This must be a painful time to be a marketer at Dell Computer. Dell has just introduced a svelte, feature-packed premium laptop aimed at execs, status seekers and “impression makers.” Thanks to their PR team (or influencer relations), Dell secured a high visibility blog posting at the NY Times discussing the product and its aspirational positioning. Unfortunately, it backfired.
Customer Dissatisfaction Can Be Toxic
The blog post has already triggered over a hundred comments, largely negative – some virulently so. Here’s a sample comment, triggered by customer dissatisfaction:
All that matters to me is that after years of being a loyal Dell customer I have decided to NEVER purchase another computer from them again. Their customer service is now the most horrifying experience a consumer can ever fear to encounter.
And several others, in the same vein:
Buy Dell at your own peril.
I agree with the other Dell bashers, they make garbage hardware and their support is horrendous.
If I worked for Dell, this comment would make me cringe – and want to mandate that the people responsible for customer service take on the mission to overhaul the company’s reputation, based on actions and performance:
Dell has the worst customer service I have ever encountered in a company, and that is saying a lot. I used to be a loyal customer, having purchased dozens of computers, servers and laptops from them. Recently I had an experience so tortured and kafkaesque that I vowed never to give them my money again. I use Macs and PCs, and feel that the Mac hype is overblown (they don’t work all the time either). But compared to Dell, any other PC would be a joy.
Many of the comments say, paraphrased, “For that price, get a Mac.” The comments offer lots of reasons why. (Yes, the Mac cultists are out in force…)
All of the comments above were made in response to the NY Times blog post.
So What Happened? Why the Backlash?
The first reason for the negativity is a direct consequence of many years of Dell’s disappointing customers. People in the blog are writing from their own personal experience; anger and disappointment fuel their comments.
But the subtler reason is linked to brand strategy and the positions that Dell and Apple occupy in people’s minds.
Dell’s attempt to claim the premium, lust-worthy laptop positioning and thereby challenge Apple’s MacBook Pro ran afoul of “brand permission” space. Customers are unwilling to grant permission to Dell to move into a radically different positioning, given what they know and believe about the Dell brand and the competitive environment.
Customers do not find Dell’s aspirational positioning credible, given Dell’s long-term (and very successful) stance as a utilitarian value leader. Their personal experience with the brand and the way the company relates to its customers reinforces the strength of their convictions.
Customers ridicule the idea that a Dell-branded product will appeal to status seekers, or impress people who think of themselves as “impression makers.” Here’s a comment that makes this point crystal clear – Dell is far from enjoying premium “badge” status:
This is the most impressive laptop you can buy… from Dell. I’d choose any brand but Dell to impress. Dell has positioned itself as the brand every brainless IT department buys every single one of their crummy locked-down computers from to run five year old software on, and I congratulate them on their success. However, I would never associate that brand with anything that is remotely impressive or individual. They’re the Denny’s of the computer world.
What compounds Dell’s situation is that customers so strongly believe Apple’s dominance of the most desirable, high-performance positioning that they take up arms to fend off challengers to Apple’s position. For example:
Macs are brilliantly designed, have the BEST OS as noted by virtually all credible experts, has the highest consumer satisfaction levels, by far, as well as the highest ratings for ease of use, reliability, customer service, etc., so why would you buy anything else?
How Has Dell Responded?
Social media influencers, take note. Dell is probably listening to these comments, but has no visible presence (at least not in the first two pages’ worth of comments) in this conversation. Given the negative tone of this debate, is that the optimal social media strategy?
