November 21, 2008 in Brand Strategy, Corporate Communications, Crisis Communications by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
Getting into Hot Water Once in a While Keeps You Clean

“I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean.”

– G.K. Chesterton

Sometimes it’s good for brands to get into trouble — that is, for customers, and the public generally, to begin to question if a brand is what it says it is. In fact, I would argue that the more sudden and urgent the brand crisis, the better it is for the brand.

Whole Foods Market is a good example of a brand in crisis that has used its troubles as a wake-up call to shore up its reputation. When Whole Foods was forced to recall beef from its shelves in August in an E. coli outbreak, customers suddenly wondered whether its quality standards were really that much higher than other big-box grocers. It hasn’t helped that food prices have been going up across the board and the economy is in a shambles. In many consumers’ minds, Whole Foods had become “Whole Wallet.”

Since the beef crisis, Whole Foods has been working hard to prove that it is different — and not necessarily as expensive as everyone thinks. The retailer has blogged about the crisis, issued comparison shopping challenges, and reinforced its quality claims.

What if there hadn’t been a brand crisis for Whole Foods? What if the retailer had simply continued to charge high prices, had gradually lost its quality distinction in its customers’ minds, and little by little its growth slowed until, over a period of years, it began to lose market share?

Compared to this fate — which has befallen too many brands to count — a crisis that gets a company’s management moving sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

I’ve managed my share of brand crises over the years, and with few exceptions, they’ve ended up being good for the companies involved.

As the Wall Street Journal’s Jerry Seib opined today in reference to our current economic troubles and the opportunity they present for President-elect Obama:

The thing about a crisis — and crisis doesn’t seem too strong a word for the economic mess right now — is that it creates a sense of urgency. Actions that once appeared optional suddenly seem essential. Moves that might have been made at a leisurely pace are desired instantly.

The same benefit is true for brands — particularly at Fortune 1000 companies, where the bureaucracy levels can rival those of Congress.

 
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March 31, 2008 in Corporate Communications by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
How Not to Find a Marketing Management Job

[Jonathan Browning via RiseSmart.]

 
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March 9, 2008 in Brand Strategy, Corporate Communications by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
eFax to Cancelling Customers: Fax You


For some time now, I have used the Internet fax service eFax, by j2 Global Communications (Nasdaq: JCOM), rather than an actual fax machine. Today I decided for a variety of reasons to cancel that service and go back to old-school faxing.

Apparently, however, j2 Global Communications doesn’t really like the idea of customers cancelling their service.

For starters, they make it difficult to find information on cancelling your account on their Web site. When you do find the instructions buried in some FAQ, you are informed that you must have a live chat with an eFax customer service representative in order to cancel your account.

That’s right — must. No live chat, no cancellation.

So I chatted. Here’s the actual transcript of my session this afternoon:


Welcome to chat.

The session has been accepted.

{Fred H.} Hello, Scott. Welcome to j2 Global online support. I am Fred, your Online Live Support Representative. How are you doing today?

{Scott Baradell} Great. I would like to cancel my eFax service immediately.

{Fred H.} I am sorry to hear that you wish to cancel. Could you please provide me with your Fax number and PIN for verification?

{Scott Baradell} The number is XXX XXX XXXX. I don’t know the PIN offhand.

{Fred H.} PIN is a 4 digit number mentioned in the Welcome letter which was sent to you at your contact email address at the time of signup.

{Scott Baradell} I don’t have that letter. What should I do?

{Fred H.} Could you please provide me with your last four digit of the credit card information for verification?

{Scott Baradell} It’s either my Amex or my Visa. The Amex is XXXX. Is that the one?

{Fred H.} Thank you for providing your information. Please give me a moment while I go through your records. In the meantime, please type the number corresponding to your reason for cancellation:

1) Moving to another provider
2) Bought a Fax machine
3) Business or role changed
4) Short term project completed
5) Financial reasons
6) Problems with Faxing or Billing
7) Dissatisfied with Quality of service
8) Too Costly

{Scott Baradell} 2

{Fred H.} Scott, I understand that currently you do not need the service. In the current situation, we will waive off the monthly fee for two months. This way you will be able to keep your account, which will enable you to send and receive faxes. You will also be able to use all of our services and re-evaluate it for your faxing needs. During this period, you will not be charged any monthly fee. We are suggesting this so that you can give it a second thought, as you will not be paying $16.95 for the next 2 billing cycles.

{Fred H.} Your eFax account will be credited with $33.90 so that you may utilize our services without being billed our monthly fee for the next two billing cycles.

{Fred H.} Since you will not be charged any monthly fee for the next two billing cycles you could keep the number till then. If at all you find that you need our services during this period, then you will still have the account. If however, you still feel that you do not have any use for our services by the end of this two months credit period, then you can always contact us back anytime. Would you like that?

{Scott Baradell} NO, I do not want to have to contact you again. I want to cancel now, please.

{Fred H.} I completely understand your wish to discontinue, since you have already paid for the month, we do not want you to lose out on the money. I suggest you to retain this number at least till the end of two months credit offer as you will not be charged any monthly fee for the two months. As a good will gesture to continue our association we will offer you an additional gift balance of $10 along with the monthly credit which will enable to send up to 100 additional fax pages free of cost(per page per minute within US & Canada).

{Fred H.} During this two months credit period, you can keep this service active and if you use it once in these two months we will be more than happy that we were able to serve you.

{Fred H.} If you do not wish to continue beyond this waiver period, then there is no obligation to continue. There are no contracts. All you would need to do is, contact us just once, anytime during this credit period to re-confirm your decision. We are at your service, round the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

{Fred H.} You can have it as your backup number during this period. It could prove useful to you as you never know when the need arises.

{Scott Baradell} NO. I do not want to contact you again.

{Fred H.} All right, I respect your decision and will cancel your number immediately.

{Fred H.} I’m sorry that you are leaving eFax. At eFax, we are continuously improving our products and services. Please do consider us if your faxing needs should change in the future.

{Fred H.} Is there anything else you would like to have assistance with?

{Scott Baradell} No thank you

{Fred H.} You are welcome.

{Fred H.} Thank you for contacting j2 Global Online Support, I hope you found our session helpful.

Good-bye and take care!

The user has ended the session.

 
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January 26, 2008 in Brand Strategy, Corporate Communications, Public Relations, Self-Promotion, Social Media by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
Here’s Why to Choose the Idea Grove to Help You with Social Media

1. We were the first PR firm in Dallas to “get it.” Scott Baradell started Media Orchard in March 2005 and grew it to become one of the top 3,000 blogs in the world as measured by Technorati. He followed this up in October 2006 by creating his own social news site modeled after Fark and Digg. Today, his firm places in the top search results for most terms that clients use in seeking a Dallas-based PR firm. We know how social media tools work because we’ve been using them ourselves for years.

2. We prove it by doing it — every day. We drive blog, social networking and SEO strategy for clients large and small. We’ve been helping clients with their social media programs for more than two years now; if you can find another PR firm in Dallas that can tell you that, be sure they produce evidence. We can.

3. We won’t beat you down with hipster pretense. We don’t do Buddy Holly glasses and all-black fashion ensembles, and we won’t talk down to you. Hipsters who try to wow you with jargon are usually just trying to cover for their own inadequacies — such as lack of real-world experience.

4. We know what it’s like to run large PR departments. Scott Baradell has served as vice president of communications for two different billion-dollar corporations. He’s spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on PR campaigns with firms like Fleishman-Hillard and Burson-Marsteller. He’s also seen the value in hiring small firms he can trust.

5. We know what it’s like to run startups. Baradell co-founded and raised $3 million in funding for his own venture-backed startup. He understands the challenges of building a business on a shoestring — and to have VCs always looking over his shoulder.

6. We believe in old-fashioned ways of demonstrating value. We don’t think much of vague objectives. We translate our efforts into results — like increased Web traffic, improved search position, you name it. We’re honest about what we can do for you, and we tell you how we’re going to get there.

7. We try to have fun. Life ain’t worth it if you can’t have an occasional laugh. Check out our social news site, Spin Thicket, to see what we mean.

8. Our phone number is easy to remember. It’s 972.235.3439. How hard is that? Just dial it so we can get started.

 
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January 18, 2008 in Corporate Communications, Public Relations, Social Media by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
The Blog Council Meets, Part VII

[Story.]

 
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