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Made in us
Posts with Authority






One thing that I have noticed, over the last ten years or so, is that GW is not exactly shining in the public eye - and in this past year or so they have started looking downright awful, in regards to good public relation.

Their public image is becoming tarnished.

So, quite aside from monetary matters - what can GW do to put some shine back on their image?

Once upon a time they backed tournaments that benefited charity - some of those tournaments still happen, but as far as I know they no longer get any support from GW, just from the clubs and groups that sponsor them.

I think that GW needs to start doing that again - They need to be seen in public wearing the white hats, now and again.

The Auld Grump

Kilkrazy wrote:When I was a young boy all my wargames were narratively based because I played with my toy soldiers and vehicles without the use of any rules.

The reason I bought rules and became a real wargamer was because I wanted a properly thought out structure to govern the action instead of just making things up as I went along.
 
   
Made in us
Drakhun





Eaton Rapids, MI

I dont know. Stop the human and kitten sacrifice?

Kidding aside. They need a social media manager and an actual plan of how to engage with the customer.


Now with 100% more blog....

CLICK THE LINK to my painting blog... You know you wanna. Do it, Just do it, like right now.
http://fltmedicpaints.blogspot.com

 
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






New Orleans, LA

Engage in social media.

Host tournaments. They don't have to be ultra-competitive hard boys tournaments. Just some 30k events (fully painted) or some other themed tournaments with prizes given for sportsmanship and paint jobs. Show case your goddam hobby! Bring in new people.

Release a "mini-rulebook" thats ~$20.

Free hugs.

DA:70S+G+M+B++I++Pw40k08+D++A++/fWD-R+T(M)DM+
 
   
Made in us
Legendary Master of the Chapter






Having a bit of feed back and a better FAQ system would help.


and the generic lower prices yadiyadda.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
 Scott-S6 wrote:
And yet another thread is hijacked for Unit to ask for the same advice, receive the same answers and make the same excuses.

Oh my god I'm becoming martel.
Send help!

 
   
Made in gb
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





UK

The first step must be to start engaging with the fans and customers a little more. Take player feedback on board or at least answer their questions as openly as they can. I believe when GW Digital had a presence on Facebook it was pretty well received, and they were fairly active in answering questions and teasing releases.

They also need to stop their violent persecution of non-GW minis. People are becoming far more cosmopolitan in gaming as more games and minis become available, and GW need to realise and accept that there is a thriving hobby beyond their own system. I'm not asking them to suddenly start advertising Mantic or Wyrd or Infinity, but less of the 'there is only GW, nothing else exists' would be nice. Instead of discouraging conversion kits and the like, start being accepting of them and realise that people still need to buy GW kits to use Chapterhouse/Kromlech/Anvil parts.

Basically, they need to be nicer.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/26 15:40:44


 
   
Made in us
Lesser Daemon of Chaos





San Mateo, CA

Having enough manpower in their stores to run events.

Actually my every interaction with official GW has been very pleasant. I played some games in their store without buying anything and never felt unwelcome. When I did buy something, the dude gave me extra bits that I needed (instead of just telling me to buy another kit).

When I was a kid they let me play in an event despite my having an illegal force composed almost entirely of the Gretchen from the starter box. I have friends who say that GW customer service is second to none concerning damaged or miscast models.

Honestly I think most of the hate they get is related to their handling of the game itself. This, in my opinion, is almost inevitable. Whenever you have a game played by a large community, any change you make is going to ruffle some feathers.

That and the price/quality of codexes.


5000
Who knows? 
   
Made in us
Willing Inquisitorial Excruciator





Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Write a clean ruleset. Less changing between editions and more fixing. Do that, and all is forgiven.

   
Made in us
Cosmic Joe





Basically, they would have to change everything about them.
Stop taking people to court and threatening legal action on every carbon based life form.
Start interacting with the customers, those dirty peasants clambering about their fortress walls.
Recognize problems and address them.
Run events again.
Stop treating FLGS's like they're the enemy.



Also, check out my history blog: Minimum Wage Historian, a fun place to check out history that often falls between the couch cushions. 
   
Made in us
Blood Angel Terminator with Lightning Claws




Montgomery, AL

Some of this has already been stated, but i will repeat for effect.

1. Better PR. - GW makes a good product, but the perceived image is that it is over costed. Please notice I said good, and not great or the best.

2. Value - I have been playing since around 2000. I have seen prices increase and I have seen people scream about it, myself included. I recently found a Tact squad from that era. It included 7 regular bolter guys, a Sgt with pistol and Chainsword, a Missile Launcher guy and a flamer. Compare that to what you get now, you now get the bits to make a plasma gun, melta, flamer, power sword, power fist. Is it worth the increase in price? That's up to the buyer. However, other kits have increased in price and decreased in number of models. I'm looking at guardian squads and Dire Avengers. They can add value to the kits without raising prices and it can help with this issue.

3. Bits - Bring back the bits catalog and bit ordering.

4. Community support - GW use to give prize support for local tournaments. This helped the community grow. Games Day and GT's also helped to support and grow the community. As I have mentioned in other post, GW cannot lower prices without dramatically increasing the number of units sold. The only way to do that is to reach out and grow the community.

On Dakka he was Eldanar. In our area, he was Lee. R.I.P., Lee Guthrie.  
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Louisiana

Fire Tom Kirby

Apologize for the Chapterhouse Studios litigation (blame Tom Kirby)

Apologize for Spots the Space Marine (blame Tom Kirby)

Revise trade terms with retailers (blame Tom Kirby)

Bring back specialist games

Make a gutsy, risky rules update, even if it is in the form of a brand new game/product line

Attend more conventions with a bigger presence (and give away some free gak)

Reduce the price of digital supplements

Kirasu: Have we fallen so far that we are excited that GW is giving us the opportunity to spend 58$ for JUST the rules? Surprised it's not "Dataslate: Assault Phase"

AlexHolker: "The power loader is a forklift. The public doesn't complain about a forklift not having frontal armour protecting the crew compartment because the only enemy it is designed to face is the OHSA violation."

AlexHolker: "Allow me to put it this way: Paramount is Skynet, reboots are termination attempts, and your childhood is John Connor."
 
   
Made in jp
[MOD]
Anti-piracy Officer






Somewhere in south-central England.

IMO Games Workshop's bad public image is concentrated among veterans. Most new recruits either have a positive view or, like the majority of the public, don't have any view.

Thus if GW want to improve the situation they ought to stop doing the things veterans have been complaining about, and start doing the things that veterans are asking for.

Unfortunately this would seem to require GW to reverse 80% of the decisions they have taken over the past five years., and a lot of the stuff cannot easily be reversed now.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

We're not very big on official rules. Rules lead to people looking for loopholes. What's here is about it. 
   
Made in us
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot




PA Unitied States

Get more involved with the players. Make a rules system and codices that favor a cleaner and more balanced game. Lose the whole 'We're not a game company, we're a narritive company that sells loose rules, so the players can forge a narritive' attitude. Take some responsibility for your product, most people will abuse crappy rules sets to make Cheesy and/or Uber powered list to make for unfriendly and no fun games, which result in dwindling player base and thus losing profits.


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Made in fk
Longtime Dakkanaut





Wishing I was back at the South Atlantic, closer to ice than the sun

Get rid of the Kirby cronyism gravy train.

Put the blokes in charge of customer service in charge of public relations.

Re-release specialist games. Or allow FW to run with them as official products.

As Weeble said, release a new game to pull people back into the fold. EG, release a skirmish game designed purely for a small number of figures.

Step back and reconsider the rules for their core games and rather than cash grab, issue a concise clearly written rules. I, personally, wouldn't mind paying £70/£80 for a set of rules if no-one could drive a bus through them.

War gear. Re-release the old war gear book, updated of course and deconflict them!

Start treating their customers as an asset, not a money pit.

Cheers

Andrew

PS, accept that the internet exists and is not some passing fad.

I don't care what the flag says, I'm SCOTTISH!!!

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Mr Nobody wrote:
Does a canoe with a machine gun count?
 
   
Made in ca
Ancient Venerable Black Templar Dreadnought





Canada

Right now the focus is on minimal effort to get dividends.
No real plan for the future of the company (the one in charge does not need to think that far).

ANY kind of media footprint other than an online store would be a great start.

Host some events like any other competitor is doing.

Only litigate obvious rip-offs of their stuff, not those they think can't fight back (perceived as a bully).

Some form of two-way communication / interaction with customers.

This would be a great start, there could be much more but baby steps...


A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets.
Napoleon Bonaparte 
   
Made in gb
Lord Commander in a Plush Chair





Beijing

Start communicating with customers in a genuine manner. They don't even feign respect for customers, with a 'they buy what we sell' attitude as well treating everyone that comes in the door as a cash machine rather than any part of a hobby community.

Stop treeing their weight around regarding other companies and third party suppliers. They don't hurt the 'GW hobby' and it looks petty and mean spirited. It doesn't win many fans and breeds a lot of resentment.
   
Made in de
Repentia Mistress





Santuary 101

Hypothetically, if GW engages in social medial, even if disgruntled veterans are mainly reasonable people who post constructive comments, there may still be a minority who may choose to bring their vents into whatever social media GW may come up with.

In these cases, should they self-censor? By deleting the vents? Or might that be construed by some as still hearing what they want to hear? Or ignoring it and leaving everything for the public to read? Rant/vent/trash and all?

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Avatar scene by artist Nicholas Kay. Give credit where it's due! 
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut





 milkboy wrote:
Hypothetically, if GW engages in social medial, even if disgruntled veterans are mainly reasonable people who post constructive comments, there may still be a minority who may choose to bring their vents into whatever social media GW may come up with.

In these cases, should they self-censor? By deleting the vents? Or might that be construed by some as still hearing what they want to hear? Or ignoring it and leaving everything for the public to read? Rant/vent/trash and all?


Greatly depends on the person posting, the nature of the comment, and the frequency of the comment.

Let's just say, for instance, that GW- Valhalla opens up, and they have their GW FB page for shop updates, etc. and someone posts "GW, your products suck monkey nuts, I can't believe you're still around, I hope you die in a fire" then, yeah... that should probably be dealt with. A PM, or even a public message, "hey, that's really not called for. I'm sorry you've had a bad experience in the past. If there's something we can do to fix that, let me know" If this person comments about every other comment on a FB thread, with these same trollish remarks, then yeah, they should be removed.

If I hopped onto a GW social media site, and said "hey, what's the deal with X codex, and the prices of this rule book!? I'm done with this game, it's too damn expensive" that is far less inflammatory, and gives them an opportunity to "make things right" with the customer.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As to what I'd suggest personally.. Well, for starters they need to tighten up the rules.release schedules (by this I mean clean things up, give us a better working product, instead of a "deadline" that will be shipped regardless of whether product is ready)

Also, more "sneak peak" time. If I have a month or more to drool over something, it's going to heighten, or lessen my desire to get that product. As well as deciding whether I want something, it allows me time to save up money to get whatever it is.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/26 22:51:45


 
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

 milkboy wrote:
Hypothetically, if GW engages in social medial, even if disgruntled veterans are mainly reasonable people who post constructive comments, there may still be a minority who may choose to bring their vents into whatever social media GW may come up with.

Well, yes, of course there will.

That's part of the point of opening up communication with their customer base. It's not just for people to pat them on the head and say 'well done!'...


However they chose to approach it, it would take some time for that negative opinion to thaw.

 
   
Made in de
Repentia Mistress





Santuary 101

 insaniak wrote:
 milkboy wrote:
Hypothetically, if GW engages in social medial, even if disgruntled veterans are mainly reasonable people who post constructive comments, there may still be a minority who may choose to bring their vents into whatever social media GW may come up with.

Well, yes, of course there will.

That's part of the point of opening up communication with their customer base. It's not just for people to pat them on the head and say 'well done!'...


However they chose to approach it, it would take some time for that negative opinion to thaw.


I doubt there are many who will be saying well done. Do you?

DS:70+S+G+M-B--IPw40k94-D+++A++/wWD380R+T(D)DM+

Avatar scene by artist Nicholas Kay. Give credit where it's due! 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

 milkboy wrote:


I doubt there are many who will be saying well done. Do you?


No, and with good reason.

Hence why they should be engaging with the customer base. Ignoring it doesn't make it go away.

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Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias! 
   
Made in gb
Ultramarine Librarian with Freaky Familiar





Shrivel up and die.

Or burn Tom Kirby at the stake.

Either works for me.
   
Made in au
Sister Vastly Superior






As has been mentioned the first thing they should do is re-establish an online social media presence with a team dedicated to that role. It really is quite possibly the cheapest and most effective means of improving their image among fans.

Before GW HQ shut them down the FW and GW Digital facebook pages had little to no ranting and shouting (especailly when compared to your typical forum) despite being the only means of communication between the customers and the design studio. The staff of those pages actively enganged in conversation answering rules questions and product queries.

Beta Testing:
Look at steam early access & Kickstarter, people are paying money to playtest an unfinished product and take on the role of QA. IF GW is that woried about their secrecy do a closed beta and have testers sign NDAs. Public beta testing of their games would improve the relationship between customer & company as well as improving the quality of their games.

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I have a KickStarter problem. 
   
Made in gb
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Wales: Where the Men are Men and the sheep are Scared.

They need to engage with the customer. being proud of your ignorance in regards to your customers and stating "we do no market research" is idiotic.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/27 00:01:25




 
   
Made in au
Anti-Armour Swiss Guard






Newcastle, OZ

Apparently some people have difficulty realising when I use sarcasm. So I will preface my comment with my sarcasm tags [ sarcasm ] [/ sarcasm ]

How could they improve their public image?

[ sarcasm ]Maybe get the board filmed having their way with a stray goat and have it go viral?

It'd still be an improvement on what they have now. [ / sarcasm ]

I'm OVER 50 (and so far over everyone's BS, too).
Old enough to know better, young enough to not give a ****.

That is not dead which can eternal lie ...

... and yet, with strange aeons, even death may die.
 
   
Made in gb
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Wales: Where the Men are Men and the sheep are Scared.

 chromedog wrote:
Apparently some people have difficulty realising when I use sarcasm. So I will preface my comment with my sarcasm tags [ sarcasm ] [/ sarcasm ]

How could they improve their public image?

[ sarcasm ]Maybe get the board filmed having their way with a stray goat and have it go viral?

It'd still be an improvement on what they have now. [ / sarcasm ]


I don't think that would work very well. I am taking your post as a serious suggestion.




 
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






 chromedog wrote:
Apparently some people have difficulty realising when I use sarcasm. So I will preface my comment with my sarcasm tags [ sarcasm ] [/ sarcasm ]

How could they improve their public image?

[ sarcasm ]Maybe get the board filmed having their way with a stray goat and have it go viral?

It'd still be an improvement on what they have now. [ / sarcasm ]
*Watches film on YouTube*

Hunh, so GW is working on their new line of full scale beastmen....

The Auld Grump, if the video goes viral, does that make the result a Nurgle beastman?

Kilkrazy wrote:When I was a young boy all my wargames were narratively based because I played with my toy soldiers and vehicles without the use of any rules.

The reason I bought rules and became a real wargamer was because I wanted a properly thought out structure to govern the action instead of just making things up as I went along.
 
   
Made in gb
The Daemon Possessing Fulgrim's Body





Devon, UK

 Blacksails wrote:
 milkboy wrote:


I doubt there are many who will be saying well done. Do you?


No, and with good reason.

Hence why they should be engaging with the customer base. Ignoring it doesn't make it go away.


Actually, that's exactly what appears to be happening to the customer base!

We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark

The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.

The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox

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Made in us
Posts with Authority






 milkboy wrote:
 insaniak wrote:
 milkboy wrote:
Hypothetically, if GW engages in social medial, even if disgruntled veterans are mainly reasonable people who post constructive comments, there may still be a minority who may choose to bring their vents into whatever social media GW may come up with.

Well, yes, of course there will.

That's part of the point of opening up communication with their customer base. It's not just for people to pat them on the head and say 'well done!'...


However they chose to approach it, it would take some time for that negative opinion to thaw.


I doubt there are many who will be saying well done. Do you?
The thing is that just interacting with people helps - I have posted questions on the Paizo message board, and gotten answers from the CEO of the company!

There are places where they have admitted mistakes that they have made, and either asked for or given suggestions on how to fix it.

My favorite on the Paizo board was somebody's idea for a summoner villain - where the eidolon had an agenda of its own, and had been using summoner after summoner to advance that agenda, killing them off as they became a liability.

The reply came back that that was not at all how the eidolon/summoner relationship worked - but that they were so stealing that idea anyway, for their own game.

The Reaper board is also very active - and people from the company interact every day.

And this interaction is building a community. A feeling of shared interests.

The Auld Grump

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/27 02:23:04


Kilkrazy wrote:When I was a young boy all my wargames were narratively based because I played with my toy soldiers and vehicles without the use of any rules.

The reason I bought rules and became a real wargamer was because I wanted a properly thought out structure to govern the action instead of just making things up as I went along.
 
   
Made in gb
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Wales: Where the Men are Men and the sheep are Scared.

You will find that kind of interaction and service will allow people to forgive more too. A company that chats to their customers, informs their customers and treats them will will be given the benefit of the doubt. Places that treat customers poorly will not. There are some places that the customer service makes me willing to pay more for and their are other places that I have had bad customer service experience with that I would never buy from again no matter how cheap.



 
   
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Nashville, TN

Stop treating their customers like complete morons addicted to their product that will roll over and ask for another " but this time, put some STANK on it!"

"Holy Sh*&, you've opened my eyes and changed my mind about this topic, thanks Dakka OT!"

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 warboss wrote:

GW didn't mean to hit your wallet and I know they love you, baby. I'm sure they won't do it again so it's ok to purchase and make up.


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