Walter Adamson

The Value of Hutch Carpenter's Customer Feedback Innovation Model

Hutch Carpenter's Three Models For Applying Customer Feedback to Innovation is the best post on business innovation and social media feedback that I have read. For two reasons, one is that it provides a nice, succinct business-oriented model, and secondly it doesn't mention "creativity" - my pet hate when it comes to business innovation consultants.

Carpenter simply plots a nice graph with the X-axis representing the difficulty of getting feedback relevant to a particular objective and the Y-axis representing the impact on company results for the different objectives.

What a great image - something that could be left on the screen for the duration of a half-day workshop on the subject.

He also gives specific examples, applying his categorisation to My Starbucks Ideas which shows very clearly and simply the power of his model. I previously wrote about My Starbucks Ideas, noting that 0.03% of ideas get through - a simplistic analysis in the light of Carpenter's model.

Value = Benefits - Costs

I'm a bigot for my own model of Value = Benefits - Costs, along with the hierarchy:

• Value; is a subset of
• Benefits; which is a subset of
• Advantages; which is a subset of
• Features.

To my admittedly biased mind this maps nicely into Carpenter's model, where he categorizes suggestions into three groups, those which describe Features - product or service requests, or the Product's "job" - understanding the deeper purpose your product fulfills, or form a Proposal - putting a new concept in front of customer's to understand its key value drivers.

How the models align

Carpenter's Features actually embrace my Features and Advantages. The reason? Features are just "messaging", hoping to hook into a segment which will respond to them. Where they do evoke a response, then the first level of that response is because of perceived advantages, to that segment, for some of the features.

Therefore some or all the Features become Advantages to that segment, while remaining of no advantage to other segments. Thus "Advantage" requires some form of engagement.

My Starbucks Ideas already has that engagement. By the very act of people saying that they want something it means that they see an advantage in having it. A segment of 1. Therefore the base level of input are Advantages, in my terminology.

These Advantages (Carpenter's Features) are essentially context-free - they would probably work in many other coffee chains and are without any linkage to business objectives.

When a suggestion becomes a Benefit

Next come suggestions for which it is possible to link into or align with the context of Starbucks mission and business purpose and therefore transform themselves into Benefits, or what Carpenter labels the Products "job".

By this definition, a Benefit can only come from a business perspective e.g. from a Starbucks' perspective, whereas a Feature/Advantage is from a customer's perspective. It drives at extending the purpose of the business, but not radically - that's the role of the Proposal/Value category of suggestions and analysis.

Proposals require business analysis

Suggestions which go beyond Features, far beyond, and beyond alignment with the current business model, are those which become Value, or in Carpenter's model Proposals. Here we are looking for ideas that are at the fringe, are potentially radical, are from the edge inwards, and are somehow visionary. Carpenter notes that Roberto Verganti would also say that they have to be "attractive, sustainable, and profitable" and that's the link to Value = Benefits - Cost.

At this Proposal level, the value can only be determined after clear definition of the benefits, and the costs, which would form part of a normal business case. Developing that kind of case, for a new visionary offer, is certainly hard work but with potentially outstanding business results, and that's reflected by its top position on Carpenter's Y-axis.

For me, combining Carpenter's model with the "Value = Benefits - Cost" equation and the hierarchy of Features, Advantages, Benefits and Value delivered clarity and new insight into how to apply customer feedback to business innovation.

http://xeesm.com/walter

What value do you get form one or both or the combined models?

Have you seen better models for applying social media customer feedback to business innovation?

What's your best example of these different forms of customer feedback and their results?

Related articles

• Changing Beliefs: Business Models (relationship-economy.com)
• Should the "Competitive Leadership Model" Really Be "The Value Leadership Model"? (leveragepoint.com)

Getting Screwed by Scribd - why I am deleting my account

I liked Scribd and their recent upgrade including the addition of more social networking features are all welcome, even if the rendering on Chrome often comes out screwed up. 

I'd tell them about it but that's where the trouble starts - support, or lack of. Then add on top their hidden appropriation of your property and the sudden demand for payment to view and they lost me.

A saga of support, or lack of it

It started when I made a simple support request about their alerts system which was filling my inbox with irrelevant references. Nothing complicated I just wanted to find out why it didn't seem to work as I expected. Here's the history:

• sent and acknowledged 8 July - ticket #68653;
• 13th July I reply with ticket # asking how it was going;
• 15th July replied again with ticket # asking if someone was going to respond;
• no response at all - nothing, dead;
• about August 8th I decided to twitter @scridb with the details asking if there could be a response
• August 10th I received an email:
• ScribdGary, Aug 10 05:52 pm (PDT): I sincerely apologize for the delayed response. I have submitted a report to our engineering team to research this issue, and I appreciate your continued patience while they work to resolve the matter.

OK, frustrating, why did I bother, but I did at least get a reply to my Twitter effort which in itself is a bit of an experiment, and they are going to get back to me, thanks ScribdGary.

August 25th I saw an email from Scribd in my inbox, nice, I have an answer, let's see what they say:

This is an e-mail to notify you that your request (#68653) has been pending for more than 14 days, and we have not received response. We are closing this ticket at this time. To re-open and update your request, please reply to this email. Cheers, Scribd Support.

Ah?! Scribd requested me to be patient, which I was, and then canceled my request because of "inactivity", after I've been trying to get an answer for 7 weeks. Heck, this is worse than Linkedin "Support", so I gave up on Scribd "Support", deleted all my alerts, and decided that I must write a post about this experience.

Non-existent "support" wasn't driving me away

Actually I wasn't really that annoyed about the lack of support, even if I was frustrated. It gave me the topic for a blog post, and in that post I was potentially going to comment on how we have all become tolerant of a miserable level of support for our online services. Whether it be Google, or Microsoft Online, or Facebook, or Linkedin or Apple or Twitter or Scribd they've worn us down to accept non-existent support.

You can get some good response for the iTunes store and purchases, but try to get a response for other iTunes issues like software problems - the service providers all rely on their community to pick up the burden of answering you. Have you tried to get answers about Google's Picasa for example? If you have you'll know that you are just firing questions into a black hole, Google never appears, but their uber community members do try to sort you out.

So at this point I was frustrated but tolerant of Scribd's lack of support, and intended to maintain my account. I just figured that they run on a shoestring so to expect very little of them in the future.

Secret appropriations of our documents was the killer blow

However! Last week while searching a Linkedin Group I found a person had posted a link to a Scribd document they'd prepared, and said "feel free to download". I went there, found it to be useful and then hit "download". I got a message that I now had to pay!! In order to download I had to pay a daily or weekly or annual fee - up to US$59.

Now I was really frustrated, and confused:

• Was this person just scamming me to get a commission on their "free" documents, using Linkedin to post link bait? That didn't seem likely when I checked that person's profile.
• Where did this new "feature" come from and who is getting the money?
• How about my documents that I had uploaded as "public" - can others still download them for free?

Then I hit Google to search, as others somehow must know all about this even if I am in the dark.

Scribd took our documents and made others pay

Sure enough - rage and anger. 

Here is the amazing answer:

• Scribd decided arbitrarily to appropriate every subscribers public document and lock them into a "vault";
• The total 100% payment for others to download your public documents goes into Scribd's bank account.

If that alone doesn't stun you, then also consider that Scribd made no announcement and offered no opt-in. I kind of got the impression that they may have mentioned on their blog, but they certainly didn't email subscribers and they certainly did not ask their consent and for a opt-in.

I guess the reason for not notifying and asking subscribers to opt-in is obvious:

Hi, This is your friendly team at Scribd. We're offering a fabulous new feature whereby we want you to allow us to take control of all your public documents and sell downloads for a fee. Your share of fee will be zero (0)%. Please click this link to allow us to offer this service on your behalf.

Well... OK, I see the value in that for me ??!!

As a result of the flaming Scribd has come out in the last week and said something like "Sorry, we probably should have told you and also because you all seem so unhappy we've urgently implemented a feature giving you the ability to edit your uploaded documents one by one and opt them out of our vault".

You're welcome! So I have to edit my own documents OUT, one by one?

They are serious!!!!

So on the basis that Scribd has completely lost the plot I will be editing myself completely out of their system by deleting my account. You might get Scrod in Boston, but you will be Screwed by Scribd.

Goobye Scribd hullo Issuu

I'll try Issuu and see how that works, it might be a blessing in disguise if they actually have Support that works!

Were you aware that Scribd had, or was planning to appropriate your documents?

How do you think they could have managed this objective better?

If you were Scribd, does this move make sense?

What do you use instead of Scribd, is Issuu the right choice?

http://xeesm.com/walter

Related articles by Zemanta

• "I feel like Scribd used me" (ericgoldman.org)
• Scribd apologizes, pledges changes over archive fiasco (teleread.com)
• Scribd Posts A Public Apology To Vocal Critic, Then Takes It Back (techcrunch.com)
• Scribd Puts User Docs Behind A Paywall Without Them Realizing It (techdirt.com)

3 Sports Fan Engagement Insights from the Digital Sport Summit

The Digital Sport Summit #dss10 in Melbourne yesterday was a sold-out event, and while I saw a few less satisfied twitters I thought that it was very constructive first-time event and it had a fair deal of "how" rather than just "why". The "why" we are over, and I was impressed with how the clubs had really moved on to implementation and their lessons.

I didn't take many notes, just a few jots on my iPhone now and then. Here are the main three impressions that stand out in my mind 24 hours later:

#1 Vision: Essendon Football Club's Jonathan Simpson told how the Board of Directors nailed a vision 2 years ago for the club to commit more deeply to digital engagement with their fans, which by definition included social media. Impressively the Board said "hey we don't know how to do this but we want you (the staff) to find out" and it is a 2 year strategy. It was a "virtual connection" strategy, analogous to the successful "community connection" strategy already in place. It was 12 months ago that staff started on the social media "how to" of the journey, built their plans, presented their business case, and started implementing 6 months ago.

One of the fundamental tenets in building the engagement with fans is their "Content of Choice, Platform of Choice" decision, which was developed by the staff in their 6 month investigation period. This means that Essendon will engage with the fans where the fans are, in the fans social communities, and in with the content relevant to that community. This perhaps sounds obvious, but it is counter the thinking of most clubs who are obsessively concerned about driving traffic back to their club site.

Jonathan talked about the challenges in getting everyone else in the organisational side of the club on board, and of the conflicts and concerns about crossing organisational lines and responsibility. His answer was to get everyone together, to explain how "fan development" effected all other areas, and in particular to illustrate factually how it effected their KPIs. This helped align everyone.

All of this is a tough task, and getting all departments on board is always tough, so I give full credit to the Board for their vision as this is something we most often cry out for in making all successful projects work - the commitment of senior management, and above.

#2: Power of Spontaneity: I guess that the Phoenix SUNS fan engagement story is "well known" among those who "know" as it has won many awards, and it was great to have Jeramie McPeek as the opening speaker of the Summit. Amongst all the Suns neat work there was one item which really got me thinking - the Jared Dudley story.

 In the face of a varying degree of enthusiasm for "twittering" and lingering degrees of skepticism, fear and doubt, Jared Dudley suddenly took to the medium like a duck to water. His spontaneity changed the face of twittering and social media in the club, and among players, and his "natural" reporting skills and tendencies built a whole new level of fan engagement. Tweeting from the locker room, pics and videos from players homes, parties, social events, tweeting his own stats, all lit up the fan engagement and at no cost to the club. That's contagious to everyone - in the club and outside.

Contrast that to the World Cup where the powers-that-be are more concerned to block and control then to allow spontaneity.

PS we have our own "Jared Dudley story" in Collingwood AFL Footballer Harry O'Brien, who is one of the first AFL players to embrace social media and gave a fabulous account of his enthusiasm at the Summit and has an active website.

#3 Business Acumen: Nick Marven told a great story about re-inventing the faltering business of the Perth Wildcats, and from being a disbeliever in social media as part of that to an advocate.  The Wildcats are now the most successful club in the Australian NBL and has experienced annual membership growth of 35% resulting in consecutive sell-out attendances for over 2 years. 

Nick gave a huge insight into the difference between a business customer and a sporting club customer, and the "sales funnel", and what I also really liked was his use of social media in personnel management within the club. His presentation is on Slideshare.

So in summary I'd say Essendon's vision is still rare, in any business, Suns' embracing of spontaneity is rare, in any business still, and the Wildcats' total business integration and alignment of social media is still rare, in any business. All great examples.

I had never realised that clubs see such value, and go to such effort, to engage their fans in how the club works, all the different departments, the people, the "organisation", and how they encourage this transparency. The evolution of social media provides a wonderful platform for these efforts.

What are the best sporting club social media insights you know?

Have they started from grass roots or been Board-sponsored?

Who is your favourite social-media-engaged athlete?

http://xeesm.com/walter

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• Twitter / Jared Dudley: Breaking News!!! My source ... (ballhype.com)

Commented on "TechFlash" Facebook, Twitter top Microsoft in traffic sent to Microsoft support

Nice post and I think this is big news that "More people are now coming to Microsoft's online support resources directly from Facebook and Twitter than from other parts of the company's own website." Also a big plug for CoTweet I must take another look. Thanks for the heads up. Walter Adamson @g2m http://xeesm.com/walter

Originally posted as a comment by walter on TechFlash using DISQUS.

Catalog of 2010 trends in social media

You've no doubt caught up on many posts on trends, including one of the best by my friend Axel Schultze of the Social Media Academy.

Here are a few more, with short annotations:

• From the Social Media Club, on social media education and the option of open coursework;
• Sports and Social Media Predictions in 2010, an eBook, with 16 contributors, on Scribd - "email will decline as a primary means of communicating with fans";
• 25 Reasons Your Social Graph Will Matter [more in 2010], "78% of consumers trust peer recommendations – only 14% trust advertisements";
• 10 Ways Social Media will Change in 2010, via Don Peppers - "women will rule Social Media";
• Five Social Media Predictions for 2010 from Socialized - "Microsoft's Bing was the surprise hit of 2009, and has started to erode Google's share of search. Bing has some social features, but expect some big news in social search in 2010... Search won't be a separate function. Instead of going to a site like google.com or bing.com, users will receive meaningful, personally relevant search results within the context of whatever they are currently doing."
• Social Media Strategy: 6 Areas of Focus for 2010 from Sales Blogcast - this is actually the owner reporting his own plan for social media in 2010 and asking his readers for help - not sure I agree with all of his goals but his method is great!;
• What will Community Managers be doing in 2010: Community Management predictions, from FreshNetworks - "the community management processes will need to involve more people in the company than just the community manager";

and finally - Challenges Coming for Independent Restaurants in 2010, just for change of topic! - You must become mentally in tune with your guests. Who are they? Where are they? What do they want? How have they changed? What drives them to your door or your competitor’s door? Will they increase their restaurant visits if you …..? You finish the line!

http://xeesm.com/walter

| 09.11.08 | My weekly ramble in social spaces and places

Where I've been this week in the social web's places and spaces:

• Keen to get a quick update on Social Media Tools sign up for the Social Media Tools Week, starting November 16.
• Very level-headed article worth reading "the customer is the customer" and not necessarily always right.
• TeemingPod allows you to - share PPTs and collaborate around it - get user comments on each slide - tag slides with relevant keywords - recommend useful slides - through a "pod" or widget on your website.
• Linkedin Discussion: great case study from Australia "Zero to 40,000 fans. How Mudo built the largest and most engaged branded Facebook page in Australia" pdf.
• Cosmetics for a $1 - through a series of social media pushes and at home parties, cosmetic company e.l.f.'s business has exploded over the last few years.
• Mozy (online backup) won a social media award for their Twitter support and customer interaction - best business use of Twitter.
• Huffington Post - Andrew Cherwenka - The Problem With Social Media Agencies good comments.
• In a blog post, Twitter says it has started an experiment that will "show higher quality results for trend queries by returning tweets that are more useful".

http://xeesm.com/walter

A Follower isn't a Duckling

When I watched @thebrandbuilder Olivier Blanchard's vid Everyone on Twitter is a community manager it really opened my eyes to the meaning of follower.

Olivier has reframed the perception of followers, and also what a great concept that "everyone is a community manager" - that in itself causes reflection on the current mental models we have of ourselves and others in social media.

Anyway you can watch the vid and get the whole story.

My version, is that the word "follower" is a misnomer, and are not "things to collect", nor your ducklings following blindly on instinct. In fact followers have made some choice and usually it is not about looking for a cult leader either.

Other than those using an automatic follower-generator tool the folk who choose to follow you are actively creating their own Twitter experience, based on what matters to them.

So what a Follower truly is, is a patron and a potential advisor/and or promoter.

In this sense followers are very important social assets.

Viewing them in this way helps frame thinking about social media strategies, and how to treat these connections in the right way and how to communicate with them in the right language and with the right respect.

If you follow the Network Contribution Participation (NCP) model of social media analysis this new viewpoint adds to the network analysis phase of your thinking.

In summary, think of everyone as a community manager, and followers as patrons.

Thanks @thebrandbuilder.