Just when I thought that Tim MasiGuy Jackson’s Saturn debacle had died down … Becky over at Customers Rock comes out with a GREAT thought provoking piece.
As a former Saturn fan, Becky bought into the whole tag line "A different kind of company. A different kind of car" (was that your work Mike?). But now, 15 years on, things are different. As Beckie says:
Bad customer service, as evidenced in this Saturn saga, will not only drive away existing customers, but through negative word-of-mouth, it will also drive away potential customers.
Anyone else taking this one on? You have got to love the web!
UPDATE: Sorry all … got Becky’s link wrong — this is the right one!
My point exactly – bad word of mouth doesn’t die down quickly, nor does it die quietly! Thanks for keeping it alive, Gavin. Let’s see where it goes from here. Hopefully, Saturn will wake up and notice.
Thanks all- really.
This is amazing to me; their whole response to this has been so grossly incompetent. It really does showcase one of the many reasons why GM is failing so poorly in the marketplace.
Hi Gavin – had nothing to do with the creation of “different kind of car, different kind of car company” other than believing it and seeking to live it while at Saturn.
The picture for this posting reminded me of a time when I greeted a guest with “welcome to Saturn” to which he replied, “welcome to earth” (He was pretty baked.)
Maybe Saturn will be getting an unexpected welcome to the new world of WOM and networked markets?!
Keep creating,
Mike
Thanks for correcting the link, Gavin.
BTW, you and Tim are getting recognition in the comments over at http://www.toddand.com, where Todd has put together a Top 150 marketing blogs list (American blogs only). Paul McEnerny was lamenting about the fact that you, Tim, and others were left off the list but are very deserving!
Isn’t Paul a great guy? And smart too! You know, I think Todd’s focus is US based blogs which I clearly am not — but Tim … well he is an institution — and apart from being dead funny, he is a very clever marketer and should be recognised on any list looking to aggregate marketing blogs.
Might add my voice to that one too! Thanks, Becky!
Gav- Wow, friend, I don’t know how to reply to that other than to say “thank you”. I’m floored by such a compliment from somebody I have such respect for.
Ok, I guess it’s time for another group hug!
Great blog, I will definitely subscribe to the RSS feed.
By the way, just a small suggestion, put a BIG RSS icon on the top of the page so that people can find the subscription button easily. I needed almost 20 seconds to find the “Subscribe to this Blog” link, and I bet most readers would get discouraged after half of that time.