Philanthropy – Love of Humankind – Needed More Than Ever
What do you do when a donor leaves a negative review on Facebook, Yelp or Twitter? Do you just chalk it up to one whiny person, ignore it, bury your annoyance and move on? If so, you’re missing an opportunity.
You can turn unhappy campers into loyal, repeat campers. Research shows that when customers are treated with respect and generosity, they become not only happy but brand loyal. In Replies Can Change Customer Minds the neuromarketing author Roger Dooley notes:
It turns out that the way companies respond to bad online reviews makes a difference, too. As reported by Mediapost, a Harris survey showed that 18% of those who posted a negative review of the merchant and got a reply ended up becoming loyal customers and buying more.
In addition, and perhaps an even bigger surprise, nearly 70% of those consumers receiving replies reversed the negative content either by deleting the bad review or posting a second positive one. Considering the power of word of mouth, and in particular negative word of mouth, that’s a stunning accomplishment.
We’ve always known it’s a lot less expensive to retain an existing supporter than to acquire a new one. Salvaging complaining donors, therefore, is a worthwhile investment. In addition, when people are turned around – and then let others know about your proactive response to them – this serves as positive public relations. If you handle complaints well, constituents (and potential constituents) will no doubt be impressed.
If you ignore the problem, it’s likely to multiply. Through social channels, lots of people will see what transpired. If you handle complaints poorly, and the complaint is re-published, re-tweeted, shared, liked or +1′ed, then the potential for hundreds, if not thousands of people to see the unresolved complaint if left unaddressed is pretty significant. Research conducted by Conversocial and NYU revealed that a third of consumers who had attempted to communicate with companies via social networking sites found they were ignored; an astounding 88% said they’d be less likely to do business with a company that ignored their complaint.
Responding to complaints can turn lemons into lemonade according to another recent study targeting Twitter users:
What is striking about these findings is the strong degree to which consumers want to be engaged online to have their issues addressed,” says Anthony Sardella, senior vice president and managing director at evolve24. “They are clearly seeking to have a greater voice in the customer service process and see social media as a streamlined means for resolution of their issues.
The customer is always right. In person. Online. Wherever. With the ascension of online complaining, customers have the opportunity to influence greater numbers than ever before. Need I say Susan Komen?! A recent post by Jeff Brooks talks about how this can work against us; it can also work for us. We must strive to be flawsome – honest, generous, empathic and most of all, human. Turn your detractors around, and you’ll draw many more into the fold.
Remember: People don’t complain about something if they don’t care about it. They have a passion for it, and they are deeply committed to it.
Do you have an example to share where you embraced your errors and restored the passion of a disgruntled donor?
Do you have an example to share where you embraced your errors and restored the passion of a disgruntled donor?
