Google has been a service that I have used since I was child, something that more and more young adults will be saying. We have grown up surrounded by technology unlike any other generation before us. Has it been good? Has it been bad? Who’s to say, but thing is for sure, I will always use Google. This company which nearly everyone is familiar with, and for the most part trust, has always had good reviews and if they weren’t then they would resolve any issues that customers faced. Recently Google has been receiving somewhat mixed reviews over one of their products, namely being the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro phones. Now like I said, I have always used Google and after I recently upgraded my phone to the Pixel 6 and seeing all these contrasting views on the phone, it got me interested in how this new product is affecting Google as a whole.
Many would say that Google’s value proposition is that companies are able to advertise to potential customers like nothing else before. Or that they provide a great service, free of charge to almost anyone. However, I would say that their value proposition is the way in which it can grant anyone the ability to figure out anything, whether it be searching for a recipe, studying for a test, or getting directions. Google’s value proposition is seen in its usefulness.
Now, recently people have been upset with Google and its new phone, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, mainly due to minor issues that are affecting some owners of those phones. On Google’s own support page many people had posted that they experienced connectivity issues with the Pixel 6, like, “At random intervals the phone service just drops entirely showing NO SERVICE or NO SIM in the top left of the lock screen and on the top right, the signal strength shows an exclamation mark ! . The only way to restore connectivity is the restart the phone where it will only temporarily be working again.” Posted by Richard Cook in November of last year. Many others experienced the same problems, with many switching phones entirely, but for those who stuck it out, the wait was worth it. In a HotHardware article posted this week after Google released a system update, which at the time of writing this I am still downloading, they wrote that the issues have been resolved for a majority of users. “Google finally released the Pixel update it halted abruptly last month, and many owners are praising the improved performance they are seeing with their phones.” Fortunately I got my new Pixel phone a few weeks ago which means I haven’t experienced any of the issues that other users reported facing. However with this new update I have definitely seen an improved performance. There is a user who in the tweet below said that their phone felt improved after the update but still had some minor issues.
In that same thread they tweeted that after Google helped them try to resolve the remaining issue that it was the best customer service they have ever received.
The most recent product that Google is marketing is their Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, but also the Pixel Buds A-series, both of which are the first thing you see when you go to the Google store online. One of Google’s Twitter accounts is promoting not just their Pixel phone and Buds but also one of their new Nest Cams which is a home security system by way of cameras, much like Ring. I believe with these example products, that Google is branching out into new areas of the market, namely with the Nest Cams and competing with Ring, ADT, Arlo, etc. As well as with Apple’s Airpods, clearly the Pixel Buds are a direct response to Airpods. By Google offering these new products, they are able to take customers away from their competitors, especially if they already have and use Google products. A lot of Google’s advertising does tell a story, it’s mainly because there aren’t many ways to promote a search engine, but somehow they do it, and they do it by telling stories, like with these two ads the Parisian Love and the Get Back to What you Love ads. Although it doesn’t show who that fictional couple is, with help from the music it makes the viewer feel for them, and with the changes from quarantine activities to just activities it makes everyone feel better because we all know that things can get better. Besides just regular advertisement, Google actually cares for its customers, this can be on their Twitter, Instagram, and even their own support pages. They respond quickly to negative and positive comments, not only helping and issues that users face but also creating a relationship with that user. When you have an issue and you ask someone for help, it feels better when they use your name when talking to you and when they follow up to see if it helped or not. That’s what Google’s support does, they utilize social media to create relationships with their customers not only to keep them as customers but to set examples to show how they care for their customers.
Google succeeds where other companies might not, they actively engage with unhappy and happy customers, they offer services unique to a few companies and offer them for free. It’s very hard not to look around and see Google, it's an extremely recognizable company, because it has a service that 5.4 billion people use every day and they control 90% of the global search engine market. They are a company that knows what the people want and it gives it to them, they saw that Apple has Airpods, they released their own product, Ring has cameras and subscription fees, Google has Nest Home with lower costs. This company is one of the highest ranking in the world for a reason, because it works, it just works.
From the responses I’ve seen from Google towards disgruntled customers, it feels like they are helping as best they can from over the internet. When they respond to rude comments, they aren’t rude back, instead they try to deescalate the situation and see if there's a problem they can help resolve. When responding to positive feedback, they show positivity back to the customer, which helps build trust and garner a valuable relationship. I think it’s good for companies to be responding to customers, especially Google, one the world's largest companies. When a company or business responds, it shows that they care and are willing to help with any issues one of their products is having. If for any reason someone put me in the position of brand manager, I honestly would do my best in responding to customers. Would it be as successful as other companies' responses, nope, but I would do my best to respond quickly, efficiently, and politely to customers in hopes of sustaining customer relationships and bringing in new customers.
Throughout writing this, I have learned a lot about Google and how they react to feedback both positive and negative. I have also learned how a successful company markets their products and services, not with flashy commercials but with commercials that resonate with you and convince you of what product is being shown. From Google’s different Twitter accounts, I saw how they responded in a professional and caring manner, and how despite Pixel 6 users switching phones or complaining, they still released updates to fix issues because they care about their product and how they affect users. Back to what I said earlier about the Pixel 6, after mine updated fully, the fingerprint scanner works 10 times out of 10 now. Not only does that make opening my phone faster but it means I can access a huge part of life more quickly. This company has taught me many things over the years, from Gmail, google sheets, slides, and docs which I used to create the rough drafts for this, to utilizing Google to its fullest.
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