Social Business Bites - Des Walsh
Hi
3 crunchy bites this week
- Ill-fated Taxi Industry Campaign
- Starbucks' Red Cup Saga
- 24 Stats - Social Media & Customer Service
Browse previous issues of Social Business Bites at this link ______________________________
BITES
The campaign that encouraged Victorians to share their experiences of riding in taxis backfired spectacularly with people posting accounts of verbal,
physical and sexual abuse from drivers and its #RememberanceDay tweet.
Having driven a taxi for several years (long ago), I have some sympathy for drivers and others in the industry as Uber spreads across the planet, or at least the developed world. But the taxi industry in Melbourne, capital of
the state of Victoria, Australia, scored an own goal with its recent #YourTaxis social media campaign.
The campaign's execution was seriously inept, not least with the tasteless promo tweet for Remembrance Day (misspelt in the hashtag
as #RememberanceDay). But at a strategic level, what strikes me about this fiasco is that the industry and/or its agency thought they could just jump in to social media and have everyone say "Oh goody!". There are 15,242 active drivers in Victoria (5,290 in Melbourne) but their @YourTaxis Twitter account follows 111, has 614 followers, has posted 387 tweets and has 52 likes - did someone say "baby steps"? The Facebook page has 95 likes. No wonder the
critics and haters won the day. A campaign without a loyal and trusting community, especially on contentious issues, is asking for trouble. #nosympathyforthislot
As any glance at social media this week might have told you, the red cup in question is Starbucks' design for the 2015 winter holiday season. The gripe: the cups aren't Christmassy enough.
It is social media that fueled a "movement" founded by a self-proclaimed "American evangelist" to "put Christmas back" in the cups, one that was swiftly mocked
and derided by Christians and non-Christians alike.
In case you missed it, the Starbucks' red cup controversy has been a buzzy topic on social media this week or so past.
I'm linking to this article, which I believe does a fair job of explaining the events and various points of view, in case you are wondering what the fuss is about but don't have time or inclination to go searching. And as well as explaining what happened the article does show us something about how social media, with some fuel of outrage, confected or genuine, can
generate stormy times for companies perceived or claimed to have done something wrong.
My own attitude to this particular storm is that there are surely more important things to worry about, but on the other hand companies don't get to choose what issues will be whipped up and need to have strategies in place to handle whatever comes
up.
Millions of people are taking service issues to social media channels as
their preferred communication route. These questions and complaints are public, and the only real question for businesses is how - not if - they will respond. Listening is no longer an end, but rather a means to evaluating where you need to engage. Here are 24 statistics that show social media’s rise as a customer service channel and its bright future.
You think
customers with a problem will phone your company and hang on, or send you an email? Well, they might, but they are increasingly likely to hit Twitter or Facebook first. I usually give the company about 30 minutes max before I hit the social media channels.
On a more positive note, when companies engage and respond to customer service requests over social media,
those customers end up spending 20% to 40% more with the company.
That and 23 other fascinating stats in this article which I for one will be examining closely as I gear up for 2016.
____________________________
My "Brother, Sister, can you spare a short recommendation?" item from last week generated two delightful responses
In case you missed last week's newsletter or got called away, I included a request for recommendations for the newsletter - to help me attract some more
readers.
_______________________
The key para:
If you find Social Business Bites interesting/helpful, and would be happy to give me a sentence or two on why that is so and let me use that, with your name, to help me promote it, I would be super grateful. Just an email to deswalsh@webartsco.com will do it.
If not, please just keep reading and I'll love you just for that! :)
_________________________________
As I say, there were two recommendations, for which I am most grateful. I'll share one now and one next week.
Becky McCray from
Alva, Oklahoma, Small town entrepreneur, rancher, store owner, speaker and author of the book Small Town Rules and the small town and rural business advice site Small Biz Survival (great content!), wrote:
Social Business Bites stands
out because it’s useful. Each article Des includes is there for a reason, and he always explains why it matters. His insight about business and technology and his depth of knowledge make all the difference. That’s why I read every issue.
Thanks Becky!
___________________________
LATEST PODCAST EPISODE
________________________________
Looking for previous issues of Social Business Bites? Here's the link. ________________________
Till next time, be well, be social :)
Des
PS: If you are not on the list yet to receive Social Business Bites in your email inbox, and would like to try it, you can register for that at this link. And remember there is an easy unsubscribe link in every update).
My contact details
Phone: International +61 413089355 Australia 0413 089
355
Skype: userid is deswalsh (if you want to connect with me there, just type in "Social Business Bites" - or email me and we can set it up).
