[align=justify]RIM luôn có vấn đề về tiếp thị và thật sự họ không tốt về mảng này. Nhưng hiện nay điều này đã thay đổi theo chiều hướng tốt hơn nhưng vẫn tụt hậu so với các nhà sản xuất điện thoại lớn khác. Mới đây các phương tiện truyền thông của RIM tại Canada đã có cuộc phỏng vấn giám đốc bộ phận kinh doanh mới của RIM, Frank Boulben, để tìm hiểu về cách tiếp thị mới và làm thế nào để đưa BB10 ra mắt thành công. Frank Boulben đã tương đối tĩnh lặng cho đến nay kể từ khi ông rời Lightsquared và tham gia vào RIM với vai trò mới là CMO của họ. Ông cho biết ông quyết định gia nhập gia đình RIM là vì công ty đã có một sản phẩm tuyệt vời, 78 triệu người sử dụng, tài chính vững chắc, và nhiều thách thức. Sau đây là nguyên văn của cuộc phỏng vấn này:




Q: Why did you decide to join RIM?

A: Because the company has a great product, 78 million users, solid finances, and I enjoy a challenge.

Q: Did you approach RIM, or did RIM approach you?

A: They approached me. I was already planning to leave Lightsquared (a U.S.-based telecommunications company) because they weren’t going to be allowed to use the network they’d set up, so there was really nothing to market. I had other offers, in the telecommunication carrier and technology industries.

Q: What’s your biggest priority right now?

A: Making sure BB10 has a successful launch.

Q: Didn’t the delay in BB10’s launch hurt?

A: Actually, purely from a marketing point of view, I’d rather launch during January than during the pre-holiday season. Before Christmas, it’s so busy, it’s not the best time of year to get retail staff to stop and explain a completely new product. It’s easy to get lost in all the noise.

Q: What aspect of RIM’s marketing has been a problem, and is it something you’d like to take a different approach to?

A: There hasn’t been a consistent thought or identity in all of our commercials. We are going to market BB10 in a much more unified way. The people who it’s aimed at have the same values and needs all around the world. Obviously, there will need to be some small differences in the advertising in each market, but the general theme will be the same.

Q: When you joined RIM, what did you notice or discover about the BlackBerry brand?

A: The brand seems to be fragmented, from a perception point of view. One extreme is the U.S. The other is South Africa, where we’re No. 1.

Q: What are the biggest assets RIM has, from a marketing perspective?

A: A great product, and 78 million users.

Q: What’s the biggest single challenge RIM faces, from a marketing perspective?

A: That we’ve got formidable competitors. There are a lot of other companies in the market, and this is a market we created. In my carrier days, there was one option—BlackBerry. Now, there are a lot.

Q: How can you help turn the BlackBerry’s image around?

A: Word of mouth spreads a lot quicker these days, thanks to the Internet. If someone has a great user experience, they have a lot of ways to share that quickly.

Q: But doesn’t that cut both ways?

A: Absolutely. And that’s why the launch of BB10 was delayed. We need to get it right.

Q: How do you make sure telecommunications carriers and their retail staff push BlackBerry to their customers, given that many people may be coming in and asking for an iPhone or an Android?

A: Carriers don’t want to be in a position where there’s a monopoly, or a duopoly. So they already have a motivation. And also, they’ve had a preview of BB10, and they really, really like it. One of the first things that I did before I even took the job was to call up people that I know at the carriers and ask them what they thought. If the carriers weren’t onside, it would be a much bigger challenge than it already is.
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Theo: thestar