“A sense of lonely rage, after being mistreated by a big company, is a feeling many can relate to. Rudeness, poor service or inexplicable disruptions announced by unswervingly unapologetic staff - sometimes minor injustices are the ones that rankle the most. And, when faced with a seemingly impassive company, the outlets by which customers could seek justice - or at least complain - have traditionally involved sending a letter or contacting a call centre. But a new trend appears to be emerging in which people are taking to social media platforms to air their grievances. A survey conducted by communications agency Fishburn Hedges and Echo Research points to this phenomenon. It polled 2,000 UK adults and found that, in April 2012, 36% had used a social media platform to contact a big company” -- Alexis Akwagyiram, BBC News
How many of you have used social media to complain about poor product or service? I know I have. Apparently this has lead to a culture of ‘bash-tagging’ (I’m definitely not cool enough to know that without Googling it) - and by all accounts, it’s works.
Of course companies aren’t going to want loads of negative press - I guess the saying “all press is good press” isn’t true - but by forming a Twitter account or Facebook profile, companies are opening themselves up to public debate. For example, if I got a coffee from a popular chain and wasn’t happy with the quality, I could @tag them so that everyone could see, and then throw in a mean #’bashtag’ or two. Of course, it swings both ways and I can honestly say that I have regularly praised good service on Twitter - especially with smaller companies who need the profile boost :)
Social media is a free form of Marketing for companies - it is of course, a variable and unpredictable source; but if you have a good product or service then you don’t have that much to worry about. And to be honest, even if there is the odd anomaly and something goes wrong, it’s HOW you deal with it that counts....sometimes it’s less about the spill and more about the clean-up.
Follow me and please feel free to let me know how you feel about TC - honesty is the best policy, so if you like us then please let me know; and if you don’t, then let me know why and let’s try to fix it!
How many of you have used social media to complain about poor product or service? I know I have. Apparently this has lead to a culture of ‘bash-tagging’ (I’m definitely not cool enough to know that without Googling it) - and by all accounts, it’s works.
Of course companies aren’t going to want loads of negative press - I guess the saying “all press is good press” isn’t true - but by forming a Twitter account or Facebook profile, companies are opening themselves up to public debate. For example, if I got a coffee from a popular chain and wasn’t happy with the quality, I could @tag them so that everyone could see, and then throw in a mean #’bashtag’ or two. Of course, it swings both ways and I can honestly say that I have regularly praised good service on Twitter - especially with smaller companies who need the profile boost :)
Social media is a free form of Marketing for companies - it is of course, a variable and unpredictable source; but if you have a good product or service then you don’t have that much to worry about. And to be honest, even if there is the odd anomaly and something goes wrong, it’s HOW you deal with it that counts....sometimes it’s less about the spill and more about the clean-up.
Follow me and please feel free to let me know how you feel about TC - honesty is the best policy, so if you like us then please let me know; and if you don’t, then let me know why and let’s try to fix it!
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