Marketers Don't Get It - Chapter 95
There are days when I'm just astounded that the technical marketing community gets anything done at all, what with their heads shoved so far up their, well, you know. Word comes from a panel discussion in Europe that consumers don't want an identity management system on the order of Liberty Alliance or Passport. No consumer demand whatsoever - don't trust them, don't see any benefit, a little worried about the whole thing, actually. So. What does our crack team of panelists think about this? Perhaps the concept should be re-thought? Maybe go out and talk with people about how it could better serve their needs? Nope. We're expected to get used to it - and by golly, they're sure we will. We just need to be educated. Maybe toss on in a coupon or two.

I read things like this, and it makes me embarassed that I work in marketing. These people show such contempt for their customers. Verizon Wireless is a perfect example. They've recently switched their mobile web users from a proprietary setup - myvzw.com - to MSN. In the process, they're pulling the plug on the myvzw.com domain - if you want to get email, you need to switch to MSN - and get a Passport. After reviewing the 20+ page usage agreement - which includes provisions such as they're not responsible for misuse of your account that costs you, but you're responsible for misuse that costs them money - I took a pass. In addition to ridiculous terms (do you trust MSN to be secure?), it's just a pain. Why should I change the email address I've set up in a variety of systems? The Verizon response was a classic from the "all we need to do is educate the user" strategy. I received an email explaining how wonderful it was all going to be. And I didn't really need to get a Passport. Unless, of course, I actually wanted to do anything with the system. I responded that this didn't really address my issues. Haven't heard back.

Educate the user? That's fine. Just don't ignore them. 

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