Are Your Customers Telling You How They Feel About Your
Brand?
One reason companies frequently
give for not taking advantage of Social Media Marketing is that
they fear people saying unflattering things about their
company or brand.
But here's the thing.
People are already saying bad things
about you and may have been doing so for quite some time. You
just can’t hear them. Many of these people are your customers…
and while they complain about you they are also telling your
potential customers. Social Media simply makes those
conversations visible - it doesn’t create them. And that’s the
very reason marketers need to get involved in Social Media
Marketing - and quickly.
While companies may be slow to use the power
of Social Media, their customers are getting savvier. They’ve
discovered the power of the Internet, Google, blogs, community
forums - even online newspapers - and are using them to share
their feelings about their experience with your brand.
Here’s a recent example.
When a major Canadian telco recently announced
a new branding and advertising campaign the online newspaper
article in the Globe and Mail generated enormous interest - and
over 200 reader comments in a just a few hours. Eventually, the
comments were closed. But the message couldn't have been
clearer. Customers wanted to tell not just the company,
but other consumers about their negative experiences with the
company. Others chimed in with similar stories about their
experience with other companies.
Their biggest issue? Poor customer
service.
And here’s what else
marketers should be worried about:
-
Many customers were very unhappy
with their overall experience of several
companies
-
Many wanted improvements to
customer service first - and were unimpressed with
news of a branding campaign, marketing messages and
PR (which, incidentally included references to
great customer service)
-
Several former customers said
they had already taken their business elsewhere.
Others were planning to at their first
opportunity
-
All had realized the power of
Social Media and the viral nature of the Internet
as a powerful tool for making their voices
heard
-
Most customers simply wanted
someone at the companies to listen and put right
what they thought was wrong so they could have a
better experience
Marketers who care about their customers
impression about their brand, should be having many sleepless
nights.
The 19 “New” Rules of social
Media Copywriting are built on the fact that
successful Social Media Marketing starts with engaging with
customers, putting them first, starting conversations with them
and developing genuine relationships and brand advocates. But
this doesn’t take place in isolation.
Providing excellent customer
service can be the difference between having a
long-term relationship with a customer and not having that
customer at all. Building a relationship with a customer who
has had a bad experience with your brand is difficult and the
potential for creating a brand advocate becomes negligible.
So what do you do when people are saying bad things about you?
How can Social Media help you turn it around? Where should you
start?
I'll give you some tips in Part 2 of this article. Stay
tuned.
by Nicky Jameson - August 17th 2008
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###
Get yourself a free copy of the 19 NEW Rules of Social
Media Copywriting here.
Contact and find out more about Nicky at Copywriting
Studio.
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