“Welcome to Dell Hell” used to be one of the common expressions regarding Dell’s company and quality back in 2005. Online forum posts, blogs, and emails were going around about how Dell’s awful customer support and unreliable computers were disappointing thousands of customers. “Dell shut its general customer forums… which should be the place for customers to help each other” (Jarvis 2005). This obviously did not bode well for Dell, as consumers were swiftly getting a severe negative brand perception. It was getting to a point where the company was suffering greatly from the blogs and other social media that were bashing their products. The problem is that most companies do not realize that these online rants about the products are usually based upon truth. Dell smartly realized that ignoring social media was not the correct route to take. Instead, Dell began embracing their community, and Dell Hell soon faded away as the consumer base grew fiercely loyal once again.
Dell then created Direct2Dell and Ideastorm, two blogs dedicated only to customer support and feedback. This allowed Dell to access consumer thoughts and complaints quickly and directly. Using social media, specifically blogging, as a means to reach their consumer base, they can see all the issues their products are having in there true form. I honestly think Dell was extremely intelligent for accepting the way the world works now and using blogging to their advantage. This fact alone allowed their company to turn around and create on of the most loyal fan bases around. If they hadn’t acted quickly to the negative perception they were getting, Dell could’ve been a thing of the past. Its surprising just how much social media can affect a company on the sole basis that consumers can speak freely.
Heres some articles that talk about Dell’s turnaround.
http://nowisgone.com/2007/10/18/dells-incredible-turnaround/
http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2007/06/16/18397.aspx
I feel that it’s great that the use of blogging and people’s opinions can help companies exceed consumers expectations.
I agree. It is really great they are using blog because, well, that’s what communication has come to today. I am a Mac user and Apple, in my opinion, has great customer support. I believe Dell has now become a great company for support, because of having things like blogs available for the public.
I agree.
(That last comment was a mistake by the way. Woops.)
It’s pretty awesome that now day’s your voice can be heard so much by posting blogs or videos online and even better that companies are able to take these frustrations and overcome them. It just makes me curious to see what the next form of social media will be how much faster and powerful it will make consumers voices and comments be heard.
I think it was very wise for Dell to start a blog for their customers. I read somewhere that 85% of customers wish that they had better communication with the companies that they buy from. What better way to communicate than through a blog?
Thats interesting they used blogging for customer service. Thats a good way to give quick accurate feedback to customers.
Good topic Nic. As I read, all I could think about was how Dell has no real loyal following. They fail to make consumers feel attached to their brand, something Apple, Google, and maybe even Microsoft (just barely made it) do very well in terms of “customer allegiance.” You don’t hear consumers raving about their Dell computers, do you?
Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to have this trait to succeed in business but I feel that as we move forward into the 21st century, the companies that are truly succeeding will be the ones that give their customers an exceptional experience when their products are seen, bought, opened, and used. If it is done right, marketing dollars really wont need to be spent heavily because your users will have such a loyal following that they will track your every move and inform their friends and colleagues of the new products or services released. Most of all they will have real faith in your company even if you happen to make a mistake. Companies make mistakes too.