[mikeejones]

T-Mobile has been in the news a lot lately with its new marketing
strategies intended to bring in more business and, honestly, to steal
customers from the competition. Between the change to an "uncarrier"
approach and offers attempting specifically to target the competition, it
might not be safe for T-Mobile much longer. Instead of playing nice, the
company is doing whatever they can to steal customers without a care of
what it will do to their reputation. And now, they are even making their
phone manufacturers mad.

BlackBerry upset with T-Mobile

If T-Mobile wasn't already in a big fight with all the competition, now
it's even making its suppliers mad. According to PC Magazine, T-Mobile sent
an email to many of its current subscriber offering a free iPhone. It
wouldn't have been such a big deal if the email didn't also say "a great
deal for BlackBerry owners." This enraged many BlackBerry customers who
used social media to point out their frustrations. BlackBerry owners are
apparently very loyal and don't like the fact that T-Mobile was blatantly
stating that BlackBerry phones weren't worth much compared to an iPhone.

BlackBerry mad too

It's not just the customers who are mad about this. BlackBerry CEO John
Chen is pretty upset too. It's one thing to upset the competition, but
upsetting your own vendor like that is pretty ruthless. Chen just wishes
that T-Mobile would have come to him to discuss what was about to happen
instead of finding out about it online later. On top of that, it is an
inappropriate way to market to your customers. Where it the line?

Is it smart marketing?

The idea of calling out specific competitors or brands in your marketing
strategy is pretty bold. Most people stick to telling people they are the
best rather than specifying other brands. T-Mobile is starting to make a
lot of enemies in the cell phone market, both with vendors and with
competing cell phone carriers. Is it worth it? Maybe it will get them in
the news a few times, and maybe it will bring in new customers. But in the
end, having large corporations that are still holding a grudge about what
you said will never help. You never want to be the company everyone is
attacking all at once. It could mean success, but it will more likely lead
to problems in the future.

A smarter way to advertise

Rather than focusing on the weaknesses of those around you, advertising
towards your strengths will benefit you much more in the long run. Send
texts to your customers with great deals you offer or coupons to get them
in. Offer deals to fans on your social media sites. Offer loyalty discounts
to members of your e-club. There are plenty of ways to get in customers
without throwing someone else under the bus. T-Mobile may be digging
themselves a hole, but you don't have to. If you keep the competition
friendly, you'll end up with a much smoother path to success.

Mobile technology news brought to you by businesstexter.com

Source:
pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2453633,00.asp

[rambo47]

This falls under the banner of "What Were They Thinking??" This has been a heavy handed attempt to divorce themselves from the BlackBerry platform. I'm sure there is a significant cost savings involved, but this is not a very good way to go about it.

[fourstringfuror]

The answer is likely much simpler: they're sitting on a pile of iPhones and are trying to unload them cheaply. Legere isn't wrong, after all: most BlackBerry users switch phones when they upgrade.

[Bobb]

I'm especially dismayed to learn of this because I have been extremely satisfied with T-Mobile's service (mobile service AND customer service), yet I'm none-too-pleased with how T-Mobile has "swept BB under the rug." What to do? I'm a die-hard BB user, yet I'm also a big T-Mobile fan. If I were Mr. Chen, I'd cut some sort of stupid deal with T-Mobile to put BBs in the hands of customers for free. I don't know if BB can afford to do so, but a decent number of BB units in the hands of users is essential for the brand's survival. It might cost BB a lot now, but might pay dividends later. Don't know. I'm no economic genius or business-savvy guy, but it's a shame what T-Mobile has been doing.