“The line between love and hate is very narrow [in New York]. Duane Reade is part of the community. Walgreen has to be real smart about respecting the relationship
New Yorkers have with Duane Reade, and there’s equity there,” says David Srere…
To read the full article and the rest of David’s thoughts, please click here.
NEW YORK, March 2, 2010 – Global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale announced the newest addition to its unique simplification practice, Maria Boos, who joins as director, strategy.
An expert in streamlining and simplifying complex customer communications, Boos will help Siegel+Gale clients improve the customer experience through the benefits of simplified communications. Backed by an interdisciplinary team of content experts, writers, strategists and information designers, Boos will help clients increase customer satisfaction and loyalty by aligning their brand promise and delivery with clear, consistent communications.
NEW YORK, February 23, 2010 – Global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale today announced the appointment of Lisa Bertelsen as global director of its Research Insights practice.
Bertelsen brings a diverse set of qualitative research expertise to Siegel+Gale’s research offerings, including over 15 years of consumer and B2B experience as a usability engineer, interface designer, online strategist and market researcher. In her new role, Bertelsen’s primary responsibility is to build a powerful global practice that uncovers innovative research insights in language, cognition and behavior to inform clear, credible and compelling brand-building programs.
Add another book to the growing library of guides on how to make information graphics the right way. Dona M. Wong, former graphics director of The Wall Street Journal and now strategy director for information Design at Siegel+Gale, provides the dos and don’ts of data presentation in The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics.
To read the full article, click here
Behind every great brand, there is a strong, visionary leader. Take the usual suspects: Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, Jeff Bezos at Amazon, and of course, Steve Jobs at Apple. All three are strong leaders who have crafted the enduring experiences that bring their creative visions to life. We live in the world they create for us, and pay good money to do so. But if their bold and beautiful branding is a sign of managerial geniuses at work, is the reverse true? Do weak brands signal weak management?
To read the full article by Matt Loebman of Siegel+Gale, click here.
NEW YORK, February 11, 2010 – Global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale announced today the return of Renee Peet, appointed as group director, strategy of the firm’s headquarters in New York.
Working previously at the firm between 2000 and 2004, Peet returns to Siegel+Gale to lead strategy engagements for some of the world’s most notable brands. As group director, strategy of Siegel+Gale’s New York office, Peet assumes responsibility for leading the strategy group to build world-class brands through elegantly simple strategies, communications and experiences.
LOS ANGELES – AUGUST 4, 2009 – Global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale has hired veteran marketer Terresa Zimmerman as a Strategy Director in Los Angeles, Jason Cieslak, West Coast Managing Director of Siegel+Gale, announced today.
Ms. Zimmerman joins Siegel+Gale from Landor Associates, where she was client director in San Francisco. She has held a number of senior marketing and communications positions around the world for Doremus, Brodeur, and Porter Novelli, working with companies such as QUALCOMM, Philips, Fiserv, Medtronic, Brocade, NVIDIA, Gerdau, Teck, Boeing, and many others.
New study shows direct-mail pieces can sway consumers’ attitudes
NEW YORK - From credit card companies increasing penalties for late payments to banks raising interest rates on credit cards, the recession’s bad news knows no bounds. But how consumers learn about such developments can determine how they feel about the companies that dictate them.
Often, people learn about such changes via direct mail. But the good news is, bad news doesn’t have to taint the messenger, according to a recent study from Omnicom Group’s Siegel+Gale. Rather, institutions can actually gain the trust of consumers if they communicate clearly and offer a contextual explanation for such moves, said Lee Rafkin, global director of simplification at strategic branding company Siegel+Gale in New York. Click here to read the full story.
“Clarity Alone is Not Enough; Respect Trumps All”
NEW YORK – JULY 28, 2009 – During times of economic crisis, organizations struggle to communicate unfavorable news, from lower earnings and shrinking market share, to cuts in service and increases in prices. The conventional wisdom is that bad news damages customer relationships and breeds mistrust among consumers. However, a new Simplicity Survey from global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale finds that delivering bad news is an opportunity – if done in the right way – to strengthen customer relationships and lay the foundation for increased trust and loyalty when conditions improve.
“It’s important to communicate facts clearly, but clarity is not enough,” says Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale. “In order to strengthen relationships with customers, organizations must commit to open, transparent communications that respect people’s intelligence by offering complete, relevant, and insightful explanations of bad news. People are tired of self-serving platitudes.”
Siegel+Gale examined a wide cross section of customer communications likely to appear in the average consumer’s mailbox, and tested four representative examples, anonymously, in an online consumer panel. The examples tested included a:
Charge card company letter – announcing an increase in late fees
Major bank letter – announcing a credit card interest-rate increase
Not-for-profit institution letter – announcing budget cuts and soliciting donations
Mortgage lender pamphlet – explaining a new mortgage summary document
“We tested communications using six criteria: comprehension, clarity, credibility, relevance, usefulness, and engagement,” says Lee Rafkin, Siegel+Gale’s Global Director and Practice Leader of Simplified Communications. “We found that even though customers didn’t like the bad news they were receiving, they still respected and trusted those organizations that clearly communicated the reasons behind the bad news.”
Worst Scores
The communications that scored the lowest on measures of credibility and engagement did very little to offer comprehensive, credible, and contextually relevant explanations. For example, the letter from the bank announcing a credit card interest rate increase gave as its explanation that it was raising rates “to maintain profitability.” Predictably, it drew this comment:
“It feels like the bank wants to squeeze me for all they can. They’re not interested in me as a loyal customer; I’m just a number to them.”
The letter from the charge card company announcing an increase in late fees gave absolutely no reason at all for its change. “This is even more offensive to consumers than a dubious or incomplete reason,” says Mr. Rafkin. “In a vacuum, consumers will ‘fill in the blanks’ and invent their own, sometimes much more damaging explanation,” as represented by this comment:
“This company just wants average customers like me to compensate them for losses they’ve suffered due to their own poor business practices.”
Best Scores
The letter from the not-for-profit was both comprehensive and relevant in the detailed explanation it provided. It used 2½ pages to explain the impact of the economic climate on revenues and fundraising, detailed how and why it was cutting its budget, gave an overview of its plans, and reaffirmed its commitment to its core mission. The response from consumers was dramatic. This letter scored twice as high as the bank and credit card letters on factors including trust and loyalty. Respondents appreciated the organization’s efforts to justify their actions:
“This organization seems honest and upfront. They are forthcoming and direct with their information, which is always good.”
Respect Trumps All
Siegel+Gale’s Simplicity Survey found that when communicating in times of crisis, respect trumps even clarity and comprehensive explanations. The communication that tested best overall was the pamphlet from the mortgage lender. It explicitly stated its commitment to transparency and easy-to-understand descriptions of loan terms and costs. It was judged to be most informative, balanced, and direct, and made respondents feel most loyal to the company. One typical comment was:
“This pamphlet makes me feel the mortgage lender is being straightforward and inviting me into their financial institution. I feel very good about this company.”
Says Lee Rafkin: “In the current climate of mistrust toward financial institutions, it’s clear from Siegel+Gale’s latest study that communicating bad news does not have to damage customer relationships. The path to rebuilding trust and loyalty is through clarity, comprehensive explanations, and respect.”
“How bad news is communicated matters,” says Mr. Rafkin. “We found a strong correlation between clarity, comprehensive explanations, and respect on the one hand, and trust, engagement, and loyalty on the other.”
If customers believe that organizations are forthcoming, provide an appropriate level of relevant detail to support their actions, and show they value and respect their customers, people are not only more accepting of bad news, they are also willing to show such organizations deeper loyalty down the road.
Siegel+Gale’s conducted its online consumer panel survey in June 2009, with a nationally representative sample of 400 U.S. respondents over age 18; 200 respondents read and answered questions for each of the four communications.
To speak with Alan Siegel please contact Gail Nelson of Siegel+Gale at 212-453-1468 or gnelson@siegelgale.com. To download a copy of the Simplicity Survey research report, click here.
Strategic Branding Firm Siegel+Gale Gains Traction in Chinese Marketplace – Case Study Showcase Highlighted on leading ChinaVisual.com Design Blog. Click here to see full article.