Disruptive Voice

LinkedIn for iPhone

LinkedIn, the premier online network for professionals, has announced an app for the Apple iPhone. Available through the Apple App Store, no doubt this will be a hit among business users of the 3G iPhone.

 

But is LinkedIn open enough to satisfy the ever-increasing social networking expectations of its users and hold on to its lead among professional networking sites? Recently LinkedIn reported having 25 million “members” in 150 countries and was valued at an astounding $1 billion in June, proving that profitable, business-to-business Web 2.0 companies deserve great valuations as much as unprofitable, advertising driven consumer sites.

 

But challengers such as Xing (6 million members) and Ryze (half a million members) are emerging all the time, because of the low barrier to entry. Even consumer social networking phenom Facebook is being used more as a professional networking tool.

 

Granted, LinkedIn is all about business. Therefore, silly apps like “owning” your friends or contacts have no place in this serious networking environment. But what about other apps that help facilitate business development?

 

I should be able to tie a carrier-grade VoIP phone system like BroadSoft to my LinkedIn account to enable click-to-dial calling of contacts who have granted me permission to do so. Imagine 400-plus BroadSoft telecom service providers touting this capability to their enterprise customers. How about making my profile and selected content from my other online accounts—such as Facebook and Plaxo—available in my LinkedIn profile?

 

LinkedIn could do so much more to facilitate professional networking by tapping the expertise of app developers. Maybe those apps could be available for a fee in a LinkedIn app store, thus weeding out the useless and inane, while adhering to the professionalism of the site. What apps would you like to see integrated with LinkedIn?

A Social Media Lesson from Obama

You have probably read or heard a news story by now about Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama’s misstep with a text messaging campaign to directly inform supporters of his choice of vice presidential running mate.

 

Much of the old-school media immediately jumped on the fact that the text messages arrived at supporters’ mobile phones around 3 a.m. (EDT) last Saturday. They questioned whether the Obama camp was sending a virtual slap to former nominee rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose campaign questioned whether Obama had the gumption to handle a world crisis call at 3 in the morning.

 

Others pointed out that some news agencies had scooped the text message announcement in their rush to be first, with reports of Sen. Joe Biden being Obama’s running mate emerging on Friday. While the text arrived later than the Obama Campaign intended and the story leaked before the text announcement was made, neither of these facts was the news.

 

Every business – whether a telecom, Web 2.0 or shipping company – got a free lesson from Obama on how to use social media for promotion through permission marketing. That’s the big news. A mobile division of Nielsen Media Research reported today that Obama’s text message reached 2.9 million supporters.

 

Here’s how it worked: In voter registration drives on college campuses, campaign fundraisers and events, Obama’s Camp collected supporters’ contact information – including their cell phone numbers. In exchange for this information, they promised to update supporters on the campaign, let them know about local Obama appearances and send them direct notification of who the VP nominee would be.

 

Telecom service providers are probably already in possession of this contact information. Web 2.0 companies capture much of it in their online sign-up forms. But the key is getting the customer or community member’s permission to use that information. Often, the promise of delivering information they value – such as whitepapers and case studies – are enough to secure their permission.

 

Obama also showed us how to use that data to promote your company, product or cause in a new way. Text messaging has become one of the most popular mobile device features, and not just with teenagers. Added to the marketing arsenal of personalized email, outbound call centers and direct mail, text messaging allows marketers to reach their audiences wherever they are.

 

Examples of what a business could send via text message include:

- New product announcements that match the customer’s profile

- Invitations to attend free webinars

- Tips on getting the most out of their product or solution.

 

How many of the nearly 3 million Obama text message recipients do you think showed or forwarded that message to friends? My guess is every last one of them did. Obama just gave you Lesson Two in using social media: Viral marketing.

Videoconferencing is ‘Creepy’

A recent Boston Globe article noted that videoconferencing vendors are seeing rapid growth in sales, because companies are trying to reduce their travel expenses. But the cost of videoconferencing solutions remain prohibitive for the majority of companies – small and medium businesses. Not many SMBs can pony up $200,000 plus 15 percent for maintenance for Cisco’s videoconferencing. 

 

But expense is not the only thing holding back the adoption of videoconferencing. Frederick Paul of bMighty.com got the videoconferencing vendors themselves to admit that the migration from the conference call to the videoconference creeps people out. Folks can hide on a conference call. They can IM with their buddies, finish the report they have procrastinated doing or even pick their nose. And if you don’t understand the discussion, you can just stay silent. But with videoconferencing, there’s no hiding.

 

Then there’s human vanity. How many videoconference calls start late because participants are in the restroom checking their hair or making sure they do not have spinach in their teeth? And with high definition videoconferencing, the prospect of protruding nose hairs might become reason for concern. People also are unsure about how to act: should they stand when speaking, clasp their hands, look at the camera at all times? This video pokes fun at how being seen on a screen causes people to make fools of themselves.

How can videoconferencing be made less “creepy” for businesses?

Competing on Price

Competing on price alone is a losing proposition. No where is this more evident than with voice services. From telecom equipment makers to service providers, everyone in the telecom industry is being squeezed on price.

 

As the global economy continues to retract, margins are becoming razor thin. Look at Alcatel Lucent. Last month this telecom giant accepted the resignations of its French chairman and its American CEO after the sixth straight quarter of negative returns. Despite the merger problems with Alcatel Lucent, the company and its counterparts have been waging a losing price battle with Chinese competitors Huawei and ZTE, which according to The Economist feature pricing that’s as much as 50 percent lower. Ericsson’s share price has taken a beating, and Nortel’s stock has lost more than 60 percent of its value.

 

While carriers are benefiting from the telecom equipment makers’ price battles, they are also entrenched in price competitions for both consumer and business services. The result is high churn rates among consumers and dissatisfaction among business users. What do you expect when you play an active role in commoditizing your services?

 

Instead, telecom companies should focus on delivering value. Real value. Figure out what your customers value more than cheap pricing or savings on long distance. Here are some examples of how to break free from the commodity slump by focusing on value:

 

- Understand an enterprise’s business before proposing a service package, so that your proposal not just addresses its needs but enables the enterprise to realize new productivity or improved customer service.

 

- Deploy quickly. Most of your competitors show a sense of urgency when they are trying to close the deal, then suddenly move slowly to deploy the service. Your customers will appreciate a sense of urgency from the sales pitch to the deployment.

 

- After-sale service matters. The relationship doesn’t end once the sale is closed; it’s just begun. End-users value great customer care. Go the extra mile. For instance, after using several wire services for press release distribution, I thought I was paying too much for what I was getting in return. After all, they all get your PR into the hands of the intended audience to varying degrees. But Marketwire’s rep went the extra mile by setting up the search engine optimization for me in my first half dozen releases. It saved me loads of time, and made me a loyal customer.  

 

- Brown-bag lunches. A couple of times a year provide a brown-bag lunch seminar to present tips on how to use certain features of your voice service. The customer will know you value their business and will have a better understanding of how your voice services can benefit them.

 

While price is a compelling reason to buy, it’s not the only reason or even the most convincing reason.  Customers want value for their dollar. In good economic times and bad, break out of the commodity race by focusing on value. 

'I ain’t scared of you MFs'

Last week comedic star Bernie Mac died in a  Chicago hospital. At the time of his death, he was lauded as an Emmy Award-nominated actor and one of the original Kings of Comedy. With his roles in C harlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and the Ocean’s Eleven series of movies, it seemed as though Mac had been a star for a long time. But the reality is he didn’t become a star until the late 1990s when he famously announced to HBO’s Def Comedy Jam audience in
New York: “I ain’t scared of you motha f*ckas”.

 

Mac knew he was facing perhaps the toughest crowd in comedy, but declared at the outset of his routine that he was ready them, and ready for success.

 

He was ready because he had spent most of his career performing on what’s called the chitlin’ circuit, a collection of clubs and juke joints throughout the South and East where audiences could range from 5 to 100 or more people per night. Regardless of the venue, Mac perfected his act by trying to satisfy his customers – the audience – with a consistent performance night after night. He sent them home laughing.

 

The Def Comedy Jam performance proved to be Bernie Mac’s breakthrough moment. He went from nightclubs with small audiences to performing for millions and a

Hollywood

career. And when he reached stardom, he maintained his focus on giving his audiences their money’s worth.

 

Whether you’re a voice service provider or a Web 2.0 site or service, Bernie Mac provides a roadmap for how to achieve remarkable success. For you, success might be to grow your customer base to millions or to be acquired by the likes of Google or Microsoft. Whether your current customer base of users numbers 10 or several thousand, focus on delivering the best customer experience possible every day. Give every customer their money’s worth. So, when your breakthrough moment comes, like Bernie Mac you too can show no fear of success.