Like many corporate entities these days, they have a Facebook profile. I initially “friended” them because I figured it would be a convenient way to get a hold of management should, say, the hot water stop running or be notified if the gym was closed due to an observance of a holiday or perhaps some renovation. Although I never did receive a notification that the gym would be closed – I found this out by physically walking down there only to be turned away – I did receive an offering of Farmville hay via a post on my wall. This got me curious. What were these guys doing with FB (besides spamming my wall)? And this is what I saw:
Perhaps time spent tending their virtual crops would be better spent addressing some of the concerns posted on these negative reviews? Or maybe a little, “hey, the gym will be closed on such and such day so plan your week accordingly. Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience.” Instead, I get Farmville spam on my FB wall. Have I been deceived, duped?
Unlike Classmates.com, the property management group made no promises about the advantages of joining their FB group. They never said they would keep me updated or that I could contact them via FB if I had problem with my hot water. I made the mistake of assuming that this would be the most appropriate use for a company/client FB relationship. But to spam my wall with offerings of hay implies that management sees our FB connection not as company/client but as friend/friend. Is this the best use of FB for them?
I almost want to take the manager aside and school him on how much more of a valuable resource FB can be for them. Although I'm in no position to tell these guys how to run their business, I guess I could give them my perspective as a tenant (not friend). And if they want to have a social relationship (rather than market relationship) with me, well, then do I really want to be friends with a 1.5 star Google rated entity? My mother always said, “Your friends are a reflection of you Blake.”
It'll be interesting to see what they have to say.
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So frustrating. I would never pay a subscription fee to see if someone was trying to get a hold of me...that just reeks of bad marketing tactics and bound to create unhappy customers. Good thing it's easy to defriend people (and companies) on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteIt was a very low tactic for Classmates.com to cheat people into a deal; for your property management company, it is a pity that they did not take advantage of these social media tools, but it's also kind of funny how addicted they were to the Farmville game though, hoho
ReplyDeleteThis is a clear example of what happens when a company posts a Facebook page with no strategy behind it. Your management company probably had somebody's kid or an employee in the younger demo post their Facebook page and put whatever they wanted. Obviously, this person probably plays Farmville! The worst thing is that the top managers probably don't realize how much it is hurting their relationships with their customers. Another good lesson about the importance of having strategy behind your social media efforts!
ReplyDeleteJessica, you hit the nail right on the head. I was able to speak with the GM of the management company not long after posting this and I asked him about their involvement with FB. His response was, "oh yeah, my girlfriend is managing it. We didn't get enough people to join so we're going a different route now."
ReplyDeleteObviously the only reason these guys created the FB account was to target a certain demo in a means to increase profit. Their strategy, or lack thereof, was completely off the mark. I put in my 30 days that same day. There were other reasons for doing so, but knowing that they could care less about what I, or anyone living there, had to say, was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sometimes quality is better than quantity.