Biz Crusader

Movie ticket sales hit a 16-year low in 2011. The theater industry attributes higher prices and the prevalence of new platforms to view movies.

I certainly believe this is true and I am certain that these factors played a key role.

However, I was surprised to learn that the industry did not mention what role customer service may have played in this outcome. To be specific, I am referring to the lack of or declining customer service in movie theaters. Civilized decorum and the almost cliche concept of “Silence is Golden” has become increasingly absent in the theaters. It is common to find crying babies, people using their phones, disruptive or obnoxious behavior. And, I am not even mentioning those who love to kick the chairs of the persons in front of them or those who use the theater floors as their personal trash cans leaving the auditoriums in a disgusting state. If you spend more than 5 minutes reading online reviews about movie theaters, it’s clear that I am not the only one who feels this way.

This is another example of an industry using the economy as a scapegoat. Customer service is the one area of any business that can be transformed instantly. Best of all, it can be transformed without a heavy financial investment. Examples include answering the phones a certain way or just saying “Thank You” properly.

There is nothing you can do about the economy. It is what it is. Instead of using it as a crutch for poor results in 2012, focus on what you can control. You have 100% control of customer service.

I say… bring back the ushers with the flashlights.

This is an especially well written piece from Seth.  Food for thought as you plan for 2011.

On buying unmeasurable media


Should you invest in TV, radio, billboards and other media where you can’t measure whether your ad works? Is an ad in New York magazine worth 1,000 times as much as a text link on Google? If you’re doing the comparison directly, that’s how much extra you’re paying if you’re only measuring direct web visits…

One school of thought is to measure everything. If you can’t measure it, don’t do it. This is the direct marketer method and there’s no doubt it can work.

There’s another thought, though: Most businesses (including your competitors) are afraid of big investments in unmeasurable media. Therefore, if you have the resources and the guts, it’s a home run waiting to be hit.

Ralph Lauren is a billion dollar brand. Totally unmeasurable. So are Revlon, LVMH, Donald Trump, Anderson Windows, Lady Gaga and hundreds of other mass market brands.

There are two things you should never do:

1)  Try to measure unmeasurable media and use that to make decisions. You’ll get it wrong. Sure, some sophisticated marketers get good hints from their measurements, but it’s still an art, not a science.

2)  Compromise on your investment. Small investments in unmeasurable media almost always fail. Go big or stay home.

And if you’re selling unmeasurable media? Don’t try to sell to people who are obsessed with measuring. You’ll waste your time and annoy the prospect at the same time.