Britain, stop being so stupid.British companies are throwing away business and losing money by systematically annoying and alienating al·ien·ate tr.v. al·ien·at·ed, al·ien·at·ing, al·ien·ates 1. To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange: alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions. their customers. A backlash at shoddy shod·dy adj. shod·di·er, shod·di·est 1. Made of or containing inferior material. 2. a. Of poor quality or craft. b. Rundown; shabby. 3. customer service and unrelenting sales pitches is hitting business where it hurts the most--on the bottom line, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Philip Cullum's latest consumer research for the National Consumer Council (NCC NCC See National Clearing Corporation (NCC). ). The groundbreaking report reveals a sorry picture of businesses over-promising and under-delivering, treating customers in a clinical and patronising way and being incapable of getting the most basic things right. The NCC terms this remarkable phenomenon 'the stupid company'. Cullum will be discussing this trend in his frank and insightful keynote at Customer: Strategy, & Management on 21-22 June 2006 at NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. , Birmingham. His eye-opening presentation will uncover the five key ways that customers say companies get it wrong: 1. Inflated expectations and broken promises: the stupid company over-promises and under-delivers. 2. Sell, sell, sell: they are obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with making a sale--ignoring existing customers while offering great deals to new prospects. 3. Sneaky and dishonest: the stupid company believe they can succeed by misleading consumers through underhanded or evasive e·va·sive adj. 1. Inclined or intended to evade: took evasive action. 2. Intentionally vague or ambiguous; equivocal: an evasive statement. tactics. 4. Impersonal and robotic: they do not take ownership of a problem; rather they appear distant, clinical and uncaring. 5. Incompetent and ineffectual: finally, the stupid company lacks empathy with their customers: they are slow moving, patronising and apparently incapable of getting the basics right. Cullum's presentation at Customer 2006 will uncover home truths about what it is like to be a customer in Britain. "When companies neglect customers they are acting against their own self interest--because consumers are fighting back by not buying their products. The NCC's work shows how businesses can profit if they are willing to think differently, take the risk of standing out from the crowd, and put customers at the heart of their business," says Cullum. He will share his five-point action plan to turn an organisation from a stupid company into a smart one in his Day 1 keynote. |
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