With Social Media – Customers Can Make or Break Your Brands

Integrity is the most important factor for any business today in the age of social media and very fast communication.

Let’s start with by saying this, “Don’t lie to the customer. And when the customer is being lied to by the business, he or she will tell his or her friends.”
And here’s another one from the founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos,

“You know, if you make a customer unhappy they won’t tell five friends, they’ll tell 5,000 friends. So we are at a point now where we have all of the things we need to build an important and lasting company, and if we don’t, it will be shame on us.”

The sad truth is that,

Not everyone gets it. There will still be cases of companies’ staff misrepresenting themselves and making their customers unhappy or angry about the companies. Some customers may further voice out their grievances or anger about the brands on one of the most convenient media platforms today – Social Media!

The time has changed (if one can notice about it)

Gone are the days where traditional media like TVs, radios and newspapers can be somehow “controlled” by the companies with the MONEY. These companies can share a one-way advertising messages to the masses via these media channels. And if any customer complains or gives a bad feedback, the only way the customers can do it is to tell the company (by writing or calling), and then the PR guy or gal can follow up or “cover up” from there!

With the introduction of the internet and social networks, the customers can broadcast their unhappiness about a particular company or a  product to their friends, their friends’ friends, their friends’ friends’ friends and you know what I mean, within a matter of seconds.

What it means is that, the customer can now make or break any brand at a very fast speed. And the PR guy or gal has to work even harder than their predecessors on handling customers’ bad feedback on social media and at the same time, creating a positive brand atmosphere online to prevent or minimise the number of customers’ complaints online.

Here are three simple steps to create a positive brand atmosphere online.

Firstly, be authentic. Whatever products or services the brand broadcasts or mentions online, try not to over-sell or misrepresent it. Do not over-promise things that your company cannot achieve for the customers.

Secondly, honour your words. The most direct way is to look into the pricing of your products. If your business tells the customers online that the product is 100 dollars. Then sell it at 100 dollars. Do not sell the product to the customers for 180 dollars or even 101 dollars, when they visit your shops. Such example may seem unbelievable but guess what? There are some businesses today still doing that.

Thirdly, make the customers happy. With the help of social media, customers today have the power to become your brand’s best marketers. Hence, by making them happy through good customer service, they may tell the good things about your brand to their friends on their social networks!

In summary, just remember that with social media, the customer can make or break the brands. Hence, make them happy!

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