Why Best Buy Marketing Sucks

Ok, so why would I possibly have an ax to grind with Best Buy’s marketing?   

The simple answer is that they are great in so many ways that when they are horribly weak in one area it is completely magnified.   When great companies do something that is completely average it’s more painful.

Imagine if Starbucks started serving coffee with Gas-station cups or Apple added more buttons to an iPod? 

So my beef with Best Buy is the “Rewards Zone”   

There is a problem that plagues any “box” retailer.  That problem is that customer transactions are anonymous.    There is no excuse for poor database marketing with online retailers or airlines for example.   The online companies know me, they know my transactions, they know my visits…they have the data.

In the physical world the customer is kind of invisible.   They can’t really tell when I enter the store, where I browse and what I actually buy….unless they are able to compel me to join some kind of loyalty program.

Compel me to join your loyalty program and you know have permission to not only monitor my behavior, but my hope and encouragement that you will do something to actually use that data to build my loyalty.

I could go on for another two pages on what that means to both me and to the merchant, but suffice it to say that the benefits of loyalty should flow two ways.

I’m sure lot’s of you out there are members of the Best Buy program.   I would love feedback on the Rewards you are getting from being in this Zone.

I get paper based junk.  My reward for spending around $10,000.00 since joining the program…..and the most recent offer following the holiday season?

A Credit Card Offer!!

Man do I feel special.

This is a campaign, nothing more.  Marketing 1.0 just like the airlines.   Monetize your list, not build better relationships with your “special” customers.

Hey!  How about an email thanking me immediately after a purchase?  How about an email a week later making sure I was happy and not in need of some additional service, support or upsell item…I’ll I’d be happy to pay for.   (I’ve got a giant hard drive I still can’t figure out how to use),  I needed a mounting bracket for a Flat Screen TV,  I would have loved to have been notified when Nacho Libre was available on DVD, and I would have loved to see how the many gift cards I bought this holiday are being used )

Too much to ask I guess.   

How do great brands become average?  How does leadership sink and innovators emerge?  I think we are witnessing it here.

Comments

[Julie]

I agree that they could implement a few of the suggestions that you bring up such as emailing after a purchase. We recently bought a laptop from them and we did get some gift certificates from them that I used to buy a new radio for my kitchen. I was happy with that section of the rewards program.

[Ek Palmer]

I quit shopping at Best Buy about two years ago as a direct result of their poor loyalty program.

I was not pleased that I had to pay to join the program or that I had to carry yet another card with me, but I was willing to accept that. I then discovered that the reward points were only distributed every few months and they came in the form of junk mail and they expired in less than six months and I needed to have the physical certificates as well as the card and I had to be a current member to use them and...

Eventually it paid for itself. I use it to explain to my clients the dangers of underestimating the potential negative effects of a poorly managed program.

TTFN

[jimdwalton]

In simpler times what your beef is, was refered to as a lack of follow up. I remeber when the BMW dealer called my house to see how my service experience was. Years later I still take the time to provide them with feed back to their questions. More impressive BMW has taken feedback and made postive changes. Routine check up's are now free. The point is, stay close to the needs of your loyal customer base and meet their needs.

[Beth Robinson]

Wow, you had higher expectations than my husband and I did. They promised $5 coupons for every x dollars spent. They delivered. Nice extra perk, enough to get us to bring pricematch ads there instead of buying stuff at the advertising store, but not a big deal.

Although it sounds like our resulting attitude is what you're complaining about - that you want Best Buy to do more to make it a full loyalty program. I can understand that, but I wouldn't want those email messages you're interested in unless they contained sales or perks beyond the weekly flier.

[Josue]

I don't complain much about Best Buy, but their Rewards Zone program could use a major improvement. When they launched their Rewards Zone website, it was half-ass done. I was tempted to call corporate and offer to help them out, for free, but I decided that it was no use. This was years ago. I still continue to buy from them and each time I'm asked about my Rewards Zone card, but overall all they've lost me as loyal customer. I get no snail-mail, no e-mail, no personalized calls to make sure I have what I got nor do they bother to send me coupons or my rewards I originally signed up for. I still collect points but I don't know where the points go because I never see them. Pooooof! like magic they disappear. When it comes to quality stuff, price is hardly a factor but I rather shop at other mom-pop stores & online sites where their treatment and one-on-one relationship with customers is a priority.

[John Wall]

I also noticed that maybe about a year and a half ago the program was modified and the benefit was cut back. That was disappointing but still better than anything I get from CompUSA or Circuit City.

[Rahul]

The best marketing campaign I have ever come across is the local parking garage I use at the San Francisco Airport - ParkSFO. They got my info the first time I used it a couple of years ago. Since then, they contact me only to send me discount coupons for the parking garage. Their timing is always impeccable - I'll always get a stack of coupons right before any long weekend or holiday season. I'm a loyal customer because they never once tried to sell me anything.

[Rich]

I tried to return a MS mouse that never fully worked, and they turned me away, stating I had to return the shrinkwrap that I had to cut into, to get to the mouse in the first place. Never have I been so mad at a company. This was at Business Depot/Staples. I will never shop there again.

[Gary]

I signed up for that program when the Zune came out, and saw that I could get an additional 12% off.. However, when I went to buy again, they did not have me in the system. I was able to manually add my ticket to the account on my own. I too think it is a program that really needs some great database people behind it, I still can't see any benefit.

One time I went to buy a Creative Labs sound card that was marked $199, got up to the register and it was $299. I pointed out the error, someone had incorrectly merchandised the shelf.. yet they felt they did not need to honor the $199 price.

[ocbchgal]

I haven't been back to BestBuy since I found TigerDirect.com, and if I'm not shopping there I'm shopping on Amazon.com.

[roy]

I guess my problem with most Best Buy advertising is that I don't make the effort to check it, the print I throw away every Sunday as I empty the junk from the Newspaper on my way past the trash can and I can't remember the last TV commercial.

I have been in a Best Buy in the last year and I did make a purchase. As for their Rewards Zone, a quick NO took care of that. As for email messages from any company, I have a special email account I empty about once a month.

[Kevin]

Best Buy Reward Zone® program
PO Box 9312
Minneapolis, MN 55440-9312

I was just heading out to my local Best Buy and grabbed my Reward Zone certificates, remembering they would soon expire. Before I got out the door, I noticed that the expiration date had just passed. (Oh, yes, they do expire.) No problem, I thought, I'll just call Best Buy and have them extend the expiration or reissue the certificate. The Reward Zone rep I talked to tried to be helpful but said their policy is absolute and inflexible - no extension. Neither he, his supervisor or anyone else could help me. Oh, unless, that is, you call them prior to the expiration date, when they will be happy to extend it.

I then spoke to a Best Buy rep about this problem of Reward Zone expiration. He told me that Reward Zone is happy to reissue certificates. I told him about my experience and explained that the program is a customer relations' time bomb. Only a matter of time, before every Reward Zone member gets burned out of their points by expiration. Voila! Loyalty program turns Disloyalty program. He told me he had documented my complaint for executive review. When I asked if anyone would be getting back to me at that level, he told me, that he couldn't guarantee that. (In the same tone that a doctor will a doomed patient he can't guarantee he is the 1 in a million victim who will miraculously survive.)

How could I have been so stupid? A reward with an expiration is racket, like extended warrantees devised on the expectation that who-knows-how-many people won't use them before they expire. Sucker in the customer and then walk off with the booty. Nice, except that stores like Best Buy only thrive on repeat business - not one time-scams.

I must say I always liked going to Best Buy without doing a lot of other shopping around and didn't mind spending thousands of dollars there because I knew the Reward Certificates were taking the edge off competitor's prices.

I guess, next time, I'll just have to remember to call Reward Zone to extend my certificates before the expire. Oh, wait, there won't be a next time.

[Bush]

Thanks so very much for taking your time to create this very useful and informative site. I have learned a lot from your site. Thanks!!�

[Teri]

I am on my second business reward card with Best Buy. After signing up for the first card, we received no reward certificates as promised and every time I went to the store without the card they could never seem to locate our membership. Two years later they talked us into signing up again. Guess what, after two months....again no reward certificates. Could not get registered online because once again they could not match up our telephone number. Went to the store to make a purchase and you guessed it, they could not locate our account. Just got off the phone with Best Buy customer service..."sorry, can't help you, our computers are being updated. Please call back in a couple of hours". Unbelievable!

[anonymous]

i think some of you guys are looking for way too much from this reward zone card. And even from Best Buy. When you go into Costco do you expect a sales person to come running to you and ask if you need any help? How about Target? Wal mart? If they do its just a nice suprise isnt it? Best Buy and Circuit City is not much different. they are both retail stores, but they do try to give the extra service to each customer, but because of our economy, both are very undermanned and can't give some customers the one on one attention they want.

Take for example BMW and toyota. What is the first thing you notice. BMW symbolizes wealth, toyota reminds you of soccer moms and minvans. In our world, You get what you pay for. Heck if I'm shelling the money out for a 7 series or even a 3 series, i better be getting service calls from them 10 years from now. but if if have a toyota, if they even call me once i'd be impressed. So what is my point? When you spend more money you get better service. But spending more money for electronics for better service doesnt appeal to everyone.

Now back to best buy. When you go into a best buy, especially not during the holiday season, what do you see? 1 maybe 2 people per department. (departments being, cameras, computers, dvds and cds...) And what else do you notice? Most of them are very young! in my experience many of these none management employees are high school graduates and college students making minimum wage or couple bucks over the minimum wage. Many of you guys have also been in their shoes. Working part time to get you through college and towards better things in life. Therefore they arent going to be the techno wiz on everything you wanted to know. In the best case scenario, they will have the product knowledge on the department they are assigned to. And because the store is undermanned, when an employee directs you to the other side of the store dont feel disrespected because he is just doing his job by staying in his department.

Another complaint that i have read about is return policies. Pretty much all retail stores have return policies that are followed. Best buy and all retail stores have these rules for a reason. If people could return goods any time, they would all go out of business. For example cameras: No store would be able to make profit on cameras because people would just buy one and take it to the bahamas for their vacation and return it minus the memory card. therefore the restocking fee of 15 %. hey, if the camera was 200 dollars, and you return it after your vacation, you just paid a renting fee of 30$. Then Best Buy can use that money to offset the cost of selling the camera for an openbox item.

I think all stores have rules that upset people its not just best buy. Take a look around you. Say you borrowed a book from your local library. You have to return it within 14 days. you return it a day late. And they charged you a dollar per book. are you going to fight that fine? how about your credit card bill. Are you going to call in and complain to corporate offices? read the rules, b/c there is a reason there are rules.

[Gustavo]

I felt misled when I was told points didn't expire.

I had made a purchase of over 9,000.00 in January and was saving my points for Xmas shopping. Thinking I could use the points I had in my account I log into the website, only to realize that the points were automatically converted into certificates with expiration date, and I could not longer use them, $185.00 worth of lost points.

Customer Service was inflexible. I will do everything I can to never buy at Best Buy, and will investigate about possible class action suit.

Their website clearly states that points do not expire as the salesman had told me, in my case they did.

Furthermore, I never received any certificates BestBuy claims to have issued me. I checked all my email which I keep on the server so there is no possibility of going into the Junk email folder, and yes they do have my correct email.

They're program is very deceiving and I wonder how many people have lost money this way. I lost 185.00 quite honestly even a 5% discount on my next purchase could have kept me happy, but customer service was inflexible and un-empathetic

[Rosina]

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[Melissa]

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[Kathy]

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