In IT, a black box is a program that measures output against input in complex systems.
This Black Box is designed to help companies achieve a similar goal in PR. Black Box provides our candid input—based on several lifetimes of experience—for companies that want to measure and improve the performance of PR programs.
Years ago I interviewed motivational author Wayne Dyer. I found him incisive, pragmatic, brilliant and at one point irascible — like CEOs I’ve known and admired. It was such a welcome contrast to his warm, fuzzy public persona that I quickly liked the man and forgave him his books.
The client: “Our player downloads videos in ‘faster than real time.’ ” In a flash I understood Einstein’s Special Relativity. By using this product, a customer could race back in time, growing younger by the moment (hopefully stopping before the egg stage). Alas, all its maker meant: The video player accepted compressed files.
Imagine that in olden days shepherds tended flocks, never moving when a wolf drew nigh. Or woodsmen meditated on tall oaks, axes motionless at their sides. Or hunters let deer pass. None who did so would have called it work — or life. Why do we, who sit hours-long before a flickering screen?
When Don Corleone’s consiglieri (lawyer) harangues the aging crime boss with a list of actions to avoid, the Godfather replies: “I’m not paying you to tell me what I CAN’T do, I’m paying you to tell me what I CAN do.” Short and tweet, that may be the best social media advice on record.
Social media marketer HubSpot asks: “Is PR dead?” and now supplanted by SM? Well maybe. But if PR’s dead, it’s gone to a better place where it’s happier (or whatever one says at a funeral). As for SM subsuming PR: A krill can swim around inside a whale, but there’s little doubt who’s swallowed whom.
Big Brother is watching. Not 1984’s Ministry of Truth, but businesses that monitor social media for criticism of their product or service, then intervene via SM to “help” a customer. What these companies dub proactive care I call intrusion. If proactive, they’d have solved the problem before barging in.
A well-known company that tracks social media is trying to sell me on using its service. The cost: $500/month. I love automation. But when a thing is automated it should deliver consistent, high-quality performance — and be cheap. I don’t think social media monitoring services are there yet.
One reader of “Customers Want Great Service” asked why I fired Rado the web designer after a single misstep. Actually the offending incident cited was the umpteenth. As a PR guy I overlook a lot of outrageous behavior. Most customers, including mine — journalists — aren’t that forgiving.
In smokestack industries, a mentality pervades that customer service is a necessary evil to be dispensed with as cheaply and quickly as possible. Not in tech, where service maintenance agreements help drive revenue. What was once a cost center has evolved to a core profit center.
Some tech companies deliver an unforgettable customer experience. I had one such moment with a web design outfit. I’d sent over a list of days/times I was open for training. Rado the designer’s response: “How dare you presume I’ll be available.” I fired him on the spot.
