Why Channel 7's AFL Brownlow Coverage Once Again Missed The Mark

Discover the easiest ways to disappoint your customers without really trying

As a lover of Aussie Rules Football (AFL) and a passionate Hawthorn member, I love all the different events of Grand Final Week including the Brownlow Medal.

This is a televised count of the 3,2,1 votes awarded by the umpires for the most valuable player on the ground, in each game, for the 24 round season.

Although it's a very long night, I enjoy settling in to see how many Hawks poll as well as which players poll from the other teams.

FOCUS: Be The Coach (STRATEGY)

Prior to the count last night, there was a 30 minute (used to be 1 hour) 'Red Carpet Coverage' where you see the players and their dates dressed up and I add my commentary of 'that's nice' or 'why did they wear that?'

Now I don't have very high expectations for the Red Carpet – simply show me as many players as possible with their dates so I can see who attended from each Club and make comments on which outfits I liked or didn't like.

Not rocket science nor a difficult task I would've thought.

But every year Channel 7 chooses to show 'behind the scenes' footage they think we're interested in - rather than seeing the outfits.

In the past, it's been players picking out their suits and this year, they shared the logistics of the event including the food.

As usual, I became quite frustrated and did a bit of yelling 'who cares' at the TV. Put the behind the scenes footage on 7plus so I can catch up on it later if I'm interested.

And they kept talking to the same 10 or so of their 'favourite' players and replaying the same outfits we'd already seen.

Then we head into the ballroom for the count and I'm hoping previous complaints of the event expressed on social media and talkback radio have been addressed.

Alas, I was once again wrong.

Instead of just getting on with the count, we had numerous Channel 7 commentators continually interrupting it by interviewing players who were leading or in with a shot and asking them, 'How do you think you're going?'.

To which my response is Who cares because my only expectation as a viewer is:

Show me the votes for each round, and for bonus points, who's on every Club's table.

BTW: They didn't get the bonus points.

As a Channel 7 customer that night, they failed miserably in meeting what I believed to be reasonable, and not outlandish, expectations.

So now think about your small business.

Are you really meeting your customers' expectations or are you disappointing them by default?

Regardless of your answer, I encourage you to review the 3 ways Channel 7 continues to disappoint its Brownlow night customers to heed the lessons for your small business.

3 Ways Channel 7 Disappointed Its Brownlow Medal Customers

1. Offering lip service to previous complaints

The coverage was very much what Channel 7 wanted to do and this wasn't changing, regardless of how many complaints have been previously received by the station, or on talk back radio or social media.

2. Didn't understand (or care) about their customer's (audience) minimum expectations

Only showed and chatted to a few players (usually the same ones each year) instead of as many players as possible, from all the Clubs – not just a select few.

3. Disrespecting the process and players

As expected, it was a very tight count and Channel 7 not only promoted the five favourites at the beginning of the telecast, but kept coming back to them throughout the night, asking awkward questions like 'do you think you'll poll enough in the next two rounds to win?'.

Now put yourself in the player's shoes (aka your customers).

Do you really think they wanted to be put in these awkward and embarrassing situations?

Of course not. They are humble individuals who are team rather than 'I' focused, and they just want to be left alone to enjoy the night with their teammates and see if they are successful.

You could feel the awkwardness and cringe factor through the TV as I felt for these players who were doing their best to be diplomatic.

What's Next?

So what type of interactions do you have with your customers?

Purely transactional (like Channel 7's telecast ie give them something) or emotional and meaningful ones which actually show you understand their needs and expectations?

Do you know how many of your customer interactions are transactional versus meaningful?

If you've answered 'I don't know' or 'I'm not sure', then I'd encourage you (and Channel 7) to ditch the transactional interactions with your customers and move to more meaningful and emotional customer connections.

And here's my final thought:

You can actually move to more meaningful interactions really easily.

Simply keep putting yourself in the customer's shoes by asking:

• What do they really want?
• What are the 3 simple things needed to achieve this?
• What could go wrong and how do we fix it quickly (play the Devil's Advocate card)?

And finally, by always under promising and over delivering, you'll increase the number of raving customers rather than by default, creating even more disappointed ones, like myself and many others on Brownlow night.

P.S.
If you know something's wrong in your small business but you don't know WHAT the problem is
OR
You know what the problem is but don't know HOW to solve it, then please book in a time to chat here

Cheers
Tamara

Author: Tamara Simon

aka - the Bob the Builder for Small Business

Tamara Simon helps owners navigate the complexity and challenging times of small business by ...

SOLVING frustrating problems

SIMPLIFYING overwhelming systems

SUPPORTING them in times of confusion and uncertainty

For over twenty-five years as a Speaker, Author and Coach, she's been providing much needed support to small business owners, CEOs and their teams so they can build, manage and grow a simple profitable business.

Tamara develops her speaking topics on these Small Business Areas

1. Her Book - The Five Little Business Pigs

2. How to navigate complexity and challenging times

3. It's More Than A Game - Insights from Sport

So if your organisation's members are small businesses or you're a small business owner who;s tired of being the Chief Everything Officer and...

- know something's WRONG in your business but don't know WHAT it is

- know WHAT is wrong but don't know HOW to solve it

- want to GROW but not sure if you're READY or even where to start

Then check out her website to find out how to work with Tamara, and book Tamara to speak at your next event.
www.tamarasimon.com.au

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