There are times when things just don’t go according to plan. We’ve all been there. Perhaps you’re experiencing it right now. If you are, take this opportunity to do your brand good. When things go well, your brand appears to pretty much take care of itself. But when the “!!!” hits the fan, all hell breaks loose. Damage control takes over. Many companies suddenly have fingers in a frenzy pointing outward. Who’s to blame? – how do we stop the bleeding? – Heads are gonna roll!
Instead of panicking and driving up your blood pressure, perhaps it might be a good idea to make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear. You, I and most people (this includes your customers) are especially impressed by how a company handles a problem. The last time you had an issue with a supplier and they initially didn’t accept blame but tried sloppily to hedge responsibility – how did you feel towards them. With myself, it made me very uncomfortable. I was anticipating a fight.
Your customer may be feeling the same way UNLESS you totally take control and make it right. It doesn’t matter who is to blame – just make it right. Reassure the customer that “!!!” happens, but not to be concerned, because you are putting their concerns first. When this is behind us, then you can address your systems and procedures to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Customer service must live up to it’s name.
Of course when this happens, your brand skyrockets in the conscientiousness of your customer. They are proud doing business with you. In branding, this is what we call creating an advocate. They are money in the bank.
The same goes with something like paying your bills on time, suppliers love you. There is no greater compliment a supplier can give you when they describe your company to someone as, “they are terrific and they pay their bills on time”. Other people are anxious to do business with that kind of brand.
If you run a pizza business and you offer a guaranteed delivery time. It is those moments when you are late and have to give up the pizza for free that your brand takes another shot skyward. Because you addressed the problem with integrity, the customer becomes an advocate for your brand. They will tell everyone they know for the next week how they scored that free pizza from you. I’ve heard tell of companies purposely failing in some small way just so that they can prove the validity of a guarantee and create positive buzz about the brand.
Sometimes bad can be great. Customer service branding can differentiate you and that makes you money. It is all about the experience. If you thought that there is nothing to differentiate you because everyone sells the same commodity items, then you should seriously consider making customer service exceptional within your category, this will breed advocates and YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK!
Thanks for your feedback Nesh, I too am no fan of “most” customer service automation. I understand it is a bottom line thing, but one growing trend I hate is DIY checkout. But one type of customer service I just discovered in live chat with a service person at a printing company. It is first rate action and efficient. I would love to see more of this. This company’s brand is delivering a terrific experience with me.
I think that is where most companies fall down. One of my pet hates is automated services and cost cutting which involves marginalising customer service. I have conciously avoided companies that have offered bad customer service in the past even if they offer the cheapest deals. Why? Because they treated people like commodities rather than people.
I have also been in situations where companies have offered such personalised results in bad situations that I have stayed with that company even though they screwed up.
Spot on article
This is so true, Ed. Nobody’s perfect, after all. Not even your own business. I think it’s crucial, therefore, to be graceful when you fail. Look at Jet Blue, of course, as a great example. Following last winter’s stranded-on-the-runway debacle, the company made a sincere apology and made some real, honest, corrective post-mistake moves. I’d argue that they’re just as popular among fliers today as they were a year ago.
Of course, service is what small businesses do best. If they can recover when they trip, especially when their bigger competitors can’t, their brand will most certainly bounce back stronger.
You hit the nail on the head here: Sometimes bad can be great.
“Nobody’s perfect” – you said a mouthful there Matt. When things go south in my world, I try my best to make the situation a good experience for my customer.
I agree with you on Jet Blue. I think the CEO was smart to go on (Letterman I think) and tell his story. No excuses, just promises to do it better. That is a brand conscience leader, we need more like him.
Thank you for joining the discussion.