According to a new white paper by industry analyst Onalytica, Jeff Jarvis has more influence over people’s perceptions of Dell’s customer service than Dell does - so much influence that the paper claims, “Any attempt to redress the public perception of their customer services by Dell will have to pass via Jeff Jarvis’ influence.”
If there was ever a time for Dell to enter the blogosphere, it would be now. But as Clickz.com reports, the company is doing what you should never do in the blogosphere: stonewalling. “Dell shut down its online customer forum shortly after the postings unfolded. The company’s sales have dropped, and in October of this year, Dell issued a profit warning for the year.”
We’ve been following this story for a while now.
- June 24, 2005 - Dell Hate and Horror
- July 4, 2005 - More Proof all Businesses (Dell) Should at Least “Blog without Blogging”
- July 4, 2005 - Dell and Jeff Jarvis: Dell’s PR Firm Says “Relax”
- July 6, 2005 - It’s not Just Jeff Jarvis and Jason Calacanis–Dell Ignores ALL Bloggers
- July 11, 2005 - Dell Cluewatch Update: A One-Way “Conversation” Model (For Now)
- September 13, 2005 - Blogging can kill you
Watching this thing has been like watching a slow moving train wreck. Dell needs to start thinking in terms of the blogosphere or they may not recover from this.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Kamyar Shahmohammadi 12.17.05 at 11:38 am
Yup. It is not Dells’ only mistake. They have been decreasing their customer service efforts for about 10 months. Though, personally I prefer their products to their competition; their customer service has been less than desirable. Concernign their “blog activity” or the lack of it; I agree. Unless they start something quickly, they may not recover from this PR war.