A marketer’s desire is for their customers to talk favorably about our products. Write a great review online. Recommend it to friends. However, many marketers are not patient. They want testimonials. They need testimonials. But they are unwilling to wait for one testimonial at a time. They want something bigger, bolder — something that will effect sales tomorrow. To get immediate results, they feel they need to intercede in the natural word of mouth discussion and help people talk about them.
In the rush for the demonstrative testimonial, marketers try different tactics. Some tactics are artifical, some are authentic. Some work, some don’t.
Yes, as the old axiom says actions speak louder than words. This idea was reinforced about a year ago by the Ford Motor Company, when they did not take federal funds in the bail out. The action changed many consumers’ view of Ford. It was powerful and memorable. Ironically, about five years earlier Ford ran a corporate campaign called “Bold Moves”. It was not a bad campaign, however, it was marketer rhetoric stating what they were going to do. In the end it wasn’t a series of ads that began to change people’s perception, rather, it was a single bold action.
Honda is finding out first hand out on their Honda Accord Crosstour facebook page what facebook fans think. Honda revealed their new crossover on facebook and the wall posts are resoundingly negative. Referring to the new Crosstour as “Has to be the ugliest car of 2009. Ugliest car of the decade?” or “The Crosstour looks like Honda’s attempt at building an Aztek out of spare Dodge Caliber and Chrysler Sebring parts. This really is hideous.” or “Just like other’s I became a fan to make this comment alone. It’s ugly, plain and simple.” You get the idea.