumers at all levels.

To quote from today's POSTMEDIA article:

Whoever inherits the job, a successful tenure may hinge on whether the appointee can convince Ottawa to rewrite the rule book.

The Broadcast and Telecom acts — two pieces of legislation written decades ago — continue to dictate the commission's decision-making. The anachronistic framework has come to undermine the CRTC's powers, the departing chairman has warned repeatedly.

"Our present tools are very inadequate," von Finckenstein said late last year.

Since taking over in 2007, the former Federal Court judge has advocated merging legislation to reflect a consolidating marketplace that has seen the biggest broadcast entities bought up and integrated with larger telecommunications operators, such as Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc.

Updated rules must also contemplate new web-based services such as Apple TV and Netflix Inc., which skirt Canadian regulation altogether."


I concur!

*****UPDATE ADDITION:******


Ian Morrison, of the advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said it will be a challenging year for the CRTC, with a lot riding on the one the Conservatives pick to head the commission.

Ideally, that person would know the industry but also have the independence to withstand the deep-pocketed muscle of the broadcasting conglomerates.
“They have so much resources to manipulate the commission, they outgun the commission, they can afford very expensive lawyers,” Morrison said.

But the longtime watcher of Canada’s broadcast industry has his doubts whether the Conservatives will pick a strong leader for the CRTC.

“There’s a real danger that a bad appointment or a reduction in the authority of the CRTC could cause a thing that has served Canadians well for decades to unravel,” he said.

It's a mobile video world!

We've come a long way from the 2 channel universe. At one time in Edmonton, believe it or not kids, we just had CBC and CFRN Television - and yes in gorgeous 'black and white.'

Yes I'm old enough to remember when we had one of these beauties - and I can actually remember the full television line-up from Sunday nights back in the late 50's. The World of Disney followed the 6 o'clock news; then Gunsmoke; followed by the Ed Sullivan Show. (It was off to bed after that)

The evolution of television, to oversimplfy it, then evolved through the 1960's - adding more 'local' television stations (ITV - which is now Global TV) - and finally cable came to town, offering television signals from Spokane, Washington.

In the 80's the evolution then turned to satellite - and many of us had these giant units in our backyards - bringing in (at that time) FREE television from the United States that often was 'scrambled' - meaning we'd have to either buy black market codes for the channels we wanted OR actually PAY for them, a la carte (which I loved).

Now that 2 channel universe became the 500 channel universe and it dwarfed that famous Bruce Springsteen song "57 Channels and nothing on."

Today, as I scan through my cable television guide in both Canada and the United States it's absolutely amazing to scoot through the 'hundreds and hundreds' of channels and end up saying that same statement..."there's nothing on television tonite."

It's a matter of personal choice but the amount of programming we now have is nothing short of amazing - and guess what - we're getting more!

If you have an ipad, or any other tablet, you can sign up to several MOBILE Video services, including iTunes and Netflix. You can now 'rent' video's that appear on your tablet for a 30 day period for anywhere from 99 cents to an average of $4.99. You can also 'buy' those video's as well.

Netflix service is available now in both countries - and in Canada for less than $8.00 a month you have unlimited viewing of an ever growing library of movies and tv shows.

Me? I'm addicted to the old classic shows - the Mad Mad Worlds; old TV shows like Rockford Files; the great documentaries that often were aired only once and on a specialty service that was so far up the channel guide you'd often miss the program.

In the United States there has been an unprecedented 'cancellation' of traditional cable and pay services since the introduction of 'mobile video'. One of the reasons, quite simply, is that we are 'over paying' for our cable/satellite service for the actual usage that the average viewer consumes. We are now also paying a premium to watch in High Definiation (HD) - as it is an add on to your regular cable meaning you're actuallly paying TWICE to watch it in HD instead of 'regular' cable.

*We subsidize the channels we don't watch by paying more for channels that we do watch!*

Where am I going with this?

Well at this moment I'm sitting in Edmonton Alberta Canada watching my Netflix feed from my condo in Phoenix Arizona on my ipad. It's a MOBILE world and the huge growth in tablets and the success of services like Netflix are 'only the beginning' in the mobile world.

There are 'several' new services being developed in the States, mostly from satellite and cable companies, or from companies like Disney that have huge libraries of movie content, that will be available to the consumer 'shortly,' and the consumer is only going to put up with being over charged for so long.

With devices like Slingbox we also now live in a borderless world and can access our home television virtually anywhere in the world on our tablets and smart phones.

We've come a long way from the two channel black and white universe - and I look forward to seeing where our giant Canadian cable and satellite companies go with this immense amount of competion that is very quickly coming to our borders.

Radio comes late to the app party

In my radio career I spent as much time learning about 'psychographics' as I did about 'demographics.'

Yes the ratings are based on the 'age' of the person listening to your radio station but I always believed you'd get more mileage (ie. expand the demo's) if you understood the lifestyle of the listeners.

I, for example, don't really fit the profile of my 'age' - or as my good friend Terry David Mulligan so glibly said "Marty - you're not the poster boy for retirement."

My lifestyle is 'very' active - and I enjoy a great deal of the same music that both of my daughters (age 24 and 27) enjoy - on both ends of the spectrum from rap to rock. (God Bless Pitbull - I wanna hang with that guy) - and God Bless Dave Grohl - I'd kill for his hair (or any hair for that matter.)

As such my 'digital tastes' tie in to my work with Radiowise Inc. - and it's again evident to me that Radio is coming too late to the party with radio apps.

I also believe we should throw out the Gen X and Gen Y terminology and start to use the "M Generation" (mobile) because they're the ones that are really shaping where the entire media scope is going - in reading, viewing, and listening to media.

The "M" Generation is a psychographic - and it's age span is wide and growing wider each day.

As such one thing that really surprizes me are the current APPS that radio has thrown out there in the past year or so.

Ths M generation is all about a) choice and more importantly b) SPEED.

In the 'good old days' you'd stand in line at the bank for ages - while today if there's ONE person at the ATM you simply walk away because you're steps away from another one.

Same with radio.

Space is 'precious' on mobile units - iPhones, iPads, smart phones, etc. so the M Generation are terribly happy with that one stop thing - in other words using an app like TuneIn Radio.

This app can find virtually 'any' radio station in the world - and has a search button for a certain city (where you can find 'all' the stations in that market) - by music choice - by talk station - by sports - has a 'pre set' for favorites button - and you can also 'record' on the app.

In Canada when I'm looking at the big corporate Apps I'm surprized at many things.

First off 'few have search buttons' - 'most' don't have record buttons - most make you scroll through city after city after city to get to the one you want and if you have multi brands under your umbrella you'd have to literally go across the country to find the 'correct' one.

Another fascinating part is that most station apps have little to keep me 'sticky' on the site. I really don't want to read a blog that a station posts from a person who is really not that interesting to listen to on the station in the first place.

Blogs can be a great extension of the person - but it takes work and creativity....not what you did on the weekend or Grandma's recipe for cupcakes.

Give me something 'different' please.

"Stuff the CRTC doesn't let me say on the radio station."

"Tips - advice - links to other really interesting stuff."

Next, "loyalty is everything."

Many stations have now opened up Facebook "Fan" sites - but leave them almost blank.

As I scan through many of them it's amazing to see they only have 'about a hundred fans' - Information is long out of date - there's nothing interesting at all - no prize opportunities - little station information or really no reason to actuallly LIKE the page.

If you go to the big highly successful companies Facebook fan sites - ie. McDonalds and Starbucks - you can see the real power of these pages. With 'one click' of the mouse these giants can reach from ten to twenty five MILLION people.

Their sites are complete brand extensions - great looking pictures - offerings - discounts - 'contact' with the customer.

Radio's missed that!

The mobile crowd is quickly redefining media, as I've mentioned, and they consume Mobile capacity like crazy. They are NOT going to junk up their mobile units with every radio stations/corporate app when there are way more efficient app's to get the content they want.

If your radio station General Manager - Sales Manager - and Program Director are not 'active' on Facebook - Twitter - Sound Cloud - Pandora - Flipboard - Pinterest and other digital platforms it means that nobody at the top of the heap is pushing the Digital guy or girl in the office to move the platform forward too.

Sit in a room with the M crowd - listen to their opinions of your local or corporate app - and you just may be surprized to find out how far behind you're tracking in their expectactions.

I love digital. It's exciting. It's creative. It's interactive. It's fun. It's engaging - but I really do feel that most radio companies have missed the opportunity and this M Generation is quickly redefining what they will and will not listen to on their mobile units.

How does your station/company stack up?

I'm right huh!

Customer Service - the Giant Abyss

I hate big business.

Check that - I 'really' hate big business.

The reason I hate big business is that the bigger the business gets the bigger the potential for 'customer service' problems exists.

Over the last decade or two customer service has really turned into the abyss in Canada - and technology has a great deal to do with it, sadly.

When I was growing up if you bought something and it didn't work you'd just take it back to the place you bought it and 'nine times out of ten' you'd receive an apology and an instant refund OR they'd give you a replacement product for the one that didn't work.

Try that now.

First off, Big Business has so many built in WALLS OF AVOIDANCE now that it is almost impossible to a) reach somebody instantly or b) speak to a human being.

Most 'customer service' departments are now off shore and you end up speaking to somebody in a land far far away who I can safely say "doesn't give a poop about your problem" and most struggle with the English language which truly adds to the frustration.

The next best WALL I love is the 'instant email' response that you get with the big disclaimer on the bottom that says "THIS EMAIL IS NOT MONITORED - PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO IT" - so I look for a phone number, name, or any other place where I actually might get to find some assistance - and "nope."

Or the other great one is the WALL OF WAIT where the auto answering system can actually tell you how long you will have to wait to talk to a customer service agent. "YOUR WAIT WILL BE APPROXIMATELY SIX HOURS" - Huh! (I don't make this stuff up folks!)

But a few of my most recent favorites include these classics.

This fall I cancelled my cell service. Now I'm not going to name any companies because it doesn't really matter because there's a built in "I don't give a poop" attitude among them all because they're owned by giant corporations that have some much money coming in from 'other' virtual monopolies that a few hundred cancellations a day means nothing.

In fact there's a great 'break even' system going because you have to move your account to another one of the giant corporations so one customer out - one customer in.

Google "most hated companies in Canada - guess who's in the Top Five?"

In any case I'd been with this company since the day cell phones were launched in Canada - 1986 in this instance. I can't imagine the amount of money I've spent with these guys. Last year they screwed up my account so bad that it took me 8 weeks and 6 different agents to get it fixed. The last lady was the biggest bitch I've EVER dealt with in my life - and she ended up literally screaming at me. I informed her that this was THEIR MISTAKE (again) and that "I" was the customer.

My final question to her was "What department are you in?"

Her response: "Customer service."

My response: "You're in the WRONG department."

The ultimate slap was an "email" saying they "cared about my business" so "please provide us a reason why you cancelled."

You bet. No human being got back to me.

The reason I finally cancelled this time was they sold me a ONE MONTH roaming package to use in Europe for my 3 week trip. When I got the contract, in the fine print, was a clause that stated this is a mandatory 3 MONTH charge.

When I called back to discuss it they confirmed the charge and I asked them to "logically" tell me how somebody would design a package that was 9 weeks longer than I was even IN the continent - no response!

So I moved to another provider - and it took SEVEN visits to their kiosk at Best Buy to finally get my account right.

Or at least I think it's right - but I haven't gotten a bill since September so this could or will be yet another cellular adventure.

****JUST IN: Rogers/Bell are now major shareholders in the company that controls the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bitter rivals in phones; cable; television - now 'partners in crime." Go Figure!***


Next my latest fun with "customer service."

My Christmas present to my wife and kids this year was a cruise to Hawaii on a well known cruise line. In fact they'd probably be rated in the TOP THREE in the world.

Again I won't name them but a hint might be "they are named after the country Norway."

My daughter has had some major health struggles over the year but we saw a nice window to get away and 'relax' with her. Then the bad news. Double hernia. No Travel. So I phone them to see if I can 'postpone' the trip. Not cancel. "Postpone due to a health problem."

Their answer was "we don't do that - you'll have to cancel it and pay a 50% cancellation fee."

I repeated - "No I'd like to take the trip so you won't lose the booking."

Response: "To bad - you should have bought cancellation insurance."

My response: "I'm sure you understand that I'd NEVER EVER travel with you again?"

Their response: Zip!

Now I DO have the American Express Platinum card so I do have some protection - but start filling out all the forms; get your Doctor to stop his/her important work to fill out paperwork that he/she has to do for you; send that email that gets the DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL message; then MAIL your documents because they don't provide an email to you and I'm sure I can expect my cash to be returned by about the time the Times Square New Years Eve ball is being polished up for 2013.

And Finally:

Four unions. Four strike threats. Try using your AEROPLAN flights for a 'simple' trip. If you want to see the country - or several for that matter - try to use your points for a Business Section trip.

A direct trip to Frankfurt that I booked last year "could" have had me actually travelling geographically 'backwards' - then stop in 3 American cities after I left Canada before heading overseas - and booking on line is almost impossible to do simply so back to the phone.

Oh Oh!

I'm not unique. We all have these problems but the real problem is that "there's nothing we can do about it."

Cancel one cell provider - move to the others. (Check that most hated list again)

Say you'll never fly on one airline again and realize they are almost the 'only game in town' and you're back on that airline for your next flight.

Try to talk to a human being.

Try to contact a "true" Supervisor who cares.

Try to let THE BOSS/OWNER of the business know your problems and see if you can get a response.

Try to find the NAME of anybody on a website that you can direct your problems to now!

Fire a note out on Twitter or Facebook and those poor buggers in the social media "customer service" department face the wrath of the web world because they are almost powerless to do anything other than "apologize" for their companies problems.

Somewhere in between UNDERCOVER BOSS and HORRIBLE BOSSES lies the solution.....and maybe instead of Occupy (your city goes here) the protestors actually sat on the front lawns of these billionaire companies top guys the customer may finally get some attention, and quickly.

For ME, as a former boss, I'd be embarrassed to be on that "most hated list" - and if I was a shareholder of one of those companies I certainly would remind the guy at the top of the heap that his/her responsibility is to FIX these problems.

I answered each and every email I got 'daily.'

I spoke to each and every person who complained about my radio stations 'the same day.'

If it was our error - I made it right.

If more of us were really proactive instead of complaining these days we'd start a simple giant rally of CANCELING and DOING WITHOUT these guys services.

Hit them in the pocket book good. Have a huge DON'T USE THIS SERVICE DAY and boycott the business.

I'm not a radical but a business that sits empty for a day - or longer - might get that needed mass media attention that says "I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Might be tough. Might be worth it.

Occupy "that."

Otherwise realize that it just isn't going to get any better quickly - so I'll meet you at the bottom of the Customer Service Abyss - again!