How to Annihilate Your Online Reputation With One Fatal Error

I don’t know what it is lately but there sure seems to be a lot of online reputation fails being played out on Social Media.

This latest round started with the 18-minute Comcast customer service call that was heard ’round the world. The customer service agent was clearly using sales tactics to “retain” the customer when all the customer wanted to do was cancel his service. The PR nightmare that happened after only served to confirm what the call illustrated.

Comcast issued a statement that it was very embarrassed by the way the employee spoke to this customer. “The way in which our representative communicated with them is unacceptable and not consistent with how we train our customer service representatives,” the statement said. “We are investigating this situation and will take quick action.”

During the ensuing media frenzy, The Verge put out a call and sought out current and former Comcast employees, hoping to shed light on the inner workings of the largest broadcasting and cable company in the country. More than 100 employees responded, including one who works in the same call center as the rep in the recording.

These employees told The Verge the same stories over and over again: customer service has been replaced by an obsession with sales, technicians are understaffed and tech support is poorly trained, and the massive company is hobbled by internal fragmentation.

Not long after the Comcast debacle, a New York-based cupcake food truck was tweeting their offensive anti-semitic views regarding the conflict in Israel and Gaza. They apparently didn’t get the memo that, as a business who likes to sell cupcakes to people, you never talk about religion, sex or politics in social situations (Twitter). Proving cupcakes are not so sweet after all, the food truck instantly earned some Twitter hate for its disturbing tweets.

And then the piece de resistance: The car dealer who was forced by the Florida DMV to refund his customer $400 after they failed to repair her car. The dealer complied with the DMV’s order, however he decided it was a good idea to refund her...in pennies. 

Never underestimate the power of committed people with a cause…on Social Media.

Social Media simply amplifies what’s happening. What would compel a business owner to deliberately harm their online reputation by refunding a customer in the most offensive way possible? In this world of everyone observing your every move via social channels, it makes you scratch your head, right?  In this case, the story was so outrageous that it made its way to large media outlets. Everybody loves a good story about a bad car dealer.

The dealer’s Facebook Page is filled with snarky comments about how they’ll never do business with them and/or never come back. Some comments are actually pretty funny (although if I was this dealer, I wouldn’t be laughing). Like this one:

I can’t quite figure it out. Why would a business owner invite this online reputation fail knowing the world is uber-connected through technology? This dealer clearly does not know why people choose to buy from him and seems carefree about customer retention. Perhaps he thinks every sale is just a transaction.

The one fatal error…

What’s consistent with all of these examples is that customer retention doesn’t seem to be on their radar. When your operation behaves as though each sale is the last, where will your business be in 5 years?

Why do your customers come back?

Many businesses talk about customer retention but how many actually make it part of their culture?

I’ve often said that with every piece of content you share on Social Media, before you hit send, stand back and ask yourself, “Would I follow this {person/brand} based solely on this {tweet, Facebook update or blog post}?” When you know what connects your customers to your brand, you know why people come back.

Sometimes, it’s hard to know for sure why customers come back. Good news! You have a built-in mechanism at your fingertips to find out for sure:

Ask your customers why they come back.

• “Why did you come back and buy from us again?”
• “What is it about us that you like?”
• “How do you make your decisions to purchase from us?”
• “Who in our organization stands out to you and keeps you coming back?”
• “When was the first time you realized we were the best place to buy?”

It may be because of the relationship they have with one or more of your employees. It may be they identify with your brand and that creates connection. Whatever it is, make sure you learn as much as you can about it so you can reinforce it with your staff and leverage it in your marketing and ads.

This week my client, Lexus of Lehigh Valley, released a beautiful video that speaks to their dealership brand, their core beliefs and their values. It’s 2:14 minutes of gorgeous images and true transparency that shows “Why people come back.” Peter Cooper (the dealer principal) lives and breathes his brand. He’s passionate about making the car buying experience pleasurable. He knows exactly why people come back and instills it throughout his organization.

Identify why people come back. Develop it in your marketing message and let it permeate throughout your company culture. You just might keep the pipeline full of repeat business.