Online reputation management is about setting the wrongs right. Whenever things go wrong, we should look at how we can use the negative bit to our advantage and make it a plus point. To throw more light to this, let us understand through a case study about how a bank worked toward some smart online reputation management, inculcating both search engine optimization and smart PR skills.
There was a bank X which ran into some sort of rough weather courtesy disgruntled customers who were not exactly having a high regard for the company. One of them was my friend who was also a person who did not like taking things lying down. He ran an impressive blog in which he wrote really scathing stuff about the bank, and to make matters worse, the posts came up on the front page of the results page of a search engine inspiring a lot many people to add more.
My friend wrote in his blog that he had got a phone call from the bank some weeks ago for a ‘gold’ credit card. An executive had come to his place and noted all the details and collected proofs of his income and other relevant details. He was informed of the credit card to arrive by courier in a week’s time. He was promised that he was ‘prequalified’ for the card because he was an ‘esteemed’ customer of the bank. Weeks flew by and there were no sign of the credit card. Exasperated, he called up the bank three times and all the three attempts made a mockery of the man’s precious time. My friend said that he was waiting in the IVR queue on two occasions and just before he was transferred to the executive, the calls would drop.
Luckily when this guy did get to speak to a live person on the third attempt, he was informed that he did not stand the chance to get a gold card because he was not ‘qualified’ for it. It was but natural for the person to fume his anger into words and put it down on the blogging software and show it to the world. Of course, he found a lot of fans who had more gory stories to tell them about the bank and that too in a colorful language.
The poor bank (figuratively speaking) witnessed a lot of hate posts coming in various blogs. An online search on information about some of the products of the bank showed the blogs posts in the first two pages of Google. The company had to steady its online reputation soon or vanish in throes of competition. The bank decided to pull its socks and undo most of the damage.
The bank worked on a system of follow-up. The bank manager called up the customer, apologized for the inconvenience caused, and said that he would personally take care of the situation. The manager asked him for an honest feedback about how the bank could improve its services. The guy retorted with a classic ‘that’s your problem, not mine.’ In spite of so many ‘it’s your faults,’ thrown in by the customer, the manager promised him of superior service. The manager also requested the customer to check the bank’s blog. The customer conveniently ignored him.
My friend after tasting the first blood of vengeance decided to check his blog. He was touched to see the bank responding to his complaint (well, he had expected that they would turn a deaf ear!). There was a link on the blog website that directed him to the company blog. Once my friend was in the corporate blog, there were some positive news about the developments of the bank and information on some of the best consumer friendly services that he would be expecting.
The bank had added a blog to its website, and called it ‘problem solving junction.’ This was the place where the bank began to address each and every problem faced by consumers while using the banking services. The bank had hired a team of writers and problem solvers who were backed by research to handle every query with a steady resolute. The bank advertised its blog effectively and ensured that most of the traffic was directed to its blog.
As he went through the blog, he found some future news about the bank that was interesting to him. Two of the services that he liked were debt management services and a wealth management services that would show him how he could manage its investments at no extra cost. However he decided to wait and watch before going for the kill.
The same evening, the card arrived along with a gift, a watch. The bank had under-promised but over-delivered. He was all smiles as he listened to the advisor from the company who showed him about how he could invest his wealth by taking advantage of the wealth management services. The advice given to him was sound and fruitful. Impressed by the information on the blog and the tips given by the bank executive, he decided to buy the mutual fund and invest in monthly SIPs. My friend, a rational being that he was, bought the mutual fund of the bank, not just because the financial advisor was convincing, but because it had a consistently good performance over the years. Recently, he also received dividends from the fund which was appreciating steadily, thus adding to his cup of joy.
Thanks to some decent online reputation management, the bank earned a loyal long-term customer who held the company’s bank account, credit card and mutual fund. Wait a minute…online reputation management…well that term was not even coined at that time but the bank was doing it.
My friend has again decided to put his views on his blog and this time they are positive. Of course, negative posts do flow for the company from people but they are never on the front page of Google because the bank has perked up its online reputation management and has marketed its content and website in such a manner that only good news about the bank feature on the first page of the search engine. It is a nice thing to note that the bank is not just a spokesman of online reputation management but has also has lived that principle. When you have a good product, an efficient customer service and an amazing reputation management system, then you can be a preferred brand for a lot of people.
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