Should Smart rebrand

digitaldr

Just wondering if people think that the Smart name is irreparably damaged after the debacle last year? Would it be a good idea forthem to rebrand?

Tiesto

yeah could be a good idea.
I mean anytime i say to someone im using Smart, their response is always :
" i thought they went bust last year"

OfflerCrocGod

Better question is "Can they afford to re-brand?"

dub45

OfflerCrocGod wrote:

Better question is "Can they afford to re-brand?"

Exactly what I was thinking:) I am sure that they have considered this but a rebrand would be very costly and they are most likely still to be known as 'that Smart crowd'. They have recruited some new management recently so I am sure we will see developments in due course - also the recent Eircom proposal for llu seemed to promise a much faster switch over and retention of the old number so that may help them.

Steffano2002

Tiesto wrote:

"I thought they went bust last year"

I'm thinking this right now! :eek:

Are they doing ok now?

aidan_walsh

IMO, no. They should work to rebuild the name.

But thats from a personal dislike of companies rebranding because things went wrong the first time around. Feels sneaky, somehow, trying to regain consumer confidence by being someone else rather than "yes, we screwed up, but we've learned our lesson".

There's probably more good reasons I should never go into business

spurious

The high levels of satisfaction of Smart customers means the brand is slowly making headway.

People are not fools, they know Smart worry Eircom (rightly so) and this is why Eircom tried unsuccessfully to kill them off.

I also dislike rebranding. Let the product speak for itself, which it does loudly, cheaply and very quickly. People who move to Smart have usually gone through some sort of Eircom-induced crap to get there, they know how to move provider and yet they stay with Smart. That says a multitude.

Jesus Wept

digitaldr wrote:

Just wondering if people think that the Smart name is irreparably damaged after the debacle last year? Would it be a good idea forthem to rebrand?

I think re-branding after your name has been damaged would just be annoying. It might work, but it shouldn't, you are the same company with a different name, its a bit insulting to the consumer.

Liam Byrne

There's also the converse argument - most people who've been with Smart for the past while are extremely happy with the service. I've regularly recommended them to people, and if they ask whether they're gone (or when a radio presenter or eircom guy imply they are in an interview) I'm perfectly happy to point out simply - "er, no, they're not".

There are very few companies that have endeared that level of loyalty from me, and Smart is one of them; I've heard other Smart customers say similar things - changing their name would be a disadvantage in that regard, since every time it's referenced incorrectly on the radio or on a forum I'll point out the facts.

There's almost no other company that I'd be happy to do their advertising for them, but after the shoddy way Smart were treated (delays in LLU, no sanctions against eircom from ComReg or the government, the timing of the debacle last year before the 3G licence case) I'm happy to pass on the facts by word of mouth at every opportunity.

And the facts are, quite simply:

1) Smart are still very much here
2) Smart offer the best service and value available
3) Smart's support (and support forums) are at least as good as the best I've seen

Sir Oxman

Liam Byrne wrote:

And the facts are, quite simply:

1) Smart are still very much here
2) Smart offer the best service and value available
3) Smart's support (and support forums) are at least as good as the best I've seen

Well said!
As a for instance, I am thinking of moving within the next few months and near the top of my list of must-haves is access to a Smart enabled exchange as I am NOT ever in a trillion years going to go back to eircom.

That's how great my experience has been with Smart (and they should keep the name and let the product speak for itself)

digitaldr

Before their problems Smart were known as the bb provider that required you to change your phone number and now a lot of people assume that they've gone bust. As for their great product speaking for itself unfortunately outside of those in the know i.e Smart customers (I'm a very happy one) and boards members it's not generally known how good they are. In the absence of advertising (the seem to have blown their marketing budget - incidentally I sat beside Keith Barry on a plane last summer - sound guy - he didn't seem to mind that I'd never heard of him!) this is unlikely to change.

As for rebranding being sneaky I don't think this would be the case with Smart - their not trying to hide anything. If they were guilty of anything it was probably poor judgment. Maybe they should have waited for the proper regulatory framework to be in place before attempting LLU. On the other hand if they hadn't been brave enough to go for it it's doubtful if things would ever have changed. Also the failed 3G bid probably wasn't the smartest move.

Lord Oz

Yes they should call themselves stupid telecom.

spurious

Interestingly, the schools are all connecting with providers other than eircom.
http://www.ncte.ie/Broadband/TheSchoolsBroadbandNetwork/ConnectiontotheSchoolsBroadbandNetwork/
When quality and reliability is needed, people know where to go.

Liam Byrne

Lord Oz wrote:

Yes they should call themselves stupid telecom.

No, in hindsight they should probably call themselves "slightly naieve and over-trusting" telecom.

There's two sides to the argument. The reason you need to change your number is not Smart's fault - apparently it's now possible not to have to after 3 years of ComReg "slap on wrists" for eircom; the last ComReg report in August said that it's possible, but people have posted here to say that they still needed to change their number :rolleyes: Go figure!

Smart's business model didn't allow for this; while they should have expected that eircom would make things awkward, they could never have been expected to forsee that general experience and practice completely contradicts what ComReg reports say.

Consider it like a supermarket starting to plan for a shopping centre in what is currently a bare field; if the local authority tell them that there will be an access road, they should be cautious, but surely they should be able to expect that the road will be available at some reasonable timescale, and is definitely in existence when a government organisation issues a report saying that after lots of delays, it is finally available ?

However, in Smart's case, the supermarket manager would be sitting in an empty building, with no customers, looking out on an empty field while reading the report that says that they are delighted that the road is such a success :rolleyes:

flamegrill

Number porting is possible and has been for several months now. That's just an FYI. Both smarties and magnet can currently port your number on LLU lines.

Paul

Liam Byrne

That's what I understood from late last year, but I've seen recent posts here and on Smart forums saying that they couldn't get it.

Basically, what's available is clear as mud, as usual.