You have likely heard of Dave Carroll — and, if not, you have likely seen the following video played many times over on video-sharing giant, YouTube.
This viral video (10.8 million plays as of September 15, 2011) represents one of the first examples (in 2009) of how a single, unhappy customer has the power to share his/her story with millions of people and damage the reputation of a well-established brand. Needless to say, social Media is powerful — and businesses need a strategy in place to manage their reputation.
Damaging the reputation was, however, just part of the story. According to The Times Online:
"Meanwhile, within four days of the song going online, the gathering thunderclouds of bad PR caused United Airlines’ stock price to suffer a mid-flight stall, and it plunged by 10 per cent, costing shareholders $180 million. Which, incidentally, would have bought Carroll more than 51,000 replacement guitars."
The Lesson
Although you will likely never have to deal with a PR crisis of this magnitude, you will likely, however, have to deal with "angry" customers who vent their frustrations online. Do you have a strategy in place to manage your reputation? Are you monitoring what is being said about your company or brand on Google? On Twitter? On YouTube? On Review Sites?
Don't minimize the importance of a complaint like United did. You just never know the influence that person can wield in the digital age of social media. If you do encounter a crisis, however, the following steps can help manage that crisis.