Here is free PR advice for every global corporation that markets a service.
Never, under any circumstances, call any of your fees “convenient.”
Verizon, as you might know, committed a stunning PR blunder to round out 2011 by announcing a $2 fee on various methods of wireless service bill payment. (Good luck trying to figure out the myriad maybe/maybe not categories of payment method.) After an immediate, strong customer backlash, along with a note from the FCC hinting at an investigation, Verizon quickly backtracked and ditched the fee.
No doubt, Verizon customers had many reasons to revolt. Part of the new fee scheme required customers to use auto-billing, a process Verizon abused to overcharge 15 million customers in 2010. Secondly, Verizon continues grappling with massive network outages, which is spectacularly ill timing for a new price increase. And thirdly… no company can brand their fees “convenient” in a tight economy!
But there’s a larger issue at play here. Recall just a couple months ago when Bank of America dropped its planned $5 fee for debit card activity. Target took a ton of heat for requiring employees to work on Thanksgiving for Black Friday sales. Lowes Hardware tripped over its own senseless corporate-speak and stepped right into a hate group’s trap, alienating thousands of consumers.
What does this tell us? In 2012 (and probably the next few years), brands must anticipate every possible element of public backlash when making crisis management plans. That means thinking carefully about how the public will react to major change. Now it’s not a matter of if, but when, and brand equity has much less leverage when citizens can quickly unite around a central protest message.
That’s Praecere’s first take on the world of PR in 2012. And it comes without a convenience charge! Happy new year and hope you continue to follow the Blog Aesthetic.
