If you're not checking the "Recent Comments" list on the sidebar of this site you may have missed this exchange that took place on a post I wrote about Kona's bike lineup for kids back in November. The post itself isn't particularly special. I simply paraphrased Kona's press release. I have kids...many of my readers have kids...so I thought it was a cool thing to post. The exchange itself is special, however, as it demonstrates several key points about the role blogs can play in information exchange between companies and their customers.
Ok...I don't want to oversell this thing, but allow me to explain what I mean below.
You see, Steve, who lives in the Philippines, stumbled upon the Kona for kids post seeking very specific information about a mountain bike for his daughter. The Kona bikes seem promising, but he is frustrated with the lack of additional information provided on the Kona website. Specifically, what he considers the most important thing - weight. Like most people, Steve might have given up, but he decided to express his frustration in a comment on this blog instead.
I too have felt this kind of frustration, so I figure I might be able to help. After-all, this blog has a healthy audience, perhaps if I contact Kona and point out the article they may be willing to help.
I made a few contacts with Kona while at Interbike in September, but I decided instead to use the customer support contact on the website. I drafted a note explaining the situation, the blog, the article, etc. and invited Kona to respond on the site. I also suggested that they could respond directly to me and I would pass the information along as I know that most companies have restrictive public relations policies and may not permit a response to a blog.
To my surprise Kona responded directly here on the blog. Now they could have easily said something to this effect:
Dear Steve, Thank you for your interest in Kona bikes. While we appreciate your concern for weight in selecting a bike for your daughter, it is Kona's policy not to post the weight of our bikes...
Instead, Kona acknowledged that this is important information, the reasons why it is not regularly provided, and proceeded to provide the information anyway. It's as though Joe walked down the hall and weighed the bikes himself.
It's this kind of transparency that connects customers with brands. Now its one thing for a company to have its own blog to connect customers with their brand, but it takes things to the next level when company employees participate in the conversations on other blogs. It demonstrates that the company is a part of the community and not simply serving the community.
More companies (especially in the bike industry) need to think about how they can interact with blogs as a part of their customer relations strategy and not simply public relations.
Way to go Kona!
