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Lucy Nixon

Lucy Nixon

Microsoft – A Case Study in Failing to Meet Customer Expectations

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about the importance of meeting customer expectations when it comes to developing a brand. I thought I’d expound on that a bit more today by providing a classic case study example of a company that failed to meet customer expectations and whose brand suffered as a result – Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT).

Sure, Microsoft still leads the market with its Windows platform, but it’s once unbreakable stronghold has shown cracks of weakness in recent years. The biggest failure – Windows Vista. [Read more…] about Microsoft – A Case Study in Failing to Meet Customer Expectations

Tesco: chickening out of publicity

Chicken Out
Chicken Out

Tesco have received some very bad press over the last few days, over a shareholder request to submit a motion to their AGM.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (chef and campaigner) as spokesman for a group of over 100 Tesco shareholders, wanted to put forward a motion at the AGM, urging Tesco to ensure that chickens purchased for sale by them are produced in systems capable of providing the Five Freedoms:

1. freedom from hunger and thirst
2. freedom from discomfort
3. freedom from pain, injury or disease
4. freedom to express normal behaviour
5. freedom from fear and distress.

Whatever you think about this issue, it is clear that shareholders have the right to put forward motions for discussion at the AGM.
[Read more…] about Tesco: chickening out of publicity

One Word Branding

One word branding is not a new concept, I just gave it a name. In short, one word branding is the process of picking one word (or phrase) that your brand owns in the minds of consumers. Here are some examples:

  1. Volvo = safety
  2. Harley Davidson = freedom
  3. Disney = family [Read more…] about One Word Branding

Branding Creates Expectations – Make Sure You Meet Them

An inherent part of creating a brand is the natural development of expectations that evolve after consumers experience that brand. As a marketer, you must understand what those expectations are, even if they are not the expectations you anticipated.

As consumers become more loyal to a brand, their expectations for it to meet and exceed their needs rise. For example, if I’ve always used Brand X stain remover and one day I use Brand X and a stain doesn’t come out, my expectations have not been met. I am likely to search for a new brand to replace the one that failed to live up to my expectations.

Alternatively, if I use Brand X stain remover then Brand Y comes out with a special ingredient that works better than Brand X, then I’ll expect Brand X to come out with a new version of their product that includes this ingredient (or something even better). If Brand X fails to respond, my expectations won’t be met, and I’ll replace it.

A perfect example of this was provided to me by one of Corporate Eye’s readers in a comment on my post Mozilla’s Firefox as a Relationship Brand last week. The reader told the story of Microsoft and its failure to meet customer expectations as other products such as Firefox and Google products entered the market but Microsoft did not introduce similar, competitive products. Instead, Microsoft users, who had strong expectations from the market leader to create cutting-edge products, were disappointed. With their expectations not met, they moved from Internet Explorer to Firefox and from Microsoft products to Google products, and so on.

The lesson to learn – do your research and understand your customers’ expectations for your brand then work tirelessly to meet and exceed them. Doing so will create satisfied, loyal customers and drive new business as well.

How do you keep track of your customers’ expectations? Share your tips with Corporate Eye readers by leaving a comment.

The Argument AGAINST Brand Extensions

Earlier this week, I wrote a post that described the argument FOR brand extensions. Today, I’m going to take a look at the other side of the brand extension argument and discussing why extending your brand can cause problems for your brand and business overall.

Consider these risks of brand extensions:

Confusion: If you over-extend your brand, you run the risk of diluting that brand’s power. I’m sure most of us have been in an aisle at a supermarket at some point and had trouble finding the exact product we were looking for amid the many products a specific brand offers. Some brands have so many extensions that finding the one you want is like looking for a needle in a haystack. [Read more…] about The Argument AGAINST Brand Extensions

Mozilla’s Firefox as a Relationship Brand

This week, I’ve been talking about relationship branding (see “Creating a Relationship Brand” and “The Path to Creating a Relationship Brand“) and relationship brands such as Apple, Macintosh and Harley Davidson. Today, I’d like to focus on another relationship brand that has been in the news a lot lately – Mozilla’s Firefox.

Firefox is a web browser that has drawn a huge amount of online buzz over the past few years. While Microsoft’s Internet Explorer remains the market leader, Mozilla’s Firefox has taken a comfortable chunk out of Internet Explorer’s market share. The secret to Firefox’s success – allowing people to experience the brand then band together as the “cool group” that uses Firefox instead of the behemoth, Microsoft’s, product. Sounds similar to how Mac became a relationship brand, doesn’t it? [Read more…] about Mozilla’s Firefox as a Relationship Brand