Twitter is so spontaneous and I never would have thought I would have a adrenalin rush both for the game and later on Twitter with all the tweets about changing registrars. Thanks for the post and when morning comes I am sure there is more learning for me as Network Solutions' Social Media Swami.
GoDaddy has a Twitter presence, but they either weren't monitoring Twitter response to their Super Bowl ads or just don't care. Or, more likely, both. So I sent a tweet to them just now, with a link to your post: @GoDaddyGuy If I have any problems transferring my domains to another provider, I'll let you know. Just in case you care.
I do marketing for NameCheap, another online registrar. Here's our response:
If you transfer to NameCheap using coupon code SWITCH2NC, you can get 1 extra year from the remaining time on your domain for just $6.99. That means if you have a domain for 2.5 years with another company, you’ll get 3.5 years for less than seven dollars!
So Don’t be Ashamed to Renew Your Domain. Choose NameCheap!
This is like the Motrin Moms if Tylenol or Advil had been paying attention to twitter. Someone should write this up as a formal case study for all those that say there is no direct sales link to monitoring social media. I'm looking your way on this one Network Solutions, how big did you really win thanks to your fast Twittering?
This is, one one sense, Twitter at its best. Real users of a brand's products and services monitoring them in virtually real-time, and giving them a piece of their minds, as appropriate.
Yeah, GoDaddy's convenient and cheap. And sleazy as anything.
If married NASCAR racer Danica Patrick hasn't got any sense of dignity, and her husband doesn't mind her being shamefully fetishized to drooling teenage boys, then shame on them both...and especially GoDaddy honcho Bob Parsons.
I'm not big on boycotts, but I think we might make an exception in this case. I doubt that I'm the only one tired of having this kind of creepy, transgressive crud.
I found it entertaining that twitter women were all a'tweet last night, saying they were pulling their domains & hosting off GoDaddy. But, let's think about this... if you have to pull your domains off of GoDaddy, you obviously already use GoDaddy -- so why would GoDaddy spend millions marketing to the people who already use them (i.e. intelligent women)? Maybe their people found their numbers in the male football-loving, beer-drinking, woman-oggling were down, so they targeting them. I don't think those spots were directed at me, so I just turned my head. Business is business, folks.
I just had to chime in here and applaud Shashi for really demonstrating the power and potential of paying attention.
There are small dustups that can turn into big opportunities for companies that are willing to listen not just about what their company is doing right, but where their competitors may be opening doors.
And it goes to show that these things happen "right now". You can't afford to wait until tomorrow to take advantage of the buzz that's happening today.
Victoria, those spots weren't aimed at me either, yet I feel they demeaned me by objectifying women. And this isn't the first time I've been aggravated at GoDaddy for their sexist advertising; I'm reminded every time I log on to the site to administer my domains/hosting.
Sure, business is business. I'm just choosing to take my business (about 50 domains) elsewhere. It's an individual choice. I finally decided enough's enough.
All I know is that I have another case study to use in my book! No need to rehash Dell Hell or Kyrptonite.
As to my opinion on the matter. The ads were trashy and they were supposed to be. But, if my kids were still at home, I would have sent them out of the room or more likely changed the channel. No need for NBC to run that crap. Glad they banned PETA for that reason.
I hope Shashi sees a ton of business from this. Does it pay to monitor Twitter? Just ask Shashi.
16 hours since their last tweet shows that they're lacking the listening aspect of their online activities.
What they'd realize is that Connie, with 50 domains, another person I saw with 30 domains (among others), are willing/going to switch providers and GoDaddy has no idea. Pretty sad especially the day after such a big media release.
Times HAVE changed and companies need to start realizing this - though I'm not sure if they could fix the aftermath of a displeasing TV ad.
You're right, Sonny. It's going to cost me quite a bit to leave GoDaddy; may have to do it in stages, but will move hosting this week and then work on parked domains.
BTW, Shashi has tweeted that Network Solutions now has a discount code for others wanting to dump GoDaddy. "Use Coupon code PCXXX02740 for $8.75 /yr transfering a domain Name"
Again, this is Michelle at NameCheap. I know this is timely issue. And I'm as tired of the GoDaddy ads as anyone. As someone who has been sexually harassed, I got fed up and wrote this: http://www.michellesblog.net/marketing-for-the-web/danica-patrick-godaddy-ads-reflect-the-sad-state-of-womens-athletics
I do have to say, be careful of being reactionary. Have you researched Network Solutions or are you merely responding to the fact that someone was listening? Do you know what their reputation is? Just because someone "talks" to you on Twitter, it doesn't mean they will give you good customer service or a good value. Just because they aren't on Twitter, it doesn't mean they won't. Please do not forget to make that distinction.
Michelle I will admit that I've never worked with Network Solutions, but do know that Shashi has been active in SM and Twitter for quite a while. Which is exactly why he was able to capitalize on the backlash against GoDaddy last night, because he was on Twitter and monitoring feedback.
But I do find your comment interesting. Are you suggesting that we shouldn't make a knee-jerk decision and go with Network Solutions? Would you suggest we go with someone else, like maybe NameCheap? ;)
I'm just saying, NameCheap doesn't have a list of horror stories: http://www.nsihorrorstories.com/index.shtml
My CEO didn't want me to start any wars, but I'm sorry, they don't have a stellar reputation and I do think this is a bit knee jerk.
Before I worked freelance and for NameCheap, I worked for Volusion eCommerce. Volusion's software was much better than Network Solution's equivolent. We were small and could react to customers' needs. We didn't have the ad budget Network Solutions did though, so sure enough, you see their ads everywhere. They essentially bought out Monster Commerce and then did very little with it. We lost very few customers to them and got a lot coming in.
Here is NameCheap's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/Namecheapcom/20031443281?ref=ts
I was a customer before I wrote any copy for them. You get free WhoIsGuard for a year and the prices and interface are good. WhoIsGuard ensures that people can't find your address in the WhoIs Directory. A lot of people don't know about it but it's important.
And if it sucks, yell at me at @michellegreer. I'm more than happy to help as is the rest of the staff.
Well from where I sit, it looks like Network Solutions made a smart move, is getting a lot of people talking about them, and as a competitor of their's, that upsets you. Instead of trying to point out what is wrong (or what you think is wrong) with Network Solutions, why not focus on what you think is RIGHT with NameCheap?
You have to realize that for many people, they are hearing about both Network Solutions AND NameCheap for the first time. And it looks like Network Solutions 'gets it', and that NameCheap has a case of 'sour grapes' going on.
BTW not trying to act like a jackass to you, but if I were you, I would look at what Shashi just did that worked, and I would start doing it as well. He benefited from monitoring Twitter, so I would start doing that as well, or if you already are, maximizing your efforts there.
Every time a competitor makes a smart move, it's an opportunity for you, not a problem. View this as a chance for you to move NameCheap forward as well.
First off, no matter what, there are going to be people who dislike an ad campaign, especially one of this nature, and then say "oh, now I"m offended and I'm going to leave this company." Also, let me state that I agree with many of the comments here that the ad was tasteless and stale. It should also be known that I am a GoDaddy customer and host over 60 domains with them, and the reason I do has nothing to do with their advertising contracts. It's their service and commitment to their customers. Go ahead and switch to a 3rd-rate domain provider and wait until your credit card expires or you get a new card number or any number of other things that can go wrong, then talk to me when you can't get your domain from some cyber-squatter asking $30,000 to get your name back because your new "cheap" provider sold your name off at the first sign of trouble. GoDaddy has gone out of their way to protect my domains, to the point of calling me on the phone saying, "this domain is about to be released, would you like to renew it", offering to help me save money by consolidating, etc.
So to the thin skinned 'switchers' out there, go ahead and pull your business and good luck with your new non-customer-service-having host that saves you a dollar or two a year. For everyone else, I would say it is much more effective to complain directly to GoDaddy about their crummy ad and let them know how you feel about it. Tell them that you value their company and that decisions like these affect the likelihood of doing business with them in the future. I'm sure if all of this bitching into the twitterverse would be MUCH more effective if it was directed AT GoDaddy rather than out to anyone who'll listen.
For some reason, it is so easy to rant and make idle proclamations about 'switching' on the Internet. Use your brain before you tweet.
Finally, just my opinion: To everyone switching to Network Solutions, beware. They are the WORST. I used them for years and after being royally screwed, overcharged, and given the runaround by their customer 'service', I am now happy as a clam at GoDaddy, despite their stupid, stale, and demeaning advertisements. Rest assured, I will be writing a letter to GoDaddy today, expressing my dissatisfaction with this, and hoping that they will be as responsive to their customers on this issue as they have been in the past on issues related to their core business. They would be stupid to ignore such a tide of negative feedback from their customers.
I didn't intend to steal any of Shashi's thunder. It was a very smart move, for sure and it sounds like he is very good at what he does. I'm sure he is probably a good guy in the same way my friend Phil Wheat is a great guy. Phil works for Microsoft and although I am not a fan of what Microsoft does, I am a big fan of Phil Wheat. That's often how it goes.
I know NameCheap isn't a big name on the scene, but you are welcome to read reviews on our Facebook page and look around forums such as WebHostingTalk. We've also been recommended by Adam Strong, who runs on of the biggest domaining blogs, Domain Name News.
Glad to read someone drawing attention to Network Solutions' reputation. I've had some very bad experiences with them, and would encourage people to look at a variety of providers. I use Dotster, but there are so many out there that you're hardly limited to just a few. And while NS did do a great move in twitting in a timely way, it still doesn't mean they are worth your business. There's no excuse for not doing your due diligence.
It's interesting to see the instant backlash for offensive ads. I watched the SuperBowl with a bunch of friends of which at least 50% of whom don't even have a Twitter account. The amount of collective groans and comments about the commercials from those folks were equally as loud. You wonder how many people have mentally boycotted these companies that don't participate in "the conversation" on the web...
Something else to note is that Shashi was empowered to make that kind of offer on the fly. Often businesses try to reign in the people on the front end of social media by requiring them to go through lengthy approval processes.
I don't mean to discount Shashi's quick thinking in this case at all, but he is part of a larger system that ultimately "gets it". I think that's the real lesson in this.
The thing is Sashi didn't make an offer, just an offer for me to email him and I'm guessing start a conversation. I'm a bottom line kind of guy and want to know what it's going to cost first, then we'll talk. Also, I have more than 30 domains to consider with various customers. That's a lot of folks to track down just to make a knee-jerk decision. I applaud Michelle, (yes, Mark I read the whole post before berating her) and think she may be the real winner here. She's given me a price and terms, provided some good information about her Whois service and pointed out there are other choices besides Sashi's Network Solutions. Now I can think about this.
Ok guys let's please not start leaving anonymous comments praising or berating one company over the other. Please sign your name to your opinion if you want to leave it here. Thanks.
As one of the first who asked the Twitterverse for a decent alternative to GoDaddy after seeing the ad, http://tinyurl.com/ah6vgk I think it's fascinating to note the extent of this discussion that is now focusing on which alternatives one should go to and away from the initial ad. Isn't the lesson here that Twitter isn't just a place for conversations to vent, but a place where solutions/actions/alternatives are born. I also wonder whether GoDaddy's cluelessness isn't a function of the typical disconnect between PR and Advertising and Sales. Someone somewhere has to be tracking web analytics and measuring the increase/decrease in new accounts as a result of the ad, but chances are they'll attribute it to something else and never even think to consider the impact their reputation has on those sales numbers.
Twitter is a huge resource of conversation. The mistake that many marketers make in listening to twitter is measuring at a macro level. Macro measurement tells you overall buzz. Incident level measurement tells you so much more - who said what, to whom, in what context, viewed by how many (potential) etc. Twitter is a dynamic. Follow the links. Twitter is a gateway. Map the network, discover the community.
Social measurement is not about what happened in the past. It's about informing and inspiring what you're about to do next.
29 comments:
Shashi rocks. That's why he's known as the Swami of Social Media.
Amazing how this all happened in the last few hours.
Hi Mack,
Twitter is so spontaneous and I never would have thought I would have a adrenalin rush both for the game and later on Twitter with all the tweets about changing registrars. Thanks for the post and when morning comes I am sure there is more learning for me as Network Solutions' Social Media Swami.
Regards,
Shashi
GoDaddy has a Twitter presence, but they either weren't monitoring Twitter response to their Super Bowl ads or just don't care. Or, more likely, both. So I sent a tweet to them just now, with a link to your post: @GoDaddyGuy If I have any problems transferring my domains to another provider, I'll let you know. Just in case you care.
Here's a response from a competitor:
I do marketing for NameCheap, another online registrar. Here's our response:
If you transfer to NameCheap using coupon code SWITCH2NC, you can get 1 extra year from the remaining time on your domain for just $6.99. That means if you have a domain for 2.5 years with another company, you’ll get 3.5 years for less than seven dollars!
So Don’t be Ashamed to Renew Your Domain. Choose NameCheap!
P.S. The URL is www.namecheap.com ;)
They deserve the backlash. The entire concept is outdated even more so than "the war on terror".
This is what happens when ideas are recycled. They need a new marketing team and they need to monitor their social media sites.
Great post, Mack. Last night's GoDaddy ads were a trainwreck, with one notable exception: everyone's talking about them.
I have to at least wonder if GoDaddy's efforts were abysmal on purpose, solely for the purpose of generating lots of controversy & conversation.
This is like the Motrin Moms if Tylenol or Advil had been paying attention to twitter. Someone should write this up as a formal case study for all those that say there is no direct sales link to monitoring social media. I'm looking your way on this one Network Solutions, how big did you really win thanks to your fast Twittering?
This is, one one sense, Twitter at its best. Real users of a brand's products and services monitoring them in virtually real-time, and giving them a piece of their minds, as appropriate.
Yeah, GoDaddy's convenient and cheap. And sleazy as anything.
If married NASCAR racer Danica Patrick hasn't got any sense of dignity, and her husband doesn't mind her being shamefully fetishized to drooling teenage boys, then shame on them both...and especially GoDaddy honcho Bob Parsons.
I'm not big on boycotts, but I think we might make an exception in this case. I doubt that I'm the only one tired of having this kind of creepy, transgressive crud.
What say you, social media peeps?
I found it entertaining that twitter women were all a'tweet last night, saying they were pulling their domains & hosting off GoDaddy. But, let's think about this... if you have to pull your domains off of GoDaddy, you obviously already use GoDaddy -- so why would GoDaddy spend millions marketing to the people who already use them (i.e. intelligent women)? Maybe their people found their numbers in the male football-loving, beer-drinking, woman-oggling were down, so they targeting them. I don't think those spots were directed at me, so I just turned my head. Business is business, folks.
I just had to chime in here and applaud Shashi for really demonstrating the power and potential of paying attention.
There are small dustups that can turn into big opportunities for companies that are willing to listen not just about what their company is doing right, but where their competitors may be opening doors.
And it goes to show that these things happen "right now". You can't afford to wait until tomorrow to take advantage of the buzz that's happening today.
Great post, Mack.
Victoria, those spots weren't aimed at me either, yet I feel they demeaned me by objectifying women. And this isn't the first time I've been aggravated at GoDaddy for their sexist advertising; I'm reminded every time I log on to the site to administer my domains/hosting.
Sure, business is business. I'm just choosing to take my business (about 50 domains) elsewhere. It's an individual choice. I finally decided enough's enough.
All I know is that I have another case study to use in my book! No need to rehash Dell Hell or Kyrptonite.
As to my opinion on the matter. The ads were trashy and they were supposed to be. But, if my kids were still at home, I would have sent them out of the room or more likely changed the channel. No need for NBC to run that crap. Glad they banned PETA for that reason.
I hope Shashi sees a ton of business from this. Does it pay to monitor Twitter? Just ask Shashi.
16 hours since their last tweet shows that they're lacking the listening aspect of their online activities.
What they'd realize is that Connie, with 50 domains, another person I saw with 30 domains (among others), are willing/going to switch providers and GoDaddy has no idea. Pretty sad especially the day after such a big media release.
Times HAVE changed and companies need to start realizing this - though I'm not sure if they could fix the aftermath of a displeasing TV ad.
You're right, Sonny. It's going to cost me quite a bit to leave GoDaddy; may have to do it in stages, but will move hosting this week and then work on parked domains.
BTW, Shashi has tweeted that Network Solutions now has a discount code for others wanting to dump GoDaddy. "Use Coupon code PCXXX02740 for $8.75 /yr transfering a domain Name"
This is a good post. Sigh.
Again, this is Michelle at NameCheap. I know this is timely issue. And I'm as tired of the GoDaddy ads as anyone. As someone who has been sexually harassed, I got fed up and wrote this:
http://www.michellesblog.net/marketing-for-the-web/danica-patrick-godaddy-ads-reflect-the-sad-state-of-womens-athletics
I do have to say, be careful of being reactionary. Have you researched Network Solutions or are you merely responding to the fact that someone was listening? Do you know what their reputation is? Just because someone "talks" to you on Twitter, it doesn't mean they will give you good customer service or a good value. Just because they aren't on Twitter, it doesn't mean they won't. Please do not forget to make that distinction.
Michelle I will admit that I've never worked with Network Solutions, but do know that Shashi has been active in SM and Twitter for quite a while. Which is exactly why he was able to capitalize on the backlash against GoDaddy last night, because he was on Twitter and monitoring feedback.
But I do find your comment interesting. Are you suggesting that we shouldn't make a knee-jerk decision and go with Network Solutions? Would you suggest we go with someone else, like maybe NameCheap? ;)
Mack,
I'm just saying, NameCheap doesn't have a list of horror stories:
http://www.nsihorrorstories.com/index.shtml
My CEO didn't want me to start any wars, but I'm sorry, they don't have a stellar reputation and I do think this is a bit knee jerk.
Before I worked freelance and for NameCheap, I worked for Volusion eCommerce. Volusion's software was much better than Network Solution's equivolent. We were small and could react to customers' needs. We didn't have the ad budget Network Solutions did though, so sure enough, you see their ads everywhere. They essentially bought out Monster Commerce and then did very little with it. We lost very few customers to them and got a lot coming in.
Here is NameCheap's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/Namecheapcom/20031443281?ref=ts
I was a customer before I wrote any copy for them. You get free WhoIsGuard for a year and the prices and interface are good. WhoIsGuard ensures that people can't find your address in the WhoIs Directory. A lot of people don't know about it but it's important.
And if it sucks, yell at me at @michellegreer. I'm more than happy to help as is the rest of the staff.
Well from where I sit, it looks like Network Solutions made a smart move, is getting a lot of people talking about them, and as a competitor of their's, that upsets you. Instead of trying to point out what is wrong (or what you think is wrong) with Network Solutions, why not focus on what you think is RIGHT with NameCheap?
You have to realize that for many people, they are hearing about both Network Solutions AND NameCheap for the first time. And it looks like Network Solutions 'gets it', and that NameCheap has a case of 'sour grapes' going on.
BTW not trying to act like a jackass to you, but if I were you, I would look at what Shashi just did that worked, and I would start doing it as well. He benefited from monitoring Twitter, so I would start doing that as well, or if you already are, maximizing your efforts there.
Every time a competitor makes a smart move, it's an opportunity for you, not a problem. View this as a chance for you to move NameCheap forward as well.
First off, no matter what, there are going to be people who dislike an ad campaign, especially one of this nature, and then say "oh, now I"m offended and I'm going to leave this company." Also, let me state that I agree with many of the comments here that the ad was tasteless and stale. It should also be known that I am a GoDaddy customer and host over 60 domains with them, and the reason I do has nothing to do with their advertising contracts. It's their service and commitment to their customers. Go ahead and switch to a 3rd-rate domain provider and wait until your credit card expires or you get a new card number or any number of other things that can go wrong, then talk to me when you can't get your domain from some cyber-squatter asking $30,000 to get your name back because your new "cheap" provider sold your name off at the first sign of trouble. GoDaddy has gone out of their way to protect my domains, to the point of calling me on the phone saying, "this domain is about to be released, would you like to renew it", offering to help me save money by consolidating, etc.
So to the thin skinned 'switchers' out there, go ahead and pull your business and good luck with your new non-customer-service-having host that saves you a dollar or two a year. For everyone else, I would say it is much more effective to complain directly to GoDaddy about their crummy ad and let them know how you feel about it. Tell them that you value their company and that decisions like these affect the likelihood of doing business with them in the future. I'm sure if all of this bitching into the twitterverse would be MUCH more effective if it was directed AT GoDaddy rather than out to anyone who'll listen.
For some reason, it is so easy to rant and make idle proclamations about 'switching' on the Internet. Use your brain before you tweet.
Finally, just my opinion: To everyone switching to Network Solutions, beware. They are the WORST. I used them for years and after being royally screwed, overcharged, and given the runaround by their customer 'service', I am now happy as a clam at GoDaddy, despite their stupid, stale, and demeaning advertisements. Rest assured, I will be writing a letter to GoDaddy today, expressing my dissatisfaction with this, and hoping that they will be as responsive to their customers on this issue as they have been in the past on issues related to their core business. They would be stupid to ignore such a tide of negative feedback from their customers.
Think before you leap.
Mack,
I didn't intend to steal any of Shashi's thunder. It was a very smart move, for sure and it sounds like he is very good at what he does. I'm sure he is probably a good guy in the same way my friend Phil Wheat is a great guy. Phil works for Microsoft and although I am not a fan of what Microsoft does, I am a big fan of Phil Wheat. That's often how it goes.
I know NameCheap isn't a big name on the scene, but you are welcome to read reviews on our Facebook page and look around forums such as WebHostingTalk. We've also been recommended by Adam Strong, who runs on of the biggest domaining blogs, Domain Name News.
Glad to read someone drawing attention to Network Solutions' reputation. I've had some very bad experiences with them, and would encourage people to look at a variety of providers. I use Dotster, but there are so many out there that you're hardly limited to just a few. And while NS did do a great move in twitting in a timely way, it still doesn't mean they are worth your business. There's no excuse for not doing your due diligence.
Nice post Mack.
It's interesting to see the instant backlash for offensive ads. I watched the SuperBowl with a bunch of friends of which at least 50% of whom don't even have a Twitter account. The amount of collective groans and comments about the commercials from those folks were equally as loud. You wonder how many people have mentally boycotted these companies that don't participate in "the conversation" on the web...
Something else to note is that Shashi was empowered to make that kind of offer on the fly. Often businesses try to reign in the people on the front end of social media by requiring them to go through lengthy approval processes.
I don't mean to discount Shashi's quick thinking in this case at all, but he is part of a larger system that ultimately "gets it". I think that's the real lesson in this.
The thing is Sashi didn't make an offer, just an offer for me to email him and I'm guessing start a conversation. I'm a bottom line kind of guy and want to know what it's going to cost first, then we'll talk. Also, I have more than 30 domains to consider with various customers. That's a lot of folks to track down just to make a knee-jerk decision.
I applaud Michelle, (yes, Mark I read the whole post before berating her) and think she may be the real winner here. She's given me a price and terms, provided some good information about her Whois service and pointed out there are other choices besides Sashi's Network Solutions. Now I can think about this.
Ok guys let's please not start leaving anonymous comments praising or berating one company over the other. Please sign your name to your opinion if you want to leave it here. Thanks.
As one of the first who asked the Twitterverse for a decent alternative to GoDaddy after seeing the ad, http://tinyurl.com/ah6vgk
I think it's fascinating to note the extent of this discussion that is now focusing on which alternatives one should go to and away from the initial ad. Isn't the lesson here that Twitter isn't just a place for conversations to vent, but a place where solutions/actions/alternatives are born.
I also wonder whether GoDaddy's cluelessness isn't a function of the typical disconnect between PR and Advertising and Sales. Someone somewhere has to be tracking web analytics and measuring the increase/decrease in new accounts as a result of the ad, but chances are they'll attribute it to something else and never even think to consider the impact their reputation has on those sales numbers.
Twitter is a huge resource of conversation. The mistake that many marketers make in listening to twitter is measuring at a macro level. Macro measurement tells you overall buzz. Incident level measurement tells you so much more - who said what, to whom, in what context, viewed by how many (potential) etc. Twitter is a dynamic. Follow the links. Twitter is a gateway. Map the network, discover the community.
Social measurement is not about what happened in the past. It's about informing and inspiring what you're about to do next.
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