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November 30th, 2009
UPDATE: In the end, after I made enough noise, BMW came through and paid for the repair. I am grateful to them and glad that they did the right thing in the end. But still a bit of a black mark that it took so much work to get some satisfaction.
One of my key marketing rules is “Know Your Brand.”
BMW has always seemed to get this–they understand that they sell more than a car… they sell an experience and a lifestyle.
Maintaining this experience and keeping customers happy helps BMW continue as one of the most successful luxury car companies with one of the best brands. They continually win brand awards but they also realize the need to always make a strong effort to please customers.
In 2002 the then CEO, Helmut Panke, summed it up when he said. “What I see as our biggest risk is the possibility of complacency. We need to make sure that nobody leans back. We have to remain hungry and to keep up our desire to outperform others.”
That is why I was so shocked when I tried to get a defect fixed on my wife’s 2004 325i. BMW has refused to take responsibility or pay for the repairs.
Fixing a defect, in warrantee OR out should be one of the easiest customer satisfaction actions BMW performs.
Here is what happened: Intermittently an indicator comes on showing there is something wrong with the rear lights. I took the car in to the BMW dealer and mentioned this to my service advisor. I was really surprised when he guessed at the cause before even getting up from his desk. Upon checking the car, his hunch was confirmed.
Here is the issue as BMW states in their service bulletin: “Minor corrosion at the 8-pin rear lamp connector creates high resistance causing damage to the connector housing.” In other words, your rear light can melt!
So what makes this a “defect” and not something that should be the responsibility of the owner? Well, first, the fix is not just to replace a broken or worn out part. The fix is to actually modify the original configuration. From BMW’s Service Information Bulletin (SIB 63 03 06) “Correction: Repair the damaged wire(s) and replace damaged connector housing. Install additional ground wires to both left and right rear lamps.” (emphasis added)
Second, this defect seems very common and BMW is well aware of it as evidenced by the service bulletin, the 100s of postings on BMW forums and the numerous filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration–one of which claims there was a fire involved! (Office of Defects Investigation ID Number : 10263031)
I have asked the service manager at my dealer to look into having BMW pay for these repairs but he said they declined. I also called customer relations, opened a case but was told that they also would not step up to the plate.
We are a loyal two-BMW household who purchases the highest level maintenance packages and always services our car at the dealer (who we love along with our service advisor) so it’s very surprising to see how little BMW will do keep us (and the other owners with the same problem) happy for a problem that is clearly a defect and not a run of the mill maintenance issue.
Filed under: BMW,Customer Relations,Little things matter a lot,Product Defects,Uncategorized,Understand your brand
June 24th, 2009
The other day Kodak announced that it was discontinuing Kodachrome film after 74 years. This resulted in great press coverage of Kodak’s imaging heritage and lots of discussions on the significant impact that Kodachrome made over the years (and of course every article mentioned the Paul Simon Song.)
Few can argue with Kodak’s decision to kill Kodachrome film. However, I see their approach as one filled with blunders. The company saw Kodachrome as a product or a name but not a brand. But a brand it is, indeed a brand that still has lots of positive equity associated with it (as evidenced by the press coverage) And there lies the blunder–they killed not only the product but the brand as well.
In their own press release, Kodak shows that they ALMOST (but now quite) understand that Kodachrome is a brand. At first they say “Kodachrome film is an iconic product and a testament to Kodak’s long and continuing leadership in imaging technology.” YES! But then they go on to say “…the majority of today’s photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology…” ARRRRGH! Its not a technology. Maybe 74 years ago in a lab it was a technology. But then Kodak gave it a name, people tried it–they had good experiences with it and it went on to become a brand. A good brand. A lasting brand.
In the public’s mind, Kodachrome still stands for memories, quality, deep colors, leadership, etc. Kodak could have taken advantage of this by introducing a series of Kodachrome digital products at the same moment they killed the film product. These products could have spanned a wide range from cameras to color accuracy devices to paper to printing services. All of these products would have had instant brand equity with the public.
While Kodak has become a digital company, most of the world does not yet realize that. People still remember that it took Kodak a long time to admit that digital was going to kill film. This was a great opportunity to help change that reputation. If Kodak had used this announcement to change the Kodachrome brand from a film brand to a digital brand they would have instantly reminded the world that Kodak had successfully made it through the digital transition and has remained a leader. But with the way they handled this announcement, the public will still see them as a film company desperately dumping obsolete products.
Brands are not synonymous with names. Brands are the collective experiences people have had with the products that carry the name. Kill off obsolete products but keep great brands.
Filed under: Digital imaging,Kodak,Understand your brand
February 15th, 2009
For a while, Las Vegas tried to position itself as a family friendly destination but gave that up a few years ago to bring back the idea of Vegas as Sin City. This was epitomized in the “What happens here stays here” campaign.
This campaign was very successful… Now Vegas might even be thinking that it was too successful.
You see, Vegas is not just Sin City. Its also Business Convention City. That unfortunately was not part of the branding campaign so all people think of is Sin City.
So, not totally surprisingly last week President Obama said “You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime.” Of course he did, the city does not advertise how many conventions it hosts. Just that you shouldn’t talk about what goes on when you are in town to attend them.
The “shocked” (as in: shocked, shocked that gambling is going on here) mayor is demanding an apology and retraction.
What can we learn here? First, the “What happens here stays here” campaign did not reflect the total Las Vegas story. And the lesson that if your brand does not reflect your true or full story, sooner or later it will come back to burn you.
Filed under: Las Vegas,Understand your brand
