The Art of Addressing your Mistakes
No one is perfect. Every brand can make a mistake, whether it be a defective product, long delays or accidental impoliteness. It’s understandable, especially when there are so many clients to satisfy. It’s necessary, however, to know how to fix these mistakes.
I remember when I was in training at a large hardware store when I was a student. During my training, we learnt it was important to be polite and to give a little extra to every customer. The reasoning behind this is that each person who leaves the store unsatisfied, will talk about it to ten of their friends who might not come back as a result.This was true ten years ago. Today, we can easily multiply that number by 10 or even 100. Why? Because the network of each individual in our society has evolved due to of social media. Now, we have a network that is a lot bigger and, that fact alone, is capable of influencing people in a positive or negative way.
Is this beneficial to your brand, or not? I have some good and bad news for you. Starting with the bad news. Yes, a client who isn’t satisfied can do a lot of damage to your brand. They will inevitably talk about it with their family and their friends, but, more importantly, they will probably talk about it on their blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, on a forum or they might even post a video on YouTube. You know the old adage: “Spoken words are fleeting, but the written word stick”. It’s the same on the web- What is written on the web sticks.
The good news is that practically everything that is said on the net is public. Therefore, it is imperative that discussions regarding your brand are under surveillance. Furthermore, it is important to treat every mention of the brand differently. For example, a customer is satisfied with a service and talks about it on their blog or on Twitter. Thank them, and why not offer them and their followers a coupon or discount? A customer is not satisfied? Communicate with them using the same outlet. Let them know that you’re sorry that they’re not satisfied and find a solution that will benefit all parties involved. In most cases, it is just a misunderstanding and the customer will just be happy to be heard. So while an unsatisfied customer can harm the company, a satisfied customer can help a lot. However, it is important to be able to identify these individuals.
But, why apologize on Twitter and not on the phone? If the customer calls in to complain, it would be logical to communicate with them over the phone. The same rule applies if a customer uses Twitter as their outlet. It is true that certain companies are hesitant to apologize on Twitter because it involves apologizing in front of billions of people. I believe that it’s important to admit a mistake and it’s even more important for everyone to see it. If a company apologizes over the phone, the general public will never know about it and will remain under the impression that the company does not listen to their clients.
But what does it all mean? If you offer a good quality product or service, it would be beneficial to ensure that you guarantee customer satisfaction. Traditionally, customer service was done over the phone. Today, customers want a fast response without having to wait around all day to speak to a representative. They want to go about their business and return to the issue later. It’s so easy to offer this kind of service to your customers and it will cost less than a call center. Why have call centers in India to save money when you can reduce them and offer customer service on Twitter?
Want an example? The popular tv show Big Brother accidentally announced who was getting booted 10 minutes too early and ruined the surprise as a result. Responses from disappointed viewers started to pour in on Twitter and a few minutes later, the tweet was erased. But, the people didn’t forget. You have to understand that the Big Brother viewers wait all week for Friday to arrive to find out who has been voted off. But, the Big Brother team apologized and promised that it would never happen again. The majority of the viewers accepted the apology : “Alright, you’re forgiven! Thanks for apologizing.” In the past, the approach was to pretend that nothing happened and not to comment- They didn’t even think about apologizing! In 2010, the approach is very different in that people want an honest brand. This is a well-managed crisis!
About the author: Melanie
Mélanie is community manager at EbullitionMelanie wrote 2 article(s) on Ebullition.
