I love BIC Cristal for Her! The delicate shape and pretty pastel colors make it perfect for writing recipe cards, checks to my psychologist (I’m seeing him for a case of the hysterics), and tracking my monthly cycle. Obviously, I don’t use it for vulgar endeavors like math or filling out a voter application, but BIC Cristal for Her is a lovely little writing utensil all the same. Ask your husband for some extra pocket money so you can buy one today!
As of this morning, there are 56 pages of Amazon reviews for Bic for Her pens. Many of these are hysterically funny, while speaking to the peril of introducing needlessly gendered products. The reviews, many of which were added over the holiday weekend, are being discussed everywhere, from the more feminist corners of the blogosphere to mainstream business publications. It’s the type of publicity opportunity brand managers dream about at night. But when you look to social media to see what Bic has to say about the whole brou-ha-ha, you’re going to find a whole lot of nothing.
Putting the Social in Social Media: Joining the Conversation
We’ve reached the point where discussing whether or not Bic ever should have introduced Pens for Her is moot. The pens are here, the public has responded to them with a level of intense fervor one can only find at the intersection of comedy and social commentary. And Bic has a huge opportunity on their hands.
Social media provides the ideal platform for a brand that fully understands its customer base to capitalize on situations like this. Every time you introduce a new product, you are, in effect, issuing an invitation to dialog. The vast majority of new products—especially in the writing instrument market, which has steadily been losing ground as the world communicates via keyboard—arrive with a whimper, rather than a bang. This type of response is phenomenally rare.
Bic, it appears, couldn’t be bothered to show up to participate in the conversation. The Bicforher Twitter account is a spoof; the #Bicforher hashtag is dominated by people pointing to the Amazon reviews. Go to Bic’s Facebook page and there’s absolutely no sign that one of Bic’s products is in the center of the media spotlight. The most recent mention of the Bic for Her pens is over two weeks old; wall postings that refer to the Amazon reviews have been ignored.
It’s important to understand that social media is a messaging vehicle that is wholly unlike the traditional broadcast media we’ve used to market products for generations. Social media has changed customer expectations about what meaningful brand engagement looks like.
When customers take their time and energy to comment on products and services, they expect the brand to respond, in a timely fashion. And they make decisions about the ongoing nature of their relationship with that given brand based largely upon the nature and tone of that response. If Bic responds with the right emotional tone, satisfying or even surpassing what the consumer expected from the brand, they could turn around what at first glance appears to be a PR disaster into a brand-building opportunity.
Silence is never the answer. Bic needs to address the Bic for Her buzz, and they need to do it soon. Ideally, Bic would have an idea of who their best customers are, and what motivates their purchasing decisions. There’s a reason it’s important to have an in-depth understanding of your customer base. Being able to avoid bone-headed product introductions is a good reason, but as we see in this case, knowing when and how best to respond to public scrutiny is another. There’s a way out of this mess for Bic. They just have to be able to read the writing on the wall and be willing to leave some messages of their own there for the whole world to read!