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United’s PR Disaster & Lessons in Reputation Management for SMBs

By now, you’ve either seen the video or heard about it. If you haven’t, here you go. United is experiencing a PR disaster the likes of which we rarely see. Not only did things go terribly wrong for the airline, they went viral. Outrage swept Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, the blogs, news websites, radio, and print. The memes are top notch. To have missed this mess is to have been so isolated that you’ve developed a relationship with a volleyball named Wilson while stranded on a desert island. The lesson should ring loud and clear for SMBs: your online reputation must be a top priority. Customer reviews, star ratings, awards, and references are valuable intel for online comparison shoppers. According to a 2016 Survey by BrightLocal, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. United is feeling the sting of that statistic right about now, after losing over $255 Million off of their market cap right after the incident. For SMBs, the consequences can be similarly damaging. If your online reputation is making you look bad, you’re almost certainly losing out on the 53% of consumers who search for local businesses at least once per month. You’re almost certainly losing out on the 54% who visit websites after reading positive reviews.

Step One: Location, Location, Location

The true first step to controlling your digital reputation is to provide quality services and treat your customers properly. United stumbled badly here, and it was the first of a few key mistakes. Now, figure out which platforms can make or break you. If you’re a home remodeling contractor, platforms like Houzz and Angie’s List are probably near the top of the list, while legal review site Avvo probably isn’t on your radar. If you’re a taco joint, point your attention to Google MyBusiness and Yelp! You’ll want to make sure that you have the right phone number, address, URL, and all that good stuff. Owning and controlling this information will enable you to make edits, respond to bad reviews, and make sure you look awesome in the pictures section.

Step Two: If You Want Something, Ask

If you’re not encouraging happy customers to leave some kind words, you should be. Creating a review outreach workflow or automating the process with technology is usually simple enough. For example: if you notice that one of your fans has a Gmail account, send them the link to your Google MyBusiness profile! They’ll already be logged in to their Google account, and typing out a few sentences and hitting that fifth star will be a breeze.

Step Three: React

Many business owners can tell which customer left a nasty review. You may be surprised at how quickly a Disgruntled Diane will be to edit or take down a review if you contact her, explain the situation, and offer to remedy it. Many people react favorably to this kind of outreach. In the event that you imagine this discussion going poorly or cannot identify Diane, it’s usually a good idea to respond publicly in a constructive and open manner. Remember that consumers often appreciate evidence that a business is actively trying to fix an error- this can even help improve your rep.

Step Four: Analyze

The most wonderful thing about the internet is that it’s measurable. Sure, it’s great to have humanity’s greatest achievements in art, science, history, mathematics, etc. available at the tips of our fingers, but the real beauty is in the numbers. SMBs can make data driven decisions about their business based on analytics that are worth their file size in gold. Owning your listings, integrating with Google Analytics, using a CRM tool for review outreach, and interpreting your reporting at regular intervals can reveal repeatable, scalable, processes that can help you in thousands of different ways.

Cultivating your online reputation is a foundational element of any cross-channel digital marketing strategy. No matter how consumers are finding you now, it’s likely that they’re vetting you against your competition online. Controlling what they see and analyzing how they interact with you while they’re searching can help you not be like United. Even Googling the word “United” will render new stories, articles, and social media posts that pillory the brand. Not only did they fail their customers initially, but the story that CEO Oscar Munoz failed in responding to the incident has almost overshadowed the initial shock caused by the video. It will be interesting for advertisers, agencies, and consumers alike to watch United climb out of this pit. How will they alter their position? How will they use the data they’re gathering right to adapt their strategy for the future? More importantly, are you learning a lesson through all of this and taking control of your SMB’s online reputation?

 

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