Best Buy Latest in Corporate Apology Headliners
Excerpted from the article by Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal Managing Editor Mark Reilly:
Best Buy Co. Inc. CEO Brian Dunn has gone public with a defense of the company’s business model — and some mea culpas — after a rough couple of weeks in the media spotlight for the electronics retailer.
The Richfield-based retailer has been the subject of several critical stories over the past month, ranging from a disappointing third-quarter earnings performance to a widely read essay at Forbes.com that argued Best Buy would be out of business within a few years.
Dunn, on Best Buy’s CEO blog “Brian’s Whiteboard,” acknowledges that some of the criticism is fair, and apologizes for the retailer’s cancellation of some online orders just before Christmas.
Too little, too late, or the now pro forma post-Netflix PR move? What’s your take? The comments section is open!
Tweetin’ in ‘12
Okay, I promised before that I wouldn’t do one of those trite “end of the year” lists as a blog post, but I changed my mind when I was on Twitter yesterday. I was reminded that a lot of Twitter “newbs” come on line every day looking for good people to follow. So, in no particular order, these are some of my favorite Tweeters. Check ‘em out in 2012.
Note: This list is not comprehensive–I follow more than 3,800 tweeps–it’s just a sample of some of my favorites. They range from PR colleagues (and *clients) to writers to journalists to strategists to marketers to…well, people from all walks of life.
@kbmckinney Mom. Social Media Geek. Writer. Lawyer. And a Bunch of Other Stuff. (Kate posts consistently interesting tweets and info.)
@Brainzooming Tweets by Mike Brown featuring strategy, innovation, creativity, & social media ideas. (He’s also pretty funny.)*
@EdenBaylee Author of literary erotica and bestselling novel, FALL INTO WINTER. (Eden is a great example of a person who shares of herself and helps others in the social media space.)
@ShellyKramer Marketing/brand strategist, idea generator, digital content magician, scribbler, information junkie. Luv MilkDuds+Beer. Member of Oversharers Anonymous. (The “dean” of Twitter as far as I’m concerned–though Shelly is far more than a social media titan–check her out, you’ll see.)
@mmangen Bookworm | Horse Lover | Virtual Assistant | Single Mom | From the Land of Beer and Cheese now Living in the Sunshine State | Oldest of Seven | iTunes Addict (Michelle shares some fun stuff–with a wide variety of interests.)
@Dan_Coyle Nationally (now INTERnationally) Touring Singer Songwriter. Music Lover. Coffee Lover. Lover of Weird Things — If You’re Weird, I’ll Love You. (This guy is an excellent self-promoter who truly cares about his twitter friends and fans. He also has a quirky side and often posts links to some very interesting articles and sites.)*
@adamsconsulting Graduate of USC, Entrepreneur for over 10 yrs, Writer for BitRebels.com and InkRebels.com, Voice for the Homeless in Atlanta. I’m really into just being happy. (Diana always has something I can’t resist clicking!)
@OfRevolt I narrowly escaped the clutches of The Man to travel, write, and blog about the daily activities of being without a home. I sing, dance, and make merry! (My favorite travel blogger!)
@JohnFugelsang God got Vaclav Havel, the Devil got Kim-Jong II, and neither of them got near Christopher Hitchens. I’m an actor & comedian. Our album- http://bit.ly/un61bi (Smart, edgy comedian. Note he’s often political and Left-leaning. If you’re a Fox News fan, you probably won’t dig him.)
@Jdickerson Political correspondent Slate magazine/Political Director CBS News. (Informative, witty and incisive.)
@JeanGleason An HR Princess with attitude speaking the hard HR truths. I love to travel and the ocean! My family & friends are the most important things in my life. (Jean is a great person and a true resource for HR info.)
@JasonHarper Son of a librarian & English professor. Champion of writing, dialogue, knowledge & culture. Tweeting for @KCLibrary. (His bio says it all.)
@Harris_Barb PR chick by profession, humanitarian by passion. Writer of food blog http://ourfeedingfrenzy.com. @feedingfrnzy (Her food blog is a must-read. She needs to tweet more, though!)
@ginidietrich CEO of Arment Dietrich. Author of spinsucks.com. Vistage member. Author. Speaker. Communicator. Avid cyclist. A foodie. Loves shoes & wine. (Funny, informative and prolific, Gini has a great PR blog, too.)
@AlexisCeule Social Media Mamapreneur-Chief Engagement Officer: Making ur brand social via word o mouse! I love me some @Train and I’ll shoot u on MWII as KUfans2009. (Great fun and lots of cool info.)
@StephGreenKC Sprint B2B PR. Ask me abt M2M, connected car, smart grid, health/wellness, digital signs, security, mobility, IP. Love to chase my 3-year-old and travel! (Good telecom-related stuff and yes, she’s my wife so you’re damn right I list her here!)
I could go on…but time is running out on 2011 and I need to hop off the blog, Twitter and the internet in general to enjoy more time with my family. Remember–Twitter is a great way to connect with interesting people, but don’t let it hog all your time and prevent you from “connecting” with your loved ones and friends “in real life.”
Happy New Year.
Get The Latest
Want to get the latest PR tips, news and info about AlexanderG Public Relations and our clients? Then you need to sign up for the monthly email blast (designed by Vertical Response)!
Just go to the homepage and enter your email address in the box marked “Sign Up For Our Monthly E-Newsletter” (it’s in the lower right corner of the page.) After that, you’ll get a monthly email digest of our biggest news, views and info. Our next one goes out this Friday.
Also, the box in the upper right corner of the homepage marked “Be The First to Know When We Post!” is our Feedburner subscription box. When you sign up you get an email whenever we update the AlexanderG Whiz PR Blog. Both are great ways to keep up with our news, views and info–and we never share your email address with a third party.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up today!
PR Tip #239 Get It In Writing
Today’s PR Pro tip: Always get it in writing.
PR Pros
Once you make your deal with a client, do yourself a favor. Make sure the contract with your client is in writing, signed by both parties and filed before you make another move.
Hey, nobody wants hard feelings, so do the work up front to avoid having a sticky situation arise at the end of the project. In other words, if you think you lost money on a job–then it’s (most likely) your fault–not the client’s. Why? Because if you spelled out what you would and would not do in the time and/or within the budget allotted, then your chances of losing money are very small. (Of course, your desire to please the client by over-delivering is up to you. But that’s another story.)
Clients
I’ve had many clients who balked at a contract. Whether it was too “formal” or they felt put off by the legalese, it can have a chilling effect on the warm-fuzzy relationship you just started with your agency. However, if you’re serious about working with a PR firm, please respect the contract. Though it may seem tedious–or downright impersonal, I’m sure you’ll be glad in the long run that there was clear communication about expectations and goals from moment one.
So get it in writing, bub. Never assume anything. Remember the immortal words of Felix Unger (stick with it until around 4:30):
A Quick Lesson in Building Customer Loyalty
Great machine, too.
Quick lesson in building customer loyalty:
I needed a new computer–my MacBook was fading after three years of constant service.
So, I bought an iMac. You may know that Apple offers a great service: they’ll clone your hard drive from the old puter and transplant it to the new machine, thus saving you hours of torture when you get home.
Okay, that alone is great service. But what’s better is they told me it would take about one business day to do this. I could come back the next day at 5 p.m. to pick up my old machine and the new one– fully-loaded with all my files, programs, music and stuff.
Well, why not? One business day is a small price to pay for the time and effort it would’ve taken for me to do it myself.
That’s not the lesson, though. Here’s the lesson: they called me less than three hours later to tell me my computers were ready for pickup. Not a day later, but a mere three hours later. Do I have to tell you how thrilled I was when they called? When I first picked up the phone I was sure they were going to tell me something was wrong. Nope. They were just finished being highly efficient. I’ve had other good experiences with Apple–and this just reinforced my brand loyalty big time.
Under-promise, over-deliver. Simple concept. Works every time.
