After reading chapter four, Social Media and Your Targeted Audience, in the book The New Rules of
Marketing and PR by David M. Scott, there were many important tidbits that stood out to me. One that stood out the most was the section about
businesses participating in online forums.
According to Scott (2013), “Your best customers participate in online
forums – so should you” (p. 64).
Online forums are a place where consumers gather to discuss
an array of topics in the form of posted messages. These discussions include topics about products and/or services of businesses. The comments can range from complaints to
positive feedback. Previous consumers
and potential consumers log onto these websites and create an environment that
can hurt or improve the business.
"When an organization is the subject of heated discussions, particularly negative ones, it just feels weird if a representative of that organization doesn't jump in with a response. If the company is dark, not saying a thing online, participants start wondering, 'What are they hiding?' Just having a presence on blogs, forums, and chat rooms that your customers frequent shows that you care about the people who spend money with your organization" (Scott, p. 64).
He suggest that a business does not wait until there is a crisis, but participate in online forums actively, (2013). When I am interested in a new product, I usually go to amazon.com and read the customer reviews. I regularly visit this site and I haven't seen any employees of a business comment on negative feedback and try to help out consumers resolve their situation. Many even comment on how bad the customer service of a company actually is. Another website I go to is, yelp.com. I use this website to look for reviews of businesses that offer a service. I have seen many companies actually respond to negative feedback on this site by at least offering an apology of some sort.
Having an online presence on these types of websites allows a business to intercept the negative feedback, thank the posters of the positive feedback, learn first hand how they can improve their products/services and create good customer relationships. A good customer relationship can help build brand equity and loyal customers.
Do any of you engage in some sort of online forums to discuss products/services purchased or read about products/services before making a purchase?
References:
Scott, D.(2013). The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, John & Sons,
Incorporated
Hi Andrea - Great choice of "teaching" moment.
ReplyDeleteI would say this is a theme we have seen time and time again - both throughout the IMC courses, and reported in the news. Customer conversations can make or break a company - organizations need to be a part of the conversation, or they miss a valuable opportunity to shape their brand perceptions.
Scott brings up "forums" as a main source of consumer conversations - but I would also argue that Twitter, with it's instantaneous nature, extremely broad reach and very public platform is an equally (if not more) important place for companies to be engaged with.
You bring up Amazon as an example of a "forum"-esque platform where companies should be commenting / talking to consumers. With the recent hype around fake reviews being published - do you think companies are scared to put their comments out on Amazon in particular? If a company tries to remove negative comments, or have an reviewer publish a retraction once a problem has been remidied - do you think that somehow taints the overall authenticity of the conversation? Should people be allowed to vent?
For more information about fake Amazon reviews, check out this Forbes article - "Fake Reviews: Amazon's Rotton Core" http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2012/08/28/fake-reviews-amazons-rotten-core/
I agree that Twitter is just as a important. Between tweets, retweets and replies, a message can reach many more people than it would being posted in a forum. That's why I also feel it's important that a business has a presence on Twitter, at least for customer service.
ReplyDeleteGood article, I have also heard about fake reviews on Yelp. I don't think the fake reviews would scare a company from commenting, because I think most of the fake reviews would come from within the company and would most likely be positive. Also, if people are posting negative comments to sabotage another company, I don't think it would be enough to actually make a difference in the overall feedback, because all of the negative comments can't possibly be fake. However, I think a site like Amazon would be a little hard for a company to use to interact with consumers because of how many reviews products get. I think it would take a lot of work and a special team to keep up with all the reviews on all the products by the brand. An investment I believe many companies aren't willing to make, especially big brands.
I don't think negative comments should be removed, that definitely taints the overall authenticity, but I don't see anything wrong with a reviewer giving an update on a problem that has been remedied. Many times when consumers have a bad experience with a product or service, they are willing to purchase from the business again, if the customer service was great and the issue was fixed quickly.
Customers should be able to just vent and businesses should take the opportunity to keep loyal customers happy and turn upset customers into happy customers.
Very true Andrea - it's a fine line to walk between managing a problem, and overcompensating for issues on social platforms.
DeleteIn your job - have you ever had to remedy a client / consumer complaint on a social platform? If not - have you ever had to do it face-to-face? If so - how would the interaction have changed had it been conducted over social media?
Hi Andrea,
DeleteI think you did a very nice job explaining the chapter in your post. I would have to agree, I use Amazon all the time for product reviews and I also rely on the consumer comments from most websites I use to shop. I rely so much on user reviews and comments that if a certain product has no reviews, I become hesitant to purchase it online. I also use applications like Yelp, and Foursquare to check out good places to eat or go out for a drink.
The topic of false reviews is one that leaves a lot of room for discussion and as Andrea stated above, people may try to sabotage a company by giving them a poor product review. I also agree with Andrea, that if a product has negative reviews, companies should leave them up because it gives the opportunity for other consumers to disagree and defend the product. When I worked for Macys.com and we received a poor review on a product, we would do our best working with customer service to mend whatever issues caused the negative review and then sometimes the review would be removed if the product was fixed.
Because you mentioned Amazon and how you use their website to read reviews, here is a review that has become so popular across the web you may have already seen and heard of it. Amazon users have sort of made reviewing this product a running joke and there are over 2,000 reviews about it, all positive.
Here's the link:
This shirt being sold on Amazon has remarkably brought users from all over the world to chime in an comment, making it an on-going joke. Talk about how Scott mentions "social media is a cocktail party" (Scott, 2013) How about social media is a place for people to get together and create some laughs?
Great post!
Nicole
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Three-Short-Sleeve/dp/B007I4HI1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392337791&sr=8-1&keywords=three+wolf+moon+t-shirt
Scott, D.(2013). The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2014, from Amazon website: http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Three-Short-Sleeve/dp/B007I4HI1K/ ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392337791&sr=8-1&keywords=three+wolf+moon+t-shirt
Adrienne, I have not had to experience this as of yet. But, I think complaints would be easier to solve online. If a customer is truly upset and there is a face to face confrontation, the attitude of the consumer can change the attitude of the employee and this can cause a hostile situation. Although, employee's are suppose to have a 'customer is always right' attitude sometimes it is hard.
DeleteHowever, communicating via messages sometimes can cause a problem too, because you might read a message in way it wasn't intended to be interpreted.
Do you think there would be much of difference between online and face-to-face?
Hi Nicole, I actually haven't seen that review before. Thanks for the read. Your response made me think of the other Amazon customer reviews for the sugarless gummy bears by Haribo's. Because of the negative feedback about the same issue, I have seen articles posted about this on blogs and Facebook. Some reviews are so funny, I don't even know if they are completely true.
Deletehttp://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummy-Candy-Sugarless-5-Pound/product-reviews/B000EVQWKC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1
Lutz, Ashley. (2014, January 16). Amazon reviews of haribo's sugarless gummy bears are terrifying. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/reviews-haribos-sugarless-gummy-bears-2014-1
Hi Andrea,
DeleteYes! This is another great example of exactly how reviews can get skewed. Of course some of them aren't completely true, which is also the case for the Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt, but it has brought users together to put a playful spin on taking full advantage of consumer reviews.
Nicole
Hey Andrea
ReplyDeleteI read chapter 4 too and I found it particularly interesting. I like the points that you brought up in this discussion. In this day and age online customer feedback is huge. It really can make or break you. I read a lot of reviews on sites like Amazon as well but believe it or not I never really am the person to comment on these sites. It is said though that, "just over 75% of those who rely on the internet reported that they read online reviews of businesses regularly or occasionally, and that positive reviews make them more likely to trust that business more (Peyok, 2012)." This is a huge percentage of internet users.
I like that you mention how Scott talked about not waiting for a crisis to begin participating in social media. This is a good point and I agree. You want to have an established media channel that people trust so when there is a crisis people can rely on what you say through that channel.
-Michele
Works Cited:
Peyok, L. (2012, May 17). The Power of Online Reviews for Small Businesses. Dowitcher Designs. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://www.dowitcherdesigns.com/blog/the-power-of-online-reviews-for-small-businesses/
Hi Michele, I also don't really post my reviews and comments on these sites as well. I only recently did one on yelp.com because the service I received at the Sugar Factory in NYC, was just that bad. Doing a review made me feel a little better.
DeleteAndrea - You wrote a bad review about a restaurant because you received poor service. It may have made you feel better - but the real question is - did someone from the restaurant contact you to address the situation?
DeleteIf not - perhaps someone in their marketing department should read your blog post :)
Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI like your topic and your explanation. I think forums are a great resource for information, however, I feel those reading and replying to them should write and use the information wisely.
I work in the service department at BMW and when I hear a customer say “I read it on an online forum that it should be fixed like this”, I just want to say “don’t believe everything you read”. While my perspective on this is strictly based on how customers provide information to me; they are always looking to fight me on repairs of their vehicle and looking to get something for free. I feel that as a company BMW should have an online representative on the forums to filter this traffic. However, it will be difficult because there are so many independent forums to filter.
On the other hand, if you are searching for a review of a product and are proactive in looking for the proper information, forums are great.
I feel when Scott was describing online forums; he was referencing forums by companies not necessarily the smaller customer based forums I experience all day at work.
-Joanna
Yes, I too think he was referencing forums by companies, because trafficking tweets, fb messages, amazon posts and every other site that allows for comments would be too much. It would take a whole special team perhaps and I don't think companies want to invest in that.
DeleteA lot of companies don't have forums for customers to voice their comments, so they are only left with these other sites, which sometimes isn't good for the company or the employees, like you.
Andrea - you bring up a great question - so I want to start a new comment string so that others can contribute as well. Your question was -
ReplyDeleteWhen dealing with unhappy consumers - "Do you think there would be much of difference between online and face-to-face?"
A 2010 MEC study found the following -
"Customer satisfaction feedback from the study revealed that Fully Engaged customers are more likely to have had face-to-face interactions with a brand. More than half (52%) of Actively Disengaged customers had phone contact with a company, compared with just 18% of Fully Engaged Customers. On the other hand, 76% of fully engaged customers had in-person interactions, versus 48% of Actively Disengaged customers. In other words, customers are more likely to be engaged when they have had in-person interaction with a brand" (Peoplemetrics, 2011).
This, to mee, says that if a customer is unhappy - organizations (if possible) should initially address the issue in the channel it was communicated to them (twitter, over the phone on a forum etc) But then - take it offline, either to a personal phone call or an in-store location. Not only will this help ensure there is no missunderstood communications (in body langugae or voice tone) but also - face to face engagements results in more engaged consumers. Organizations have the opportunity not only to remedy an issue - but deepen the relationship.
If a company can't be F2F (like Groupon) - my advice would be to make the communications as personable as possible. For instance - with Groupon - I once tweeted about them regularly sending me deals about baby clothes / supplies. I'm not anywhere close to having a child - and it was irritating seeing those deals come up over and over again - even though I've never purchased any.
Groupon responded immediately with an apology, and a picture of a kitten with a "we're sorry!" text bubble!
Internet humor aside - I continue to swear by Groupon, and have gone on to purchase a number of things from them. This experience, to me, proves that you can still offer valuable customer service if done thoughtfully.
What does everyone else think?
Citations -
PeopleMetrics, (2011) "How the Mode of Interaction Impacts Customer Engagement" PeopleMetrics.com. Retrived from http://www.peoplemetrics.com/blog/how-the-mode-of-interaction-impacts-customer-engagement/#sthash.1eAApWW7.dpuf
I don't think their will be much of a difference generally speaking. I liked your assessment of the quote from peoplemetrics.com. I never thought about taking it offline after addressing the issue, but it makes sense because it's good too make sure everyone is on the same page.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know Groupon fixed your issue quickly and apologized. Even better to know it only took a tweet and not a phone call. Not fixing the problem, could have probably cost them a valuable customer.
I have gone to places based on reviews many times. Especially on Facebook where it highlights what your friends think about the place. I once worked at a bakery and we were approached to do advertising on Yelp. The owner declined and her Yelp score tanked. A number of reviews were written that also made it clear they had not been to our location as well. As with any new technology, you need to be careful.
ReplyDelete