The ease and speed with which social media/networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook can spread information is in the news again as Barak Obama’s unheralded low-key visit to Afghanistan was almost blown by tweets from the region.

Presidential aides rebutted the tweets in an effort not to damage security arrangements but their efforts ultimately proved futile as the visit got underway.

Controlling a message has gone out of the window given the mass use of smartphones and sites such as Twitter. Rumours abound and tweets can be spread, literally like wild-fire.

Apparently ‘random’ tweets can set of a chain of events that can see cricketers having to defend themselves against allegations of match-fixing, celebrities commenting on relationship issues, and politicians’ whereabouts made public.

Whilst some tweets might be deliberate and malicious, many more will simply be innocent commentary on what the tweeter is seeing or hearing around them. If we don’t want that to be commented on, best we keep it behind firmly shut closed doors.

Change is inevitable. It’s something we can guarantee will happen. Of course that doesn’t make it any easier, especially when change is forced upon us, or when we feel the change is unwarranted or inappropriate.

Managing the pre-change process effectively is essential if you want customers to welcome and support the change rather than challenge it.

If there’s any inkling that the change might disadvantage the customer, or be handled in a way the customer considers to be inappropriate, then not only will you find your reputation severely dented, you might also lose the goodwill and customer loyalty you’d previously earned and find yourself watching part of your customer base disappear.

So what should a provider do to help minimise the risk of alienating clients as you go about making the changes needed? (more…)

This year’s Christmas advert from UK high-street retailer John Lewis is an out and out reputation winner, which is more than can be said for Littlewoods – another UK retailer.

Both are cute, featuring children under 5 and a focus on presents, but where the Lewis ad hits the nail on the head in terms of positive emotion, and has received more than 3 million views, the Littlewoods’ ad does quite the reverse.

International speaker and confidence coach Eilidh Milnes says “I’d offer that John Lewis truly knows and understands it’s clients, matches the company ethics and ethos to its target market then dares to be different. The company holds its ground and maintains its standards – no questionable implications dubious morals or poor taste; with the advert … focusing on generosity not greed.” Here, here!

Littlewoods’ blatant commercialism and insensitivity won’t have won it many fans – adult or child. The obvious message is unnecessary and the ad’s ability to dispel the supposed myth that Mum, rather than Santa, provides gifts at Christmas will, no doubt, be the cause of tears before bedtime for many a littlie enraptured with Santa and his helpers. (more…)

Pic: 3news.co.nz

NZ Prime Minister John Key is in hot water and it’s not cooling off. The ‘Teapot Tape’ remains a hot topic of conversation, both in the media and amongst the public, given New Zealand is just one week away from a general election.

So why is it still dominating headlines? The apparently inadvertent recording of a supposedly private conversation between Prime Minister John Key and ACT candidate John Banks continues to be a hot topic because of doubts about whether voters are ‘being played‘.

Instead of fronting up and simply saying ‘we look forward to working with ACT as a coalition partner’ National again staged managed the so-called ‘Cup of Tea’ ritual to surreptitiously direct voters in Epsom to vote for Banks, as ACT’s candidate, rather than their own man. (more…)

Good on Martin Devlin, the ‘46 year old household name’ who ceased seeking name suppression in the media after he was charged with disorderly conduct in downtown Auckland. The suppression originally generated much media comment and debate including rumours that proved to be wildly inaccurate regarding Devlin’s alleged behaviour that prompted the arrest.

This case followed several other so-called ‘high-profile’ New Zealand celebrities, athough the definition of celebrity is clearly debatable, who have sought, and gained, name suppression, some permanently.

The reporting of Devlin’s case, with specific reference to ‘a 46 year old man’ who was also an ‘entertainer’ meant several other 46 year old male broadcasters and celebrities took to Twitter and other media to confirm it wasn’t them. It seemed only a matter of time before the dwindling pool of possible suspects might reveal who the offender was. (more…)

Research indicates it’s 6-7 times more expensive to gain one new customer than it is to retain an existing one and that a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by between 25% and 95%!

It therefore makes sense to hang on to the clients and customers you already have, and create a legion of raving fans willing to recommend you, by genuinely and sincerely thanking your existing clients on an ongoing basis.

However, remember details are important. Even the simplest ‘Thank You’ will be met with suspicion and disbelief if the person’s name is spelt wrongly, or some detail about the transaction referred to is incorrect, or someone with a non gender-specific name such as Chris is referred to as ‘he’ when in fact he’s a ‘she’.

Instead of making the person feel valued and respected, administrative errors can generate quite the opposite effect. They can also raise doubts about your sincerity and systems and processes which may never have been thought about had you got it right in the first place.

So how can you minimise these types of errors and enhance your reputation for being great with the details? (more…)

‘It’s safe to assume … ‘ is a phrase many of us rely on but which should be regularly questioned.

New Zealand’s state broadcaster, TVNZ, for example, probably thought it was safe to assume the offensive, and potentially politically damaging comments made its Breakfast presenter, Paul Henry, last week would upset some but it would be worth it for the publicity and ‘eyeballs’ the comments would attract.

How wrong they were. His ‘close to the wire’ comments create debate and discussion and, so we’re led to believe, drive ratings up. However, the public outcry over what many New Zealanders deemed to be racist comments made by Henry has left TVNZ’s reputation significantly damaged. Henry’s reputation, on the other hand, as an arrogant ’shock-jock’, is simply reinforced.

Mocking and embarrassing any number of studio guests, and by implication the groups or communities they appear to represent, is par for the course for Henry. Indeed, some allege guests are asked in advance ‘can you cope with him?’ For Paul Henry it’s safe to assume he’ll upset and alienate sections of society on a regular basis whilst winning fans from those applauding his right to voice an opinion and not be too ‘politically-correct’. (more…)

My grandmother used to say we have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in that proportion. It’s certainly wise advice.

Listening, rather than talking, is one of the easiest and most effective ways of engaging with others, and selling almost anything. It also enhances your reputation, increases your perceived value and deepens your relationship with clients and customers.

So listen up! Top tips for asking great questions and listening effectively include:

• Avoid assuming or second-guessing you know what they want, or worse, trying to sell them something you want to sell but they don’t want to buy. Nothing will send them to your competitors faster.

• Give them your full attention. Trying to do two (or more) things whilst listening to them is, at best, difficult, and at worst, downright rude.

• Encourage prospective customers to explain what they want so you can ascertain whether you can, in fact, help them and if so, in what way(s).

• Listen for what’s not being said as well as what they are saying but avoid interrupting without letting them say their piece.

• Clarify motivations, preferences and desired outcomes before trying to sell anything.

• If you feel another provider may be able to provide a more effective or appropriate solution for them, tell them so! You may lose this sale but gain huge amount of goodwill and a commitment to future purchases as a result.

The urge to ‘make a sale’ before fully understanding what the customer really wants can leave them feeling they’ve been short-changed and you with a short-term win at the expense of a longer-term, higher value relationship with the customer.

Remembering we have two ears and one mouth and using them in this proportion can massively our bottom line. Put a smile on your dial and let them do the talking!

According to the ‘Social Media Revolution’ video from Socialnomics, 96% of Generation Y or Millennials (born between 1980 and 2000 or thereabouts) are part of an online social network and yet the fastest growing segment of Facebook is females aged 55-65 years old.

Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears have more Twitter followers than the entire populations of Sweden, Israel, Switzerland, Ireland, Norway and Panama, and half the mobile internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook. Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30 years old and email is considered old technology by a significant number of them.

We are connecting, communicating and revealing personal and professional details about ourselves more openly than ever before. In the time it takes to read this post around 50 hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube, the world’s second largest search engine.

We tap out information about ourselves at the stroke of a key and yet rarely think about the damage that can be caused to our reputation, both online and off, by posting careless remarks and images.

Even if we don’t write the words ourselves, others are writing about us, and in this digital age of instant upload it’s worth remembering that the camera is always rolling, the microphone is always on, and there’s no such thing as ‘off-the-record’.

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When a company decides to have an official presence on Facebook, or other online social media network, they open themselves up to two huge opportunities:

• They can connect and communicate with potential and existing clients and customers keen to engage in a dialogue with that company and build trust in the process.

• They also run the risk of getting offside with ‘fans’, friends’ and ‘followers’ big-time if they fail to understand the ‘rules of engagement’ and try and use what are perceived as ‘big-brother’ tactics in the process.

The fall-out that’s occurred, which is neatly summarised in Bernard Warner’s blog post at SocialMediaToday.com, demonstrates how the internet can become a bitter battlefield where wars are won or lost based not on words, but on behaviour.

No matter how much a company or organisation may want to control their image and reputation online, it’s almost impossible to do – especially via Social Networking sites such as Facebook.

Attacking its commentators is unlikely to have endeared Nestle to the 90,000 or so ‘friends’ it has (had?) on Facebook as Rick Broida points out at bnet.com.

I’d hazard a guess it would have earned more respect, and perhaps even enhanced its reputation, if it had responded in a way that said ‘we hear you, we welcome your feedback, and we’re actually quite pleased you’re taking the time to let us know how you feel’.

(more…)