Written by Anne Miller
Wednesday, 30 June 2010 23:46
Word Of Mouse Bites Both Ways!
It’s been a marketing truism since Roman times ( remember those scrawled recommendations found on the walls of Pompeii? )… word of mouth pays!
It doesn’t matter how many ads you read, hear or watch, when your best mate says he loves XYZ product, there’s a great chance you’re going to try it, too.
This, of course, is the basis for all social marketing, (see previous stories), especially those which successfully entice real people to endorse your product. This has been dubbed “word of mouse” (not original, but a great phrase!).
However something that is often overlooked is that gossip can also be extremely negative to your business.
If a friend tells you that she got food poisoning after eating at the ABC Cafe, then there’s an extremely good chance that you’re not going to risk eating there. In the old days (ie pre-Facebook) the owners of the cafe would probably never know why their sales started slipping.
These days, there’s a good chance the alleged food poisoning victim will write about her tribulations online with hundreds – if not thousands – of readers viewing it. There’s even special websites which publish nothing but consumer complaints e.g. www.notgoodenough.org. Others, like the American phenomenon Yelp, publish both positive and negative reviews.
Eventually the business owner will probably find this, too … so what is the next step?
1. The answer is NOT to ignore it in the hope it will go away. Complaints that took less than a minute to post online could still be turning up in search engine results years later.
2. Take a deep breath, gather your facts and then register as member on the website so you can make a reply.
3. You may well be angry but don’t let this show when you post. If you can’t hold back, don’t post anything! It’s better to wait a few days until you are calmer.
4. Don’t insult or threaten the dissatisfied customer. Don’t let your emotions run away … and definitely don’t call them names! Stick to the facts.
5. Try to be gracious. Apologize for what the customer didn’t like and offer to make it right. Offer a refund. Invite them to contact you privately. In other words, deal with it in the same way as you would handle a face-to-face complaint in your shop if there were a hundred other customers standing there watching you.
6. If you think the comments are unfair or malicious (eg posted by a competitor), try contacting the website owner directly and ask that the comments be removed. However, still ensure that you have posted something conciliatory so that in the meantime readers will leave with a more positive view of your business.
Case Story: How Not to Handle An Online Complaint
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