Back in early January, I wrote this post, comparing the promotion strategies of FedEx and UPS. My analysis criticized FedEx's focus on foolish humor and commended UPS's use of their Whiteboard concept.
This week I came across a "Makers+Breakers" piece in the February 11, 2008 issue of Forbes (yes, I am a little behind in my offline reading), touting FedEx as a smart buy. Why? Well, from January 31, 2007, through January 17, 2008, FedEx's value dropped about 25%. The writer, Carrie Coolidge, blamed the economic downturn and rising fuel costs.
I didn't necessarily buy it. As I mentioned yesterday, if the brand's Paddlewheel is out of alignment, its value suffers. FedEx, in my humble opinion, is clearly misaligned.
So I did some checking of stock prices. For the 12-month period of March 30, 2007 - March 28, 2008, FedEx is down 18.75%, while UPS is up 1.51%. UPS's better alignment has led to an increase in value.
But all is not lost for FedEx. Getting smart about selling who they are and what they do will go a long way to rebuilding what they have lost. They can start by using a quote from Ms. Coolidge's article:
"FedEx's business is a logistical miracle: 7.5 million shipments in 220 countries daily."
That tells customers a lot more about their service than unfortunately named business executives and poseurs.
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