“In addition to funding a group of leading bee researchers and beekeepers at the University of California at Davis and Pennsylvania State University. Learn more at helpthehoneybees.com.”

I also learned from the e-mail that when bees return to their hive after scoring some nectar, they do a unique dance to communicate the whereabouts of the new nectar source.
Now remember….I have learned all of this via the pitch e-mail. Then, I’m told that they’ve produced a video to bring awareness to the problem and give us an inside look at the unique hive dance. The pitch ends with “this is our hip-hop interpretation of the dance.”
Okay, cue the YouTube video. I watched the video and I have to say….I was confused. If I hadn’t read all of the pitch set-up, I wouldn’t have understood anything about the dance or what it meant. And, if they found nectar — why did the bees die at the end? Or did I miss something and they didn’t die?

So, I decide to check out the website. Surely, it will tell the rest of the story. It was chock full of information, but it had absolutely no tie (in words or visuals) to the video. It looked like two completely different companies produced the two pieces to the campaign, without ever seeing what the other side was doing.
Had I not read the pitch e-mail, I would have been completely lost by now. The pieces didn’t fit together to make a whole. So here are my questions for you.

• Had I not told you the bee story upfront, would you have gleaned any/all of that from the video alone?
• Would the video alone compelled you to visit the site?
• If you viewed the video and the website, would they have supported each other?
• Did the attitude of the video feel appropriate to the problem?
• Did the website feel appropriate to the problem?
• What would you have advised Haagen-Daz if they’d come to you with this “we want to help the bees” challenge?

Case in point – a CPA I know. He’s very good at marketing his business: sending regular e-newsletters, hosting social events, advising clients of tax changes, deadlines, etc. Yet, I’m in the market for a new accountant. Why? He doesn’t get back to me in a timely fashion and sometimes needs a second contact before following up. His e-mail responses are ambiguous. I feel like an imposition. I even referred a friend who experienced the same thing. What good is the informative newsletter and the after work food if the service sucks?
Case #2. I went to www.meetup.com to find a local tennis league I could join. I found something promising and e-mailed a question. The reply came in the same day, but here’s what it says:
We group players of similiar skill levels by their zip codes in order to limit drives as much as possible. Our goal is to make the league as convenient and fun as possible. Thanks.
Best regards,
Administrator
XXXXX Tennis League
Sponsored by [major sports company]
The first thing I noticed is that the administrator didn’t use his/her name in the e-mail signature. Does that sound fun and welcoming to you? Seems very distant and unfriendly to me. Secondly, where’s the “thank you” for contacting them? How about a call to action or a link to the registration page or a simple, “I hope you join us. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have other questions.”
Almost every week, I encounter missed opportunities on the part of businesses, people and organizations. They succeed in spite of themselves. Maybe I’m just tuned into this stuff as a marketer, but it just seems like common sense is often lost.
What do you think? Is it me?