For all the benefits they bring to business, social media and other communication technologies have created...
Fantastic news! We've Found the answer you've been seeking!
Question:
Transcribed Image Text:
For all the benefits they bring to business, social media and other communication technologies have created a major new challenge: responding to online rumors and attacks on a company's reputation. Consumers and other stakeholders can now communicate through blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, advocacy sites such as www.walmartwatch.com, community participation websites such as www.epinions .com and www.planetfeedback.com, company-specific sites such as www.verizonpathetic.com, community Q&A sites such as http://getsatisfaction.com, and numer ous e-commerce shopping sites that encourage product reviews. Customers who feel they have been treated unfairly like these sites because they can use the public exposure as leverage. Many companies appreciate the feedback from these sites, too, and many actively seek out complaints to improve their products and operations. However, false rumors and unfair criticisms can spread around the world in a matter of minutes and endanger company reputations. Responding to rumors and countering negative informa- tion requires an ongoing effort and case-by-case decisions about which messages require a response. Follow these four steps: Engage early, engage often. Perhaps the most im- portant step in responding to negative information has to be done before the negative information appears, and that is to engage with communities of stakeholders as a long-term strategy. Companies that have active, mutually beneficial relationships with customers and other interested parties are less likely to be attacked unfairly online and more likely to survive such attacks if they do occur. In contrast, companies that ignore constituents or jump into "spin doctoring" mode when a negative situation occurs don't have the same cred- ibility as companies that have done the long, hard work of fostering relationships within their physical and online communities. Monitor the conversation. If people are interested in what your company does, chances are they are blog- ging, tweeting, podcasting, posting videos, writing on Facebook walls, and otherwise sharing their opinions. Use the available technologies to listen to what people are saying. Evaluate negative messages. When you encounter negative messages, resist the urge to fire back im- mediately. Instead, evaluate the source, the tone, and the content of the message and then choose a re- sponse that fits the situation. For example, the Public Affairs Agency of the U.S. Air Force groups senders of negative messages into four categories: "trolls" (those whose only intent is to stir up conflict), "ragers" (those who are just ranting or telling jokes), "the misguided" (those who are spreading incorrect information), and "unhappy customers" (those who have had a negative experience with the Air Force). Respond appropriately. After you have assessed a nega- tive message, take the appropriate response based on an overall public relations plan. The Air Force, for instance, doesn't respond to trolls or ragers, responds to misguided messages with correct information, and responds to un- happy customers with efforts to rectify the situation and reach a reasonable solution. Whatever you do, don't assume that a positive reputation doesn't need to be diligently guarded and defended. Everybody has a voice now, and some of those voices don't care to play by the rules of ethical communication. CAREER APPLICATIONS 1. A legitimate complaint about your restaurant on Yelp also contains a statement that your company "doesn't care about its customers." How should you respond? 2. A few bloggers are circulating false information about your company, but the problem is not widespread-yet. Should you jump on the problem now and tell the world the ru mor is false, even though most people haven't heard it yet? Explain your answer Sources: "When Fans Attack: How to Defend a Brand's Reputation Online al Crenshaw Communications blog, 20 May 2010, http://crenshawcomm .com; David Meerman Scott, The US Air Force: Armed with Social Media WebinkNow blog. 15 December 2008,www.webinknow.com; Matt Rhodes, "How to React if Somebody Whites About Your Brand Online," Fresh Networks blog. 9 January 2009, www.freshnetworks.com; Matt Rhodes. "Social Media as a Crisis Management Tool," Social Media Today blog. 21 December 2009, www.socialmediatoday.com; Jack Neff, "What to Do When Social Media Spreads Marketing Myth," Advertising Age, T September 2009, 4, 24. For all the benefits they bring to business, social media and other communication technologies have created a major new challenge: responding to online rumors and attacks on a company's reputation. Consumers and other stakeholders can now communicate through blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, advocacy sites such as www.walmartwatch.com, community participation websites such as www.epinions .com and www.planetfeedback.com, company-specific sites such as www.verizonpathetic.com, community Q&A sites such as http://getsatisfaction.com, and numer ous e-commerce shopping sites that encourage product reviews. Customers who feel they have been treated unfairly like these sites because they can use the public exposure as leverage. Many companies appreciate the feedback from these sites, too, and many actively seek out complaints to improve their products and operations. However, false rumors and unfair criticisms can spread around the world in a matter of minutes and endanger company reputations. Responding to rumors and countering negative informa- tion requires an ongoing effort and case-by-case decisions about which messages require a response. Follow these four steps: Engage early, engage often. Perhaps the most im- portant step in responding to negative information has to be done before the negative information appears, and that is to engage with communities of stakeholders as a long-term strategy. Companies that have active, mutually beneficial relationships with customers and other interested parties are less likely to be attacked unfairly online and more likely to survive such attacks if they do occur. In contrast, companies that ignore constituents or jump into "spin doctoring" mode when a negative situation occurs don't have the same cred- ibility as companies that have done the long, hard work of fostering relationships within their physical and online communities. Monitor the conversation. If people are interested in what your company does, chances are they are blog- ging, tweeting, podcasting, posting videos, writing on Facebook walls, and otherwise sharing their opinions. Use the available technologies to listen to what people are saying. Evaluate negative messages. When you encounter negative messages, resist the urge to fire back im- mediately. Instead, evaluate the source, the tone, and the content of the message and then choose a re- sponse that fits the situation. For example, the Public Affairs Agency of the U.S. Air Force groups senders of negative messages into four categories: "trolls" (those whose only intent is to stir up conflict), "ragers" (those who are just ranting or telling jokes), "the misguided" (those who are spreading incorrect information), and "unhappy customers" (those who have had a negative experience with the Air Force). Respond appropriately. After you have assessed a nega- tive message, take the appropriate response based on an overall public relations plan. The Air Force, for instance, doesn't respond to trolls or ragers, responds to misguided messages with correct information, and responds to un- happy customers with efforts to rectify the situation and reach a reasonable solution. Whatever you do, don't assume that a positive reputation doesn't need to be diligently guarded and defended. Everybody has a voice now, and some of those voices don't care to play by the rules of ethical communication. CAREER APPLICATIONS 1. A legitimate complaint about your restaurant on Yelp also contains a statement that your company "doesn't care about its customers." How should you respond? 2. A few bloggers are circulating false information about your company, but the problem is not widespread-yet. Should you jump on the problem now and tell the world the ru mor is false, even though most people haven't heard it yet? Explain your answer Sources: "When Fans Attack: How to Defend a Brand's Reputation Online al Crenshaw Communications blog, 20 May 2010, http://crenshawcomm .com; David Meerman Scott, The US Air Force: Armed with Social Media WebinkNow blog. 15 December 2008,www.webinknow.com; Matt Rhodes, "How to React if Somebody Whites About Your Brand Online," Fresh Networks blog. 9 January 2009, www.freshnetworks.com; Matt Rhodes. "Social Media as a Crisis Management Tool," Social Media Today blog. 21 December 2009, www.socialmediatoday.com; Jack Neff, "What to Do When Social Media Spreads Marketing Myth," Advertising Age, T September 2009, 4, 24.
Expert Answer:
Related Book For
International Marketing And Export Management
ISBN: 9781292016924
8th Edition
Authors: Gerald Albaum , Alexander Josiassen , Edwin Duerr
Posted Date:
Students also viewed these business communication questions
-
Planning is one of the most important management functions in any business. A front office managers first step in planning should involve determine the departments goals. Planning also includes...
-
Elfving Company produces a single product. The cost of producing and selling a single unit of this product at the company's normal activity level of 80,000 units per month is as follows: The normal...
-
Three friends are trying to decide where to go to dinner. There are four restaurants nearby: Thai, Italian, Tex-Mex, and sushi. Assume the friends have the following preferences: Gabe: Thai > Italian...
-
Show that the differential equations for V and A (Eqs. 10.4 and 10.5) can be written in the more symmetrical form where L at A-VL=-MOJ. 0 0V + a at - 001 - - = 0 P. av and LV.A + 00. at
-
How to draft a demurrer?
-
The background for this case was introduced in Chapter 1. This is a continuation of the case in Chapter 6. For this part of the case, propose and test some meaningful hypotheses that will help Ms....
-
Zolnick Enterprises has two hourly employees: Kelly and Jon. Both employees earn overtime at the rate of 1.5 times the hourly rate for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. Assume the Social...
-
A person sells orange juice and mango juice. On a typical weekday, the demand for orange juice is normally distributed with a mean of 450 and standard deviation of 80 and the demand for mango juice...
-
In reviewing its provision for uncollectible accounts during 20x3, Mason Company determined that 1% of credit sales is an appropriate amount of bad debt expense to be charged to operations. The...
-
Upon reaching your 8-year anniversary with Bike Hard, you are promoted to a high level management position. Bike Hard manufactures a unique line of bicycling helmets and has 85 employees whose jobs...
-
Annual credit sales of Nadak Company total $ 3 2 4 . 6 million. The firm gives a 2 . 2 5 % cash discount for payment within 1 0 days of the invoice date; 7 5 % of Nadak's accounts receivable are paid...
-
We have a 50 Ti nucleus accelerated to 5000.000 + 0.050 MeV. What is the phase velocity and the de Broglie wavelength of the ion? What is the minimum positional uncertainty of the particle...
-
The Salad Oil Scandal of the early 1960s was one of the worst corporate scandals of its time. It occurred when executives at New Jersey-based Allied Crude Vegetable Oil Company discovered that banks...
-
Read the article on business process management by Al-Shathry. Write a paper that analyzes the outcomes Al-Shathry describes for Saudi Arabian organizations and how productivity is impacted. Make a...
Study smarter with the SolutionInn App