Dealing with Opportunities and Threats

Social media has given many consumers a voice and platform. It has also boosted people’s views and informed their decision-making. The Internet is innately connected, making opinions easy to access and share. We’ll talk about handling opportunities and threats.

The accessible nature of social media also makes it convenient to find and respond to them. These processes happening on social media channels contribute to the perception of the brand.

Always let customers know that you are paying attention to them. This is part of being a diligent participant. Show them that you care about their complaints and questions as much as you do about normal conversations. 

Listen, and then when it’s appropriate, comment. Make sure to be appreciative and add significance wherever possible. Let your brand be dynamic and engaged on social media.

Successful brands in terms of connecting with their market always look for these opportunities. This will encourage their brand to move forward and stay vigilant about risks that might threaten their reputation. 

However good or bad the comments are, you still hold the power by responding well. You can directly engage with them or have a brand new campaign. Your choice depends on the opportunities and risks that may occur.

How to Spot Opportunities and Threats

This depends on the comment you read. Look at these examples: 

When Everything Said is Nice

When the consumer says a nice thing, do everything in your power to drive high volumes of conversation. It’s great to be in a position where all the mentions are positive, but do not stop there. 

This is a huge chance to be heard by potential consumers even more. Maximize these feedback instead of letting them be.

When stakeholders are giving positive messages about your brand, that means their expectations have been exceeded by your brand. However, these expectations may also change in time. 

Do everything to make them stay and to reach more people. Consistently be on the lookout for groundbreaking and innovative ways to fulfill and develop the promise of your brand. 

When All the Comments are Neutral

When everything being said by the stakeholders is neutral, then do not utilize them for attention. These neutral comments will make your company sound neutral as well, even boring. 

Seth Godin himself says it, “Safe is risky” (Godin, 2010). You don’t want your brand to look like it’s playing safe from hidden criticisms.

Your company may be forgotten by the audience if no one bothers to make a comment or if the comment is too neutral. Oftentimes, it doesn’t matter if it’s praise or criticism. What may possibly follow a neutral comment is the fact no one will talk about your brand anymore.

When Negative Comments are Being Said

So you got a bad rating, review, or comment on Facebook. This negative statement may be deemed as a broken promise of the brand, but it isn’t the end of anything.

Negative comments may also be a reflection of underperformance on audience expectation. This should be top priority. They may look like a threat to your image, but it’s also an opportunity to improve and redeem yourself. 

When this happens to you, your brand should be very careful. Try not to create any more conversation that is unnecessary so you won’t receive any more negative comments. 

Again, remember that it isn’t the end. This is a spectacular chance to improve your product or service. These pieces of information encourage the business to focus on resolving the problem. 

There may be an underlying problem, though, if the conversation around your brand is purely negative. 

Again, complaints are usually from stakeholders whose expectations were not met after the dealing. When they complain, the customer is trying to make the company have a chance to correct. They can even say this unintentionally. Majority of the time, they just leave comments on where your brand can improve. 

Customer Service

The customer service team ought to be trained well for these types of situations. They have to share insights with the business strategy as well. Why? So you can prioritize and solve the underlying issue ASAP.

If a negative comment was done online, then the damage control will be done and posted online too. But you can also try to resolve the filed complaint offline at first. For example, the customer service may usually happen in private through the email or phone.But even if this is the case, you may post a personalized comment in a blog post or anywhere to show the consumers that your company listens. It’s also a way to let them know that you are responding and serving the goal of actually solving an underlying problem. 

Remember that criticism does not necessarily need to come from customers. However, it’s vital that these customers are aware of it. If you receive a criticism that has false information, make sure it is being corrected. Guarantee that the public also hears it. Meanwhile, if the criticism you get is correct, then deal with it as such. 

How to Respond to Opportunities and Threats

When you respond to comments, make sure it involves the acknowledgement that your consumers hold the upper hand in this relationship. This is because they are better trusted and there are more consumers. Most importantly, it is easier to leave a brand because of the relatively low barriers.

Customers also decide which channel will be used for communicating. This means you need to go to the consumers, not let the consumers go to you. Otherwise, your business will lose customers because they do not want to truly engage.

You see? This is why there should be research about your market. And not just one research, but constant. Once you’ve done this, tailor your strategy to your market research, not vice versa.

Be transparent when you are responding. Always be upfront. Treat your audience as family. Remember that you are a part of the conversation. You are engaged in every conversation. You are not the one dictating all the time.  

© Image credits to Steve Johnson