Impact of Celebrities in Advertisements.

You have heard or seen them in advertisements, be it on TV, radio or the print media. Music, Sports and movie celebrities form an important part in ads. They enable the message to stand out among clutter and noise that typify many markets. They link a brand with the target audience. Also, consumers tend to associate the brand with the celebrities' high performance in their various industires. One of the international ads that caught my eye was the Gillette shaver, which featured Thiery Henry, a footballer, shaving his beards. Back here in Kenya, we have dozens, among them the Kiwi shoe polish ad featuring David Rudisha, an athlete; UAP insuarance ad which features McDonald Mariga, a kenyan footballer based in Italy; and the Airtel ad which features Amani, a musician. However, the use of celebrities in ads has some drawbacks. First, there is a danger that the receiver remembers the celebrity but not the message or the brand. Second, should the celebrity be involved in any mischief, the target audience will change their attitude and interest towards the brand. Therefore, as companies think of introducing celebrities in ads, they should weigh in factors, since they have an impact, positive/negative, to the brand.

Customer Service Week

How does it feel being attended to by the C.E.O at the reception when you visit an organization? How does it feel being answered by the Managing Director at the switchboard when you make a call to enquire for something? Or maybe how does it feel when your post on a company's official page is responded to by the Managing Director? Customer Service is at an all-time-high and in style, hence apart from the CEO sitting at the reception and the M.D at the switchboard, the Customer Service Week encompasses alot of innovative and fun activities which give customers a red carpet welcome, to share their views and give feedback to the organization. Staff do engage in social events such as charity work, the management conducts motivational and educational sessions to the entire organization. Some service-oriented companies have embraced this new concept, which is due to be launched, officially in Kenya, in October, 2011. As companies look forward to the launching of this program, it is best to be proactive so as to have a competitive advantage over their competitors. It is my hope that all companies, in both public and private sectors, will accept, embrace and exercise it fully to their ability.         

Online Reputation Management

Gone are the days when consumers would take to the streets with placards, making hullabaloo on the defectiveness of products, be it a good or a service. Nowadays, they do it online, just at the click of a button and at the comfort of their homes/offices; thanks to the invention of the social networks. One can tweet on twitter, post a status on facebook, LinkedIn and many other social networks, describing their positive/negative encounter with a firm's products. It is the high time organizations should take responsibility of monitoring and controlling the information, about their products, that is being passed on to millions of the social network users. This can be done by opening pages (like some companies have done) in these networks to help give the correct information, to combart negative ones, if there is any.

The Root Cause of Customer Dissatisfaction

Unmet customer expectations result in customer dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction does not originate from the activities of the frontline staff, as many executives tend to think. Rather, it springs up from various corners of the organisation. In his book, Strategic Customer Service, John A. Goodman states that 50-60 per cent of the unmet expectations are from defective products, misleading marketing messages, ineffective policies or broken internal process, with employee internal mistakes and bad attitudes contributing only 20-30 per cent and customer errors and unreasonable expectations accounting for the remaining 20-30 per cent. Organisations need to understand what their customers expect from them before offering products in the market, so as to minimize losses, in terms of sales, and maximize their profitability. 

Communication

"Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know that you are doing the right thing" (John D. Rockefeller). Constant communication between an organization and its clients is very important, since it enhances a mutual relationship between the two parties. Communication through email, telephone, and any other media to reach the clients should be utilized to the maximum. Like the Selling philosophy holds, "if customers are left alone, they wont buy a lot from an organization", hence communication to create awareness and persuade them to make repeat purchases.

Customer Service

"The customer is the King". The way you treat them will determine the success of your business. Customer service should not be concentrated at the top management alone, rather, every employee should be empowered to handle different situations in the organization. "Its the little things you do that account for your customers' satisfaction"