We had a fantastic discussion with Steve Kleber of Kleber & Associates, an agency focused on the home building segment. One of the topics discussed was the fear that companies have to overcome when tackling social media. It’s important to recognize that when a crisis happens – it’s much better to be on top of your response in social media than not to be there at all.
The 3 Steps to a Crisis Response
- Immediately put the customer at ease that you understand their problem. In fact, repeat it back to them so that they absolutely know that you understand what’s wrong. If clarification is in order, it will happen right there. Customers want to know that you are listening… and you have one chance to fix this problem so make sure you understand it!
- Make sure they know that you care. By responding and letting them know that you personally care for them, you can drop the intensity of the issue way down and personalize it. You’re no longer a faceless brand, you’re a person that they can trust to try to fix your problem.
- Fix the problem. Don’t supply a form, phone number or email address for them to contact. You must fix the problem. You. If you brush this person off to the next person, they’ll immediately recognize you for what you are… a phony. If you understand and you care, you’ll follow through and make sure the issue is resolved.
That’s not saying that you, personally, have to correct the issue. It means that you are the leader and the person accountable to the customer or prospect. It’s your responsibility to carry the person through to a resolution. If you just dump and run, it’s going to cause more issues. You don’t appreciate folks doing that when you have an issue… why would you do it to your own customer?
Last word on this. When you resolve the problem, you just completed one of the best campaigns you had ever started. If you leave that person happy and content, chances are that they’ll share that success with their network. That’s a beautiful thing.
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