Aimee Couture’s blog post Are you listening? did a wonderful job outlining why it is important to listen to what your audience is saying about your company, its product or service on social media outlets. "Marketers should pay close attention to anything that might affect the way their brand is perceived online" . As she stated it is important to acknowledge and make your audience feel important. More importantly strategically use the information gathered to improve the company, product, or service, and take corrective actions.
Receiving positive feedback makes the company and its employees feel great and adds to brand equity. Consumers feel important when they establish a positive online relationship and engage with a company or brand they love. The relationship seems important and authentic.
However, what do you do when the conversation is mostly negative? Delete the comments or ignore them? Avoid both when possible. Using social media to engage and listen to your audience means accepting the good, bad, and the ugly.
What you shouldn’t do:
- The Do-Not-Delete-Rule (DND): "unless a comment is obscene, profane, or bigoted, or it contains someone’s personal and private information, it should not be deleted from a social network site" (Kerpen, p. 81). Deleting the comment can cause a customer to become more upset, creating more negative post, or a hate page toward the company. With a click of a button one angry customer can easily contribute to a company gaining a bad reputation.
- Do Not Ignore: "Not Responding is a Response" (Kerpen, p. 82). Ignoring a post or comment from an upset customer only shows the customer the company doesn’t care about their concerns. It also displays the same message to the rest of the company’s audience that’s watching.
What you should do:
- Respond quickly and publicly, and then take it private (Kerpen, p.82): this shows the customer you care and the rest of the world sees that you listen to consumer feedback and willing to solve consumer problems quickly. When dealing with many consumer complaints or negative comments prioritize them based on the consumer’s online influence.
- Turn complainers into supporters (Kerpen, p.85): if a consumer’s problem can be resolved quickly, the customer may be turned from a hater to a brand supporter . Turning an angry customer into a happy one may change their feelings about the brand, create a positive social media post, or refer the company to friends.
- Consider responding with surprise and delight (Kerpen, p.87): This method goes beyond the public social media apology or acknowledgement. It means doing something extra like adding a gift card, free samples, or refunding a percentage off from purchase.
This article "10 Companies That Totally Rock Customer Service on Social Media" shows how companies listen to its audience, handle customer complaints and negative feedback, and do it well. JcPenny's is another great example of how a company's listening prevented a PR crisis. In 2013 costumers took to social media (mainly twitter) to express the companies new tea kettle resembled Adolf Hitler. JcPenny's recognized the uproar and responded to its audience immediately (Sanburn, 2013). The company addressed the issue in a timely manner and with sensitivity. Always show consumers you understand and care about their concerns. When reviewing, negative feedback, use it to help identify problems within the company and make improvements. Respond promptly to consumers who post negative comments and try to come up with solutions.
References
Couture, A. (2017, January 29). Are you
listening? Retrieved from blogspot.com:
http://aimeelyncouture.blogspot.com/
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable Social Media (2nd
ed.). McGraw Hill.
Sanburn, J. (2013, May 29). JcPenny's Hitler Tea
Kettle Sells Out Online. Retrieved from business.time.com:
http://business.time.com/2013/05/29/jcpenneys-hitler-tea-kettle-sells-out-online/
Hi Ste-Aira,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really liked the point Kerpen made in chapter 6 that “social media comments are the new comment cards” (Kerpen, p. 80).
I used to work in a restaurant many years ago before social media was popular for businesses. Customers regularly filled out comment cards when they received great service or when they were upset about something. Usually a manager would call and apologize, offering a gift card or free meal the next time they came in. While this was somewhat difficult to deal with, the entire issue remained between the customer and the business. The restaurant might have been unable to convince that customer to return, but no other patrons saw the comments. The angry customer likely told a few friends and family members, but they could never have the reach that social media does now.
This is what makes social media scary to businesses - opening themselves up to negativity that could damage their reputation. As Kerpen states, “today’s consumer base is the most empowered in history” (Kerpen, p. 80). Social media has become a megaphone into which customers now have a much louder and more influential voice. According to a study done by VB Insight, “We complain about brands an astonishing 879 million times a year on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media networks. A full 10 percent of us find something to be angry about publicly every single day” (Koetsier, 2014). With so much negativity and complaining, it is incredibly important for companies to be ready to respond.
References
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable Social Media (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.
Koetsier, J. (2014, Dec 12). Social media: We complain 879 million times/year (and Facebook is our top target). Venture Beat. Retrieved from http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/12/social-media-we-complain-879-million-timesyear-and-facebook-is-our-top-target/
Aimee,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback! The stats you refer to about complaining on social media are astonishing. This goes back to your initial points about the importance of listening on social media. In 2013, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants created a social listening desk where four employees were responsible for listening on its social media accounts, focusing on individual experiences (Bessette, 2014). Once a woman tweeted how she was enjoying her stay in the hotel, but was not feeling well. The team rerouted the tweet to the hotel who then sent the woman a bowl of soup, hot tea, and a get well note to her room (Bessette, 2014). I found that to be a great way the company used surprise and delight!
References
Bessette, C. (2014, January 16). Social media superstars 2014.
Retrieved from fortune.com: http://fortune.com/2014/01/16/social-media-superstars-2014-fortunes-best-companies-to-work-for/
Hi Ste-Aria!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the "Do Not Delete" rule because when you "delete someone's comment, it is the ultimate 'screw you!'" It can be very difficult to fight the urge to immediately delete anything negative about your company however a different mindset would be that it gives you the opportunity to take the high road having other consumers see the interaction as well as change the mindset of the individual/group that is already upset and complaining!
Barone (2010) gives 5 benefits as to why you should not delete these negative comments:
1.) You want the conversation to happen at home.
2.) It’s a chance to change the conversation.
3.) You get to show off your customer service.
4.) It gives you street cred.
5.) You get feedback you can act on.
Barone, Lisa. (2010, Nov 19). 5 Reasons NOT To Delete Negative Reviews. Business Insider. Retrieved: http://www.businessinsider.com/5-reasons-not-to-delete-negative-reviews-2010-11
Kerpen, Dave. (2015). Likeable Social Media (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.