Facebook reviews - is the customer always right?

Facebook reviews – dreaded criticism or welcomed praise. What turn will it take? I’m not opposed to using Facebook reviews if you’re confident as a business that you’re continuously striving to deliver a superior product or supreme service and that you’re willing to enter in an open communication with your customers. If you’re not, do us all a favour, avoid your next rage fit and turn them off.

It’s Facebook, a biased momentum posted in the heat or enthusiasm of the moment. Think carefully how you want to go about.

Two years ago, my family regularly visited a restaurant not far from our home. Food was lovely, service OK, wine card excellent. We spent many a family evening there, left handsome amounts on the table, rarely hesitated to recommend to others and I liked the page on Facebook. One night, we waited over an hour without drinks, water, nibbles or even a welcome greeting. With a hungry four-year-old. We left and granted, in the heat of the moment, I withdrew my like and wrote my first ever mildly negative review. Months passed, no (Facebook) response. 

On a particularly busy Saturday night 1,5 years later, I had forgotten all about my review. I called, made a reservation under my name and thought nothing more of it.

As we went in, I got ambushed. Foul looks, nasty words uttered between clenched teeth in French in the supposedly Dutch-speaking restaurant as “the woman who posted the negative review.” 1,5 years of social frustration poured out and it was clear within minutes that a two-way communication was not possible. We left. They’re not the only restaurant, I’m not the only customer. There’s nothing more to it.

I just keep wondering why a restaurant would turn to social media to open their customer interaction, but then feel blatantly offended when faced with criticism? If you can’t handle the social heat, better stay in your kitchen. Or turn off your Facebook reviews. Despite me being a heavy supporter of local businesses, I no longer recommend them and I just booked a table to a business group of 20 in another (local) venue. They did not just lose the one customer, they lost my network.

Imagine this rant was posted by an unhappy customer in an international B2B environment. Would this digital squabble reflect your genuine commitment to improve customer satisfaction through unbiased two-way conversation?

If you always want to be right, you’ll most often be doing something wrong.

My review is still up. In the unaltered original format. My communication doesn't work that way.

Stay weird. The podcast turnaround.

I’ve never done a podcast in my life. But I do run.

So when someone recommended I listen to a business podcast series, I thought I’d give it a go on my next run. Or how a routine 3 mile run turned into an epiphany.

After 20mins I was podcast hooked. I found myself chuckling during the run, contemplating my options. I wanted/needed to hear more. So instead of completing my routine run in 10mins, I decided to turn around. That would buy me another 20 minutes of podcast fun.

Well, I sure got more than I bargained for. While listening to phrases like “one out of three business will not succeed, be the weirdo” I found myself actually lost on a route I routinely run on a weekly basis. I could run it blindfolded, just not the other way around.

And then it dawned on me. Instead of always looking forward, why not look backwards?

A lot of companies have grown so much over the last years. Or they haven’t and they stabilized. Whilst focusing on maintaining or growing their business, they forgot all about the efforts it took them to get there. Because when the time is right to start addressing old, exisiting or new prospects again, how do you go about? What is your success formula?

Do wat your momma said: retrace your steps. What was your initial goal when you started the company? What was your mission tagline, your elevator pitch? What were you selling and where did you want to be in 3-5-10 years? And are you? If yes, what got you there? If not, how come and do you care?

Up is not the only way to go (sorry Pixar!). And this definitely holds true when it comes to your company brand and communication.

Retrace your steps, you’ll discover items along the road you may have neglected in the past, but are now easy to revisit and make the most of. (who here has a newsletter that runs as smoothly as it should?) You needn't necessarily reinvent your communication reel. Find a professional to help you assess the past and present situation. They’ll find the right tone of voice and channel that will work for you at this particular point in time.

I always look to the right when I’m running. As I got "lost" on my run, I came accross a wild mulberry bush to my other right. New perspective is gained by daring to reiterate.

Be weird. Stay weird. Give the podcast a go.

Taken from a token youth favourite movie - The Craft.

Content repurposing - the #happydrupa effect

Happy is as happy gets. And although I try to take back a little bit of happiness from every show I visit (Fespa, drupa), sometimes it takes an extra special - or should I say happy - surprise to keep the feeling going.

Last week I received a intriguing enveloppe with my address details written by hand. Hand written snailmail? Consider me pleased as punch. Would it be a wedding invite, a ‘new baby in the framily‘ announcement or a party invite? None of the above. Turns out it was one of the best DM I have received in years.

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Hand written address details - the personal touch does the trick.

At drupa, Ed Boogaard introduced 2 figurines he kept as a memento from drupa 1982. He now took them back to the future, aka the Messe fairgrounds of drupa 2016. He captured their key visits in quirky snapshots that got posted on Twitter alongside the #happydrupa hashtag. Their arrival, first German food, meeting Mr. PrintPakt, meeting Mr. Landa, work hard party hard – you name it. 2 weeks of little Playmobil people fun.

Cute. I confess I tuned in regularly to follow their adventures during the show.

So what a wonderful surprise to see that Ed had turned their social wanderings into a small printed booklet that he sent individually to the #happydrupa followers. How’s that for keeping the social online conversation going?

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The boys took the #happydrupa followers on a tour of #drupa2016 highlights.

I’m a big fan of repurposing on site and on the spot generated content. It will have served its purpose ad hoc, but that does not mean its meaning should remain confined within that moment. Repurposing your social content in a digital or print manner afterwards is a wonderful way of stretching your communication momentum just a little bit longer. A good quote, a fine image or a fun story in this case, can last longer than its 140 character life on Twitter.

Keep good content alive. The #happydrupa was generated on social, repurposed in print. And now promoted online in this blog.

The only remaining question is: did they touch the future? What did the Marty McFly’s think of the future of print? Stay tuned... 

Maya Staels

Before drupa the deluge

The anticipation build-up towards drupa was huge. Whereas the previous edition was marked by a sense of caution, instilled by the crisis, it seems the market is ready to be bold(er) again. drupa communication picked up like it hasn't done in years, companies were looking for the right tone of voice to make sure they could "unleash" print at this year's edition. (I've seen quite some unleashing references, I think it might be the drupa word du jour.)

Yesterday I roamed the halls to get acquainted again with this massive show. (I get lost easily and my navigation skills suck. Ask anybody who knows me.) Bumped into some journalists to secure some interview slots. USBs are ready, so are the flyers and the briefing documents. All this anticipation and here we are. Moment of truth.

Yesterday the fair cities of Düsseldorf and Cologne got just about flooded with the rain. What a metaphore for the drupa theme. It flooded our lives the last few months and now it will flood the cities for the next two weeks. After drupa, no deluge. It just marks the beginning of another three year cycle.

I'm ready. Release (unleash?) the Kraken.

Maya

P.S. Most likely I'll be around halls 7, 8 and the press centre. Always willing to get lost or take a detour to talk communication.

My view looking out of the car window as we drove back to the hotel. #Aquaplaning anyone? #drupa2016

Fespa, drupa and the end of print's beauty sleep.

As children of the crisis (if you’re my age and no, I’m not telling), we entered the job market a couple of years before the print market got hit. Then we suffered through the budget cuts, the bankruptcies, the company consolidations. And listened to the tales of good times passed.

We focused on the moneymaking tasks, did hard sales, forgot about the softer communication skills. The market and media got hit. Hard. Companies and publications disappeared. Talented people left the industry. Valuable knowledge got lost. PR learnt the hard way too. Do more with less. Less advertising budget, less copy budget, less market knowledge. We survived, got creative and never lost hope.

And then drupa 2012 happened – new technologies paved the way towards an uprise in the market. People dared believing again. They dared stand up to the “print is dead” cries from the digital community. Print was not dead, it was taking a beauty sleep. Only to rise like the phoenix. Reinventing itself.

Fespa 2015 made it clear change was knocking on opportunity’s door. Hopes and spirits went up. And so did the creative juices in the industry. New allies were formed, new markets got discovered and new technologies emerged. You could just feel positive vibes oozing through the hallways.

By embracing the new technologies, the PR scene discovered new media and channels to convey the message of customers. Visual storytelling, social strategy research, digital sales lead generation. Old school got out, new school was in session. PR truly got 360° by reinventing the print, digital, online and social wheels. I, for one, feel envigorated already.

And as we kick off the first day of Fespa Digital 2016, online communication makes it clear that disruption took place. Now it is time to transform the business. Communicate on what you have accomplished and what you’re planning to do. Get your content straight. And make sure the market finds out about it. Choose your content, channels and partners wisely.

See you at the shows.

Maya

P.S. You'll find me at Fespa Digital 2016 March 8-9. Drop me a line/tweet/ext if you want to meet up.

PR - it’s a work of (he)art.

When I ventured on the PR path in 2006, I had no idea where it would take me. I knew communication, I knew marketing. But PR?

Mind you, after all this time, my parents still don’t know what it is I do. Something about writing and talking to the media. (I’m not  kidding) Well, that flag sure does not cover the load.

I’ve come to love PR, and the international technical B2B markets where I have been able to practice my trade in particular. Technical professions produce gems of fine technique, advanced science and sometimes trivia of sheer genius. Throughout the years, quite some renowned brands have entrusted me with communicating their message to their audience, preferably via the media. It sounds simple enough, but it turns out it isn’t. And as I look back upon this new venture in my life, I realise how much the communication business has changed.

When I started out, print was all the rage. The rise of the online paralel universe quickly shook things up as internet speed accelerated. (I still remember a former contact assuring everyone this online thing would merely be a fleeting faits divers – hm.) Onwards and upwards nonetheless as online and print struggled to find an equilibrium. Digital emerged and social came in guns ablazing. And here we are at a cross-media intersection, with print, online, digital and social all looking for a place on the communication spectrum. Sharing the cookie(s), one community content piece at a time.

Every PR person has it personal preference when it comes to choosing the channels and platforms. I don’t – you choose the platform in function of the content message. Make it work however it should be working.

In presentations, you mostly see B2C references when it comes to big brands communicating wonderfully with their communities. That’s not right, there are many B2B companies who are also doing wonderful things with sometimes limited resources. But more can be done, let’s get real.

Or get reel on board. Because that is how I intend to keep it, whether it’s developing a reel to roll out your story, or reeling in new business for you (or me).

Versatility, diplomacy, patience and some gut feeling – my key traits. I know these trusted counsellors have helped me realise some wonderful projects.

What I tell my parents it is that I do?

I PR things.

Does this enlighten them? Sadly, no.

Is it an exact science? No, it’s a work of (he)art.

The experience comes at a cost, the love you get for free.

Yours,

Maya

P.S. This blog was written on the flight back from Milan, Italy, upon my return from the renowned ITMA 2015 textile show. Torn between the pit and the pendulum, I found myself. I hope it will reel you in too. Get in touch when you’re ready to PR things too.