atghunter had some great analysis about the situation from PR point of view. I'd like to extend this discussion.
I'm an online marketing specalist - the "science" behind online marketing is the same, tools maybe different. I'd like to talk about the customers.
Customers are not the same. [Shockingly new revelation, I know.
] But we can categorize customers. We can identify some grops. There is a thing called "customer ladder". (BSN is not a PR board so I'll heavily simplify it. If you are a marketing specialist please forgive me this simplification. And sorry for my English.)On the first stage the customer is a "suspect". (S)he is a potential customer - somebody who might buy your product.
Another stage is a "first time customer" - who already bought something from you.
One of the most important stage is the "repeat customer". The people who bought something from you more times. This customer is not loyal but has good experience about the company. However this customer can easily leave your company and try another competitor.
A "loyal customer" has a strong, ongoing relationship with your company. This customer prefers your goods/services.
"Advocates" are "loyal customers", but have more important role: these are the people who will recommend your your company, your goods, your services. These are the people who suggests their favourite restaurants if you are ask them. These are the people who creates free advertising for your company.
"Evangelists" are most passionate "advocates". The most reliable examples are the Apple-fans. These are the people who are the most loyal fans of a company. They can't stop talking about your company or products. They will protect you if somebody says something negative about you. These people are walking advertisements - and they believe in your company. They talk about you in a very deep, passionate way. An advertisement in TV, a banner on the internet good be very good, very effective - but the most effective advertisement is an "evangelist".
Nowadays "evangelists" are more important than ever. The customers are online. They are looking for products, services on the internet. They are reading blogs, forums, ask their friends opinion on Facebook and Twitter. An "evangelist" is more than eager to talk about his experience - so they are online too. The "evangelist" will talk about his/her iPhone before you ask his/her opinion about smartphones.
A modern, big company's most important goal (from marketing point of view) is to "create" more and more "evangelists". To find new customers and converge them to "advocate" or "evangelist"-level.
When Bioware / EA calls Retake movement "entitled" fans... a whiny group of people... well... They are alienating their "evangelist" group. These people talked about Mass Effect (or Dragon Age). These people talk about these games on Facebook, these people recommended these game to their friends, wrote blogposts, commented the news on gaming sites, etc. When they calls their fans "entitled", they saying: "We don't need you, or your opinion, we need just your money." When they saying "artistic integrity", they calls their evangelists a group of stupid people who doesn't understand their vision.
Bad message, very bad message.
"First time" customers can be easily replaced. "Loyal customers" needs more time but they are replaceble too. "Advocates" are much harder. To replace "evangelists" you need much more time - you have to wait a new generation of customers. Lose "evangelists" is a huge lost in marketing assets. You can buy more time on TV. You can buy more banners on the internet. But you can't "buy" new evangelists.
Imagine this:
Apple launch the iPhone 7. This is a great product: much better GUI, much better display - everything is better. But you can't change ringtones. Apple inserted 3 default ringtones. You can choose between 3 ringtones and you can't change it. "Retake my ringtone!"-movement starts. Apple is in shock: "We don't understand... we give you better display, GUI, etc... why do you need alternate ringtones? These ringtones are beautiful! A true piece of art!". However core fanbase demands an application because they don't like the default 3 ringtones. "No! iPhone 7 is perfect. Artistic integrity! End of the line! But because we listening, we create a free patch. We won't offer more ringtones but you can download a longer version of the 3 default ringtones!".
In the meantime Apple calls the "Retake my ringtone!"-movement a group of entitled fans. They going to a conference but they don't want to answer the ringtone questions.
I think a similar scenario should be a huge backfire. Apple evangelists should turn into Apple-haters. But I think Apple is smarter than that.
IMHO Bioware was an Apple-like company in the field of RPG videogaming. They could sell 2 million copies of Mass Effect 3 within a few weeks. They had more than 1 million customers on the first month of SWTOR. They had legions of "evangelists" around the globe.
And they choose the short-term gain. They choose to ****** off their "advocates" and "evangelists".
In short-term they won. ME3 probably is one of their most succesful games financially. They will spend some more money to extended ending - but not much. I think most of the "new" content is not new at all. Some cut cinematics - I suppose they have tons of unused audio, etc. They have to publish the MP DLC for free - but I think they have more than enough customers who are paying for Veteran / Spectre packs so this is not a huge loss.
They can win the PR-fight too. Lazy journalists, servile gaming media, PR-tactics...
But they lost their "advocate" and "evangelists"-level customers. Not all of them but many of them. Bioware / EA will miss these customers when they will publish the next big SWTOR expansion; DAO3; C&C; and they will really-really miss these customers when they create a new IP. Or new Mass Effect game.
A disappointed customer is a problem. But a disappointed "evangelist" is a nightmare. The line between hate and love is very slight. A disappointed "evangelist" probably will be a hater. Who will talk about your company with the same passion before - but in the negative way.
That's the scale. That is the true, big problem for Bioware / EA. They can try damage control PR tactics - but the damage is done. And they are not fixing it - they doing more damage.
Edit: some formatting
Modifié par McAllyster, 07 avril 2012 - 06:13 .
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