CHAPTER 4: Identity, Image, Reputation, and Corporate Advertising
IMAGE AND REPUTATION
Outside the business world, we relate image with social status, respect, prestige, character, and values. We closely link identity with aspects such as community, culture, ethnicity, and nationality.
In business, we notice that various products are targeted to appeal to those who seek prestige. Driving flashy cars, expensive jewelry and other aspects of one’s lifestyle can give an impression of wealth and prestige. Products such as these meet the consumer's expectations for high quality and status.
In the cell phone industry, Verizon and AT&T constantly battle to be the best. In their humorous commercials they'll both claim to offer the best service, widest coverage, fewest dropped calls and so much more. AT&T will mock some aspects of Verizon's service, and Verizon will gladly return the favor; it's very entertaining. Their numerous ads would make any potential consumer feel that buying cell phone service is a choice between one or the other. No doubt, they’ve succeeded in building a strong presence.
In business, we notice that various products are targeted to appeal to those who seek prestige. Driving flashy cars, expensive jewelry and other aspects of one’s lifestyle can give an impression of wealth and prestige. Products such as these meet the consumer's expectations for high quality and status.
In the cell phone industry, Verizon and AT&T constantly battle to be the best. In their humorous commercials they'll both claim to offer the best service, widest coverage, fewest dropped calls and so much more. AT&T will mock some aspects of Verizon's service, and Verizon will gladly return the favor; it's very entertaining. Their numerous ads would make any potential consumer feel that buying cell phone service is a choice between one or the other. No doubt, they’ve succeeded in building a strong presence.
As a business, the image or reputation you’d like to build depends on your market segment. Cell phone companies such as T-Mobile and Cricket appeal to their customers with competitive prices. T-Mobile's unlimitted plans are almost 40% cheaper than Verizon's and AT&T's, but their coverage is poor. Cricket provides great convinience - they don't run credit checks or make consumers sign contracts, but their service is regional. In the auto industry, especially now, customers are looking for inexpensive and fuel efficient cars. In retail, Wal-Mart succeeds by striving to offer the lowest prices.
From a quality standpoint, a company has to make sure it's products are consistent with the image it projects. Often times, products or services don't match the consumer's expectations. I’m sure you can relate with an experience where you were either impressed or dissapointed by a product or service.
I can offer many examples in a personal sense where certain companies have won my loyalty and those that have lost my business. There are certain companies that I have dealt with where I don't feel that I was treated respectfully and for that reason I will not do business with that company. Some companies go out of their way to please a customer and they will never lose my business.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Verizon versus AT & T. I have had service from both companies in the past and in my opinion Verizon has superior service so I am loyal to verizon. They will always be battling to be number one. Same thing goes for Coca Cola vs Pepsi. They keep switching back and forth in their ratings due to sales they have. One week Coke will be on sale and will remain #1 and then the next Pepsi starts a new promotion and they begin to be #1.
There have been times when I purchase a product, maybe a food product for example, that was not fresh or did not meet my expectations. If I were to call the company to make a complaint or make them aware of the problem, 9 times out of ten, they will refund my money or send me coupons. They make the effort to make a consumer happy. That is the key to success for their company. There are so many experiences we all have in this area of focus.
I know exactly what you mean. I think a company's image and reputation can be impacted greatly by the customer service they provide. It seems like it just gets harder and harder to get good customer service anywhere, so when you do finally get excellent customer service it really does leave a lasting impression. There just seems to be so many people out there who really could care less about the customer and helping them out. When you run into this at a particular store you tend to remember it, and may just decide to shop at a different store. You may be shopping in a store that sells quality products, but if they can't back it up with excellent customer service there can be a problem. It is frustrating for me because I strive to provide the very best customer service where I work. Therefore, when I go somewhere I would really expect to get the same type of service. Customer service is very important and can get businesses more customers or cause them to lose customers to their competitors.
ReplyDeleteA companies image and reputation is most important when success is the mission. Consumers rely on companies that conduct business with integrity, where customers are valued. If a company is seeking the best talent for hire, their image and reputation will affect directly a person's decision to work for that company.
ReplyDeleteA company that has a good reputation in my eyes is Coca Cola. They have great brand recognition tactics and they distribute consistantly, good products that consumers can rely on. Coca Cola has been successful for many years now, and their success is solid because they have a good image and reputation. College graduates are constantly seeking employment with the company, and their sales are always through the roof. Even in a recession.
I strongly agree with you, in the modern world a company's image and reputation built on a lot of elements which including the customer segment it serves, the quality of the products it pursues.
ReplyDeleteMarketing tactics and strategies all based on the image which the companys want to pass over to the customers. The company image and the product provided refelcts its customer's life style, values, social status and tastes.
Consumers being loyal to the companies which are conducting their businesses with integrity and consistency. These companies keep providing the values to certain costumers and certain market segments.
I enjoyed your article.
Image and reputation are very important to a business. Customer service is a major part in customer loyalty. I have many experiences where I contacted customer service because of a problem with a specific product.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I ordered a pair of shoes from Reebok. It was somewhat last minute shopping so I ordered them with two- day shipping offered. A week and a half went by without getting the shoes so I called Reebok customer service and explained what had happened. I asked if there was any possibility that I could get the two day shipping charged voided because of the delay. The women who I spoke to was very professional and decided that I needed to be refunded for the charge.
Customer service can make or break a companies image and reputation. A bad reputation can spread very fast. The saying is if a customer gets bad service they will tell 10 people about it.
Just as people have mentioned earlier it is very important for businesses to take their customer service very seriously, because that is most of the time the thing that people remember the most after leaving a business. I have personally had good and bad experiences when it comes to this topic. I can remember dealing with an associate at a store who was screaming at a person over the phone as I was waiting for him to help me. It just leaves a bad impression on the company, and ultimately really can affect it that company can last or not. That is why when I deal with customers at the bank where I work, I make sure to take that very seriously and to make a good impression no matter what.
ReplyDeleteWell I do agree that customer service is important and that companies really need to be careful on that, but it is sometimes not sufficient. Let's have a quick look to Wal-Mart and Martins for exemple: usually at Wal-Mart cashiers are in a hurry, rarely smiling and not really helpful; on the opposite at Martins, they are smiling, greeting you and very helpful and looking to help! However, even if I really do appreciate that, the price difference is so huge, that I continue going to Wal-Mart, instead of going to Martins...So I guess especially for young customers, customer service is not that important...
ReplyDeleteYou are right when saying that the image or reputation a business would like to build depends on its targeted market segment. Although many corporations have very good image and reputation,we cannot afford their products and services. Different market segments will have different needs and demands and they themselve will choose products which are most suitable to them. That is the reason why many producers of a certain product still can thrive in a severely competitive environment. The most important thing is that companies need to know who will be their targeted customers in order to find the best way of building their image and reputation.
ReplyDeleteGood reputation/image = good products?
ReplyDeleteLet's consider Brij's blog about the Toyota recalls. People make mistakes. At times, most of the companies make some negotiations with their customers when they make mistakes. It is very common in the global business world. However, it's up to the customers to perceive how well they can forgive and forget the bad experience they had with those product defects.
Trevor made a good point in stating the relationship of having a good customer service and towards the sustainability of the company's image. Why customers call the customer service for helps or complaints? Obviously, they need assistance to operate or use the products. They call because they care about the products as well as the company. Indeed, good customer service can save a company. It is almost impossible for a company to sell its products without giving a "after selling customer service" to its customers. Nevertheless, most small businesses failed in the past because they have failed to provide an effective after sale customer service. Again Trevor mentioned: "A customer will tell 10 people about the bad customer service but he or she will only tell 2 to 3 people about the good one". From this standpoint, a company should strive for having good customer service for improving the company’s reputation and image because people tend to remember the bad ones than the good ones.
Customer service is aessential part to any business. If a customer has a bad experience with a company that will tell all of their friends and then their friends will then develop a view based off of that information. If companies lack customer service people take note and it will affect their decision to return to the store in the future. That being said the future of a bussinees is dependnet on the customer service.
ReplyDeleteKayla