One Degree

Quality

By Peter Mosley

The following provides the guidelines for a Quality Program as determined through customer satisfaction:

Determine customer requirements

How does a company learn what its customers really want? What market segments or niches does it aim at, and how does it learn about them? This is the first step in achieving customer satisfaction. Analyses are structured to obtain information that is as specific as possible to particular product or service feature.

Manage the customer relationship

As a world class organization your philosophy hinges on the relationship rather than the sale.

Establish standards of customer service

Service standards are well thought out objective measurable levels of performance that define quality for overall service levels.

Make a commitment to the customers

By avoiding lip-service to phrases like “Quality & Customer Oriented” and providing a binding commitment towards customer satisfaction you can establish long term security and growth. “We mean business!” is built into every action.

Resolve complaints for quality improvements

Complaints are regarded as opportunities to gather more information and make improvements. Opportunities to learn and improve the systems.

Determine customer satisfaction

Through Continuous Improvement (C.I.) Programs the level and measuring stick for customer satisfaction is constantly evaluated to assure the consistent meeting of requirements.

Compare customer satisfaction results

By charting the results of measurement data, your organization determines its strengths and weaknesses on an on-going basis. Continuous Improvement is the key to growth. In addition, the successes that are tracked are invaluable.

Who do you want to meet?

By Barb Sawyers

If you’re writing for the Web, you want to meet people who will read your blog, follow you on Twitter, buy your services or otherwise improve your conversion rate.

So before your fingers hit the keyboard, it’s wise to spend some time thinking about just who you want to meet.  This may sound like common sense, but if you read all those people who write mostly about themselves or their services, you’ll realize how uncommon it actually is.

Your ideal reader will do more than skim your post or page. She will read it through and give it the attention it deserves. Court her and she may convert, though probably not right away.

You probably already have a pretty clear idea of your ideal customer. Maybe you even have scads of research on your market niches. That’s a good start.

But to get to know your ideal reader, you have to go beyond gender, age, education, income and other demographic factors.

You have to dig deep, imagining pains and problems, pass-times and passions. What keeps your ideal reader up at night? What makes him jump for joy?  What prompts her to pull out her credit card?

What motivates him at a subconscious level? Looking strong in front of his peers? Proving to her mother that she can do it?

If you can’t afford qualitative research to probe the minds of your ideal reader, simply think about similar people you know well. If you’re a student of human nature, it should not be much of a leap to paint a picture of your ideal reader.

By adding this more intimate, hypothetical layer to your objective customer data, you’ll know what terminology, examples, humor, questions and other elements he will understand, relate and respond to. You’ll be in a much better position to connect with your ideal reader and like-minded people.

Some people need to visualize their ideal reader, with good looks, deep pockets or whatever else motivates them. Tape a photo or drawing to your wall if that helps.

Once you are clear about who you want to meet, you can decide what you want to say. Only then can a meaningful conversation begin.

Barb Sawyers leads http://www.stickycommunication.ca, and blogs on writing and communication at  http://barbsawyers.wordpress.com. She’s writing a book called Write Like You Talk—Only Better.

Psychology & Social Media

By Monica Hamburg

The internet keeps us tapped in and our lives are fuller for it. But, as we are all aware, online communication is a mixed blessing.

My kingdom for a context. Context is so critical - it can be absent from many online postings. What is the background? What happened right before that YouTube clip or what is really going on with that person? Why is there such hostility on a post comment? Further, we often lack nuance and information that clues us into intention, such as tone of voice, personality, relationship of involved parties, as well as facial expression and body language. We make instantaneous judgments - and they're not always accurate.

Someone is being so passive aggressive right now. With the ability to vent publicly in a fast moving stream of communication, being passive aggressive just got a whole lot easier. The blurring of public and private lines complicates matters too. You'd like to vent about a coworker or about a recent conversation with a client, but the other party is following your communication, and so the message gets disguised. Sorta. Or you delude yourself into thinking that your words will propel another party into action. I have a friend who posts frequently on Facebook to her boyfriend about how she is feeling about their relationship. Only it's not directed at him. And it's thinly veiled. Still, something like, (and I'm making this up) "someone better clean up his act or he's gonna get dusted" tells us everything - while accomplishing nothing.

Time is the friend. It is often said that time heals all wounds. Lack of time, in my opinion, rubs salt into them. Recently, I was part of an unfortunate public internet exchange. It was on a forum where I had a duty to address. The rapidity of the communication form created an urgency to respond. In the thick of it, I was lost on how to handle authentically and would have preferred time and space to process and act properly. Admittedly, I still might have made similar mistakes but, with time to consider, hopefully less.

To clarify, I'll continue. And continue. Addressing matters publicly isn't always effective - or the best option. True, social sites make it possible to have a open discussion and valuable debate. At the same time, it encourages protracted conversation. And with character limits not all of what needs to get said gets said. Which leads to more postings, which further escalates and creates that false sense of urgency.

In my quest to be more Replicant. backspace. logical, I frequently read psychology books and articles. (I also gave an informal talk on its relation to social media recently.) There are particular issues with the online space as well as offline problems that are heightened by online communication. This series looks at some of these in relation to social media. As well as some of the ways in which psychology proves the gains of our participation.

The series will begin April 1st.

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Note: If would like to recommend articles or books, please feel free to suggest in the comments, or contact me through my blog or on Twitter.

Mad Men dolls - Collect the whole set!

By Peter Mosley

I want to thank our buddy @mitchjoel who posted this on Twitter about Mad Men Dolls.

I just can't help thinking about what accessories will be available? I know what is top of my mind? What comes to mind for you? Oh, re toys - this also made me do up a post about toys and creativity

Anyway, leave your comments for what you think should be in the Mad Men Accessory Kit!

Measuring the real impact of display advertising

By Harmit Kamboe

Hypothesis:

Having maxed out the search budget for a client, I reluctantly decided to try out a small display network test. My expectation was that the overall Cost per Acquisition/Order would be much higher than “search” but the overall blended online cost per acquisition would be within the realm of “acceptable”.

Results

In order to test on a small budget, I decided to use the Google display network as I would not have to face any restrictions regarding a minimum monthly spend.

As I expected, the resulting cost/order as measured by conventional means (orders from customers that clicked on a display ad and completed an online purchase) was higher than orders acquired via the search channel. In fact the cost per order from the display channel was approximately twice the cost per order from the “search” channel.

However, what I found to be of greatest value is a metric called “View-thru-Conversion” measures. Based on this measurement scale, the cost per conversion was less than one-fourth of the cost per conversion from the “search” channel. I agree that this is not an apples to apples comparison and that if the same approach was used for “search”, the effective cost per order for “search” would likely be lower too.

I believe that this metric has the potential to change how jaded advertisers and clients look at display advertising as an effective medium of online advertising.

Why the “View-thru-Conversion” makes sense?

The View-thru-Conversion metric measures conversions within a 30 day period of a display ad impression.

With the benefit of hindsight, this metric makes perfect sense.  As online customers ourselves, I am sure many a time we have opened another browser window to visit an advertisers web site rather than click on a banner and have our current online activity interrupted.

To me this seems to be the way all display advertising results should be reported. Disparaging display advertising based on the low CTR rates is mis-leading.

Conclusion

Google seems to have applied that extra thought into how it reports results for advertisers. For advertisers and agencies, I think this represents a new beginning in terms of measuring results. Vendors that look beyond the attribution of the last click stand a better chance of showing successful test results and winning and retaining clients in this tough economic environment.

It would be interesting to see a continuum of the “View-thru-Conversion” concept i.e. what does it take to convert a customer – x impressions, y clicks, and throw in z tv ads etc and you have a sense of how big the opportunity in the measurement space really is.

The Principles of War...as they apply to business.

By Peter Mosley

1. The Master Principle
The selection and maintenance of the aim. This means that first of all you are to establish clearly what your objective is to be. Once this has been determined precisely you should not allow yourself to be deviated from the plan of action you have made.

2. Maintenance of Morale
To achieve your aim you will require high morale from your peers, hence look after them and their interests. With good morale you will create the will to achieve your aim. Good morale can be hard to create and can be even harder to maintain so take it into consideration when planning.

3. Offensive Action
Move forward. Be bold and confident. Tread where others have not. Be one step ahead of your enemy (the competition). Never become complacent.

4. Surprise
Do the unexpected. Come up with a new and well thought out plan. Avoid doing "the same old thing." Ensure that your competitors have no idea as to what you are doing or planning.

5. Security
Keep it to yourself. Use the need to know rule. If someone does not need, they do no have to know. Why lose the element of surprise?

6. Concentration of Force
use your resources carefully and at the right time.  One good presentation is better than many poor ones.

7. Economy of Force
do not burn yourself and your resources out. Try to keep an ace up your sleeve. Do not use a sledge hammer when a gentle tap will do just as well.

8. Flexibility
So what if the original "Master Plan" does not work or has a temporary set-back. Find an alternative. Maintain morale throughout. If you look hard enough you will find another method to achieve the aim.

9. Co-operation
Do not do everything yourself. Employ the skills of others and let them use your skills. Help others and be willing to be helped.

10. Administration
All of the above will require sound administration to work. Even if you do not like doing it you must ensure it is maintained, for should you become a casualty your peers can take over and achieve your aim for you if you had sound administration.

These apply to business in general and quite frankly ... life.

(Art of War) Wiki

Are you responsible?

By Peter Mosley

Any organization would be well served by adopting a people-driven marketing program and adopting a “Responsible Manager” ideology.

A Responsible Manager is effective without the excessive stress experienced by managers who are “Achievement Managers”. They provide feedback to employees by praising their positive performance and providing constructive feedback for negative performance. The basic management philosophy is that people are productive and creative individuals who do not need manipulation or over protection. It is important to resist the idea that people are incompetent or lazy (Identified by self protected management styles.) or powerless and trapped (Identified by unconscious management styles.). The Responsible Manager has equal concern for both the staff’s productivity and their needs. The mission of Responsible Management is to operate through employee involvement through delegation, participation and team building.

The “Responsible Manager” has been described by Abraham Maslow as a “Self-actualized Person”; by Carl Rogers as a “Fully-functioning Person”; by Erich Fromm as an “Individuated Person”; by Eric Berne as a “Winner”.

People at this level of functioning show a high level of adaptability, flexibility and creativity. In short, they are very mature, positive about themselves and about others. They have a win/win outlook and approach to others. The ultimate goal in any organization is to have as many people operating on this level as possible.

The role of the manager is difficult to define. Every manager’s job is unique. Regardless of the titles, the management position has one important common denominator - all managers require the basic need to work with and through other people.

A Responsible Manager displays the following traits:

A strong self image.
-  Self knowledge
-  Self confidence
-  Emotional maturity

Positive attitudes.
-  Ability to see the big picture
-  Willingness to confront problems
-  Practical judgment
-  Goals directed
-  Openness to growth opportunities

 Leadership skills.
-  Ability to motivate without relying on authority or power
-  Ability to motivate myself

Success behaviors and habits.
-  Decisive
-  Proactive, responsible
-  Ability to plan & organize
-  Effective time management

Are you are Responsible Manager?

Old news I know ... but funny

We have all heard about Chatroulette. I read about it in the Globe and Mail a couple of weeks ago. I went on and yeah, you know what I found. You found it too. (Fess up ya went on!)

Well here is a funny piece by the Daily Show

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Casie Stewart: This is my life (Blogroll)

Name of Blog: Casie Stewart: This is my life

URL:  http://casiestewart.com/

One Line Description: works at MuchMTV, tweet @mtvcanada, brand builder, #GenYTO co-founder. 

Topics It Covers: City culture, fashion all stuff hip

Language: English

Author(s):Casie Stewart

Location: Toronto

Contact Deets: casie [at] casiestewart [dot] com

Three Representative Posts:

1. http://casiestewart.com/synchronized-speed-scating-vs-skating/
2. http://casiestewart.com/10-ways-social-media-will-change-in-2010-canada-olympics/
3. http://casiestewart.com/bridle-bash-foundation-and-cabbie/

Ok we are off and running!

I wanted to first thank Kate and Rosemary for their help in the transition. We are off and running. And Kate and Rosemary will still be involved. Many thanks!

If you are like me, One Degree holds a very special place in your heart. That place where great Brands reside. There will be some changes over time of course, but I want to assure you that One Degree will remain the brand you know and love.

The archives will stay and the contributors you want to hear from will be here it is business as usual and I am looking forward to this Version 3 to see where it will go. More importantly ... where YOU want it to go!

So, if there is anything you would like to see let me know. Feedback is important. pete [at] themose [dot] ca is where you can reach me.

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