MyPunchblog

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Jim McCann, the founder and CEO of 1-800-Flowers. When Jim first came into the room he greeted me warmly and proceeded to ask about my background and family. I was struck by how much time he spent asking questions about me as a person. He wanted to know about my upbringing, where I went to high school, jobs I’d held since college, and some of my hobbies. In about ten minutes, Jim learned a lot about me.

I was reminded of this experience today when I had an introductory call with a MyPunchbowl partner. I had never spoken with this person before, and we didn’t have much on the agenda. So I borrowed a line from Jim McCann’s biography called Stop and Sell the Roses: Lessons from Business and Life — first make a relationship, then do business.

In just a few short minutes, I learned that this person had grown up in Indiana, spent the last 20 years living the Washington D.C. area, had one daughter who was currently in college for enviornmental science, had a dog that died last winter, and now has a 5 month old puppy. My questions led to her asking me questions, and she learned about where I live and some other personal details.

An outsider may have heard the conversation and asked “Why did Matt just spend ten minutes of his day learning esoteric details about this woman’s life?” And to that I would answer: “In just a quick ten minutes, I’ve formed a solid foundation and relationship that will spill over into every business transaction we do together.” Indeed, I learned a valuable lesson from Jim McCann a few years ago, and it’s something that I practice often. Business is about relationships first, then about numbers, statistics, logistics, goals, and money.

Ask yourself next time you meet someone new in a business setting: “Did I take the time to form a relationship first or did I just get right down to business?” Try to spend more time getting to know the person on the phone or sitting across from the conference room table. Perhaps you’ll find out that she’s expecting a baby or buying a new house. The more you learn about the person, the more effective you’ll be when it is time to get down to business.

Remind yourself: first make a relationship, then do business. And watch as your business relationships grow.

By the way, if you haven’t read Jim McCann’s book, I would recommend it. You can buy it here: Stop and Sell the Roses: Lessons from Business and Life

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

As a consumer internet site, we do a lot of customer service and technical support. We have a few people on the team that spend a part of their day answering emails from customers. From a business point of view, providing excellent customer service is part of our DNA — but is also very costly.

I’m continually surprised at how poorly some of our customers communicate over email. Consider this recent (unedited) feedback:

“My 1st time to use punch bowl.Please call me asap some of my guest have not rcvd. invite, as the host I am unsure how to respond I am coming help 512-xxx-xxxx I am for 2 1/2 more hours.”

It’s worth re-iterating that I did not edit that feedback (other than removing the phone number). With that as an example, I present to you my Top 5 wishlist for customers needing support.

1. Please write in complete sentences, and use spell-check. We can’t possibly read your mind. If you spend a few more minutes writing in complete sentences, then we’ll be able to help you faster and better. Also, please use punctuation in your emails. It sounds simple, but it’s equally important in order for us to understand your customer service issue.
2. We know that your time is important, but everything can’t always be urgent. If you have an an issue that needs immediate attention, please explain why it’s urgent and we’ll do our best to get back to you as quickly as possible. (Note: writing “HELP!” or using exclamation points does not get us to pay attention faster).
3. Please search the MyPunchbowl FAQ’s before sending an email to our support team. In many cases, your question has already been answered.
4. We’re an internet company, and we don’t offer phone support — so don’t bother asking us to call you. That being said, our crazy CEO still takes inbound customer service calls once in a while. Feel free to call him (me) if you’ve exhausted all other avenues (you can find my cell phone number on the FAQ page).
5. If you have not upgraded your MyPunchbowl account to a paid membership, then there is only so much free customer support we can offer. If you want unlimited tech support, please upgrade your account. Thanks!

We love helping you — so please help us help you. Use the above list as a guide and it will go a long way to getting the help you need.

This post written by Jill, MyPunchbowl Marketing & PR Intern

Product differentiation is an essential element for any company to gain a competitive advantage and be successful. It is a way for your company to showcase your individuality and uniqueness in a way that makes consumers want to purchase your product or service over your competitors. But not only should your company distinguish your product from competitors’ products, but also among other products that your company might offer as well. One way to do this is through the packaging of your different products.

Using this knowledge, I was in shock to discover that Miguel’s Stowe Away Tortilla Chips had nearly identical packaging on their white corn and blue corn tortilla chips (see picture below). As an angry consumer, I was encouraged to write a letter to Miguel’s to express my disbelief at their marketing problem. Below is the letter that I wrote to Bruce in their marketing and sales department.

Dear Bruce:

Yesterday, in a haste to complete a large lunch order for my co-workers, I mistakenly picked up a bag of Miguel’s white corn tortilla chips, instead of Miguel’s blue corn tortilla chips. At first glance, the packaging on these two bags of chips look eerily similar. From the color schemes to the fonts to the pictures on the bags, it is easy to see how any customer could mix them up.

As a marketing student, I have always been taught about the importance of product differentiation. It is not only important to distinguish your  product from your competitors’, but among your own products as well. Given this knowledge, it perplexes me as to why any company would choose to make the packaging on two of their different products practically the same. The only thing that distinguishes one bag from the other are the inverted colors. If there is a blue border on the bag of blue tortilla chips, it is counterintuitive to have the same blue border around the bag of white corn tortilla chips.

If you do not want to have more unhappy customers than you have already gotten from the carelessly thought out packaging of these two products, I recommend that Miguel fix it immediately. An inverted color scheme is not enough to distinguish one product from another, there needs to be more distinctions that actually make the packaging look different. By simply putting a white border around the bag of white corn tortilla chips, your packaging issues would be solved and you would have more repeat customers who were pleased with your product.

Sincerely,
Jill

I have not yet heard back from Miguel’s, but I hope that they do take my suggestions into consideration. If a company wants to build brand loyalty around their products it doesn’t help to mislead customers and cause them to make the wrong purchase. And if you don’t distinguish your product, you may just have to hear from an angry intern.

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO. Follow Matt Douglas on Twitter.

I had a lunch meeting today that was supposed to be like any other meeting that I might have on a regular Monday. Today’s meeting was with the CEO of a marketing/media company in Boston. On my drive into Boston (about 30 minutes) I reflected on how much I value these kinds of meetings. In this case, it had taken a few months for us to find a date that would work for both of our schedules. I looked forward to meeting this fellow CEO.

When I walked into the company’s offices, I was immediately impressed. It was the kind of office that I’d love to have someday: modern conference rooms, open-style workstations, colorful walls, and a whole lot of smart-looking people that looked genuinely happy to be at work. The CEO took me for a tour of the facilities — which included a design firm that worked within the company (not affiliated, they just shared space), and an artist-in-residence (you know, the kind that actually paints art). Very cool.

The CEO and I spent about an hour talking about our respective businesses, and there were more than a few tidbits of information that I filed away for future use. The CEO was amiable, personable, and genuinely interested. He struck me as the kind of person who doesn’t just listen, but can also empathize with what you might be going through. It was great to have lunch with someone who really understood me.

On the way out, I told him how impressed I was with the company he had built, and I expressed my hopes and fears for my own company. And in a moment that may not have meant that much to him he said to me: “Matt, just remember that there thousands of people and companies that would give anything to be in the position that you and your company are in today.”

Hours later, as I sit here writing, his words are still ringing in my ears. Why? Because the greatest praise an entrepreneur can get is from another (successful) entrepreneur. So today’s meeting was not just another Monday lunch meeting. Yes, we ate. But I also got a full serving of food for my entrepreneurial soul. And it felt good.

I believe in good karma and paying it forward. I can only hope that I’ve helped feed another hungry entrepreneur along the way. Today’s meeting was a good reminder of just how important it can be to help feed an fellow entrepreneur’s soul.

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Do you love to devour unique tidbits of amusing information that may spark a fond memory or ignite engaging conversations with your friends? If so you will really enjoy the latest addition to MyPunchbowl.com, “Reasons to Celebrate.”

This new section identifies Reasons to Celebrate for 365 days of the year - often with more than one reason to celebrate for each day, week, and month. Social sharing capabilities allow you to share your favorite reasons to celebrate on Twitter, Facebook, and more. These quirky and interesting holidays make great fodder for Twitter, where people post all kinds of random information. You can follow the feeds on each Reasons to Celebrate page to see what your friends are tweeting.

The month of July is jam packed with many engaging reasons to celebrate including: National Ice Cream Day, National Cousins’ Day, National Parents’ Day, National Hammock Day (which may force the workaholic to actually plan time to relax), and even National Hot Dog Day! What better reason to light up the grill, invite the neighbors over, and host a hot dog roast!

And don’t forget today’s reason to celebrate, National Gummi Worm Day!

The Reasons to Celebrate may not only amuse you, but might actually give you an excuse to host a party. Either way, we hope you’ll enjoy these days as much as we do and spread the word about your favorite Reasons to Celebrate.

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

If you use our Birthday Reminders service you probably enjoy getting reminders for all of the birthdays in your life. You can even customize when you receive reminders on your settings page. It’s great to know a birthday is coming up in a week or two, and now you can do something about it!

Our newest eCards improvement allows you to schedule an eCard to be sent at a future date. Just create your eCard as you normally would. When you get to the Preview & Send page you’ll notice a new option under the Send eCard now button - “Send it later”:

Click this option to schedule your ecard:

Next time you get a birthday reminder schedule an eCard to be sent!

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

I believe that every great company should have a high-level strategy that can be explained in two minutes or less. A company’s strategy is the blueprint to success, and a great strategy helps connect every single employee to the vision of the company’s growth.

Anyone who works at Punchbowl Software has heard me talk about our company’s strategy countless times. During any significant meeting, I’ll typically repeat our strategy complete with visuals on the whiteboard. Fairly often in these meetings, I’ll ask someone to explain our strategy in their own words. I believe the best way to learn is to put the concepts in your own words — it’s a powerful thing to listen to someone else describe the company’s strategy. No one is immune from being asked to repeat the strategy — from the developers to the financial people, and even the intern (sorry Jill).

Most around me would agree that I repeat our strategy a lot — probably to a fault. In fact, it’s become a company joke to make fun of the “pyramid” that I draw on the white-board. To me, this just tells me that I’ve done a good job at getting everyone on the same page.

So why do I repeat the strategy so often? Well, here are my top 5 reasons to repeat your strategy:

1. Get everyone on the same page: Whether your company is big or small, it’s important to make sure everyone understands the high-level strategy. Repetition is one way to make this happen.
2. Build ownership: The more each individual in the company feels ownership of the strategy, the more buy-in each person will feel in the company’s overall success. That’s a great way to build team unity.
3. Guide small decisions: There are countless small decisions your employees make everyday. If everyone truly understands the strategy, then all of these decisions will be made with your objectives in mind.
4. Keep your employees on message: Each employee is a window to the outside world. As you repeat your strategy, you’re also helping shape how your employees talk about the company with the outside world. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool — and strategy is an important part of your overall message.
5. Impart your vision: As I’ve written before, great managers are the ones that can step away from the office for a week at a time and know that the team is moving the company forward. As CEO, my vision and the company’s strategy are closely aligned. That makes it easier to take time off and re-charge.

And for all of the smart Alec’s out there — I’ll spare you the trouble. No, I’m not going to repeat this blog post. But you might want to read it again and ask yourself — can I repeat the strategy of the project/company I’m working on in less than two minutes? Why or why not? Perhaps a few more repetitions of the strategy are in order.

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

This past weekend, as I do every July 4th, I spent some time shopping in the outlets of Kittery, Maine. I was surprised by a few things this year: not only were the stores much more empty than usual, but the sales were much more aggressive. The recession is in full swing with our neighbors in the North.

With the discounted sales and relatively easy parking, my wife and I were ready and willing to shop. We went in about 10-12 stores over the course of two days, and I was continually surprised at how confusing it was to figure out the prices of the merchandise. The worst offender was IZOD — take a look at this picture:

Can anyone (quickly) tell me how much that $24.99 shirt ACTUALLY costs? IZOD, why are you making it so hard for me to figure out the price? When the salesperson asked me if I needed any help, I asked them if the sign meant that they would pay me 20% if I bought something. She didn’t seem that amused. By the way, I refused to buy anything off that rack. However, my wife did buy me a nice IZOD shirt, so I guess we helped keep IZOD in business. I really hope the marketing people at IZOD monitor the blogosphere…. they should be ashamed at themselves for making consumers think so much. (By the way, that $24.99 shirt would actually cost $4.99 — 80% off).

I was reminded about my weekend shopping experiences, when I came across this screenshot of a registration “Captcha.” We’ve all been frustrated by these illegible security challenges at one time or another. I don’t think I need to add much commentary — the last attempt of the person who was trying to register says it all.

If you are a MyPunchbowl user, I hope you never have this kind of experience trying to buy something from our site. For example, why not upgrade your MyPunchbowl account to a Premium or Plus account? I promise you that it will be a quick and easy process.

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

It’s a request we heard many times: “My event spans multiple days, how can I show that on my invitation?”

Well we finally have an answer. Simply click “Add end date” when you’re choosing a date for your event and we’ll display the start and end date on your invitation.

Enjoy!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

We’ve recently made some great updates to the site and you’ll be hearing more about them soon. I thought I’d highlight one that you probably noticed if you signed into your account recently.

If you connected your Facebook and MyPunchbowl accounts, we now automatically import your Facebook events and list them in your MyPunchbowl Dashboard along with your other events. We’ll even show your response status to Facebook events and let you click through to them from your Dash. This is a great way to centralize all of your social activities in one place.

Don’t want to see a certain Facebook event on your Dashboard? Just archive it or delete it.

Connect your accounts and check it out!