Cerveza Buye Elves

This is post five on my Igniting a Revolution Series.

Different to the previous posts where I have focused on the positive side of creating a full customer experience, this time I look into the opposite side of when brands disappoint me.  I touch some of the things local brands like Cerveza Buye can fix when communicating online to become more human. There is something to think about when a brand wants to stay anonymous when talking to customers.

What are they hiding?

It’s Difficult to become loyal to Local Brands

I try my best at supporting local brands and products. The best example is how I make it to the Organic Farmer’s Markets many times a month so I can get my fresh produce from those who work the land and are growing local food which in turn keeps more money in Puerto Rico.

When I go to a supermarket preferably Pueblo or Selectos I try to buy the local items like Mushrooms that are grown in Aibonito, PR. With every visit I make, I support a local supermarket and I buy local produce.

I see how many local brands like liquor companies such as Don Q and Medalla, share advertising that is mostly for their interests. They are really not interested in creating communities or listening to those who buy their products; they just want to sell.

For years I have been trying to get Medalla Beer to reply and see if their product is Vegan friendly. Years later, no one has responded and I get bombarded by ads everywhere.

Cerveza Buyé and its Elves

Weeks ago when I saw a new locally made beer advertised. I saw an opportunity to start supporting local beer instead of buying my favorite Vegan Friendly Beer Samuel Adams (Boston, MA) or Samuel Smith (England).

I sent a Facebook message via their page to the agency handling the social media account and asked if they could verify if Buyé was Vegan friendly. After explaining to them several reasons why a Beer might not be vegan, they replied that yes their beer was vegan.

When I asked for the name of the person who provided me the answer, they responded that they where anonymous elves working in the background and could not expose their identity.

Elves = Inexperienced Agency handling social accounts

When I get these replies about being anonymous and other nonsensical comments, it usually means that Buyé as a company is not handling their own online presence. They probably have an intern with the digital equivalent of a bullhorn on the other side just blasting and spamming advertisements to anyone they come across on social platforms. Given how others manage their brands, I should be glad they even responded.

Lack of Ownership of Accounts

When a company does not have its own voice being communicated online and a separate firm hijacks the account with zero transparency this clearly demonstrates that the agency does not want to be accountable and that Buyé does now own their online presence.

I can’t trust Elves

Since Buyé’s elves replied and I could not get a human, I would not dare drink a Buyé beer since I really can’t validate if they were knowledgeable enough about the product. Last year around Christmas we had another local Puerto Rican elf get some YouTube fame and based on his behavior, I rather continue to recommend Sam Adams and Samuel Smith to my Vegan friends.

Consumers don’t talk with Elves

It is critical that you have a human or core group with product knowledge when it comes to representing your brands.

Brands such as Jetblue, Samsung, Dell, and many others have humans behind them who are accountable for what is shared online. Even Pepboys uses an Agency and they are very transparent. I got to talk with a human when I had an issue with Pepboys and not a fictional character.

Like many of you, I am not a fan of talking into answering machines much less talking to fictional characters like elves.

Take charge of your presence; let those interested in your products know there are humans that care behind your brand and products. But most importantly, that those humans care about creating community.

Until Buyé realizes its critical for a brand to care about the possible consumer its Samuel Adams and Sam Smith for me. Cheers…

 

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