Posts Tagged ‘PR pro’
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
When you read customer reviews, positive or negative, do you ever notice any comments from the company? It seems many companies are missing the boat to engage in these review dialogues on such sites like Amazon.com. If you take a few minutes to read the comments on a product review, you’ll notice the comments turn into discussions among users. But how often do you see a company join the discussions?
We noticed that QuickBooks Customer Care reps are engaged in product reviews on Amazon.com. In many cases, reps reached out to customers who left negative reviews by giving email addresses and asking the best way to contact the customers. Most Customer Care rep responses used these techniques:
- thanking the customers for their feedback
- writing responses in a compassionate tone
- acknowledging the customers’ concerns or frustrations
- offering to work with them to understand the situation from the customers’ points of view to find a solution
Instead of ignoring problems, QuickBooks worked quickly to try to fix them and address them directly with each customer. Have you noticed companies commenting on customer reviews? What else should companies do to address negative customer reviews?
Tags: amazon, Arizona, AZ, customer care, customer reviews, Phoenix, PR, PR agency, PR firm, pr issue, PR pro, pr problem, product reviews, Public Relations, Scottsdale, writing
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Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
Years ago I bought shoes from online retailer Zappos.com. The company recently sent me an email, saying there may have been illegal and unauthorized access to some of my account information. The company “expired” and reset my password, gave instructions on how to change it and recommended I change my password on other sites where I use a similar password.
The email began “First, the bad news.” That was good. Zappos.com did not tap dance around the problem. The company told me what happened and what steps to take. The CEO Tweeted about it. He has a big Twitter following. The company was not hiding the bad news. But Zappos didn’t dig in its heels there. It reached out and communicated in other ways:
- a company blog post which showed the internal email it sent to employees along with the information customers received
- a separate page on its website for customers about the incident
- a dedicated email address for employees with questions
- a dedicated email address for customers with questions
Communications and social media circles often discuss this company for its culture and empowering employees. Now Zappos.com’s latest email to customers is just the right fit. Other businesses should take a similar approach if the shoe is ever on the other foot.
Tags: Arizona, CNN, communication, empowering employees, Phoenix, PR, PR agency, PR firm, pr issue, PR pro, pr problem, Public Relations, Scottsdale, shoe company, Social Media, social media strategy, Twitter, Zappos.com
Posted in Public Relations, Social Media | No Comments »
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
In our first blog Public Relations: Handling Customer Emergencies, we explained our encounter with a bank after depositing cash into an ATM but getting no receipt. The money at first was not deposited into our account.
We have two updates. As promised, the temporarily lost money was credited to our account by the crack of dawn. And when we returned to the bank today for the first time since the incident, a bank teller in the drive thru said “Hi Keith.” We looked at each other in the car, taken aback a bank teller remembered us. We don’t remember a teller ever beginning one of our bank visits with a “Hi Keith.” She then asked if the ATM accident was resolved.
Now that’s personal service and a nice touch.
Tags: Arizona, communication, money, Phoenix, PR, PR agency, PR firm, PR pro, Public Relations, public relations agencies, public relations firms, Scottsdale
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Sunday, January 8th, 2012
Let’s take a look at The Flip Side of our last blog post about how to turn a PR problem into a positive using Target’s example about breastfeeding. Because we’re not employees, we don’t know how Target communicated internally about the string of events and how they advised their employees on how to handle customer complaints and questions in stores. We can, however, use it as an example about how companies can stick to some guiding principles to proactively communicate with their employees when a PR issue or crisis arises.
Be timely: Get the word out to your employees quickly. Don’t wait for the storm to get worse or blow over. Your employees should hear about important events affecting them and their company from an internal source rather than an external one. Well-informed associates can serve as informal ambassadors of the company. Proactive communications with your employees helps them better communicate with customers who might ask them questions. Tactics can include:
- Check in with your cross-functional team of go-to people from HR, Operations, Legal, Marketing, Social Media and of course any leaders who need to know. Keep them in the loop of your communications plan of action and get their input on communications. Don’t forget external communications folks if they are in a separate department. They should be integral partners. Internal and external communications should be aligned.
- Let your employees know about the situation through your regular channels as soon as possible. Keep them in the loop on an ongoing basis. Even if you don’t have all the facts, communicate this is what we know now. We’ll keep you updated when we know more.
- Create a central source of information on your intranet. Don’t bury information so employees have to search to find it. All communications should be visible here and should point employees to this central location for all the info they need. Post a link to important documents like the company policy involved to reinforce the correct actions.
Be open and honest. Let your employees know what happened. Don’t leave out details you think your employees can’t handle. Transparency builds credibility. Be forthright. Let them know if the company screwed up. Tell them what should have been done and what will be done to handle the situation. Tactics can include:
- Make your top execs visible. Think about a thoughtful and sincere CEO blog or video addressing the situation with employees.
- Arm managers with tools such as talking points to inform and discuss the issue, explain how the company is handling it, reinforce the company’s policy and where to get additional information.
- Create talking points for frontline employees who speak with customers in person or on the phone. How should they handle customer questions or complaints? Keep the message consistent and clear companywide.
Two-way: Keep the lines of communication open. In the face of a serious issue or crisis, employees will have questions and concerns. You need their feedback to know how to communicate differently or better. Tactics can include:
- Create a central point of contact to field questions and concerns. Depending on the PR issue, you might want to create a special internal email box or hotline.
- Ask managers to forward any questions they are getting from their teams.
- If your intranet platform lets employees post comments, use them to gauge how well you’re communicating.
- Refresh your communications if you see a pattern of questions or comments.
Sometimes PR problems bring out the best in a company. As mentioned in our previous blog, they can help establish your company as an industry leader and give your employees a chance to shine under pressure. If you hear about an extraordinary example of how an employee handled a situation related to the issue, share the story with the rest of the company. It shows appreciation, boosts morale and lets employees know they can make a difference even during difficult moments.
Tags: Arizona, breastfeeding, communication, communications plan, crisis communications, employee communications, how to handle customer complaints, HR consulting, Internal Communications, Phoenix, PR, pr issue, PR pro, pr problem, Scottsdale, Social Media, target, The Flip Side Communications, video
Posted in HR Communications, Internal Communications | No Comments »
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
A mom says Target employees humiliated her while she breastfed her baby in the store. To support her, breastfeeding mothers then staged a nationwide “nurse-in” at Target stores. How did the company deal with the nurse-in and media attention? To borrow one of Target’s lines, we “expect more.”
Support Groups: If an advocacy group contacts your company about an event at your business, quickly answer questions. Post comments on their blogs explaining your position. Support groups frequently feel strongest about issues. They pass on concerns to the broader public that may not be paying close attention. Don’t underestimate the power of such groups. Work with them. Be sympathetic. Surprise them and support their concerns when possible. The groups will share the company’s goodwill with the public and explain how the business is turning a problem into a positive. A group describing its mission as “to change the cultural perception of breastfeeding” says it was tough communicating with Target about the breastfeeding incident. The group says someone from Target eventually called back and summarized the call by releasing a statement. Meanwhile advocates pointed to how Whole Foods handled things when facing a breastfeeding incident.
Facebook: Acknowledge the complaints. Stun the planet and ask people to share stories and post pictures. Respond to questions. Embrace your role in the discussion. Welcome shoppers who may usually favor the competition and prove your company is a different type of business. In the Target case, mothers used a Facebook page to organize. As we wrote this, the page included more than 7500 members. The day of the nurse-in, Target posted on its Facebook page “How long do you leave your holiday decorations up?” Some people used the comment section to discuss the breastfeeding issue.
Twitter: Target was more on target on Twitter. We read several examples of Target responding to people on Twitter about breastfeeding. Here are examples of the company’s posts to Twitter:
- We support breastfeeding too. We have a long-standing policy allowing breastfeeding in public areas of our stores.
- We continue to educate our team members on the policy, and ask guests to contact us if they don’t feel comfortable.
- Nursing mothers are welcome to breastfeed in our stores, including in public areas, wherever comfortable.
- We have a long standing policy that allows breastfeeding in our stores and have addressed the Team Member incident.
- We’re happy to support nursing mothers! Please let us know if you encounter any problems.
YouTube: Post a video. Make clear the services your company offers for, in this case, breastfeeding moms. Video puts a face on your company. A video helps you standout while engaging and educating viewers. Video may capture attention more than any press release. Target has a YouTube channel called Target Theater with more than six thousand subscribers. We didn’t see any videos about breastfeeding or the nurse-in. Watch a recent example of a FedEx video responding to a PR problem.
Pressroom: Provide news releases and links about the situation. Give phone, email and social media information for contacts specifically handling the situation. Give a timeline of what happened. Recognize what journalists want to see. Target’s pressroom states the “Target Public Relations team is always interested in hearing about how to serve the media better.” We searched but could not find news releases about the nurse-in and breastfeeding situation.
Media Relations: We read several statements Target released about breastfeeding. We didn’t see a lot of Target spokespeople on air. We saw a Target manager on ABC News saying “Target is a family-oriented company, so if a guest chooses to breastfeed in our store, Target supports it 100%.” Target’s pressroom lists four media contacts. The efforts of those contacts, management and support staff should expand way beyond news releases. Identify managers in geographical regions the company feels comfortable putting on TV. Fly key team members to areas needing help handing media questions. Consider allowing a “pool camera” in each TV market to shoot video of the breastfeeding moms.
A company might win the war of words by drawing up a conservative game plan, taking a few hits and assuming the PR problem will blow over and be forgotten. If you like to do things the way they’ve always been done, feel free to play prevent defense. But PR problems also open opportunities to establish your company as an industry leader while inspiring trust and growing your reputation. Drop the icy and impersonal company language for something thoughtful and sincere and watch the headlines change. Expect more.
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Tags: blogs, breastfeeding mothers, Facebook, FedEx, journalist, journalists, media, Media Relations, news release, PR, PR pro, press release, Public Relations, Social Media, target stores, Twitter, video, Whole Foods
Posted in Media Relations, Public Relations, Social Media, Video | No Comments »
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
Fake The Flowers Not The News
Someone in PR pitches what she describes as a national story to a reporter. The reporter gets “first dibs.”
In the first paragraph, she explains why the story is relevant to the reporter’s city. She acknowledges a local journal already published the story and sends him a link to it. She lists video and interview opportunities and on short notice, even appears to have everyday people available so the reporter can help personalize the story.
But there’s a snag. The story involves visual workshops that haven’t started yet. So the PR pro is thinking of a “mock class” even though she acknowledges faking it isn’t really a good idea.
I’ve known journalists who would blow their tops when someone suggested faking something for the purposes of a news story. But some reporters often allow it to happen. And there’s a philosophical debate about just how realistic any person or situation can be when the biggest camera you’ve ever seen is watching your every move.
Even if you can sometimes get away with role playing for visual purposes, don’t do it. It strikes at the very heart of what news should be. And by just mentioning it, you’ll lose instant credibility with some journalists who will assume you don’t know the difference between Hollywood and the five o’clock news.
I’ve known reporters who needed video of someone on the phone and waited until a real call came in. That might seem silly to you, but if you’re the one who said let’s keep it real everyone, you’d score big with at least the reporters who care about the purity of the business.
Leave role playing to other parts of your life.
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Tags: Arizona public relations, journalist, news pitches, Phoenix communication consulting, Phoenix Public Relations, PR, PR pro, reporter, Scottsdale communication consulting, Scottsdale Public Relations, tv news
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Sunday, August 15th, 2010
Don't Pitch Used Goods
A PR executive emails a reporter, asking if he is aware of a dispute between a city manager and city employees. People have been laid off. Questions are being raised about financial decisions. Public safety might be at risk. The PR pro sends along a press release and says she can put the reporter in touch with the right person for more information.
The reporter Googles the topic and reads that a local newspaper and TV station recently covered the story. It seems the TV station actually took the story a step further and dug up some extra, juicy details that might tick off taxpayers. So the reporter emails the PR executive back, wondering if there’s actually anything new to report.
After reading her response, he sees only one possible new detail to report and he’s not sure he even understands it. By the time the email is over, she says a second TV station is now showing interest and pretty much understands if the reporter passes on this one.
This type of situation happens often between the PR and journalism worlds. There’s the time a reporter finished shooting a special report and when he was leaving, the mother thanked him for putting her other children on camera. That’s because the other TV station didn’t put them on during its recent visit. Trust me. In that situation, telling the reporter the other station’s story was simply a blip on a website doesn’t help a whole lot.
I’ve talked about this before. I understand when a public relations firm wants to get as much coverage as possible. But there must be ways to get more coverage without media thinking you’re selling them used goods. The first example above may seem harmless in the end, but journalists will remember your name “from that time before.” You’re breaking a bond before you ever seal it.
Most stories have different angles and different people to interview. If you want all the coverage in the world, maybe hold something back from the first reporter who comes along. But persuading someone that one detail is worth a whole new story … you’re not fooling too many people. Maybe instead of pitching the idea to all five TV stations, hit up a community newspaper, blog and one TV station. If they’re not true competitors, the media sometimes couldn’t care less about a previous publication.
You wouldn’t want someone to ask you out on a date if he is already in another relationship. And claiming you weren’t sure if that relationship was going to work out isn’t going to make the second person feel warm and fuzzy. With a reporter who’s paying attention, you won’t get to first base, much less score.
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Tags: community newspaper, coverage, interview, journalism, media, PR, PR pro, Public Relations, publication, reporter, TV station
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