Pro global business

Today is an exciting day for me. One of our client’s American Profit Recovery just started to get passionate about what they do. A few months back we designed their collection agency blog and trained them on how to use. Not much happened. Then I gave them a bit of the BIG Kahuna’s mind…I was, let’s just say forthright.

Together with our PR guy they started to blog regularly, passionately and with good content. This is their post today…a YOUTUBE VIDEO! I feel like a proud blog parent.

Good job guys, be yourself and have fun. Keep showing how you are the only DIFFERENT collection agency out there!

Gosh there is just something so un-American about taking from those who have become financially successful and giving it to those who haven’t. I just can’t get by it.

Just curious to see what people thought about the Obama infomercial? Did it help leverage his brand identity of change? Was it over the top? Did it hurt him? Give me your opinion.

I wanted to send out a BIG Kahuna thank you to Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton for putting together the Age of Conversation 2. First and foremost these guys didn’t see a red cent from this. And they had to listen to a lot of whining I’m sure.

Here’s where you can buy the book

All the profits go to Variety, the Children’s Charity.

I am one of the 237 authors in the new book Age of Conversation 2 so I was excited to purchase the book today. I went to the Lulu website to make it so.

I signed up and placed an order for 10 hard covers at $29.99 (I would imagine the average person buys just one version). On checkout I got this message:

The apartment number you entered doesn’t match any address in our shipper’s database. Huh?

Lulu wouldn’t allow me to move forward. I couldn’t place the order? So I went to Lulu’s live chat feature for help. Here’s what transpired:

Aimee G: Welcome to Lulu.  How can I help you today?

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: I’m trying to place an order and I get this message: The apartment number you entered doesn’t match any address in our shipper’s database.

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: it’s the right address

 

Aimee G: Hi there. Sorry to hear that, one moment please while I check on this

 

Aimee G: Is this the first time you tried to place an order to that address please?

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: it won’t let me move on? My address is:

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: 304 Newbury St. Suite 555, Boston, MA 02115

 

Aimee G: Thanks for the address, did you use this address before please or from your previous order?

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: No, first time ordering but that’s my address.

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: It works for the rest of the world….

 

Aimee G: Sorry to hear this. Can you try to click on Back to get out of the error message please? Then click on your My Lulu tab, then go to CONTACT LIST on the left navigation column, then add your shipping address in there. And then go back to your cart and try it again

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: one second

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: I’m getting a blank page when I click on contact list

 

Aimee G: Please try to refresh your page

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: nothing, this is a joke. Do you make it this hard on everyone to order or just me?

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: Can someone call me to take the order?

 

 

Aimee G: I am sorry  but the blank page looks like a browser issue. You may need to change some settings on your computer or in your browser. First try clearing your cookies.

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: no, call me and I’ll place the order

 

Aimee G:If it doesn’t solve this, would it be possible for you to switch browser and try Firefox? We’ve found that users using Firefox have less trouble with Lulu than other browsers. It’s a free download if you wish to try it.

 

Aimee G: www.mozilla.com/firefox

 

Aimee G: I am sorry but we only take orders online

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: no

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: i am an author

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: the first call i make is to Drew and Gavin

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: this is bad, really bad

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: can I call you to place the order?

 

Aimee G: I am sorry for the inconvenience. I will create a ticket and will pass this on to our site engineers so they can check and sort this out

 

Aimee G: Sorry no, we do not currently have phone support

 

Aimee G: I have created a ticket for you. Please be sure to keep your ticket number in a safe place so all of our operators will be able to see the history of this issue and can better assist you. You will also need to include the ticket number in any emails that you send to us regarding this issue, preferably in the subject header. We usually respond to tickets in 1 to 2 business days so you should have an answer on this issue soon.

 

swhite@brandidentityguru.com: So at this time I am unable to purchase 10 books at @$29.99? And no one will call me to place the order, is that right?

 

Aimee G: I’m afraid yes. Sorry for this trouble. Our site engineers will check on this and contact you via email

 

 

 

 

 

Later in the day I did get this response from customer service (who have obviously not talked with Ben). Look at the amount of work they ask me to do to resolve their problem:

Dear swhite,

I am sorry that you are having problems ordering on Lulu. Can you first of all please try the following ?

First of all, please delete any order made thus far at the cart / check out.

Then, please go to My Lulu, then go to the link ‘clear credit card information’ click on that, then click on the link to confirm that, then, go to the link for your Lulu contacts, click on this, then delete all billing information, then, delete cookies, delete cache, ensure the pop up blocker is off, then try again, If you still cannot order, then please do peruse the followiing pointers:

I am sorry that you have had problems making a purchase. Although it is always best to come on to Live Help where can assist better with problems like these, here are a few pointers to consider. If you find none of the tips work, or none of it applies to you / your order, then please do come on to Live Help.

 

 

 

Sometimes you just have to stand back and say holy shite! While I was on YouTube searching around I came across a video made specifically for me (sort of). I was VERY afraid. Check it out:

Attention: Agent Scott at Brand Identity Guru Dot-Com

My first thought was, wow, I can’t believe this company CiSense made a video for me. And they never told me about it, I was supposed to just find it….very cool.  Read about the campaign they set up here:

Secret Missions for the Blogosphere

I’m now bummed that they didn’t send me the secret letter? I wonder why?

Anyway, what a great idea to get people motivated to check out your new company and service.

The service looks really interesting I’m going to read more about it but the strategy and creative was way cool. Kudos to CiSense!

Boston, MA, October 28, 2008 – We’re part of a unique collaboration via the Internet, involving 237 marketing professionals who blog from 29 states throughout the U.S. and from 14 other nations from Australia to the Ukraine. Scott White, of Boston, joined online with other bloggers to write The Age of Conversation 2, a book that is being published this month. All proceeds from sales of the book, available in hardcover and soft cover editions, as well as a downloadable e-book, will be donated to Variety, the international children’s charity.

 

Scott White is the “BIG Kahuna” at Brand Identity Guru. He writes a blog called The BIG Kahuna (http://www.brandidentityguru.com/wordpress).

 

The book has an unusual story behind it, involving online connections between people around the world who have never met each other.

 

White contributed an essay titled Vanilla Is, Well…Vanilla, which asks “Why do 90% of companies try and be everything to everyone? Do you think it benefits you to be part of the “norm?” Blending in only shows how weak you are, standing apart shows why you’re different and better. Which club do you belong to?”

.

“Blogging has become a new way for professionals to share and discuss ideas,” White said. “Collaborating on a book about conversation is a perfect way to share among ourselves and among others who don’t read blogs. And we have the added incentive of helping a charity that does important work around the world. I am thrilled to be a part of this project.”

 

Nearly two years ago through a chance online conversation, Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton decided to invite fellow bloggers to participate in writing a book about conversation and how it impacts us in marketing, in business and in life in general. “Blogging, after all, is about conversation,” McLellan said.

 

More than 100 bloggers from the U.S. and eight countries responded by contributing essays on conversation. The book, published in the summer of 2007, earned $15,000, all of which was donated to the international childrens charity Variety.

 

“Gavin and I were overwhelmed with the response,” said McLellan “Almost as soon as the first book was published, we heard from bloggers asking when the next book would be published so they could contribute essays.”

 

The Age of Conversation 2 will be available as a downloadable e-book beginning October 28, at a cost of $12.50, of which $10 will be contributed to Variety. Beginning on the same date, orders will be taken for a limited number of printed books in hardcover ($29.95, with $6.04 to charity) and soft cover ($19.95, with $8.02 donated to charity).

 

Purchases can be made online at http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation.  More information can be seen online at www.ageofconversation.com.

 

 

Well I’m finally freakin’ published. Thank God it’s only one page from me and 237 of my friends. That’s right a book from the leading branding, marketing, advertising, word of mouth marketing and social media types. Each of us got to write one essay, of course mine will stand out because I’m sure 90% of the authors wrote about social media and word of mouth….because that’s hot.

Not me! I wrote about the most important thing any company can do…. Build a brand identity. Here’s a snippet from my essay:

Why do 90% of companies try and be everything to everyone? Do you think it benefits you to be part of the “norm”? Blending in only shows how weak you are, standing apart shows why you’re different and better. Which club do you belong to?

Then of course I go on to give my BIG Kahuna wisdom. The book, The Age of Conversation: Why Don’t They Get It  goes on sale today, October 28, 2008. You can get the book in three ways… an ebook, hardcover, and softcover.

We only have a few days left for your much needed votes (voting ends Oct 31st). Press the VOTE FOR ME button.

We are the only true branding agency in this competition as far as I know. So support us please.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, now is the time to be smart with your branding and budget. But sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words…Tom Fishburne says it well here:

Tom goes on to say:

We’re all going to feel pressure to cut, cut, cut but I think it’s even more important than ever to be thoughtful about what needs to be trimmed (and remember not to spoil what needs to grow).  The best barbecue is cooked slow. Read the full story here.

I’d go even further and say let your competitors cut while you invest more. Now is the time to be aggressive in your branding, marketing and advertising. Just be smart about it and invest in tactics that will generate good return on investment.