If you’ve spent more than five minutes in the marketing industry you’ve heard the name Sally Hogshead batted around. Usually with some kind of reference to doing a shot of Jaeger. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s out on YouTube. Well worth seeing.) Along with her talent for transforming great alcohol into great marketing techniques Sally’s also the author of “Fascinate”, the book that’s made itself famous by answering the question every business owner asks at some point or another:
“What the heck do they want from me?!?!”
The answer is simple. They you to fascinate using one of Hogshead’s 7 recognized triggers:
1) Lust
2) Vice
3) Trust
4) Power
5) Mystique
6) Alarm
7) Prestige
Quick Note: This isn’t a shameless promo for Sally’s book, although it does have a place of honor on my bookshelf. It’s a quick look at the PR nightmare that goes with taking a step in the wrong direction and how you, as a business owner, as a PR specialist, as a marketer, as someone who cares, can help pick up the pieces.
Let’s Talk About Trust
Let’s take a second to talk about trust. Trust is do or die in today’s society. While customers might be willing to take a chance on a new company that’s just getting its feet wet, let one of your employees accidentally drop the F-bomb on a corporate Twitter account and it’s the beginning of the end.
Trust is the hardest thing to gain and the easiest to lose from your consumers. So what do you do when things have gone downhill and your brand is taking on water faster than the Titanic?
1) Be honest. People make mistakes. If you try and cover it up, however, what would have been a single story in the middle of the local paper can turn into a six month long creature feature on the front page of every yellow journalism rag in the country.
2) Apologize. For the love of pete, please, apologize. Companies that come to their client, hat in hand, and say, “I’m sorry. We screwed up.” are more likely to be forgiven than ones who won’t accept any of the blame. (Or, even better, try to blame someone else. Really, an excuse is just an automated shovel. You dig deeper and deeper and…)
3) Fix it. Make a plan and carry through. Don’t just sit and spin your wheels. It’s one thing to say you’re going to do something about it, quite another to actually step up to the plate.
4) Thank your customers who continue to do business with you. Making your customers feel appreciated is part and parcel of making sure you keep their business. Making your customers feel appreciated after they’ve given you a second chance should be your own personal gold standard.
You’ve apologized, you’ve fixed it, now it’s time to move on. Put your best foot forward, keep your quality better than your best. Trust can be lost, but with some effort it can be a minor hitch in your relationship with your customers rather than a solid deal breaker.