thefunnel

I’m currently evaluating various (inexpensive) tools for enabling an easy way for users to to give website feedback / feedback through the web site.  The ideal is a tab based approach available on each page. Hard to find something that’s just right. Not too heavy, not too light and moderately customizable. So far I’ve looked at getsatisfaction, uservoice and suggestionbox. Getsatisfaction didn’t really fit because it was “too community” oriented and I think our customers would have had a hard time figuring out how to leave anonymous feedback or felt frustrated having to log in twice (separate logins for the site and the satisfaction tool, in the case they didn’t use their face book account the register). Uservoice in play -looks promising.

The official version of a web satisfaction case study, based on a project that I worked on a while ago, has now been published. It’s interesting how hours and hours of work can be compressed into a couple of pages. The customer satisfaction results, are very encouraging, but web site improvement is not a one time event, and there need to be a relentless effort in continuous tweaking, and improvement, based on the Voice of the Customer.  For B-2-B technology web sites this can be particularly challenging. Enjoy Web_CaseStudy .

This post might be a bit different to the ones than what I written before, but here’s a question for you all. In B-2-C, who is the stronger brand? The brand manufacturer itself, or the distributor of the brand (assuming it’s not the manufacturer)? There are plenty of articles about this topic (who has the power) and what tactics can be used to deal with it, but I thought this, my particular personal experience was interesting enough to bring up. At my work, I used to have a computer, brand X, that I was really happy with (it actually still works, but it’s a bit limited in speed and capacity). Then I got a new one, brand Y, because I needed an upgrade. Brand Y turns out to be a real disaster. Hard-drive failures, motherboard failing, sluggish, you name it, several times. Some of the software problems probably hasn’t anything to do with the computer itself, but every time I log on, what do I see. Not the operating system,or the network, or the virus checker, but yes, brand Y. So, brand Y is doomed. I will not recommend, actually, I’m an active detractor spreading the bad news, and I will never, ever, buy brand Y again (spending my own money), ever. And all this is confirmed by my organization, who has now signed up with brand Z. Anyway, I need a new personal computer (compatibility, need at least one non, you know), and it’s on sale at one of the distributors of brand Y. To my big surprise, I find myself considering the never, ever brand! Why? Because I trust the distributor, I trust their no questions ask return policy. In fact, I trust the distributor brand way more than the brand (Y) itself, go figure, to the point that I’m willing to take the risk, with my own money! And, I’m a marketing guy who should know better. I think this just shows the real power of the a brand, or  the brand of the carrier of a particular brand. How about that for a Porter’s Five Forces example? Or maybe brand Y was smart enough to even fool the most seasoned marketing guy. Only time and google  side wiki will tell. By all means, like to have some comments for a change.