Mindshare President Richard Hanks Featured in Online Innovators Roundtable hosted by Wasatch Digital IQ
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of Wasatch Digital IQ
An edited version of the article is reproduced below.
We brought this group of Internet busines experts together to discuss the state of the online industry: whre it is and where it's going. In today's fast-paced Internet world, change is a constant reality for these leaders, who discussed how their businesses are contributing to the transforming Web 2.0 environment through social media, groundbreaking technology and consumer-focused products. The experts also weighed in on current directions in SaaS, startup financing options and social responsibility in technology.
Our panel included: Kimball Thomson, Digital IQ; Pete Ashdown, XMission; Matt Cupal, Sorenson Media, GeneTree; John Mellor, Omniture; Richard Hanks, Mindshare Technologies; Jeremy Simmons, Asierus; Jim Banister, Spectrum DNA; William Borghetti, Sendside Networks; Jay Bean, Orange Soda; Steve Smith, Finicity; Brock Blake, Funding Universe
What do you see as some of the most significant emerging national or global trends?
HANKS: When we sit down with people, we say, "If you are selling a house for $600,000 or renting it for $2,000 or $3,000 a month, the actual transaction is similar. The revenue generated isn't similar because on one you are going to have $600,000 trading hands and the other, you will have $3,000 trading hands for the next 80 months. I have to be honest with you, I don't believe our venture firms on our last company even came close to understanding the concept of what I call the three years of torture. They are used to getting that whole amount right up front. And they will go profitable quickly, whereas a SaaS company isn't going to make any true profit generation for years, even though the same transactions are happening. The upside to that is once you pass the three years of torture, you are obscenely profitable.
How have the lives and habits of consumers changed from new technology?
HANKS: Traditionally most software models, in terms of speed of updating an application, would go to maybe 25 customers and each one would have custom developed apps. Bring all that data back and then do an upgrade every 18 months or two years. We do four a year and they are going all the time. Every one of our customers benefits the moment that it's released.
We are creating the socialization that has been removed by the technology of the Web and of gaming and computers in general. One of the things that happens again in the customer experience space is after a bad experience in the service environment, somebody will tell eight to 10 people. Well, now they tell eight to 10 million and they tell them immediately. My business is going to skyrocket because they can no longer afford to have fish that's not cooked correctly in a restaurant. The penalty for mistakes of service is so huge now because of the reach of the Web that the actual service environments in this country are all going to have to notch it up, or else you don't get a second chance.
My favorite example is from one of the largest cable providers in this country. One of their service technicians goes to Joe Customer's house who couldn't get his Internet working through this cable provider. So the technician called his own internal support number and was put on hold for an hour. While he was sitting there he fell asleep on the customer's sofa. The customer got his digital camera and took a picture of this technician asleep on his sofa, posted it up on YouTube and trashed this company to millions of people. That company is now alerted on how to provide service.
Let's talk about Utah. Is the state becoming a real hot spot in this area? Is there a way to brand that?
HANKS: I think Utah is a hotbed of innovation. The real key for Utah in the future, for small companies here, is to transition to a successful, profitable company. For some reason there's been a dearth of that.
I can guarantee that I have seen as many fabulous technologies that didn't turn into companies, and that's one of the reasons that VCs look at the management team first. The cool little widgets are interesting, but lots of people are creating cool widgets. It's the management team of the company that will turn it into a really successful business.
All new businesses, not just Web-based, have this focus on a flip. The discussion is on how much money is going to be made. I think the state and the entrepreneurs in the state need to focus on building a sustainable business over a 10- or 15-year period, not on get-rich-quick schemes that involve a cool new technology they can flip in six years. When we change our focus, we will change the success of long-term businesses in Utah.
Mindshare Technologies' business monitoring tools help companies improve operational excellence and minimize customer attrition through personal customer involvement. Mindshare's proprietary survey technology captures the voice of the customer in real-time and immediately transforms it into actionable intelligence through powerful and incisive enterprise reporting. With Mindshare, companies can determine the type of information they collect, who can access it, and how it's reported. As a hosted system, Mindshare is affordable and flexible, with surveys and reports tailored to fit individual needs. The reports are web-accessible 24/7 or by timed email delivery. Mindshare serves more than 25 different industries including travel, hospitality, restaurant, financial, salon, automotive, and retail. Clients range from small regional chains to large multinational corporations. For information, visit www.mshare.net.
