Managing Crises Online: Consumer & Company Perspectives

Managing Crises Online Consumer & Company Perspectives

Mark Graham, RIGHTSLEEVE.COM

Greg Hounslow, WestJet

#ci4sm

@westjet

@rightsleeve

Mark chose to communicate via Twitter so we responded to him on Twitter

We took conversation to DM to get basic details

140 characters is rarely enough => email provides plenty of room

Twitter client (CoTweet) allowed us to keep track of conversation between us

We sent updates via Twitter while team looked into a solution

Internal process already established

Click image to see blog post

Customer Service Click image to see video response

Customer Service

Click image to see video

Consumer Advocacy Leveraging your social capital

1. Social media is a great way to get attention

2. Social media vs traditional channels (mail, phone, email)

3. Be constructive vs destructive

4. Gain the support of fellow consumers (see point #3)

5. Close the loop once the issue has been addressed (your followers will want to know the eventual outcome)

What to do when consumers lash out

1. Always be monitoring

2. Don’t hide

3. Respond immediately - “we’re listening, we are on it”

4. Constant updates (tweets, video, facebook page, blog)

5. Customer is always right

6. Address individuals vs providing general responses

7. Don’t be cheap (offer compensation)

8. Customer service = marketing opportunity

9. Executive involvement

10.Fabulous market research (opportunity for product improvement)

Complaint or opportunity?

1. You can’t please everyone 100% of the time

2. Social media complaints are inevitable

3. A complaint is an opportunity to showcase your problem solving and communication skills.

4. “For the most part, all it takes is a touch of humanity to turn a disgruntled customer into an appreciative fan or follower.”

- Blogger Dany Levy, during Iceland ash cloud

@rightsleeve

facebook.com/rightsleeve

Greg Hounslow

Emerging Media Advisor

WestJet

ghounslow@westjet.com

facebook.com/westjet

youtube.com/westjet

@WestJet