| You Can Run But You Can't Hide |
| Written by David Soxman |
| Thursday, 30 October 2008 12:37 |
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With the click of the “enter” button it's done - that blogger's message of anger with the experience they had with your company is now everywhere to be found. Burned into the indelible memory of Google and Yahoo, that negative remark is the equivalent of the “shot heard 'round the world,” and the thing was, you didn't even see it coming. Is this the nightmare scenario you've feared, and as such, you are afraid to allow your customers to enter your online forum? Have you become so paranoid about the chance that there may be someone with an axe to grind out there who is bent on destroying your brand that you simply cannot relinquish control to give a voice to such a person? But what if you don't? Isn't it likely that the one person who has had a bad experience with your brand is likely to tell a whole number of people that they know anyway? Facebook and MySpace provide the perfect breeding ground for just such an expression of dissatisfaction. Wouldn't it be better to know what is being said? There's really no place to hide, so why try to? We live in an information rich environment, what with the access to searchable content so easily available. With this new transparency suddenly the market reputation that you thought you could control is now in the hands of your customers and it's simply not possible to put up a facade to hide any flaws in your brand. As Max Kalehoff with MediaPost says, “It's living by the philosophy that the sum of all your actions equals your brand equity – including the actual product and service you build, to the experience of mundane things like invoicing and returns.” Now, as hard as all of us try, we are human and therefore mistakes can and will happen. It's imperative that you be aware of what is being said about your brand. In this way, you have the ability to: 1. Right the wrong by offering something to correct the mistake 2. Identify what areas of your business that are not in sync with your hoped for brand identity giving you a chance to fix things quickly. 3. Respond to those whose negative comments are exaggerated, misguided, or just plain lies. The bottom line is you have this wonderful asset, your website, and it is the perfect place to manage your brand. As John Gerzema, Young & Rubicam Group's chief insights officer says, “Truly successful brands understand how to be part of the dialogue, rather than trying to control it. They understand the vital needs to be transparent and co-create their brands with consumers.” Don't be afraid to allow people to comment on your blogs or forums. After all, there really is no place to hide.
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