Crisis Marketing: Should Brands Say Sorry When They Get It Wrong?

10/03/2010

By Marlon Bowser, CEO, HTK

A brand is more than the public face of an organisation; it's what we think about it and what we tell our friends. A brand, and its strength, is purely and simply the sum-total of every customer experience served-up. And a brand is a phenomenally hard thing to restore if it's been destroyed.

If we think about a brand-name as a personal friend, then we can ask ourselves whether we would like that friend to say sorry when they let us down. Of course we would,...

...and so the brand should think the same. Only in its case, it's potentially letting down tens of thousands of friends at the same time.

The first step is actually acknowledging to the customer what has happened, and doing it quickly. Don't appear to be burying your head in the sand while you "strategise" the best way to apologise. Brands simply need to ask themselves- Are our customers going to be satisfied with the way we have apologised? Or is it going to be seen as purely a self-serving exercise?

With customers these days having no shortage of brands wanting to make new friends, it's not rocket science; three strikes and you're out- and that's being optimistic. But a sincere and timely apology or explanation can go a long way to managing the experience as a customer, which goes for any valued relationship. In many cases, it truly is the thought that counts. The right communication tools are there, so there really is no excuse.

Think about your broadband provider and when the service is down. You get angry and frustrated, and when they do nothing to explain or fix the problem, you dump them. But if they sent you a text... continued on page two >

 

 

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