Earlier this morning I noticed a headline stating that Ford Motor Company lost $5.9B in the 4Q of 2008, but that they wouldn’t seek government bailout money to help unless the economy worsened. That’s something I liked to hear, but still thought the economy probably will drop some more and what their line will be before they change their mind if they do.
I quickly sent out a tweet about how their desire not to accept government bailout money would actually encourage me to buy from Ford if I were in the market for a new car.
Within minutes I got a reply back from Scott Monty, who is the Head of Social Media at Ford, saying this:
@bnpositive I would think that our product offerings would have something to do with it too. ;-) #Ford
The two messages were exchanged within 8 minutes of each other. I’ve never heard of Scott Monty before, but I think he’s well aware of how to setup custom searches for Ford so he can be notified when people are talking about his company on various social networks. He immediately engaged me and began the conversation about Ford and their products.
I’m not in the market for a new car, I’m going to continue pushing my ’96 Toyota Camry as far past the 236,000 mile mark as I can right now. If I were in the market for a new car the first one I’d go look at would be the Ford Flex though. That’s a sharp vehicle.
So Scott, if you can hit me up with a nice yellow one that we can overhaul to the “Bnpositive Mobile”, I’ll be sure to spread the joy about Ford, the Flex and social media everywhere I go! Keep up the good work!
matt says
#1 – it is good that Ford is paying attention to the conversation about it. It may be a big part of the reason they "Only" lost 5.9B.
#2 – it is amazing to me that "big" businesses haven't been paying attention for a LONG time. Why don't we here back from the big vendors when we ACTUALLY want to discuss it. I'm not talking about the "please call this number and take a survey". I'm talking about when I'm standing at the customer service desk, posting a request on a website (hello? anybody there? I'm leaving this note here on your site…it would be nice if you would look at this…)
#3 – I LIKE his response. He was invited to respond with whether the tactic of delaying the bailout would be helpful…he pointed us at the VALUE of the product (Ford at least thinks there is some). Kudos to Ford – pay attention, have a message. Maybe I'll go buy myslef a Mustang this afternoon – want to be helpful to the economy – do my part and all.
matt says
#1 – it is good that Ford is paying attention to the conversation about it. It may be a big part of the reason they “Only” lost 5.9B.
#2 – it is amazing to me that “big” businesses haven’t been paying attention for a LONG time. Why don’t we here back from the big vendors when we ACTUALLY want to discuss it. I’m not talking about the “please call this number and take a survey”. I’m talking about when I’m standing at the customer service desk, posting a request on a website (hello? anybody there? I’m leaving this note here on your site…it would be nice if you would look at this…)
#3 – I LIKE his response. He was invited to respond with whether the tactic of delaying the bailout would be helpful…he pointed us at the VALUE of the product (Ford at least thinks there is some). Kudos to Ford – pay attention, have a message. Maybe I’ll go buy myslef a Mustang this afternoon – want to be helpful to the economy – do my part and all.
Scott Monty says
Thanks for the post, Jason. When people mention our brand, I try to interact in a meaningful way. That doesn't equate to a response for every mention, but I do like to show that we're listening and that we're human – which it looks like Matt picked up on.
As to the yellow Flex… That's not a color we offer, but I'm sure an aftermarket specialist would be glad to help you out. When you're in the market for a new vehicle, let me know. I'm not promising anything, but let's keep some options open. ;-)
Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company
Scott Monty says
Thanks for the post, Jason. When people mention our brand, I try to interact in a meaningful way. That doesn’t equate to a response for every mention, but I do like to show that we’re listening and that we’re human – which it looks like Matt picked up on.
As to the yellow Flex… That’s not a color we offer, but I’m sure an aftermarket specialist would be glad to help you out. When you’re in the market for a new vehicle, let me know. I’m not promising anything, but let’s keep some options open. ;-)
Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company