[This is part of a series of recaps on this Sennheiser Social Intelligence report]
I always like a good deal, especially when I can get more than what I paid for. So when Sennheiser promotes itself as “True Sound,” I’m hoping that it’s bargain-priced true sound. Unfortunately, the “What People Dislike” widget shows that “expensive” is, without contest, the leading negative comment about the brand.
When just looking at likes versus dislikes, the “expensive” image could be countered by the fact that people like Sennheiser’s sound quality. The problem here is that Sennheiser is merely liked, not loved, for its sound quality; when the brand’s positioning is all about “True Sound,” that’s not a good thing to hear.
So besides figuring out how to improve headphone durability, Sennheiser might benefit from finding out what keeps people from loving its sound. Is it just that more males use Sennheiser and are therefore less likely to wax poetic about their headphones? Or is there really something that should be done about the product itself? A good approach may be to look into what makes the most-loved brand, Plantronics, so positively viewed when it comes to sound quality.
No matter what actions are taken (or not taken) in the end, I’m sure that Sennheiser will do its best to stay true to “True Sound.”
Michael Osofsky
Ideas still in the works and the latest thinking on Innovation and Netnography from Michael Osofsky, NetBase Chief Innovation Officer.
