Marketing Strategies - How to Reverse Negative Word-of-Mouth in Advertising
Sunday, November 24, 2013
When customers engage in word-of-mouth marketing, one negative experience can snowball as it passes from the initial consumer to her friends and then her friend's friends. Over time this may lead to drastically reduced sales or affect your company's standing in the community. To reverse the bad buzz, focus on customer service to generate positive word-of-mouth going forward.
Investigate the Complaint
Before you attempt to reverse negative word-of-mouth, examine the customer's remarks. Is the feedback valid? If so, you need to assess the current state of your business before attempting to build positive buzz to counteract the bad. When poor customer service serves as the chief complaint, hire a couple of secret shoppers to observe the behavior of your employees when serving random customers. If complaints revolve around a particular product or service, assess that offering and determine if the complaints are justified.
Correct the Problem
When you get to the root of the unfavorable feedback, correct the problem. Retrain or fire employees who are providing poor service to ensure customers enjoy a positive shopping experience and receive all necessary assistance. Refine the products or services you offer to address consumer concerns and deliver a quality experience every time an item is purchased. By aggressively combating problem areas, you lay the groundwork for positive word-of-mouth.
Generate Buzz
After you correct any issues within your enterprise, focus on getting people into your business. Send coupons out to your customers. Provide people on your mailing list with a discount and include an extra coupon for them to share with a friend to increase your customer base and your chances for positive buzz. If you don’t maintain a database of customer information, send advertisements through the mail, place an ad in a local newspaper or pay for a commercial on local television to get people talking.
Change the Conversation
Treat each person who reads your ads as a potential PR machine and leave them with a few conversation starters. Consider ending all of your marketing materials with a question or an invitation to chat, such as “Tell us what you think of our new, improved Product X.” By using the keywords “new” and “improved” you are subtly encouraging customers to view a product as better before they engage with it. You are also inviting consumers to view your product as a topic of conversation. If your products and services merit it, positive word-of-mouth will follow and gradually overwhelm negative messages.
Tags:
Marketing, Marketing Strategies
Investigate the Complaint
Before you attempt to reverse negative word-of-mouth, examine the customer's remarks. Is the feedback valid? If so, you need to assess the current state of your business before attempting to build positive buzz to counteract the bad. When poor customer service serves as the chief complaint, hire a couple of secret shoppers to observe the behavior of your employees when serving random customers. If complaints revolve around a particular product or service, assess that offering and determine if the complaints are justified.
Correct the Problem
When you get to the root of the unfavorable feedback, correct the problem. Retrain or fire employees who are providing poor service to ensure customers enjoy a positive shopping experience and receive all necessary assistance. Refine the products or services you offer to address consumer concerns and deliver a quality experience every time an item is purchased. By aggressively combating problem areas, you lay the groundwork for positive word-of-mouth.
Generate Buzz
After you correct any issues within your enterprise, focus on getting people into your business. Send coupons out to your customers. Provide people on your mailing list with a discount and include an extra coupon for them to share with a friend to increase your customer base and your chances for positive buzz. If you don’t maintain a database of customer information, send advertisements through the mail, place an ad in a local newspaper or pay for a commercial on local television to get people talking.
Change the Conversation
Treat each person who reads your ads as a potential PR machine and leave them with a few conversation starters. Consider ending all of your marketing materials with a question or an invitation to chat, such as “Tell us what you think of our new, improved Product X.” By using the keywords “new” and “improved” you are subtly encouraging customers to view a product as better before they engage with it. You are also inviting consumers to view your product as a topic of conversation. If your products and services merit it, positive word-of-mouth will follow and gradually overwhelm negative messages.
