It's not about your number of Twitter followers or Facebook friends, Seth Godin told me yesterday at the Inc. 5000 conference in Washington DC. Seth kindly agreed to a one-minute interview yesterday after his mainstage appearance with Tom Peters, moderated by AmEx OPEN president Susan Sinnott.
The two "gurus" got into a good-natured yelling match on several topics, including customer service ("Your standards are way too low!" Seth screamed at Tom), the loyalty of employees vs. customers and growing your business.
(I love Seth's new green glasses.)
The following is re-posted from the Inc. 5000 conference blog #inc500
Seth Godin and Tom Peters got into a friendly shouting match yesterday under the bemused eye of moderator Susan Sobbott, who hosts the AmEx OPEN Forum for small business.
The three were the mainstage attraction before lunch on Friday Sept. 19, 2008.
Susan posed some great questions about leadership, customer service, the loyalty of employees vs. customers, and controlling your brand.
The customer service question ("True or False? Technology has killed customer service") prompted the screaming.
The Web makes for great customer service, Tom said, citing Amazon's recommendations feature and how easy it is to book a flight online.
It's not just about the technology, Seth said, citing the horrible experience of present day air travel. "Customer service is now for things that go wrong... your standards are way too low!" "Where," Seth asked, "is the box where you check to pay more. I'll pay more and you'll be nice to me? Where is that??"
Below Seth reprises an answer to a question from the audience: "Is social networking important for small business?"
Previous Comments
Chris Baggott said on September 20, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Great clip Deb! I’m a huge fan of Seths as well as you can tell from this video:
http://blogging.compendiumblog.com/blog/blogging-best-practices/0/0/wwsd-what-would-seth-do
Miss you at blogworld 08
Philip Baumann said on September 21, 2008 at 11:51 AM
This 1:18 clip is about the most amount of wisdom re: social media I’ve seen all year long.
Glad I found your blog and the clip. I look forward to having you in my reader. Thanks!
Dan Schawbel said on September 21, 2008 at 06:35 PM
I agree with Seth that superficial people are going to lose out on actually networking and forming relationships BUT perception is very important. If someone looks are your LinkedIn account and sees 10 friends, they will think something is wrong, even if they are your best friends.
Dave Wheeler said on September 22, 2008 at 02:38 PM
Should someone even look at anyone’s LinkedIn account and form any opinion or conclusion about that individual based on the number of friend’s…chances are they are one of those SUPERFICIAL people who are “going to lose out on actually networking and forming relationships” It’s quality not quantity that counts, in business or relationships. Mr. Godin’s assessment of social networking being about helping people to achieve their goals is outstanding…and refreshing to hear!
I first read “Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything.” Next was Mark Bauerlin’s “The Dumbest Generation “How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future” . I’m thinking the answer lies somewhere in the middle…but closer to the latter.
kelly said on December 13, 2008 at 01:14 PM
Well-said Dave Wheeler! “Quality” not “quantity”. I left LinkedIn just a few days in it. Cos I then joined Twitter!
Thank you Debbie for your blog. I am learning more about Social Media everyday!
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