final report business communication vua nệm locknlock case

The post of Vua Nệm is considered offensive andinconsistent with traditional values and concepts of Vietnam.Abuse social networks negatively: The essence of advertising products and prom

National Economics University

Advanced Educational Programs

FINAL REPORT Business communication

Lecturer: PhD Le Thi Thu Mai

Topic:

Group:

Vua Nệm & LocknLock case

12

Nguyen Van Anh

Tu Gia Bao

Nguyen Khanh Linh

11211070 11210661 11210935 11213247

Hanoi, May 2023

An organization must consider its business communication as a key component Professional business communication will help businesses run their operations as efficiently as possible Business communication includes communication both inside and outside of the company, as well as between companies and clients

In which, customer-business communication is regarded as the most fundamental and critical factor We can see how the reputation and financial performance of a company are impacted

by professional customer communication in the following two scenarios

With Vua Nệm, the method of communicating the message without gathering sufficient feedback and the lack of customer listening skills have resulted in this company being harshly criticized and severely degraded

LocknLock's lack of professionalism in dealing with customer complaints has caused consumers to lose trust, resulting in a decrease in revenue

Through analyzing these two cases, we expect that companies will improve their business communication skills to achieve the best results in their business operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Vua Nệm

I INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY

II ANALYZING CASE

1 Descriptions of the situation

2 Reasons why you want to study this situation

3 Reasons for this situation

4 Resolution

5 Consequences of this situation

6 Suggested solutions to similar situations in the future

B Lock & Lock

I INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY

II ANALYZING CASE

1 Descriptions of the situation

2 Reasons why you want to study this situation

3 Reasons for this situation

4 Resolution

5 Consequences of this situation

6 Suggested solutions to similar situations in the future

C General expectation from the cases

D Reference

A Vua Nệm

Vua Nệm is the largest retailer of mattresses and sleep accessories in Vietnam Here, the products are distributed evenly from famous brands both at home and abroad The slogan

"Sleep well - Live to the fullest" always puts product quality first The mission of Vua Nệm is

to provide its customers with the perfect solutions for sleep

1 Descriptions of the situation

Recently, on Valentine's Day, the largest mattress chain in Vietnam released a series of advertising images with the message "Mattress is for love" The images featured male models posing in sensitive positions in the nude, accompanied by a series of words describing actions such as "caressing", "stroking", "embracing" which made many people uncomfortable

Furthermore, the brand intentionally emphasized the advertising content at the end of the photo series with the phrase "Mattress is for love," which was cleverly designed with the letter "m" in the word "Nệm" blurred at the end, making it appear as "nện" to many viewers

at first glance

Although the brand's advertising post went viral on social media and received a significant amount of interaction, it is apparent that up to 80% of Vietnamese consumers do not hold a high opinion of this advertising campaign upon closer examination The majority of people

commented that featuring shirtless men "twisting and turning" on a bed, along with the use of

"crude" and sensitive language, was a misstep by the Vua Nệm marketing team

After receiving a lot of conflicting opinions from the public, Vua Nệm only deleted the post

on Facebook without issuing any apologies or press statements regarding this incident

2 Reasons why you want to study this situation

In the era of rapid development of technology, information is transmitted quickly and easily This is considered a good opportunity for corporations to seize and advertise their products to every potential customer However, some corporations have taken advantage of this for malicious purposes, using offensive marketing tricks to attract attention This mischievous content is polluting the network environment as well as the business ethics of businesses, especially when it is spread widely and strongly That is why we choose a typical example to condemn this issue

3 Reasons for this situation

Unethical decision making:

When making decisions about marketing strategy, companies need to consider both ethical factors The Vua Nệm's advertisement with a picture of a topless man along with an offensive message has had a bad influence on society Vietnam belongs to the Eastern culture, which values delicacy and sophistication The post of Vua Nệm is considered offensive and inconsistent with traditional values and concepts of Vietnam

Abuse social networks negatively:

The essence of advertising products and promoting brands is to attract the attention of consumers, which is the main goal of both large and small businesses To achieve this, Vua Nệm disregarded the laws and regulations to create controversial advertisements that went against the traditional customs of the nation, solely for the purpose of attracting public attention, the more shocking the better In terms of effectiveness, the campaign was quite successful as it went viral on all social media platforms However, many consumers believed that the images and language used in Vua Nệm's posts were crude and lacking in refinement The brand received a great deal of criticism and backlash from netizens Thousands of negative reactions can be easily seen on Vua Nệm's fan page, proving the frustration and dissatisfaction of customers with the brand

The 3x3 Writing Process:

a Prewriting: It should be noted that Vua Nệm used provocative advertising

images in the past Back in December 2021, they ran a campaign featuring bare-chested young men on the Cat Linh - Ha Dong electric train, resulting in

a fine of 137 million VND This suggests that Vua Nệm could have anticipated some negative reactions from the online community following the recent post Furthermore, the public's response indicates that the company did not conduct proper research before launching their media campaign

b Drafting: During this phase, content creators need to carefully research

ethical standards within the community and on social media, and gradually craft a message they want to convey The use of sexually suggestive images to objectify men on Facebook by this company demonstrates a lack of market research or a deliberate disregard for social norms, given that Vietnam has a long-standing tradition of respecting cultural values

c Revising: This is the final step to check for any errors in content, language, or

message to achieve the ultimate goal, and in the case of Vua Nệm, to increase customer engagement The post gained public attention, however, the post violated ethics and received criticism from customers The revising step did not do a good job of not anticipating this

Vua Nệm’s response:

Listening to customers: Vua Nệm did not respect customers when they only

deleted the post after receiving negative reactions without any formal apology Only after receiving feedback from the press agency, did Vua Nệm show an

attitude of listening, reviewing business activities, assessing the situation and immediately making plans and actions to avoid bringing bad experiences to consumers in particular and society in general After getting conflicting reactions from consumers, the company has evaluated the circumstance and devised a solution

Poor apology: Vua Nem only apologized through a third party so no official

text was announced for us to analyze; however, some strengths and weaknesses can be pointed out When confronted with opposing views, Vua Nệm was aware of the problem and spoke up about it Vua Nệm took responsibility for correcting the error by deleting the post and apologized to the public, even though indirectly and belatedly

Presenting the reason: The mattress king gave quite reasonable justification

for why they developed this marketing tactic In a written response to a press agency, Vua Nệm stated that its advertising is not intended to spread unpleasant messages and that the company's purpose is to always obey the law and respect Vietnamese culture

4 Resolution

After receiving negative feedback from customers, Vua Nệm had a response through a public agency and actively removed the post from the company's fanpage

Specifically, as reported by the Journalist and the Public, Vua Nệm has given an official response to the incident Vua Nệm Joint Stock Company affirms: “The post is used for the purpose of raising young people's interest in sleep health through humorous images” After realizing that the post did not meet the company's initial expectations, the company took the initiative to delete the post and replace it with a more qualified content At the same time, Vua Nệm also wants to send a sincere apology to all customers and consumers for creating unnecessary experiences

However, Vua Nệm has no official posts or documents made public on the company's website or through an intermediary channel

5 Consequences of this situation

This way of promoting this product has worsened the image of Vua Nệm with customers, especially loyal customers who have supported the products of this company With this promotion, in effect, the campaign has become viral on social networking platforms, but the majority of users think that the use of images and words of Vua Nệm is too subtle

When the post on the Facebook homepage was noticed by many people, there were many mixed opinions, thousands of "outraged" reactions showed the frustration of users when they saw this ad, and most users think that this is a way of advertising that is too offensive, vulgar, inappropriate and civilized

This has caused the chain of stores Vua Nệm to lose a significant number of customers after this incident and receive a series of articles criticizing this issue

Furthermore, Vua Nệm may be summoned by

the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports for

violations related to aesthetically pleasing

advertising that is contrary to fine customs and

traditions, with a fine ranging from 40 to 60

million VND The additional sanction for this

behavior is also strictly to force the removal of

advertisements or the recall of advertisements

printed in newspapers and magazines for

violations

Vua Nệm has received harsh criticism from

many major newspapers and raised concerns

about the current digital marketing environment

6 Suggested solutions to similar situations in the future

We suggest some solutions for Vua Nệm to be able to overcome the mistakes in this way of promotion:

- First of all, Vua Nệm can use market surveys efficiently and listen to customers' opinions in order to know exactly what they should do, and should improve their services, products

- Vua Nệm can increase brand recognition through advertising campaigns in line with social standards or offer promotional coupons, discounts on products, or offer buy 2 get 1 free programs to consumers as a way to regain customer trust

- The company also needs to re-evaluate the working process, reorient the company's marketing as well as create marketing campaigns on the digital platform that appropriates with local culture

B Lock & Lock

Lock&Lock was established in 1978 and is a Korean household brand LocknLock's headquarters is located in the bustling city of Seoul And manufacturing plants, sales units and stores are located in many countries around the world In many countries Lock & Lock is

a very famous brand and is always in the top favorites in the field of home appliances

1 Descriptions of the situation

On October 11, 2020, Ms N bought a thermos bottle at Lock&Lock stall at Vincom Nguyen Chi Thanh From the first use, this user found the quality of the product to be substandard Specifically, the heat of the water is radiated out of the bottle, thus, unable to keep the temperature

On November 10, Ms N returned to the LocknLock store at Vincom Nguyen Chi Thanh to claim product warranty according to the company's policy After receiving the customer's request, the staff informed that the product will be sent to the technical department and the results will be available in 5-7 days However, it was not until 15-20 days later that Ms N was notified to receive the new product

On December 1, Ms N arrived to acquire new products Ms N wanted to examine the product before receiving it since she was unsure of its quality, but the answer was that the store did not have hot water

“Ms N asked the store staff to use hot water to check the product, and received the answer:

"My store does not have hot water"”

Ms N declined to take the merchandise and instead offered to exchange it for anything else However, the employees refused to accept because the store did not have that policy

“Ms N suggested to the staff to exchange new products, if the price difference, the customer

will pay more but continue to receive a refusal from LocknLock: "Your store doesn't have that exchange policy.".”

After receiving the reflection of Ms N., the reporter of Corporate Finance sought Lock & Lock Co., Ltd to clarify Talking to reporters, Mr Kim Jong Un - manager of the Northern LocknLock chain of stores admitted that the product was faulty and the staff's unprofessional attitude

"The customer's reflection is correct, the Lock & Lock product is faulty and cannot keep the heat, it may be because the product is broken during transportation, so that situation occurs," said Mr Kim.”

In addition, when asked about the product quality certificate, LocknLock staff refused to provide it and had a threatening attitude to reporters

“The reporter asked this unit to provide documents related to quality inspection before distributing products to customers, but Lock & Lock staff refused to provide.”

“Even when discussing content related to product quality, LocknLock communications officer Dang Thanh Hoa reminded the interviewer: "You must note, if there is an evaluation from outside, my side will definitely for intervention".”

2 Reasons why you want to study this situation

Currently, business activities of enterprises not only focus on providing services/products to customers but also need to pay attention to business reputation, lifetime customer care and post-purchase warranty Customer service is considered as one of the key factors for the success and sustainable development of businesses While many businesses have realized this trend and focused on improving their services, many companies have not really paid attention to this issue Especially in the case of LocknLock below, the problem of customer service and product warranty has caused many consequences and created a bad reputation for the business

3 Reasons for this situation

Public relations, Customer Relations, and Crisis Communication: The public relations

department requires the capacity to respond as promptly as possible to customer feedback However, since the incident happened and was brought to the press, LocknLock has not made any official announcement about the incident When a newspaper reporter came to the company's headquarters to work, the company representative - Mr Kim Jong Un, manager of the Northern LocknLock chain store, admitted that the product was defective and said that there will be an official announcement soon

External communication: When journalists visited the corporate offices to confirm the

occurrence, a business official acknowledged that many consumers had also complained about the quality of the products For widespread product quality problems, companies should issue an official statement by email (access to all users of the product) and on the company's official website (for those who intend to use the product) However, the company only acknowledges and explains the situation through word of mouth and through a press release agency Oral communication does not have any verifiable evidence to prove that the company representative has admitted as well as the reporter has correctly reported this exchange

Poor listening skills (to customers): As was already said, LocknLock has received several

complaints that the thermos product's quality is substandard However, instead of recalling the product and informing the customer, LocknLock opted to conceal the truth and continue

to sell this thermos product This is why LocknLock has led to poor customer experiences, the situation that should have been settled between the firm and the client has grown into a problem that necessitates public attention, and the company's reputation has been damaged as well

LocknLock’s response:

a Direct strategy in conveying negative news: Customers in this case may be

overreacting so that LocknLock should use the direct strategy to apologize