Let's Talk About Reputation

This is my second week with the new company. There are a lot of great moments in terms of self development and new experiences. I have a chance to work with some great engineers in Australia. I could be exposed to a lot of different great and important projects.

Every morning I and two of my seniors always go down to a café and have a bit of coffee to boost our day. We basically just have a good chat about every single issue that we meet in the day before. They have been in the industry for at least ten years. As one of the youngest in the company I always like to listen to my seniors experience and get to know them better. Therefore, I always try my best to be able to attend all the activities in the company.

This morning in the café one of my seniors emphasized how important reputation is in the professional world. He told me a lot of great stories in regards to the reputation of the outstanding young engineers who have accomplished a lot of great achievements within the company. He also pointed the importance of our reputation not just according to the managers but also according to the clients. Eventually, the clients would be more than happy to send the recommendation letter in regards to our promotion to our managers if we have a good relationship with them.

Good reputation of us among our colleagues is also important. There is no point to be very successful, however being hated by a lot of our colleagues. Therefore, it is very important to have a good reputation in any respect.

How can we correlate reputation with marketing? I believe that a good reputation would be the proof of the true quality. Good quality would eventually lead to the good customer experience. It takes more than just mere products and services to beat the marketing war. The great customers’ experience is a necessity in marketing. Look at Mr, Hermawan Kartajaya with his reputation as a marketing guru!! His reputation does a great deal of marketing for himself and his company.

We live in the information age where society’s perception could be easily changed by a lot of factors. Therefore, reputation in marketing would be very useful.

Welcome to the "Reputation Era"

David Herlambang
MarketingFirst

They Call this Customer Service

Australia Post…part of everyday life. That is the slogan of the one and only Australia Post. Australia Post is proudly owned and operated by Australian. However, in the courier industry Australia Post has a lot of rivals from other private companies. Due to the fact that the increase in the competition in the courier industry and to maintain their popularity, for the last couple of months they have heavily advertised themselves to the public through all the media and hopefully the public will become their loyal customers.

In my previous sharing I stated that sometimes marketing takes more than just advertising. I also believe that customer experience is an integral part of marketing. In the current competitive business environment advertising without action means nothing. Massive campaign without strategy and better customer service will only waste your money.

I have an online business. As we know that online and mail order businesses become the main customers for Australia Post. A couple of days ago I went to the post office to dispatch my items. The sign in front of the office said “Operating hours: 11am-7pm”. I was waiting in front of the office at exactly 11am. Finally the gate opened and I directly gave my items to be dispatched. However, the officers told me to come at 11.30am in the future. He told me that they are not set up at 11am. Instead of apologizing for the delay caused, he made me feel guilty that I came at 11am.

I also helped my parents run their own restaurant in Jakarta. We opened at 8am and set everything up of course before 8am. Therefore, we would not disappoint or even told customer to come later if they come at 8am. In business we have to understand that customers have their own time table. What is the point of advertise your company if the only thing that you can give is bad experience. Now, I am more than happy to advertise the badness of Australia Post to the public after the experience.

In my point of view Australia Post has established for ages in Australia. Instead of using massive advertising, they should polish their system. Increase the brand loyalty instead of the brand awareness. I believe that the cost of losing an existing customer is more expensive than acquiring a new one. I am sure that most Australians still use Australia Post service. I think Australia Post should go back to university and study marketing.

Comments, opinions, and questions are more than welcome

David Herlambang

MarketingFirst

You have to be an experience customer, before you can be a good seller (Part I)

People say that by understanding you learn and succeed. Julius Gaius Caesar once said: “Veni, Vidi, Vici” – I came, I saw, I conquered. We have to urge ourselves to face the problem (I came), then we digest the problem, understand the issue and planning our strategy (I saw), lastly we take appropriate action, implement our strategy which is the product of our understanding (I conquered).

In the peace time we have other problem to conquer. One instance, we may want to start a new business to feed the family. A business, regardless of its position in the supply chain (manufacturer, distributor, retail, etc), industry (finance, agriculture, automotive, etc), or type of goods (goods – products, or services), it is basically buy and sell. You buy, and then you sell it at profit. It sounds really simple. But once you are engaging in one, it suddenly becomes complicated.

One problem arises after the others, complicate the already complicated matters. One of the issues usually there is not enough return. We have all these running costs, but it seems that the graph is going under and will never pick up. Out of the confusion, usually we are thinking about cost cutting. But wait! If we carefully analyze this problem, roll it back carefully. We may find that the problem is with our products. It is either the products do not sell as quick as we want or do not sell at the price we are expecting. What is wrong here? I have carefully planned everything, I have made acceptable assumptions, and I have done my market research, what could possibly be wrong here?

Shall we go back to this article title: “You have to be an experience customer (first), before you can be a good seller” – “experience customers” in general and for that particular product (target market) The true meaning behind all these is; understanding. You have to be able to understand your customers, their expectations and their values. It is not only knowing who is your customers and what they do, but how they “feel” your product and put yourselves in their shoes.

There is one problem still, which usually pops up. Someone said to me, I am an experience customer but yet I am not a good seller. Hearing this issue, it brings my memory to an old saying: “Wherever there is profit, virtue is taken lightly.” People tend to forget their experiences in deciding further actions. They have their experiences, but they do not apply that knowledge. Or even worse, they do not see the bigger picture and the long run impact. They feel the need for cash inflow now, and only think in short term timeframe. They are willing to take this short term profit even that it will jeopardize the bigger goal and long run return. Usually, when they realize that they are off-track, it’s already too late.

The past is not there to be forgotten. It is there not to be used to lean backward but to push us forward in the right direction. Moreover, it is not the actual state of being understand that we need, more importantly is the application of knowledge as a result of our understanding.

Author: Michael A Oei - MarketingFirst Group