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The degree to which the Big 3 Canadian wireless ops misunderstand branding has been brought to the forefront in the growing debate over Verizon’s threat to enter the market.
In a recent article in the Globe and Mail, Telus CEO Darren Entwhistle’s comment, “We’ve done a crap job of educating Canadians” is very telling. While he’s right that the complexities of the wireless business are widely misunderstood, the notion that customers need to be ‘educated’ by their providers is more than mildly arrogant and condescending. It suggests we need the big brains at our telecom operators to show us the light.
In the same article, we hear Bell CEO George Cope say that he doesn’t believe that Canadian consumers are frustrated, and that Bell’s satisfaction levels have never been higher. “Our phones are not ringing off the hook. Our technology is advanced and our prices are competitive.” They’re competitive alright. With Telus and Rogers.
Nadir Mohamed, CEO of Rogers, has made similar pronouncements in the last few weeks. He has ”never understood the need for a fourth carrier in this country”. Give that there is still only 77% penetration in Canada, one wonders what country Mr. Mohamed is living in.
You can scratch your head about why your customers are upset, why they hate you, why they would love to see you crushed. Or you can talk to them and find out why. None of these CEOs have ever done that in any serious way. None of them have had an open conversation with Canadians. They are much better at talking than listening. The fact that George Cope can say with a straight face that customers are not frustrated shows how out of touch he is.
So, a little Branding 101: it’s all about perception management. Whether your customers’ perceptions are wrong or not is not the issue. Their perception is your reality. You need to deal with that, whether you think they’re wrong or not. If the image you want people to have of you is not matched by your actions, then you will not be perceived in a positive light.
Example: calling a plan ‘unlimited’ – but only on evenings and weekends – is basically a lie. Charging an activation fee when there is no cost to the operation to activate your phone is basically a lie. Operating with margins in the realm of 40-50% while suggesting there’s no need for more competition is basically a lie. Those are just three examples of the kind of behaviour that has been going on in the wireless market for years.
You don’t fix this by publishing ‘educational’ double-page ads in national newspapers. You don’t change people’s perceptions with messaging. Don’t talk to us: listen to us. The gesture of listening would, by itself, send a signal that you really do care about more than just your paycheque. wn
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