Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Don’t Let Delta Get a Free Pass on a Good Reputation” plus 3 more |  |
- Don’t Let Delta Get a Free Pass on a Good Reputation
- Infographic: How Android Updates Work
- M&M’s Versus Eminem and Other Odd Amazon Sales Facts
- Delayed Deliveries and Sluggish Sales Make it a Not So Merry Christmas for Retailers
| Don’t Let Delta Get a Free Pass on a Good Reputation Posted: 27 Dec 2013 05:29 AM PST
The latest ‘victim’ of a computer glitch is Delta Airlines who had a roughly two hour period on December 26th where savvy travelers were getting some serious bargains. The New York Times reported:
My personal response to this was “Did they honor the fares?” and Delta did. Without any further reading I was happy to think that Delta had ‘done the right thing’. This next sentence might help restore you faith in human kind which proves that we are not always out to get over on each other.
How very decent of Delta. But read the next sentence
So the question begs, if there had not been a law would these fares have been honored? Since there has to be a law which is forcing people to comply for truth in advertising my money is on no. So score one for a forced reputation which, if left to Delta spokespeople, would be spun as if the company were simply good citizens doing the right thing. Instead they are simply a company obeying a law that will cost them money because they made a mistake. That said, we should all be considering just how we spin events in 2014. Are you willing to play wordsmith and make sure that your words sound true but the reality is that you just would rather not tell the whole story because it doesn’t do as much for you? Should the simple and direct truth be that hard to come by in today’s business world. Are we at the point in time where the best way to stand out from the crowd is to be completely honest? Now that is sad.        |
| Infographic: How Android Updates Work Posted: 27 Dec 2013 04:05 AM PST
One mystery in the Android world for those who are not developers is the Android OS update process. Which version of Android you have is often determined by your carrier and the device you have. It can be a little maddening to not be able to update your device to the current OS as easily as most iOS users can and do. HTC is trying to remove a little of the mystery with a detailed infographic that gives insight into the Android OS process necessary. I say insight only because for me a complete understanding is impossible since each of these steps requires other steps within a step that I simply have no exposure to. Needless to say I have assumed that it’s a fair amount of detailed work and I am comfortable with that. Here is the infographic and you can click the image to enlarge it.
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| M&M’s Versus Eminem and Other Odd Amazon Sales Facts Posted: 26 Dec 2013 01:28 PM PST
That’s just one of the interesting and weird facts Amazon put forth this morning in their post-holiday wrap-up press release. Mostly, it’s a self-congratulatory list, which is okay because they have plenty to be proud of. I mean, they single-handedly revolutionized the online retail business, setting the bar way out of reach for the rest of us small fish but. . . I’m not bitter because they sell TV on DVD box sets at unbelievably low prices. We begin with business:
Between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, Amazon customers ordered more than five toys per second
Kindle Fire was on fire thanks to:
Remember that Mayday button? On Christmas Day Amazon beat its goal with an average response time of only 9 seconds. Best Sellers:
Before UPS got their hands on it. . . .
Now for the crazy stuff:
Now let’s all bow down and give thanks to the creative writers and statisticians that came up with those numbers. They could be totally bogus but we wouldn’t know. So fun.    |
| Delayed Deliveries and Sluggish Sales Make it a Not So Merry Christmas for Retailers Posted: 26 Dec 2013 12:15 PM PST
Then I checked my email and found a curious message from my sister. She got not one, but two gifts from me. Both identical in two different boxes from the same retailer. Oops! I placed the two orders only minutes apart. Did I actually, accidentally choose the same shipping address for both? Turns out I didn’t. According to my confirmation emails, I sent one box to NJ and one to NY. They both ended up in NY and I ended up being one of those complaining customers on the phone the day after Christmas. Next problem – they’re sold out of the item. Solution? The customer service person suggested that my sister re-mail the package (which was damaged because the delivery person left in in the snow – but then, what other option did he have) to our mutual sister. Sorry. No. This was not my mistake. I’m a buyer and a seller so I understand that mistakes happen but when a retailer does make a mistake, they need to make it right and then some. Asking a customer to jump through hoops to claim what’s owed them is simply bad business. On the other hand, I understand that if you buy things online on December 23rd, they might not show up in time for the celebration. That’s not stopping hundreds of people from crying all over their social media pages about how UPS and Fedex ruined Christmas. #UPSFail is running rampant on Twitter with comments from both sides – people who are angry and people who are angry at those who are angry.
Both delivery companies say they were waylaid by bad weather (not their fault) and an overwhelming number of last minute online orders (not their fault.) Maybe online retailers shouldn’t have been so generous with their promises. I saw dozens of big names promising holiday delivery as last as 5 pm on December 23. The larger issue here is the trust factor. A customer who bought and expected a promise to be kept will be angry when it doesn’t happen. They’re likely to think twice before visiting that online retailer again. No one can afford to lose even one customer. Christmas 2013 wasn’t a blockbuster for anyone. Says ABC News:
Retailers are now hoping to make up the loss with huge after Christmas sales. The deals are insane and we’re not just talking about discounts on Christmas lights, gift sets and sweaters. I’ve seen coupons for 40% off your entire order – regular price, full price, any price – you save. I’ll be heading out to do some shopping as soon as I’m done here! But let’s get back to the loyalty factor. Luring customers back with deep discounts will help, but retailers really need to work on regaining lost trust. If your company made a mistake, fix it and then some. Giving a customer an additional $20 item for their trouble will return $100 in additional sales dollars throughout the year. I promise. And UPS will deliver on my promise before New Year’s Day.    |
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