Unconventional Marketing: Turn Public Complaints Into Gold And Boost Your Sales Up To 40%

By Jaakko Timonen, No No No

Are you one of the marketers who is constantly asking how to
create authentic content that would build stronger emotional connections with
customers that go beyond a transactional relationship?

The answer to that question might be counterintuitive. Have
you ever considered what would happen if you published resolved complaints on
your web site?

The impact of doing that might surprise you. But first,
let’s look at the current consumer trends.

According to Forbes, consumer
expectations are shifting from items to experiences. A study found that 67% of Americans
feel purpose-driven companies care more about them and their families than
traditional brands.

The number of social media users continues to grow
and consumers increasingly use social channels to interact with brands. About 40% of complaints happen in public online.

You may have experienced how problems spread across social
media. Unfortunately, resolutions don’t, and one-star reviews tend to stick
even after you resolve a complaint.

However, there is hope. Kevin O’Leary — one of the sharks on
the ABC TV show Shark Tank — explained why it is important to respond to
negative reviews in a recent video that went viral. “Everybody
online sees the digital audit trail of you trying to fix the problem. People
are not stupid, they see that you care.”

Build A Customer-Centric
Culture By Responding To Reviews

I recently interviewed a chief digital officer of a large
insurance company. He revealed they had created a customer-centric culture by
accident.

Deciding to incorporate reviews on their web site to increase
conversions and sales was nothing new. However, the
key decision was to run an experiment during which they responded to every
single review.

What happened was that they created what they called “a
sense of urgency.” Whenever customer care agents had to respond to the same
problem multiple times, they spontaneously started to go to their colleagues
who had ownership of the problem and ask them to fix the issue.

What started as a small experiment that made customers care
agents publicly accountable kept snowballing, and led to a transformation where
the entire organization felt publicly accountable to their customers.

ROI Of Responding

According to Dimensional Research, 52% of
consumers stop buying from a company after a bad experience. That’s why it is
important to take action when you see an unhappy customer complaining online.
Focus on winning her back.

The payoff is huge. According to Bain & Company, customers who
engage with companies over social media spend 20% to 40% more money with those
companies than other customers.

Studies show that customers are willing to stick with — and
even pay more — to brands that aim to resolve issues publicly. According to Harvard Business Review, customers
who received any kind of response to their tweet were willing to pay almost $9
more for an airline ticket and $8 more for a wireless carrier’s monthly plan.

Surprising your customer with a response is easy. Only 42% of consumers complaining online expect a reply.

How To Stand Out

Every brand claims they offer great customer service. It is
easy to say but hard to do. And even harder to prove.

Many brands use reviews to tackle this issue. However, the
problem with regular reviews is that you don’t stand out since almost all brands
have reviews on their web sites. They don’t make much of a story.

However, let’s look at the components of a resolved
complaint.

1. There is a character who wants something;
2. She encounters a problem before she can get that thing;
3. At the peak of her despair, a guide steps into her life;
4. The guide takes action;
5. That action helps the character to avoid failure; and
6. That action ends in success.

The narrative creates a story where your customer is the
hero and your brand is the guide that offers empathy and a path forward.

Resolved complaints allow your customers to become a source
of authentic content. Resolved complaints make your brand stand out as
vulnerable, human and trustworthy.

Can you build meaningful relationships if you don’t make
yourself vulnerable?

Jaakko Timonen is the
Founder and CEO of No No No, a platform that brings
together consumers and businesses to resolve complaints. What makes No No No
different is that they offer businesses a fair opportunity to respond.
Consumers are only able to rate and review the outcome of the resolution,
unlike in any other platform.