Just got off the phone with my local Mercedes dealership where I was trying to arrange for the purchase of the new iPhone Integration Kit coming out soon. When I asked my friendly representative in the parts department when it would be available I got 30 seconds of dead air. Then he said, we currently have bluetooth connectivity with your C Class. I thanked him for that, told him it was peachy, and said I really want the full functionality of my phone, iPod, email, and web that the add-on device will allow.
He said, and I quote - "I don't know what that is." So I told him that Mercedes had just announced (last week) that it will be coming out with the kit available for my model in August and I was trying to get ahead of the curve. Apparently I am too far in front of the curve as the person responsible for ordering the parts for the cars was unaware it would be available. This isn't some nickel and dime dealership either. These guys are on top of their game, all the time.
The current flow of information is problematic. We have companies with global reach creating messages that have not translated or reached the outlets they need to sell their goods and services. No doubt, you have probably been to a Best Buy and informed one of the blue-shirts there to the products they offer, or the service they didn't know they had available. Or maybe you've even been to an Apple Store and educated one of the employees on the software problems one device makes versus another. But Mercedes Benz? Aren't these guys famous for long-term commitment from the staff, knowledge, and intimacy with the offerings?
With the spigot open full blast, information in the hands of the consumer means your employees might need a few more tricks up their sleeves than just press releases from corporate. They need to be as plugged in to the brand/business outside the office as they are inside. It takes a dual mentality to constantly check your barometer of news and emotions coming from the fray, and from inside. This Yin/Yang approach to your brand might be a way to prevent this quote from coming from your one of your employees, "Until you mentioned it...I didn't even know about it."
