Do What You Want. Be What You Are.
Great advice from the gurus at Brainzooming. Read the entire post, but this part in particular really caught my eye:
Don’t make them suffer through your brand identity crisis. This can be especially challenging for solopreneurs and small businesses with less considered brand identities. A huge part of a brand promise is predictability. Even if your brand is edgy, it should be predictably edgy. So when communicating with your audience, make sure you behave in a way that’s consistent with what your audience expects.
via Social Network Audience Strategies for Easy Participation.
In a world where people can actually make money by being edgy–even a tad vulgar (in a good way), irreverently funny and even inexplicably sexy, it’s perilous for the “solopreneurs and small businesses” who try on personas without fully embodying them. So enough with the Lady Gaga attitude, Mr. Insurance Salesman! To quote the wise men Hall and Oates, do what you want….be what you are.
If Apple wants to be a major player …
In light of our recent analysis of Apple’s PR problems, we thought this post from The Observer might be of interest:
The event was an instructive shambles. In summary, the message was: Apple is good and makes great products; all smartphones have reception problems; Apple loves its customers, which is why it built all those cool retail stores for them; the iPhone problem can be fixed by fitting a rubberised “bumper” over the bezel; and Apple will give everyone a free bumper, so what’s the problem?
The press conference was instructive because it provided such a vivid demonstration of how inexperienced Apple is in its new role as just another company – and how inept Jobs is when faced with the hostile skepticism that is the routine experience of other CEOs.
“When it comes to responding to hostile or sceptical media coverage,” wrote one experienced commentator, “Jobs & co seem to be like a presidential contender who’s been able to skip the primaries and go straight to the general election – missing all the vetting and the hundreds of debates that help to surface any weakness or issues of concern, providing time to develop the skills necessary to respond to any situation. Jobs demonstrated what I've never seen him do in front of an audience: he not only lost his cool, he lost his charm. He was a like an arena rock star who can’t perform acoustic.”
Read the entire post: If Apple wants to be a major player it needs to start behaving like one | Technology | The Observer.
Not in Front of Company
I always thought it bad form for a wife and husband to argue in front of dinner guests. It’s just not cool. All it does is make the guests wish they could crawl under the rug. (Well, okay, sometimes it’s pretty entertaining–as in Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor entertaining, but usually not).
I feel the same way about business. If you have to bawl out an employee–excuse me, I mean if you have to clarify or correct behavior–do it in the backroom, your office or virtually anywhere except in full view of your customers. The same applies to staff arguing openly amongst themselves. Check out this review of a restaurant in Maryland:
“atmosphere unpleasant” by ****
November 07, 2009 – The food is good but some of the staff needs customer service courses. We showed up at 2:00 pm thinking we got there in time before they closed which is 3:00 pm. We waited 40 minutes to be seated only to hear time again that the grill was closing. Some of the staff were arguing, in front of me and several other customers, about seating us because it was too close to closing time. It was a very embarrassing experience because, “hello, I’m can hear you.” I actually thought they were going to turn us away because we were too far down on the seating list. When we did get seated we were rushed and got second rate service. No food is worth indigestion.
Wanna bet they never went back? And what effect has that review had on the restaurant’s new customers?
Being polite. What a concept.
This sounds like obvious advice, but I have–more than once–been exposed to bickering couples and business managers yelling openly at their staff. Both times it made me uncomfortable and reluctant to spend any time with the offending couple/business in the future.
So, if you have a staff member who needs “correction,” take it outside–and make sure staff know you expect them to keep their cool in front of customers when you’re not around.
If you find yourself arguing with your spouse in front of company, then perhaps you should serve less (or more?) alcohol. Whichever works best.
iPhone Deaf: Apple Needs to Answer PR Call
Lemon or Not, the PR Stinks
It’s painful to watch. As a devotee of many of Apple’s products–I’m writing this on a MacBook, various iterations of the iPod have been my constant companion for years–it’s just painful.
Beyond being excellent tools, these Apple products are a statement that I value style and substance, simplicity and elegance, reliability and value. Heck, I’ve crowed from this very blog about the excellent customer service in the Apple store.
That’s why it’s painful to watch the iPhone 4 debacle unfold. Apple, the standard bearer for the best in product development and marketing, has apparently plugged their “PR ears.”
Apple–can you hear the phone ringing?
Let’s review (from the New York Times):
The iPhone 4 has been Apple’s most successful product introduction to date. Yet problems with the antenna surfaced after the phone went on sale and have plagued Apple for weeks.
Apple sought to address those concerns nearly two weeks ago, saying that a software bug caused the iPhone 4 and its predecessors to display signal strength incorrectly.
But Consumer Reports on Monday called into question Apple’s explanation. The magazine said that it had tested the iPhone 4 along with other devices in a lab and determined that the iPhone 4 had a hardware design flaw. It said that it could not recommend the device to its readers until Apple fixed the problem.
Overall Verdict: Tone Deaf PR. (Or is that Dial Tone Deaf PR? Or just iTone Deaf? Punsters, you choose.)
The problem(s):
- They may have known about the problem before the launch–devastating in itself if true–it will rip the band-aid right off any efforts to stanch the bleeding to date.
- They have reacted to this situation almost as poorly as BP (though not on the same scale of disaster, it’s a relatively similar PR crisis for the company in terms of credibility).
- CEO Steve Jobs, known for his mercurial temperament and occasional forays into direct “customer service,” has not made the situation any better–in fact, he’s making Apple seem arrogant, petulant and blithe about the entire matter.
- Customer confidence in Apple is shaken–many are already concerned about Apple’s deal with shaky network purveyor AT&T (full disclosure: I have a family member who works for Sprint and I like their service)–and this makes it worse.
- Apple, so used to great press for many years, may simply be unprepared and ill-equipped to handle a crisis such as this (also demonstrated by the poor handling of the prototype mess a few months ago) ala Southwest Airlines and the “large” blowup with director Kevin Smith.
PR solutions for now involve mitigating the damage and putting procedures into place to handle the next crisis (and yep, sorry Apple, there will inevitably be more PR troubles in your future. Like death and taxes, Steve).
- Mitigating damage usually involves being readily transparent from the get-go. Your pride be damned. If you’re wrong, admit it, apologize, fix it, then drive on– or face the consequences. Half-assed fixes and vain hopes that it will “all go away” are stupid and just make things worse.
- Have a crisis communications plan in place. Now. If you don’t have one, you better get one. Consider it insurance–cheers if you never file a claim, but aren’t you glad you had it when the basement flooded? Click here for more on that.
- Do you have public relations professionals in place who have handled a serious media meltdown before (see Southwest Airlines link, above)? But more importantly, are they empowered to do their jobs? Having a PR pro on staff with crisis com experience is great–but if you don’t let them manage the situation (I’m talking to you Mr./Ms. CEO) then it’s like the house is on fire and you order the firefighters to sit in the fire engine while you throw gas on the blaze.
- Fix the problem. Apple customers are fiercely loyal–but there’s a limit. The grudging rebate on the initial iPhone release was the first sign that Apple’s core (sorry for the pun) customers could be taken for granted. Not smart. GM did that. Have a look at their stock price now. Oh wait, they don’t have a stock price.
After the iPhone rebate mess a few years ago, Steve Jobs said:
We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.
If only he had done this right off the bat with the iPhone 4. Perhaps at today’s press conference we will see something like that; a solid, satisfying fix for those who have purchased the iPhone 4.
Apple, your iPhone is ringing. Pick up the phone.
Warren Buffett Agrees: Fire BP CEO
Warren Buffett, the billionaire “Oracle of Omaha” agreed with our previous assertions that BP CEO Tony Hayward (already pushed in the background, but still a symbol for the mess BP made) should be fired.
Good to know we’re on the right side of the Berkshire Hathaway investment genius.
Click on the link below to view the brief video on slide 7 “Buffett on BP.”
Warren Buffett On The Economy, The Deficit, LeBron James And BP (VIDEO).
Clever Marketing Tricks: Car Service Edition
Bear with me if you’ve heard this one, but my attention was captured by a postcard from the Honda dealership service center my wife uses. One side of the large postcard had a generic car-oriented graphic and the words “FREE Front End Alignment for Your Other Car.” In the lower right corner was the dealership and Honda logo.
Flip the card over and in fairly conversational copy you’re offered a free “truly free four-wheel alignment for your non-Honda, never-before-serviced-at-our-facility, ‘other’ vehicle…”
The copy then goes on about how winter potholes play havoc with alignment–this is a good time to get your car checked before it screws up your tires, etc. The copy then answers the question most people have at this point “What’s the catch, why the heck are you doing this?”
“We at XXX simply want to prove to you that our world-class service department takes the best care of you and your car. Regardless of the make or model, we want you to confidently come to us when you need service…It’s as simple as that.”
A phone number and convenient online scheduling URL are given and the reminder that this is a “$150 value” and to “schedule today.”
Okay, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the marketing value of this promotion:
- The dealership probably sent these cards only to active customers–those customers (like my wife) who bring in their Honda for regular oil changes, tune ups, etc. They want to double their business from these presumably satisfied customers; guessing that most customers have two cars (like us)– and that if they don’t have another car on their service roster from that family address there’s a reason. The reason is likely that it’s a different make of car, purchased elsewhere (Yup, that’s us); therefore it’s being serviced elsewhere. Of course, the Honda dealership wants that car in their service bay.
- They find your alignment indeed does need work, and true to their promotional material they do it for free. That makes you happy and predisposed to coming back, right?
- There’s every chance that they may find something else wrong with your car and offer you an incentive to fix it while you’re there–the classic up-sell.
- If they don’t find anything wrong, they’re banking on their service personnel’s professionalism, the shuttle service or the coffee in the waiting lounge to make you think of them when your car does need service. Heck you might even kill time and wander the lot looking at the new Hondas…
- If nothing else, they have touched a regular customer with a generous offer–this increases brand loyalty. As you know, the news media is rife with stories of automobile companies across the board scrambling to retain market share.
Pretty smart. It cost them comparatively very little to print and send the postcard; even if only 2-3% of this cohort responds it’s a success.
And yep…I just scheduled an appointment to have my car alignment looked at. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Until then, what do you think of this promotion? Could it be translated into something your business could try? The comments bay is open–honk first, then drive on in.
Brand New Day or Fight Another Day?
“I just hate our logo–we’ve had it two years and business is flat.”
“People buy more from fresh, new companies.”
“The news media will cover our name change. No, really, they will.”
Pity the person who has heard any of that from their boss, board or consultant. People get antsy when business flattens or declines, and often instead of examining the product, service or marketing strategy, attention is turned to the brand itself.
Your brand is your company’s or organization’s public face. It’s your identifier, your differentiator and not a plaything for the bored or those grasping for an explanation of declining market share. I’ve worked in several situations where the boss was convinced by branding consultants or “brand alchemists” that the only thing holding them back was their brand identity.
Hold on a second–I should say strongly that changing your brand is not always a bad move–far from it. I work with some branding consultants and firms who are downright kickass at what they do. They just happen to be professional enough to tell a client when they don’t need a rebrand. (Sound crazy? Nah. Just ethical and smart in the long run. What company is going to hate a consultant who saved them from wasting thousands of dollars?)
I’m by no means saying that a lousy logo, tagline or brand message is worth keeping simply because it’s expensive to rebrand. What I’m getting at is that before you make any move towards engaging a brand identity firm you do some research, serious thinking and some long conversations with objective people who have no skin in the game.
It’s all about brand equity. Wikipedia says “Brand equity refers to the marketing effects or outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name.”
If you’ve invested thousands of dollars and years of consistency in your brand and decide that it’s what’s holding you back; then you need to put pen to paper and ask “If I jettison our identity and create a new one, how much will it cost?” Are you prepared to flush your brand equity–essentially zeroing out your name recognition–and pay a consultant or tie up your marketing team for weeks or months? (Not to mention waiting perhaps a year or two to see if it pays off.)
Google “costs of re-branding” and the results may take your breath away. Some claim that research alone for a re-brand lies in the $50K range–that doesn’t include creating a new logo, tagline, website, collateral printed material, etc.
Well worth a second thought, wouldn’t you say?
Is it your marketing strategy, rather than your brand identity? If so, then a complete overhaul of that strategy–not necessarily your logo and brand identity–is in order.
As for the news media caring about your re-brand? In general they will devote time to your re-brand only if it’s really lousy one. It can also be a PR nightmare if you tick off your current customer base (see Coke, New. or more recently Tropicana.)
So before you go for a brand new day, think carefully. It may be that your brand just needs a better marketing strategy under it–and it needs to live to fight another day.
