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.
Long ago when social media was new a company we know had the opportunity to write a weekly guest blog. They opted to “first wait and see what the competition does.” That attitude puzzled me at first. Now I see that gearing corporate strategy to follow versus lead is the rule.
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In the 1800s, a transportation expert warned that if horse-drawn travel continued apace, city streets would fill with 10 feet of manure by the year 1950. He proved wrong about horses but right about the volume of manure, which still flows unabated from gloom & doom prognosticators.
Kudos to Virgo for a great 2010 B/OSS Conference & Expo. Big crowds and lots of action this year. But amid the lookalike banners touting “end-to-end” solutions and “the customer experience,” what caught my eye was the company whose BI product surpasses human judgment.
Connected Planet Susana Schwartz’s story on the man who received an $18K bill for mobile data raises two points: Who’s responsible when a contract lapses, and should operators switch to tiered billing? Here’s a third: Might intelligent back office systems have stopped this mess in the first place?
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.
