If you’re in PR, as I am, there’s always a bit of soul-searching along with ire when your profession takes a hit. The latest case in point is a blog the other day by marketing expert and PR extraordinaire Seth Godin.
In his blog, Godin faulted most PR firms for doing publicity, not PR.
“Publicity is the act of getting ink," Godin states. While “PR is the strategic crafting of the story.”
Godin, of course is a PR extraordinaire himself. Think of marketing whizzes and gadflies and more than likely the first name that come up is his. In fact, like a celebrity, you can just say “Seth” and any market-savvy person will know whom you mean.
And, his latest PR firm salvo is PR genius itself, a readymade self-generating PR machine. In fact, my own post is proof of that.
And, yet, I find myself taking issue with his point.
Public Relations, as anyone worth his PR stripes will tell you, is not simply the issuing of press releases, which sprinkled like seeds, can occasionally germinate, but won’t create a bountiful harvest.
Instead, PR practioners excel at creating messages and themes that together create a story. It all begins with strategy, not tactics. It’s the concept of personal branding writ large. Before you can promote yourself, you need your elevator pitch, your personal story about why anyone should give a you know what about you and what makes you unique and special. The same goes for a company. Think Ritz Carlton and you think extraordinary service. Think Amazon and you think the easiest-to-use bookstore-and more in the world.
My firm, and I know many other PR firms (and we invite you to see how we work, Seth), first spends time with our clients getting inside their skin so we understand their business and how to talk about it in a way that resonates for clients and prospects. From that, we craft messages, and yes, stories about executives and the brand.
Seth's distinction between publicity and PR is too pat. Yes, I confess, as a PR person we are interested in getting ink for clients. But it's not coverage for coverage sake but part of a coherent strategy that helps build a client's brand. And, while, I'm sure there are PR people who fling out meaningless press releases like they are tossing pancakes, that's not what any serious practioner does.
What in fact is the biggest challenge in PR today is that the media world as we know it is deconstructing as traditional media tries to find its place in this wired world where anyone can be a publisher and the price of content is often free.
That means that practitioners of PR have a zillion more platforms besides old media to tell a story and get people talking be it in self-published articles, blogs, forums, video, Twitter, Facebook…you name it. But none of this bounty frankly means a damn unless it is crafted with strategy and at the end of the day tells a coherent story. The challenge frankly is understanding how to use all these new tools and meld them together in a coherent, compelling way that encourages interaction.
So, Seth, I couldn’t agree with your story-thesis more. It’s just that's what any good PR person (and there are a lot of us out there) does.
Quick branding test: What do the cartoon character Bob the Builder, Moses and one of Santa’s elves have in common?
Answer: They are all alter egos of the amazingly eclectic, not-afraid-to-act-goofy Lou Bortone, an online branding expert.
Bortone, like a lot of marketers, is a whiz at promoting others, but had left his own promotion more to chance.“I was a branding guy telling everyone that they should be using video, yet I didn’t have my own consistent videoblog!” recalls Bortone. He was, however, producing videos for others.
That all changed about a year ago when someone he was trying to sell video branding to asked to see his video. That was the beginning of LouTube, Bortone’s clever, zany attempts to combine branding with humor. Check out his Ten Commandments of online video, where Bortone speaks in his “voice of God” tone while donning a “Moses wig.” Or listen to his elfin voice as he reads a rhymed Christmas story dressed as one of Santa’s elves that ends in a humorous plug for his video service.
“Keep in mind, I’m a bit of an introvert and very camera shy, so this was a stretch for me,” says Bortone. “At the same time, by embracing my warped sense of humor, I seem to have hit a chord with my target market.Now I wear costumes and recite funny little poems about Facebook and Twitter. So, “LouTube” has become a part of my brand!
Bortone, a one man marketing talent show, is a copywriter, videographer, and branding coach for entrepreneurs; over the course of his career, he’s worked in radio and TV, including as an SVP of Marketing at Fox Family Worldwide in Los Angeles.
So what can we learn from this would-be Moses?
Here are Bortone’s top five suggestions for personal branding:
Develop a “who & do what” statement – The “who” is your target market and the “what” is the primary benefit they get from you.For example, my “who and do what” is: “I help entrepreneurs build breakthrough brands on the Internet so that they can get booked solid!”
Define your “why you do it” statement – The “why” is the reason you do what you do.It’s what you stand for.It’s important because it’s what will attract the right clients to you. My “why” is: “I stand for your brand!”
Focus on building relationships – Social networking and video are similar in that they are tools to help build relationships on the web.You gotta give before you get!Engage, contribute, share… Build your social capital.
Maximize social media – Entrepreneurs can develop their brands relatively quickly and inexpensively using free services such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.These have become powerful business tools for creating connections, demonstrating your expertise and enhancing your online visibility.
Use Online Video to stand out and be noticed – As a long-time “video guy,” I’m especially partial to video as a resource to break out of the pack and be noticed.Online Video builds an immediate connection and makes you memorable.
Meanwhile, Bortone is continuing to evolve his “video guy” brand with his latest iteration an OnlineVideoBranding site, now in beta. "I keep saying ‘beta” means we ‘beta get it done soon!’”“Actually, it’s a site where people can find my latest videos and tutorials,” says Bortone. “I can also share online video branding tips and do some freebie giveaways. Hopefully, it will become a place where entrepreneurs can come to learn about branding with online video.Since it’s a WordPress blog, I’ll be able to change and update the content often.
Any last words?
“One point I’d love to make is that a lot of my personal branding philosophy comes from the fact that I’m a “Book Yourself Solid” Certified Coach.Book Yourself Solid is a bestselling book and program created by Michael Port.
“The Book Yourself Solid system really hit home with me, because the branding ideas emphasize authenticity and service. It’s like marketing and sales for people who don’t like doing marketing and sales.Pretty cool!”
Why do some e-companies go out of their way to make it impossible for their customers to communicate with them?
It’s one of life’s little, annoying ironies. Here we are in our interactive-to-a fault age, and some companies that are Internet-based act as “Keep off the Grass” Idiots.
You probably have your own Internet company horror story. Mine concerns an aptly-titled e-mail company called MailChimp. The company easily lets you send high-volume email and provides templates to help you prettify your email. It also provides a pay-as-you-go option, which is especially helpful if you don’t send many emails, and don’t want to be stuck with a monthly or yearly fee.
Sound good. But here’s the rub. We recently attempted to send a note out for a client using its service. My assistant innocently attempted to change the name on the reply line of our email (which had my name) to that of our client. MailChimp’s system wouldn’t let her do so so she contacted by email (no phone option exists) MailChimp’s customer service. Instead of helping her, MailChimp’s tone deaf customer service accused her in an online conversation of spamming. She tried to explain and was promptly accused of being rude. Mailchimp then turned around and in an Internet nano second disabled our account. Ouch. It kind of felt like we were maimed.
That was bad enough. The MailIdiots refused to answertwo emails I sent explaining what we were trying to do and asking for a courtesy callback. I also typed in a note on MailChimp’s website explaining our problem and asking for help. That was almost a week ago. The company’s customer service went MIA in our case.
Kind of amazing isn’t it? Here is an email company that refuses to answer emails!
Rather than continue to hit our heads against the MailChimp wall, we decided to vote with our feet. We opened an account with a MailChimp competitor, Constant Contact, which went out of its way to be helpful. Unlike MailChimp, Constant Contact provides a phone number for you to talk with an actual human being. Who would have thought that phone contact would be such a luxury? The company made it exceptionally easy and in under an hour our note was distributed.
I understand that e-companies want to avoid the cost of having someone man phone calls. But in one fell swoop MailChimp damaged its brand. Moreover, its executives have no personal brands. At least it should instill a culture where emails get answered and customers are helped, not slapped. Well, MailChimp, you are now Exhibit A in the Fast Company Personal Branding Expert Blog Hall of Shame.
What Internet customer service stories have you experienced? I’d love to hear from you.
How do you reinvent yourself if you’re a middle-aged, non-techie working in yesterday’s business?
Just ask Flyn Penoyer who five months ago at age 58 reincarnated himself as a web marketing guru helping small businesses harness the power of the Internet. A successful sales consultant for over 20 years, Flyn had a long-time dream to be an Internet marketer but didn’t fully take the plunge till necessity and opportunity called.
“I decided sales consulting was a dead end in Silicon Valley, where I’m based; the market was shriveling up like turtles,” said Flyn with characteristic honesty.
To grease the skids, Flyn about a year ago enrolled in Stompernet, an online marketing program, joined social networking site LinkedIn and partnered with someone with the technical skills he lacked. Less than a year later he had his first Internet client, and was the top-rated expert on LinkedIn under its marketing sales and sales techniques categories. Come later this month, he’s launching his first information product, which is designed to help others succeed on LinkedIn.
Having remade himself into a web entrepreneur, he’s hung out his Internet shingle with the mission of helping small businesses grow using SEO, social marketing and web lead generation strategies. Check out his free reports on online networking.
As a networking maestro, Flyn quickly realized the power of LinkedIn for personal branding. “I have used LinkedIn to build up my reputation as an expert, help a lot of people making myself a valuable resource, and gain a tremendous amount of visibility in the process.”
Like most personal branding success stories, Flyn’s strategic use of personal branding has had a large pay-off. “Now, my efforts on LinkedIn are providing me most of my business income without any prospecting or advertising,” he says.
Flyn’s key rule for LinkedIn success:
“You need to follow a pure networking, as opposed to a prospecting strategy. If you prospect you may get a customer but the concept of prospecting is one person at a time while the concept of networking is all about developing valued relationships that over time lead to opportunities for everyone. It’s the difference between fishing with a line and trawling.”
So what else can we learn from Flyn?
For one, how to better sell on line. According to Flyn, there are three things every business needs to do online:
• Create websites that engage customers. “That way you can capture visitors who are not ready to buy now but may be in the future.”
• Create effective selling propositions. Engage visitors on your site in a conversation.
• Leverage the power of the Web 2.0 tools for developing relationships with customers.
How does a self-described “floor guy” become a social media expert?
If you’re Rob McNealy you fall into it (pun intended). After a marine business he had started wasn’t making money, he accidentally got into the flooring business by way of a friend who had a flooring company. Four years later, he not only has a successful flooring business but a thriving business empire that includes several floor businesses, a startup radio show and web consulting business along with a medical consulting firm (co-run by his wife, Kristie).
Here is Rob’s story of how it all happened:
“I’m an ex-corporate refugee who hated the corporate life. After my flooring company took off, I asked my wife, ‘Do you mind if I become the floor guy?’ And, she turned to me and asked, ‘Do you mind if I don’t do a medical residency?’ She was finishing medical school at the time. And, that’s how two entrepreneurs got born.
"I was the hardwood floor expert for a radio show and as a hobby started a radio show on small business. I interviewed some people on the show doing new media and got the idea to put the show on the internet. I got much more traction online than on the radio. The blog and podcast took off after that.
"People started asking me for help with their media work and before I know it, we had become web consultants.”
Don’t for a minute, however, think that Rob is simply running businesses. A marketing maven, he had the foresight to realize that he needed to create brands. As he puts it:
“Branding is nothing more than simply looking at yourself as a product, and marketing that product. At this time, I have two brands that overlap, Rob the "Startup Story" Entrepreneur Guy, and Rob, the Floor Guy.”
Rob also had the insight to recognize that Twitter is a branding tool and in just a year as become a top 100 Tweeter. He’s also active on LinkedIn and Facebook.
“Twitter is the best relationship building tool on the web at this time,” he says. “Twitter is a great way to communicate with others, as well as communicate your brand to a large audience in a very efficient manner. You get to have conversations from your desk. You don’t even need to buy someone coffee. The great thing is, you are talking with many people at once.
“The strategy for me is to meet great people. Those connections can lead to friendships, business ventures, investment opportunities, and of course, promotion for Startup Story (his radio show). Most people tend to hang out on only one social media platform, so it made sense for me to play in many sandboxes at the same time.”
How does he do it all?
“Ancient Chinese Secret,” jokes Rob. “Actually, I am usually multitasking. I run multiple montiors, and have multiple social networking platforms running in the background. I will often be twittering or on Facebook while working on clients' social media projects, or doing paperwork, etc. I put in three to four hours a day of screen time on social media, however, rarely is social media the only thing I am doing.
"We work a lot, as we run several businesses. Most of the time, we work 12 hour days. I currently run two workstations with two monitors each. My wife and I use five computers between the two us. However, one of my affiliate marketing friends runs four monitors, so I still have room to grow.”
Here is some advice from Rob on using social media to grow your presonal brand and business:
"Web/Social Media offers the best bang for the buck for marketing, hands down! Not only is it cost effective, it's a great way to market your personal brand, so people get to know you. Once your brand is known, work will come your way, as you are the one that people think about. For instance, in the social media and entrepreneurship networking circles, I really promote Startup Story and entrepreneurship as my brands. However, I've also gotten dozens of flooring projects, as people know that I am a floor guy, even though I don't promote the flooring business in that way."
How are you using social media to build your business? I’d love to hear from you.
I had the privilege this week to enter the media future – or at least a very smart person’s view of it – and learn that the future is all about personalization.
“The future of local TV (and seemingly everything else digital) is personal,” was the rousing cry of NBC Universal Chief Digital Officer George Kliavkoff who spoke this week at NY:MIEG's holiday breakfast as part of a Q&A session with Limor Schafman, president of The KeystoneTech Group. “Think about all your favorite news and information websites. With any of them 90 to 96% of the pixels are wasted on you,” said Kliavkoff. Instead, using the smarts of technology, you will be able to get served content and advertising that you want. Kliavkoff’s takeaway: The online future includes a lot more personalized products and services.
The prognostication was made at the ultra slick, electronic showcase of The Samsung Experience at the TimeWarner Center, which gleamed with electronic high tech before a sold-out crowd of the media upper crust, along with a few wannabes.
Overseeing this media blitz was Bill Sobel, a middle-aged, rumpled, down-to earth guy who is anything but high-tech in style. However, don’t let his appearance fool you. Sobel, who conceived and runs MY Mieg, is Mr. Media, a master connector and media impresario, who could be an electronic gizmo himself since he radiates enough energy and enthusiasm to light up the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
The Q&A covered what’s happening and will happen in digital. Among some interesting points made:
Online media leads to more TV consumption. Forget the fear of cannibalization when you put TV clips online. NBC found that online streaming of the Beijing Olympics actually drove viewers to watch more TV than they would have if they were only TV viewers.
Easy does it. Hulu, a joint venture of NBC and Fox, allows viewers to search CBS and ABC content even though it doesn’t have licensing agreements with ABC or CBS.“It’s easier to search on Hulu than on CBS or ABC,” said Kliavkoff.
Digital all the way. We haven’t seen anything yet, according to Kliavkoff, who said that behavioral marketing and other forms of personalization will transform the digital experience.
So, as personal branders, what does all this mean?
I think it means that we need to be sure we’re on the digital forefront in everything we do. That, we need to make everything we do as easy as possible for folks and to insure that we not just put our personal stamp on what we do but that it speaks directly to the person we’re doing it for.
If you’re over 35, more than likely you’re a geezer digitally speaking. Or in the inimitable words of media wunderkind Shelly Palmer, you’re a “digital immigrant.”
Counting myself among the endangered species, I was delighted to find that there is still hope for us. Just because we were born on the wrong side of the technology divide, there is a bridge to get us across. Enter Palmer, who’s 50 but somehow managed to morph into a “digital native,” and is now sharing his trade secrets in a course, “Reinventing Yourself and Your Career for the New Digital Economy.”
You’d have to be living in a cave of course not to know that we’re experiencing seismic economic changes with entire portions of industries like newspapers, recorded music, and advertising in flux. “Nothing is where it’s supposed to be anymore,” says Palmer. “You can either adapt or become obsolete.”
Whichever side of the digital schism you sit on, Palmer’s own story offers inspiration. Two years ago, he had a weekly newsletter on the media industry with about 300 subscribers. Today MediaBytes, an instant summary of the day’s most important technology and entertainment news. arrives in the digital inboxes of 175,000 subscribers to provide in Palmer’s words “a crib sheet on your BlackBerry every morning.”
About 18 months ago, Palmer and his team realizing MediaBytes could be transported to video, began offering a daily videocast along with a weekly podcast. Today MediaBytes is syndicated on 26 different websites, TiVo, the HuffingtonPost and YouTube among others. Which means that 50,000 people a day get their Shelly Palmer fix.
Now, Palmer, of course, is not your typical media consultant. His resume puts us mortals to shame. An awarding-winning writer, director, producer and composer he is also a technologist, an inventor and a leading expert on the forces that are shaping the future of technology, media and entertainment. He is president of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, New York — the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy Award. Believe me that’s just for the starters.
However, Palmer assures us that we too with a little hand holding can begin to cross the digital divide. Here is some of his advice:
Work daily to maintain the value of your brand. We are constantly evolving. Shelly Palmer “the person” is different from Shelly Palmer “the brand.” The brand stands for excellence in thought leadership at the intersection of technology media and entertainment businesses.
Have a consistent brand message. Everyone today can be a brand. With this much digital access, there is no excuse if you don’t have a digital brand thanks to social media like Facebook and MySpace, blogs and websites. The key is having all your messages tell the same story.
Protect you online brand just as you do your offline brand. Don’t put anything online that you don’t want to see on the front page of a newspaper.
Have the right digital image. Just as you’re careful of your offline image and take pains to wear the right outfit, have the right haircut, drive a particular car, so should you take care with your digital image. Carry a current PDA and laptop. Have a real live email address and domain as opposed to joey.spaz1234. Be in the current culture.
Some websites need to be arrested for audial assault. You know the ones I mean. No sooner do you click on a URL but the site blasts out some atrocious music that has absolutely nothing to do with the brand.
If marketer and music extraordinaire Martin Pazzani has his way that will change. The former CEO of Elias Arts, the world’s largest music company for advertising, TV and film, Pazzani is now CEO in Residence with Bluestone Partners, where he is creating a music agency to redefine how corporations use music.
A pioneer in audio branding, Pazzani is on a mission to put audio identity on the same footing as visual identity.
“Most companies don’t have a consistent, integrated audio identity the way they have a visual identity,” Pazzani explains. “A company may use one type of music on TV, another for radio, a third for hold music and yet another sound for the actual product. The result is a schizophrenic brand that does nothing to reinforce a brand identify. It’s plain and simple noise.”
Not that all companies have been tone deaf. Think, Pazzani, says, of the once ubiquitous Yahoo yodel. For a reminder, click the dot of the exclamation point on the logo.
Music, of course, is probably as old as Adam and Eve. Certainly, the movies are no stranger to the power of music. And what self-respecting presidential contender would campaign without his or her theme music.Hillary Clinton even ran a contest to pick her theme song.
Pazzani, however, is taking this one step further. He advocates original music for brands, not just a reuse of existing music. His point is that companies create their own logos, so why not evolve and create music that exemplifies the brand? What better differentiator, he says, than to have a unique sound.
Obviously, as personal branders, we don’t need to have our own music…or do we? Pazzani for example knows a CEO of a technology company (Pazzani is keeping the person’s name to himself) who has his own walk-on music. Not to mention the company’s having a unique sound for TV, in-store, its products and a theme for its sales meetings. Let’s be clear. Pazzani doesn’t suggest that a company use the same music for everything. That could be musical monotony. But he advocates that a company’s music all be integrated and consistent.
I don’t suggest that you run out and get your own theme music. Though it could make for some funny scenarios. Instead of greeting someone with “hello,” you could toot your favorite song. But I do suggest that you not forget about sound as you think about your personal brand or your company’s brand. To paraphrase, Pazzani, do you know what your brand sounds like?
Many corporate executives in their eagerness to get on the Web 2.0 bandwagon remind me of waffling politicians. Sure they are beginning to spout the right lingo but when it comes to follow through, beware.
“‘How do we engage customers while effectively controlling brand reputation?’" asked Mendenhall at the ANA meeting. “Marketers must not only monitor blogs and news sites constantly, he says--they need to go one step further. ‘You want to look at building your own forums to engage customers and critics who are one and the same. You can't afford to miss it.’”
Sounds great, right? Sorry, Mr. Mendenahall. At least in this customer’s case, you're falling far short. A few weeks ago I blogged about your company, directly emailed your CEO and pasted my blog feed on Twitter and Facebook about the seemingly never ending problems I have experienced – and am still experiencing –with your customer service. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for someone to reach out to me. And here I am blogging for a second time about your company when if someone took a moment to respond, HP instead could have been singled out as an exemplar of social media engagement, not a ne’re-do-well.
What did I get for my troubles? Not a lot. Finally, after a number of emails back and forth with an HP PR person, I got a call back from someone in corporate support who referred me to someone else. That person attempted to solve my printer and desktop problems but couldn’t fix the printer. He assured me someone in the printer department would get back to me. That was four days ago. And I’m still waiting. And now four weeks, count them four weeks, my problem still has not been corrected. So much for trying to get the attention of HP via social media.
Contrast that with the online shoe powerhouse Zappos, recently selected by Ad Age as a marketer of the year. Awhile back I blogged about Zapos and seemingly one second after I posted, the CEO of Zappos was following me on Twitter. Now, the CEO himself may not be personally following me but someone on his staff at least has the smarts to monitor what is being said about the company.
Despite all the problems with HP, which I’m sure will eventually find its footing, the company is still further along than totally clueless 1and1. Every other day I receive a survey form asking me to rate the Internet hosting company’s customer service. I sometimes think these forms are generated to create busywork for someone since I have rarely (Lexus being one exception) had a company contact me in response to anything I wrote. I rapped 1and1 on its survey since my email has not worked properly since I transferred my domain to its servers a few months ago. What is the response to my survey answers? A few days later I receive another survey asking for my opinion.
Meanwhile, is the company monitoring cyberspace? Type into Google corporate address of 1and1 and a blog appears detailing people’s negative experiences (including mine) with the company. Has anyone received a response? You know the answer to that. Don't bother emaling the company's complaint department at complaints@1and1.com. I've tried several times and never received the courtesy of a response.
Now, I don’t mean to unfairly single out these companies. I’m sure many others are doing the same things if not worse. Somehow most companies haven’t realized that instead of simply pouring money into advertising they should be pouring money into what’s happening on the ground, day-to-day in consumers’ lives. With the Internet’s democratization of the consumer, companies can no longer afford to spout the lingo without following through. Now let’s see if anyone is reading this! I’d love to hear your experiences. What do you think?
Why are so many large companies branding imposters?
On the hand, they spend zillions trying to brand themselves through advertising? On the other hand, they provide far too little oversight or dollars to customer service. They fail to realize that most active customers interact with a brand through customer service rather than advertising. And somehow, few seem to have taken to heart that in today’s interconnected world, consumers finally have a voice.
Meanwhile, too many big companies remain faceless impenetrable bureaucracies with no personality as Rohit Bhargava points out in his brilliant book, Personality not included.
In the spirit of exercising my consumer rights and I hope piercing a tiny crack on the corporate “keep consumers out” shield, here is an open letter to the CEO of Hewlett Packard. I will publish one to the CEO of 1and1.com in Part Two of this post, to be published separately.
Mr. Mark Hurd
Chairman of the Board
Chief Executive Officer and President
Hewlett-Packard Company
Dear Mr. Hurd:
I was once a big fan of Hewlett-Packard’s customer service when you truly stood behind your products and customers. But that seems to have gone by the boards as you have relentlessly outsourced your customer service to people who don’t care about your brand.
I have now spent 16 hours, count that 16 hours, with three different HP technical support people, not to mention one technical support supervisor, one case manager, one would be case manager and one executive customer service person. What do I have to show for my efforts? A printer that only works manually, not from the computer, and a broken Windows Installer? Both were working prior to my calling HP. I also have two Service Ticket Numbers, 801-599-4173, 801-667-5327 and a Transaction Number, 7500-631-029.
How has HP let me down and tarnished its brand in my eyes? I was promised callbacks by two different tech support people who after each to their credit spent hours trying to get my printer to work promised to call me back to finish the job. Neither ever called me back.
I asked to speak to a boss in your case manager’s office and was told: “My boss doesn’t talk on the phone.”
I asked a person in your executive customer service to schedule a tech support call for me and was told, “I can’t do anything because they are in another country.”
Pardon me, but is HP a 21st century technology company?
I complained to a case manager at your corporate headquarters about my problems and she assured me that a technical support person would call me back the next evening and that she would call me back that very same evening to insure everything had been taken care of.
At that point, I was about to give HP the Customer Service Merit Award.
But not only did the tech support person not call me back but the case manager didn’t call that night either. The case manager did mean well but she just seemed to get her tasks wrong. She eventually got back to me (48 hours later) but seemed to be oblivious to the fact that a tech person was to have called me the day before as was she and that I couldn’t solve the problem myself. She too told me she couldn’t schedule a tech call.
I am hoping that this letter forces you to take a good look at your company’s customer service – or rather non-service – and how it is hurting your brand.
