JR Raphael from PCWorld had an amazing column, “The 10 most uncool moments in tech” that showed up on MSNBC.com a couple weeks ago. His column highlights tech companies that try as they might to come across as cool, completely miss the mark.
The column includes video of each of the failed attempts at cool viral and ad campaigns. Check them out for a few chuckles, but you’ll probably find yourself more often shaking your head in disbelief—yes, they really are that bad. Here’s a quick example of just how horrible these marketing moments really are:
Raphael’s commentary, however, is absolutely riveting and will definitely make you laugh.
Beyond the humor, there’s a lesson to be learned. Don’t try to force your brand to be something that it simply is NOT.
Every brand can’t be cool. Every brand can’t be classy. Every brand can’t be a hero. But, every brand can fail if its position is not defined.
Your brand position is the crux of your marketing program. And, if you haven’t defined your brand position and brand persona, for goodness sake get on it! While you’re here at B2B Fishbowl, check out what our very own Matt Hensler has to say about brand personas too.
As some of you know, I’m a big fan of Apple products—and a proud owner of an iPhone 4 (I even got it a day before it was released). So, I was quite disappointed to learn of the iPhone 4’s reception problems that many owners are experiencing due to antenna issues. For those of you that haven’t heard about this, you can read about it here.
Apple’s bad press was plastered everywhere, from news sites to blogs to Twitter. Dissatisfied customers voiced their opinions and frustrations; Consumer Reports stated that they can’t recommend the product; Apple’s stock even fell. Although I think it’s mostly internet hype, it’s not the kind of publicity that any company wants.
However, after weeks of minimal response and PR blunders from Apple, the company announced that it would hold a press conference to discuss the issues with the phone and reveal a plan of action to deal with the problem. Speculated solutions included a recall or providing cases to customers. Many thought that a recall was unlikely, given the cost associated with it. Turns out, Apple’s fix is to provide cases to all customers—it will even be offering refunds to customers who already purchased a bumper or a case.
But, I want to know what my loyal B2B Fishbowl readers think. “What would you have done if you were Apple to resolve this issue while attempting to keep your brand name intact?”
In PR, it’s common to hear the phrase, “I want my company name in ink.” I admit, landing placement or a really great feature story in a target publication is fantastic —and valuable—and clients or bosses love it. But, while we’re concerned with securing print coverage for our clients or bosses, it’s important that we don’t forget about the many social media outlets out there. There are already conversations taking place about your company or brand on social media sites, and your online reputation is being created because of those conversations.
As PR professionals, it’s our job to educate our clients and bosses about the importance of social media and online reputations. Much like great print coverage, social media conversations deliver valuable information about a company or brand directly to current and prospective customers and influence opinions.
In my opinion, the best part about social media is that you can participate in the conversations about your company or brand that are already happening and you can engage with your customers on a more personal level.
Bob Salas’ recent post on Building a Brand really made me think about how service (or lack thereof) affects brand integrity. Recently, the external fan in my laptop went out. So I went to Best Buy, the place of purchase, for help. After big dollar signs were thrown at me for shipping it to Sony for the replacement of the fan, I realized I’d rather contact Sony directly to order the part. After calling Sony’s customer service line, I was so disappointed with the lack customer service and knowledge that Sony’s brand is, in my eyes, tainted for life.
As the end user, I felt unappreciated. So, in response to Bob’s post, I will not buy Sony again because of this experience.
This in turn made me think about Apple and how it has been able to conquer B2B and B2C strategies alike while keeping its brand intact. Apple’s customer service is pristine, regardless of the channel taken to purchase its products. Apple never loses sight of its end users and their ongoing needs.
Perhaps if Sony had a process to ensure that end users had the support (and service) they needed after buying its product indirectly, I wouldn’t be scheming to get an Apple.
What are you doing to ensure your end users’ experiences are superior to your competitors?
As the newest Canyonite to join the ranks, during my first Monday morning status meeting, I was reminded of the critical nature of service, more specifically “Customer Service” as it relates to success in the business place.
In his book, The Brand Who Cried Wolf, author Scott Deming describes the differences between branding, marketing and advertising. Within the context of branding, building a successful brand goes way beyond the traditional thinking of creating a memorable tagline or impactful logo. While these are, no doubt, important components to any brand plan, building a successful brand is contingent upon a much deeper emotional experience and connection with the customer. It is achieved when the promise made by marketing communications is delivered to the customer by everyone within the company.
Think of the last time you purchased something that was defective because quality control let one slip by or were endlessly on hold with XYZ’s “dedicated” 1-800 customer service line. How did you feel about the brand then? Did it exceed your expectations or fall short? Would you buy it again?
Everyone within the organization is responsible for “building the brand” or damaging its perception. At whatever point in the cycle that your function touches your product or service you have the ability to make it or break it when you choose to deliver superior customer service .
