I had a colleague who used to say that people or things were "issue-fied" and I learned to appreciate that verb. Whenever something consistently didn't work it was "issue-fied." Whenever a person seemed to attract more than his or her own share of gloom, doom and darkrooms, they were "issue-fied."
We all learned to try to avoid these people and things. Life was just easier that way.
Today I came across another verb (which reminded me of the above) - wiki-fied. If you are at all familiar with wikipedia you may know that a wiki goes beyond just general definitions to combine encyclopedic knowledge with first hand user experience and knowledge from experts on the topics.
What's it like to be "wiki-fied?"
If you are wikified, as a business, you let your customers define your brand instead of the other way around. "Big Businesses" like Sears, General Motors and the like are more concerned (IMHO) with how their brand is perceived instead of letting the customers tell them how the business is perceived. That perception, of course, leads to position within the market. And when you are busy chasing an image you don't have it leads to brand confusion - then your company is "issue-fied." (See how nicely that all fit together?)
Companies like Nordstroms, however, seem to be very wiki-fied. Their employees take the time to make customers happy at any expense, even wrapping gifts from another retailer at Christmas time.
Locally we have a service center at Brandon Steven Motors - Terry and his crew go out of their way to listen to customers. The other day, for example, my car was hand washed (yes - hand washed!) after servicing. It doesn't fit in their car wash because it's size [insert brag about Mini Cooper here!] and when one astute employee noticed my car wasn't washed and I explained why, he went out and washed it himself - with his own two hands, bubbles and all! Wow.
These companies have listened to the customers, met the customers needs, and have become what the customers want. Wiki-ed!
I suspect we'll be seeing more and more of this as time passes.
We all learned to try to avoid these people and things. Life was just easier that way.
Today I came across another verb (which reminded me of the above) - wiki-fied. If you are at all familiar with wikipedia you may know that a wiki goes beyond just general definitions to combine encyclopedic knowledge with first hand user experience and knowledge from experts on the topics.
What's it like to be "wiki-fied?"
If you are wikified, as a business, you let your customers define your brand instead of the other way around. "Big Businesses" like Sears, General Motors and the like are more concerned (IMHO) with how their brand is perceived instead of letting the customers tell them how the business is perceived. That perception, of course, leads to position within the market. And when you are busy chasing an image you don't have it leads to brand confusion - then your company is "issue-fied." (See how nicely that all fit together?)
Companies like Nordstroms, however, seem to be very wiki-fied. Their employees take the time to make customers happy at any expense, even wrapping gifts from another retailer at Christmas time.
Locally we have a service center at Brandon Steven Motors - Terry and his crew go out of their way to listen to customers. The other day, for example, my car was hand washed (yes - hand washed!) after servicing. It doesn't fit in their car wash because it's size [insert brag about Mini Cooper here!] and when one astute employee noticed my car wasn't washed and I explained why, he went out and washed it himself - with his own two hands, bubbles and all! Wow.
These companies have listened to the customers, met the customers needs, and have become what the customers want. Wiki-ed!
I suspect we'll be seeing more and more of this as time passes.
Labels: branding, positioning, wiki, wikipedia
