Tuesday, June 29, 2010
More of those stupid branding practices
How to lose a brand credibility
Have you ever thought how companies–through their hired marketing and ad agencies–are eager to sell you their products and services, making the online transaction experience painless, fast and worry-free, but when you decide later on to cancel a service and wish to stop paying for it, there is no one to be found to address your request?
It happened to me. I posted our house for sale on Zillow, the darling site for home owners and the envy of real estate brokers. I purchased a display ad and paid to be found on its search results, and let it run for 8 months. I was happy to watch the clicks come by and the number of inquiries rise. It took a while and I finally sold the house. With a sigh of relief, and as a responsible citizen, I went online, with the sole aim of letting the world know that my house was no longer for sale. A simple task I thought. I logged on “manage my account” and there it was, clearly displayed: “Sale Pending”. One click should have shown me its other bright side displaying the proud word: “SOLD”.
Nothing happened though there was a “Change Status” option next to it.
I was determined to find some sort of “Cancel Service” feature. No such luck. And by now, I was getting e-mails asking me to update my listing, some five months after we sold the house. I decided to resort to conventional wisdom: Using the phone, but not before I sent several emails through the “Contact” feature explaining why Zillow should stop displaying my house for sale even after it was sold… A message came on suggesting I go online to resolve my problem, or get involved with world through online forums to find common answers to my problem, or wait 18 minutes to the next available agent.
So what’s the big deal you ask? If you don’t mind to wait 18 minutes to cancel a service you no longer wish to have, or joining forums to find out how to cancel a service you’re no longer in need, then it’s a little deal. Forbes announced that it would stop using Zillow statistics for its forecast on the housing market. The reason: A recent article in the magazine downgraded a California county as one of the worst in the nation. Not so, complained the county, saying the housing market has shown signs of modest rebound in the past few months. But with all houses that were sold but remained on Zillow as available, no wonder we’ll have a never ending disastrous housing market. A big deal indeed.
What I’d do? display a pleasant graphic on landing page which says: Not happy with our service? Please Cancel here.
And by its side: Happy and Satisfied Customers Please Proceed here.
Words and words that mean nothing.
A recent article in American Advertising Federation: “Spending Dropped 12% in 2009, but Things Are Looking Up. Last year's ad-sales drop was moderated somewhat by a fourth quarter in which nearly all media improved on their performances from earlier in the year. And things seem to be looking up further still -- depending on what happens with consumer spending.”
I ask: And what if consumer spending remains the same or drops slightly?
How not to sell
A letter I received not too long ago:
“Hi there,
…I have developed software that automatically places your ad on millions of blogs. You will receive thousands of targeted hits to your website as Blog Blaster places your ad on blogs that match your ad's category.”
Me: I am loving it so far, yes, I like it: thousands visitors, not just any visitors, but targeted visitors!
Me again: Read next paragraph.
Letter continues: “This method has never been released to the public before. Very few, if anyone has implemented this.”
Me: R U kidding?
Should we become paranoid?
The Daily Talk of Marketers: “How to convert these visitors into loyal, revenue-generating customers.”
Ever feel you have to be on guard as soon as you enter a web site, and you smell the threat from every click you make as if someone is watching your moves and try to convert you into a spending machine?
Me: The rest is up to you
Bad choice of wording for a service:
I was planning to get a cab to take me to a meeting in Houston, and I found online all the information I needed. Then I read that Houston City ordinance authorizes the cab driver to add an additional $1.25 “departure fee” to the total fare.
Me: I think it would be a better customer relationship management if they’d call it “Arrival Fee”…
True and simple to follow:
Employees ARE the Brand
…"Many employers might consider a non smiling employee the least of their problems, but at Ritz-Carlton, renowned for its on-site customer handling and service, it's serious business. The hotel is considered the gold standard because of its conviction that employees are the face of its company, and that service isn't just part of its brand, it is the brand…
Me: Many companies don’t get it: Good branding start within your organization. It’s not enough to engage your product with customers on social networks.
Written by Ariel Peeri
Visit my web site: http://www.arielpeeri.com
About me, click.
It happened to me. I posted our house for sale on Zillow, the darling site for home owners and the envy of real estate brokers. I purchased a display ad and paid to be found on its search results, and let it run for 8 months. I was happy to watch the clicks come by and the number of inquiries rise. It took a while and I finally sold the house. With a sigh of relief, and as a responsible citizen, I went online, with the sole aim of letting the world know that my house was no longer for sale. A simple task I thought. I logged on “manage my account” and there it was, clearly displayed: “Sale Pending”. One click should have shown me its other bright side displaying the proud word: “SOLD”.
Nothing happened though there was a “Change Status” option next to it.
I was determined to find some sort of “Cancel Service” feature. No such luck. And by now, I was getting e-mails asking me to update my listing, some five months after we sold the house. I decided to resort to conventional wisdom: Using the phone, but not before I sent several emails through the “Contact” feature explaining why Zillow should stop displaying my house for sale even after it was sold… A message came on suggesting I go online to resolve my problem, or get involved with world through online forums to find common answers to my problem, or wait 18 minutes to the next available agent.
So what’s the big deal you ask? If you don’t mind to wait 18 minutes to cancel a service you no longer wish to have, or joining forums to find out how to cancel a service you’re no longer in need, then it’s a little deal. Forbes announced that it would stop using Zillow statistics for its forecast on the housing market. The reason: A recent article in the magazine downgraded a California county as one of the worst in the nation. Not so, complained the county, saying the housing market has shown signs of modest rebound in the past few months. But with all houses that were sold but remained on Zillow as available, no wonder we’ll have a never ending disastrous housing market. A big deal indeed.
What I’d do? display a pleasant graphic on landing page which says: Not happy with our service? Please Cancel here.
And by its side: Happy and Satisfied Customers Please Proceed here.
Words and words that mean nothing.
A recent article in American Advertising Federation: “Spending Dropped 12% in 2009, but Things Are Looking Up. Last year's ad-sales drop was moderated somewhat by a fourth quarter in which nearly all media improved on their performances from earlier in the year. And things seem to be looking up further still -- depending on what happens with consumer spending.”
I ask: And what if consumer spending remains the same or drops slightly?
How not to sell
A letter I received not too long ago:
“Hi there,
…I have developed software that automatically places your ad on millions of blogs. You will receive thousands of targeted hits to your website as Blog Blaster places your ad on blogs that match your ad's category.”
Me: I am loving it so far, yes, I like it: thousands visitors, not just any visitors, but targeted visitors!
Me again: Read next paragraph.
Letter continues: “This method has never been released to the public before. Very few, if anyone has implemented this.”
Me: R U kidding?
Should we become paranoid?
The Daily Talk of Marketers: “How to convert these visitors into loyal, revenue-generating customers.”
Ever feel you have to be on guard as soon as you enter a web site, and you smell the threat from every click you make as if someone is watching your moves and try to convert you into a spending machine?
Me: The rest is up to you
Bad choice of wording for a service:
I was planning to get a cab to take me to a meeting in Houston, and I found online all the information I needed. Then I read that Houston City ordinance authorizes the cab driver to add an additional $1.25 “departure fee” to the total fare.
Me: I think it would be a better customer relationship management if they’d call it “Arrival Fee”…
True and simple to follow:
Employees ARE the Brand
…"Many employers might consider a non smiling employee the least of their problems, but at Ritz-Carlton, renowned for its on-site customer handling and service, it's serious business. The hotel is considered the gold standard because of its conviction that employees are the face of its company, and that service isn't just part of its brand, it is the brand…
Me: Many companies don’t get it: Good branding start within your organization. It’s not enough to engage your product with customers on social networks.
Written by Ariel Peeri
Visit my web site: http://www.arielpeeri.com
About me, click.
Monday, March 15, 2010
These Stupid Little Things
A shallow-content culture? I can’t help it but think that most contents on social medias, like Twitter and Facebook, have been stripped of intelligent content, and are now focusing almost entirely on brief exchanges about nothing, or about asking to comment on the fact that I’m doing nothing now. OK, it may be taking an extreme position, but I simply want take these thoughts off my mind and go on: Social medias, in my humble opinion, are mostly for the purpose of exchange. And even though the stupidest little exchange becomes an exchange of information, it does not make it an intelligent piece of information. I guess it’s good for what it is, just don’t tell me it’s so clever etc. And please don’t tell me that I am doing something wrong because I don’t follow just anybody in my life especially on Twitter, and I don’t share with the world the fact that I am doing nothing at this moment. And I refuse to tweet, retweet and re-retweet about nothing.
Last week I read that Mulally, CEO of Ford, has streamlined his company's sprawling brand portfolio and created a new corporate culture that's helped Ford turn a profit even as other automakers have struggled. "It's back to Henry Ford's original vision," Mulally says. "It's all about producing products people want."
I want to scream: What a an insult to the average intelligent human. Should I assume that during the last decades Ford has been selling products that people don’t want? here is more:
Selling cars that people don’t want (or cars that people don’t need) is similar to selling cigarettes to consumers who shouldn’t be smoking. How about a class action lawsuit against the car industry for selling us cars we didn’t really need? Think: Does a yuppie-city-living person needs a AWD or 4x4 car, since the only off road experience he or she may go through would be when they overshoot the turn coming out of the golf course club house? OK, you may say, but, you’d add, they did leave some remarkable marks on the perfectly manicured grass?
Or, how about putting a warning sign on each car, as on cigarettes packs: WARNING: You are buying a car that you really don’t need. The manufacturer does not assume responsibility if you get only 12 miles per gallon, pollute the air or lose control on sharp sudden turns.
Colors my friend, colors…
Ever thought how you are accustomed to associate colors with actions, positive or negative? You’d probably associate Green with positive and Red or Yellow with Caution. On a recent trip to a gas station I pressed the “Cancel” button by mistake, simply because it was in Green color tab, when I should have pressed “Enter”, but did not, because it was in a Red color tab.
I was riding behind a Fast Response Security van painted with very precise, dramatic bright colors, which went quite well with the subject matter, and as I was taking a closer look on its side I noticed a sign written in big letters: “In God We Trust”. I guess you’d rely on God to get you as fast as he can when you’re in the business of responding to people in distress. If you don't make it on time, it won't be your responsibility. Blame God.
I was traveling across the southern parts of the country recently and since I couldn’t make myself listen to religious music stations which seem to take over most of the airwaves, I found other silly ways to make travel go fast, as I stared at license plates and thought to myself what precious real estate space were license plates when it comes to promote tourism through clever tag lines. My trip took me across four states, so here are my short silly thoughts:
“Discover Excellence” was Oklahoma’s official tagline. That’s fine though I wouldn’t be convinced spending a vacation in the state. Here’s why: Would I say that I had an “excellent” vacation in Oklahoma or, would I say I had a “great” vacation? You pick.
Texas, well, the lone star on plates may be meaningful to Texans, but not to me, so I kept driving into Louisiana: A Sportsman’s Paradise. Great tagline which wastes no words, high on my list. I was crossing into Mississippi. No tag lines there, just a very distinguished type treatment of the word Mississippi. Continuing on i10 into Stars Fell On Alabama. A bit mystical, a bit romantic. Reaching my final destination on a cloudy and humid day was Florida where the tagline read: The sunshine state. A quick search on my iPhone showed that there were 133 rainy days in Florida, in a year.
That’s all for this blog. More of these stupid (silly) little things, next month.
Last week I read that Mulally, CEO of Ford, has streamlined his company's sprawling brand portfolio and created a new corporate culture that's helped Ford turn a profit even as other automakers have struggled. "It's back to Henry Ford's original vision," Mulally says. "It's all about producing products people want."
I want to scream: What a an insult to the average intelligent human. Should I assume that during the last decades Ford has been selling products that people don’t want? here is more:
Selling cars that people don’t want (or cars that people don’t need) is similar to selling cigarettes to consumers who shouldn’t be smoking. How about a class action lawsuit against the car industry for selling us cars we didn’t really need? Think: Does a yuppie-city-living person needs a AWD or 4x4 car, since the only off road experience he or she may go through would be when they overshoot the turn coming out of the golf course club house? OK, you may say, but, you’d add, they did leave some remarkable marks on the perfectly manicured grass?
Or, how about putting a warning sign on each car, as on cigarettes packs: WARNING: You are buying a car that you really don’t need. The manufacturer does not assume responsibility if you get only 12 miles per gallon, pollute the air or lose control on sharp sudden turns.
Colors my friend, colors…
Ever thought how you are accustomed to associate colors with actions, positive or negative? You’d probably associate Green with positive and Red or Yellow with Caution. On a recent trip to a gas station I pressed the “Cancel” button by mistake, simply because it was in Green color tab, when I should have pressed “Enter”, but did not, because it was in a Red color tab.
I was riding behind a Fast Response Security van painted with very precise, dramatic bright colors, which went quite well with the subject matter, and as I was taking a closer look on its side I noticed a sign written in big letters: “In God We Trust”. I guess you’d rely on God to get you as fast as he can when you’re in the business of responding to people in distress. If you don't make it on time, it won't be your responsibility. Blame God.
I was traveling across the southern parts of the country recently and since I couldn’t make myself listen to religious music stations which seem to take over most of the airwaves, I found other silly ways to make travel go fast, as I stared at license plates and thought to myself what precious real estate space were license plates when it comes to promote tourism through clever tag lines. My trip took me across four states, so here are my short silly thoughts:
“Discover Excellence” was Oklahoma’s official tagline. That’s fine though I wouldn’t be convinced spending a vacation in the state. Here’s why: Would I say that I had an “excellent” vacation in Oklahoma or, would I say I had a “great” vacation? You pick.
Texas, well, the lone star on plates may be meaningful to Texans, but not to me, so I kept driving into Louisiana: A Sportsman’s Paradise. Great tagline which wastes no words, high on my list. I was crossing into Mississippi. No tag lines there, just a very distinguished type treatment of the word Mississippi. Continuing on i10 into Stars Fell On Alabama. A bit mystical, a bit romantic. Reaching my final destination on a cloudy and humid day was Florida where the tagline read: The sunshine state. A quick search on my iPhone showed that there were 133 rainy days in Florida, in a year.
That’s all for this blog. More of these stupid (silly) little things, next month.
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