It’s long been known that promoting the Google review of your business can be a risky strategy – particularly when you are in the hospitality industry – it’s a really hard gig to manage when your employees could be wearing uniform / branded merchandise after work… you’ll know where I’m going with this. You have no control over their actions – none. At least you thought you didn’t.
Social Tailor is in the reputation management business – or in some instances – crisis management. Specifically on social media channels – however, TripAdvisor, Feefo, Google reviews all fall under the remit.
Where do you start?
1. Promote the good stuff your business does: the charity runs, the sustainability, green card – join BCorp, live up to its exacting standards – do the really good stuff and talk about it – get your donation cheque blown up and make it a photo opportunity – make it a big deal. All of it! So when the bad stuff hits the fan, you don’t look like a complete bunch of swindling idiots. This is for starters, you should be doing this as a matter of course.
Social channels… you’ve created an Instagram account, you’ve even connected your company page to your LinkedIn profile, but the angry stuff happens on Twitter – you’re too busy to notice, days go past before someone mentions: “you’re getting hammered, are you not going to respond?”
2. Yes, you need a business account on every channel – not to post daily, or even once a month – if your customer survey says all your customers / clients use LinkedIn – that’s where you focus the social campaigns. However, if you set up alerts on all channels for brand / product mentions you’ll be able to respond on the platform you get hit on – and quickly. Ideally you respond the same day (the quicker the better).
3. Your CRM system has a file or list of passionate fans, they love you beyond reason, maybe they’ve rated you in the past, maybe they haven’t, why not email each one individually with:
The reason you are not sending out an automated review email, you don’t want them all to be added on the same day at the same time. In the email give them an incentive to complete the review – be clear, this is not a bribe, you want genuine experiences recounted – film the lucky dip process and use something like: Comment Picker.
The whole process can be turned into a waiting game – all creating valuable content.
4. As for the bad criticism – what you are doing here is accepting the review and burying it under a pile of recent and glowing reviews. Of course you are going to offer a response of gratitude for the rubbish review – yes take it personally – rise above the situation and learn from it, (every situation is different and requires a specific type of response – I’m generalising here) and respond as an individual, not “the brand”, you are a brand ambassador too, include your name.
5. Internal communication – in this world of over communication it is still surprising to me how little colleagues actually listen (notice I did not say speak) to each other – we all have devices not far from our person to communicate with or review friends activity. How about you set up a “Basecamp” channel or “Slack” channel specifically for worries and concerns in the business? Call it ideas or something more positive if you wish – on the understanding that it is to be used for solutions to issues. And have your community manager (or similar) post: “has anyone ideas about how to…” and do it every week, so everyone gets into the mindset of problem solving.
Colin runs a training session for Edinburgh Chamber: “How To Approach and Manage Customer Service Online” (this one is not until September 2019).
Has this helped, would you like to know more?
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