Your Easy Guide to Managing Your Brand s Reputation

Transcription

1 Your Easy Guide to Managing Your Brand s Reputation

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary Lululemon: Just One Brand Reputation Fail in a Banner Year...4 Don t Be the Next Public Relations Blunder Put it in Writing... 6 Always Be Watching Always Be Positive Always Put People First Always Be Honest...10 Resources

3 It s always entertaining to read about the latest marketing blunder by some company a misguided tweet here, a non-apology there but when the story people are laughing at is about you, it stops being fun and starts being serious. Reputation management is more important now than ever before. A negative online review or customer service experience gone wrong will spread from person to person like wildfire, and the longer you wait to attend to the problem, the worse it looks. Negative attention online can convince someone to choose your competitor over you, and that s never good for business. The worst part of a negative online reputation is, it can stick around forever, available for anyone to find with the quickest internet search. TWEET THIS: Negative attention online can convince someone to choose your competitor over you. #posimage 3

4 LULULEMON: JUST ONE BRAND REPUTATION FAIL IN A BANNER YEAR 2013 saw no shortage of brand reputation missteps. McDonalds, Burger King, Abercrombie & Fitch, KFC, Vitamin Water, Belvedere Vodka, and American Apparel are just some of the brands who had to do some brand first aid after marketing campaigns misfired or employees misused social media. At the beginning of the year, luxury yoga brand Lululemon was facing reputation issues over sheer pants, and issues of pilling fabric. Lululemon s founder and CEO, Chip Wilson, blamed the problem on his customers, saying, "Frankly some women's bodies just don't actually work for it They don't work for some women's bodies," he continued. "It's really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it." Lululemon s huge, cult-like following responded quickly and harshly, condemning Wilson s comments, prompting Wilson to post an apology video. In his apology video, Wilson looked directly into the camera and said, I m sad. I m really sad. I m sad for the repercussions of my actions. I m sad for the people at Lululemon who I care so much about that have really had to face the brunt of my actions. I take responsibility for all that has occurred and the impact it has had on you. I m sorry to have put you all through this. Wilson has since stepped down as CEO and now acts as the company chair. While it s too early to say how his now-famous quotes will affect the company long term, it s clear that people will remember this PR flub for a long time. 4

5 DON T BE THE NEXT PUBLIC RELATIONS BLUNDER Start managing your brand reputation now, and you ll reduce the chance of becoming the next amusing business-blunder headline or internet marketing-fail meme. We recently conducted a survey of 101 local car shoppers. Some interesting trends in their responses indicated that a company s reputation has significant impact on purchasing decisions: 64% of respondents consult 3rd party review sites before buying, like Yelp or Yellow Pages reviews. Review sites were the number 1 resource in respondents research process, above dealer ads and offers, and manufacturer websites. 85% said finding a bad review online would impact their purchasing decision. 18% said opinions on a company from family and friends impact their buying decision. 85% SAID THAT BAD ONLINE REVIEWS IMPACT PURCHASES 5

6 PUT IT IN WRITING We strongly suggest encouraging your employees to be active on social media for your business, but to prevent this from resulting in any nasty surprises, be sure to write up a social media policy outlining what is and is not acceptable to share. Train your employees in proper social media behavior, and give them copies of your policy, with the consequences for breaking the rules clearly outlined. Some sample policies to consider: All employees participating in social media on behalf of the business must abide by all laws Remain professional at all times Keep company info private All user accounts will be surrendered to the company any time an employee leaves the company No employee may discuss legal matters involving the company Offensive, defamatory, libelous, or other such posts are prohibited The overall tone of posts should be educational, helpful, and positive Don t feed the trolls* *FAQ: What do I do about trolls? Trolls refer to that internet phenomenon wherein people comment in an inflammatory way just to get attention and engagement. Feeding the trolls means adding more fire to the flame. The best way to treat a troll? Ignore them, block them, and continue the positive conversations. TWEET THIS: Train your employees in proper social media behavior. #AskPG 6

7 ALWAYS BE WATCHING Failing to monitor your brand rep online is like allowing people to talk behind your back while actually standing right behind your back. There s no excuse for not knowing what people are saying about you. Set up Google alerts for your business name and your own personal name, and Google will send you s with new results. FAQ: What should I set up alerts for? You can set up an endless number of Google alerts. Some search queries to consider: Your company name Your personal name Names of other public-facing positions in the company The keywords your business focuses on Industry keywords Competitors business names Competitors personal names Important industry organizations, boards, etc. In addition to Google search, do your own search on review sites, social media sites, and blogs to see if anyone is discussing you or your brand. If they are, join in but remember, keep it positive. 7

8 ALWAYS BE POSITIVE In all your business interactions online, you should be positive, helpful, friendly, and approachable. You won t have a business for long if people get the feeling you don t want to talk to them. Some areas to avoid online, to maintain a positive image: Never disparage a brand or a person. Don t talk politics. Don t talk religion. Seek to foster understanding, rather than controversy. TWEET THIS: You won t have a business for long if people get the feeling you don t want to talk to them. #posimage 8

9 ALWAYS PUT PEOPLE FIRST If people who come across your brand get the feeling you re only out to make a buck, at the expense of whomever or whatever gets in your way, they ll not only avoid doing business with you but they ll tell all their friends to avoid you, too. People should always come first, and this policy should inform how you train your employees to treat customers, both online and offline. Excellent customer service is the proactive business owner s best reputation management tool. Treating people well from the beginning, and at every stage of the customers buying cycle, makes it a lot less likely that you ll have any fires to put out. FAQ: How do I encourage a customer service oriented culture in my company? Some key tips, adapted from Inc.com: Frequently survey customers and post the results for employees to see Gamification: Offer incentives for better customer-survey scores Be very clear with employees about customer service expectations Explain why customer service is so important Treat your employees well. Happy employees create happy customers. Teach your culture; don t just expect employees to absorb it. Build a team atmosphere: Give your employees goals they need to work together to achieve, and then trust them to achieve those goals. Take down barriers to a good customer experience. Costco is famous for its generous return policy. The company empowers employees to say yes to returns easily, without having to ask a supervisor. This creates customers who are satisfied, and come back for more. 9

10 ALWAYS BE HONEST In all your digital marketing efforts, in all your business strategies, in all your interactions with people, strive to use best practices. Black hat marketing techniques, sly back room deals, and other ways to cut corners might save you money but only hurt your business in the end. And when negative comments, reviews, or attacks do happen as they almost surely will, eventually take an honest, people-first approach to making things right. Listen. Sympathize. If you really messed up, apologize with a real, sincere apology. And find a solution that turns the unhappy party into a happy, repeat customer. If that solution doesn t reveal itself right away, keep searching til you find it. FAQ: Should I delete negative comments about me or my company? It is a common misconception that the best way to treat negative comments is to delete them. This is a mistake, for a couple of reasons: If anyone sees the post before you delete it, and then notice it s been deleted, you look like you re covering up something. Negative comments can be used as an opportunity. If one person has negative comments, other people may have had that same experi ence. Your company can use the negative comments to attend to and fix the problem, and turn the unhappy customer into a raving fan. Showing people you care about every response even the less-thanhappy ones and that you respond to honest concerns engenders trust between you and your audience. The importance of trust can t be overstated people don t do business with companies they don t trust. TWEET THIS: If you really messed up, apologize with a real, sincere apology. #AskPG 10

11 RESOURCES

12 CONNECT WITH US TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION Peppergang.com PEPPERGANG is a full digital marketing agency offering services in advertising, media buying & planning, search engine optimization, social media marketing, PR, web analytics and marketing consulting to entrepreneurs, start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. 12