InnovationCreation

Sometimes innovation is not about the technology but the service behind the technology. Customer service, that stuff that keeps us all going back to our favorite store and what drives us away from others, can often be overlooked but it is core in our day to day buying experience.

When we at Truffle Media Networks were looking to have someone handle our book keeping, the traditional approach was to "find someone" to do it. But what do you look for when trying "to find someone"? Book keeping is a task that few people really like to do but if it is not done regularly, and done well, the work load to "catch up" can be stressful (very stressful). Sure I could do the work. But I have other items I need to do. Truffle is a media company, not an accounting company. I needed to spend my time on media and its audience.

Not knowing anything, I started with Angie's List, a service that rates various companies, gaining its input from the customers of those companies. I started calling people from a list of about 10 certified public accountants and book keeping services, all that had some level of "A" or "B" rating in Angie's List. I asked questions, I generated more, and I tried to understand how to find someone to handle our book keeping needs.

I finally narrowed the list to several people that I thought would work. One of them, Foster Results, I had received as a referral from another name on the list. Foster Results was unique on my list because they focused solely on book keeping as a service and they accomplished it all on the Internet. Many (all?) of the other people I called would be able to handle our needs but the key action I just cringed at was how QuickBooks information was shared. The main main approach was to pass a QuickBooks data file back and forth. Uggggggg.

Foster Results offered a service that allowed me to have access to the company data at the same time they did. No need to coordinate on who had the file. While this sounds like a Homer Simpson "D'oh" moment (things on the web duh!), keep in mind that the QuickBooks world has been living like this for quite awhile. It has only been in the last couple years where technology infrastructure has developed to support the needs of QuickBooks as a shared service.

What Foster Results offers is a full blown version of QuickBooks, available on line. This allows me to log on to another computer (kind of GoToMyPC like) and have access to QuickBooks at the same time as the Foster Results team. But it is the service Foster Results provides that really makes this work. Jennifer Foster, President of Foster Results, was able to have me launched on their service within a week of signing the contract. While she did advise that they plan for a 90 day transition from current processes to their process, I was fully transitioned in about 30 days.


For a monthly fee I regularly coordinate with the Foster Results point person, Julie, on what bills are due and what needs to be posted. Julie handles the postings, setting up checks to print, and handles the processing of monthly tax payments. She also handles the quarterly reporting needs to various state and federal agencies. An added benefit is that Jennifer, as a certified financial analyst and having worked at several firms as a CFO, reviews our financial state and provides recommendations.


The importance of the service is that I know required actions will be done. That service, combined with the approach of standard QuickBooks, available without having to "pass the QuickBooks" ball, and the ubiquitousness of the Internet, gives me a sense of calm that I can apply to other areas within Truffle Media.

Labels: great, office, product, service

My wife had to order a small part for a breast pump, which only cost $3. The web site had a minimum order of $10, so she found a Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme. This creme sounded really compelling: "Help for hard-working hands" and " Sweet almond oil, aloe and vitamin E help keep them soft and smooth". But did they really try this stuff? Ugggg.

Imagine rubbing your hands with sticky glue that smells like cherry-almond cardboard box. Once you have this on your hands everything you touch wants to stick to you. Going to sleep with this "creme" (yes, finger quoting when I say this) on your hands makes your bed sheets become marionettes as you roll or turn; they stick to you all night long. And did I mention the smell? If there ever was an Energizer Bunny logo for smell this product would have it. Yes, it lingers on and on and on and on and on and on.

Sure, this product would protect your skin ... if you had severely pain inducing cracks. This product might be useful in a survival kit to help repair leaks in tents or be the sticky part of fly paper.

The label says "Not tested on animals" ... Did any humans test this in real life? The best thing about this product? Its packaging! This is where the marketing makes the product look great, unfortunately.

Bottom line: if you like sticky hands and have really terrible skin cracks then get this product. Otherwise, use something like Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream.

Labels: bees wax, creme, design, invention, lotion, product

This last May I wrote about my experiences with Starbucks' "Get more of what you love with a Starbucks Card" campaign (my post). I believe they have gotten this straightened out now. When I order a soy mocha, I don't need to remind the barista that my card is registered and they don't have to figure out how to process the card. Order, converse with barista, pay, done.

However, there is one part of this campaign that does still irks me ... This campaign is not accepted at all Starbucks. Huh? What do you mean not all Starbucks? Aren't all Starbucks alike? No and here's the rub.

There are Starbucks that are what I call "company" stores. They are Startbucks stores owned and operated by Starbucks. These stores are in the vast majority that people see. Then there are those that are "fake" Starbucks. They look, taste, and smell like any other Starbucks. Except they don't have to accept all the same promotional campaigns that Starbucks as a corporation is running. For example, the Starbucks in the Indianapolis Airport or the Starbucks in the Las Vegas Convention Center are not "real" Starbucks.

True, the employees dress and act like Starbucks employees. They have the same products and marketing material. They both even take the Starbucks store card! But that airport or convention center Starbucks do not participate in the "Get more of what you love with a Starbucks Card" campaign. I don't know why and I really do not care. What irks me is that Starbucks has me so trained on their brand that when that brand fails me I feel miffed, let down, abandoned.

Abandoned? Ok, this may sound a bit harsh. But those "fake" Starbucks are ruining the Starbucks brand: I have come to expect a certain level of service, consistency, process, and taste with what I order (tall decafe soy mocha, extra hot). I am a regular. That regularity is reinforced with my Starbucks card and my actions to register it (registering it gets me free soy milk, knocking off $0.40 each drink). When that regularity is disrupted then that causes me to feel like I have been cut off, shown to the door, not part of the culture. When I order a tall decafe soy mocha, I expect to have the price of the soy removed. And when that does not happen I will, on the next order, now have to monitor the drink making process. This requires my time and attention that I really would prefer to spend elsewhere.

So if you are thinking about brands and how to allow those brands to be licensed out / franchised, insure the plan includes education of the impact of drifting from that brand and what could happen to the revenue. Don't make licensing / franchising your brand result in a flesh burn for your customers.

Labels: coffee, culture, information, marketing, product, risk, starbucks, trends

My wife gave me the Tyvek Wallet from Dynomighty Design Inc. for Christmas. I have received more comments and compliments about this wallet than any other wallet I ever had. Its one major distinctive feature is that it looks like an an envelope. When I first opened up the wallet I thought it would not be big enough. Surprisingly, this wallet has sucked in all the cards and such (about 20 cards plus paper stuff, one book of stamps, several receipts, and some cash bills) and it fits just fine in my front pocket! It also is very durable (Duh! Tyvek!). I will be in Brooklyn late April, I will see if I can stop by their office to take a look / chat with them.

Labels: cool, design, innovation, product