Even a small mistake for an MNC brand costs a fortune. Only a few who struggled have recovered from such situations and others who couldn’t overcome have become the dead brands in today’s date.
Today, we are going to talk about an achiever who retrieved itself from such a huge loss, particularly concerning brand value and customer trust, which is far more difficult to amend than a financial loss.
Every year, multiple products are launched. They may succeed or fail. But this tale is about the epic fiasco of the year 2016. If you are a tech-savvy person, you would have guessed it by now. Yes, we are referring to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
The Galaxy Note 7 is a mobile tablet that is a larger version of the Galaxy S7. The product received a lot of attention when it was first launched. The company called for advanced bookings, sold thousands of mobiles, and reviewers were recommending the Galaxy Note 7 for buyers… Everything was great until the devices started catching fire. Yes, they caught fire! What worse can happen than this? The company received 92 reports of catching fire, out of which 26 reports said burns and 55 claimed property damage too. A severe incident occurred where an SUV burst into flames when the phone was on charge inside the car in Florida.
It was not just that; employees at the world’s three major airlines by passenger volume, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, have said that passengers will be told to turn off their Note 7s at the gate and onboard until they deplane.
The company recalled around 2.5 million devices worldwide within two months of its launch. They conducted research and identified that a supplier shipped faulty batteries, which led to the explosions. The cost estimation for the recall was around $5.3 billion, but still, Samsung didn’t back out and chose to replace the devices. The company replaced more than 500,000 units. Even the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices that had been replaced were exploding. Not only were they bursting in isolation, but they were also causing property damage. This was also a time when there was a lot of discussion about what caused the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to explode.
The ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7 came to an end on October 11, less than two months after its initial sale, when Samsung ceased producing the device. The company claimed it wished to protect customers from further harm caused by the device, which seemed to have its consciousness.
The company’s shares were affected largely by the product failure. But the brand didn’t lose hope because Samsung wasn’t the first or the last manufacturer to issue a large consumer recall. The way a firm manages a product recall will decide whether it succeeds or fails in the future. While Samsung has had a difficult time, the company has taken responsibility for the problems, acted quickly, and worked aggressively to resolve them. Samsung made a good comeback with its new and improved quality assurance systems and design prowess as the world awaited the Galaxy Note 8.
Putting your customer first should be the main motive of any brand. Even if you make a mistake, coming back strong and giving the customer exactly what they want is what a marketer should always do.
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Sources:
MarCell - The Marketing Committee 