Dear RIM,
(I hope you will receive this message via social media, since the decision youāre making has important consequences for your customers).
Iām speaking for myself and, to some extent, for all RIM customers. (Naturally, I encourage other customers to voice their own views.)
First, I want to thank you for the work youāve done to date. Iāve been a loyal RIM customer and a brand ambassador when given the opportunity. Over the past two years, however, Iāve thought many times about switching to an iPhone or another competitorās device.
While I continue to be happy with some of the features that sold me on you in the first place: amazing email functionality, superior security and your keyboard (I have a Bold 9900, and dig the device), I believe it’s high time RIM provides its customers some new reasons to remain loyal.
There was a great article in the NYT this weekend on Appleās manufacturing which demonstrated the incredible emphasis Apple has on anticipating consumersā needs during product development. It would be impossible for an Apple customer to read the article and not feel that Apple cares deeply about their product experience, considering even how their phoneās going to fare when placed in their pocket next to their housekeys. It’s a good read on American manufacturing that also touches on margins, work ethics and more.
I donāt have any special knowledge of RIMās product development methodology and so canāt make a comparison. If RIM is working in similar fashion to Apple, planning a future with its customers based on their needs, Iād be glad to know about it. The way I see it, RIM and I are and have been in a relationship. I suppose Iām asking what RIMās commitment to me is and what itās done for me lately.
Relationships involve getting better at what youāre already really good at, learning what the other person really wants from you and then working on being more of whatever that is. For RIM, this should involve embracing niche markets and developing more of what they want.
Iām not going to give a full list of what I need from RIM right now but there are undoubtedly areas for improvement that benefit us both. These have to include merchant abilities (possibly in the works), a secured merchant app so I can have outside sales reps for my software company accept payments. One new reason why this is important is that Square, one of the most popular services, isnāt available for Blackberry https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/140388-can-i-use-square-with-my-blackberry-Ā This would really make us both happier. Mobile merchant services is not a bad look considering…
I feel we arenāt communicating well. Maybe you have plans Iām not aware ofāthings that would allow me to worry less and beĀ moreĀ enthusiastic about our future. I know, financially, youāre stressed out right now. Frankly, it’s that way for a lot of companies, so know youāre not alone and youāre in a better place than many others, Iām here to support you for the long haul. However, you canāt ignore that Iāve made plenty of sacrifices to be in this relationship. Itās time for you to reciprocate by making some compromises of your own.
I think it would be cool to see you working on a highly publicized incubator to build enhancements to the Blackberry experience. Make it fun, challenging (independent of your existing culture) and really focus this on utilization of existing customers; score us and the ROI on each of us.
You canāt be everything to everyone, so prioritizing our relationship right now is pretty important. Think beyond startups. Look for mobile companies and software that will really benefit your customers and help them provide products to us (Right now, theyāre almost all very focused on Apple IOS and Android,Ā understandably so). When I say “highly publicized,” I don’t mean a reality show, I mean publicized on social media and communicated to me and my friends and then their friends…because that’s how it works. Think Kickstarter concepts for RIM (not literally); source the interest from me, don’t be afraid to ask. You havenāt asked about me in a long time.
Another idea, Vlingo! I used the Christmas credit you gave me (thank you!) so it was free. That was cool because I was already testing the free trial, is there a way to work more closely with them? Are you already doing that? Theyāre the same company as Siri, right, but I tested Siri and, well, Vlingo needs work but has potential. I would just be cautious on advertising it too soon, I think thereās a way to find out what help Vlingo may need, what challenges they have, and what it would take for Vlingo deliver the best version possible to Blackberry users and then make it happen!
Well RIM you know how to reach meā¦
Cheers –
Brian Rice