Chrysler has jumped on the blog bandwagon with their new Voices of Chrysler blog, edited by Jackie Headapohl. Jackie recently gave an in-depth interview to Diva Marketing Blog and filled us in on the background, history, the why and the where of Voices of Chrysler. We just love all the stuff over at Diva Marketing Blog that we wanted to post some of this recent juicy automotive interview!
Toby/Diva Marketing:
Chrysler’s step into an open social media conversation (as opposed to
the media only Firehouse blog) sends a strong signal that business at
Chrysler will not be business as usual. How will the culture of blogs
and social media complement the culture of the “new” Chrysler?
Jackie Headapohl: The
culture of The New Chrysler is the same as the old one—scrappy,
innovative, risk-taking. The people that work here are passionate and
love the car culture. We wanted to start out fresh by opening a
conversation with our customers, also passionate people who love our
products and cars in general. If we win some new customers over, too,
that will be great! Also, even though we’re now a privately held
company, we want the world to know that communication remains a high
priority.
Toby/Diva Marketing: How will the culture of blogs and social media influence and support Chrysler’s master marketing plan?
Jackie Headapohl: Chrysler’s been using blogs and social media on a
limited basis for the past few years to better connect with the
marketplace. Voices of Chrysler is an extension of that. And while our
past blogging efforts were mainly tied to specific marketing programs,
Voices of Chrysler is an open-ended strategy to communicate with the
public; it’s not really tied to a marketing effort.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Participating in a conversation – on a blog or
over a cup of coffee – often times means that opposing views may occur.
I noticed that Voices of Chrysler is allowing “negative comments.”
Understanding that a conversation is responsive communication how will
Chrysler ensure that the concerns of its community, as well as, the
positive feedback and ideas are heard?
Voices of Chrysler Reader Comment: “I think blogs like these are an
excellent idea. They make customers feel like the company is actually
listening to them and cares about their opinion.”
Jackie Headapohl: We feel we can learn from open and honest
feedback—good or bad. Currently, we’re trying to respond to comments by
posting blog entries that address the concerns/interests we see coming
in. Comments that come in with specific, personal issues are being
forwarded to our Customer Assistance Center for resolution. Eventually,
you can expect to see blog posters responding in real time for a
two-way conversation.
Go check out Diva Marketing Blog for the rest of this AWESOME interview!
