Picture this.

An unknown mobile phone manufacturer brings out a multi function smart phone. It has an extensive range of features and an excellent range of apps - and looks just great. It starts selling well, but issues soon emerge about its poor reception due to the location of the aerial. The manufacturer responds with suggestions to improve reception - ‘hold the phone in a different way’ ‘put it in a case’ - alternatively paint the sides with nail polish as some forums suggest.

You’d expect this manufacturer to get laughed out of the market… which it would be, if it wasn’t for the Apple symbol on the front.

Because as is now common knowledge, these are exactly the same problems that have befallen the new iPhone 4 (and which are being grudgingly acknowledged by Apple) - but because it’s an Apple, people will forgive and forget. Now that’s the kind of brand loyalty that companies long for.

I like Apple products and their designs - even the boxes they come in are a work of art. The MacPros we use for artwork have performed faultlessly.

But the reliability of other Apple products is woeful from my experience. My son’s iPod touch has been replaced 3 times under warranty. My iPod stopped working just after the warranty expired. Our brand new iMac tuned out to have a couple of dead pixels. Did you know that Apple is under no obligation to replace the unit unless it has over 7 dead pixels? - you won’t find that fairly important information anywhere on the box, on your warranty card, or on the Apple web site.

Only after ‘robust’ conversations with Apple was I supplied with a new screen. The next problem was the fan that refused to operate on anything less than full blast. The very helpful Apple tech at my local Apple store analysed it and deemed that the only reliable fix was to replace the entire CPU. But would that stop me from buying Apple again? Are you kidding, of course not!

Would your customers forgive you for major product or service deficiencies?

There are numerous ways you can find out what your customers are thinking about your brand and your levels of service. You could conduct an intensive phone/email survey or hold some in-depth focus groups. You could even start a facebook page or some other social media and get some feedback from there… but for a B2B marketer I’d suggest there are better ways.

I’m a great fan of finding out what customers think - after all it’s the only way you’ll really find out if you’re generally doing things right or wrong at a particular time. Of course you could wait until sales drop off, but do you really want to wait till then?

O.K. surveys aren’t cheap and you need to have a decent database (more on that topic next time).

But here’s something you can do cheaply and quickly which will tell you straight away about the health of your brand.

Select some key customers and then ask some this simple question:

‘Would you recommend us to a friend?’

What I like about this question is that there’s no ambiguity - you either would or you wouldn’t.

If the majority say yes, give yourself a pat on the back. If no, well it’s time for some deeper analysis.

It may seem fairly brusque to come straight out and ask this question but to be quite frank if you’re hesitant about asking this question you’re the person that needs to ask it most…

‘Till next time.