During my marketing class last week, I heard the most counter intuitive theory that inspired me to write this weeks blog.
The theory was called the Service Recovery Paradox. The theory essentially means that when a brand intiatiates a positive service recovery it can cause a level of customer satisfaction/loyalty, even greater if no service failure happened in the first place CRAZY RIGHT .
When i think about social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, We can all agree that they have to a large extent shifted market power away from brands and given it to the consumer. An angry Facebook post or parody video on You tube such as (United Breaks Guitars) exemplify that consumers now take charge of public discussions about the brands they use.
However its not all negative. Brands on social media now have a real time view on whats happening with their brand, through customer comments you can start to learn about issues with products/services more quickly than ever before. But more so if theres a complaint you can effectively implement your service recovery processes to hopefully resolve the issue and generate a positive response.
This is highlighted with Woolworth’s and how they turned negative social media feedback into positive PR.
A Woolworth’s customer posted a long rant about the disappointment he had with avocados he bought from a store. He suggested that Woolworth’s weren’t living up to their reputation as the ‘fresh-food people’ and posted the image.
This initiated a clever response from Woolys.
While the avocado incident had the potential to cause a wave of negative comments about consumers purchasing old produce hurting the brand mantra, Woolworth’s swift and light-hearterd response triggered a domino of applause. Consumers went on to create memes and statuses that highlighted the company’s brilliant way to deal with the complaint.
This incidence demonstrates two things for us as future digital marketers. Firstly negative feedback is not a total disaster and can become seen as an opportunity to connect with the customer base and enhance the brand (The service recovery paradox theory).
Secondly within the digital age, managing a reputation is much more demanding!
What do you guys think about the Service recovery paradox theory?
Is there any other examples of brands turning complaints into opportunities?
SOURCES
Mauceri, R. (2015) Woolworths Turns Negative Social Media into Positive PR, Retrieved April 26, 2015 From http://www.mondaq.com/australia/x/370718/Social+Media/Woolworths+turns+negative+social+media+feedback+into+positive+PR+for+its+brand
Orange Outlook 
More brands need to take Woolworth’s footsteps, but only if it’s appropriate within the company’s standards and vision. The Tim Tam one that was shared on Facebook was another example of a company using the service recovery paradox theory.
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What do you mean by ‘positive service recovery’? I got stuck here sorry!
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I thought people would get a bit confused. So essential what it means is if you’ve have had a bad experience with a product/service and you make a complaint the organisation will implement their service recovery processes to fix the issue and hopefully make things better (they might apologise and admit fault, send a new product, give discounts) its all about making the consumer happy. Does make it abit more clearer ? 🙂
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Yes that makes sense, thanks ! I thought it was that but wasn’t sure if it was specific marketing terminology ^^
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My newsfeed is always full of people sharing complaints with certain products and services, so it is really important that brands are able to approach the situation like Woolworths have done here in order to maintain a positive brand image
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Exactly Tim ! everything is so magnified on social media I mean, 1 complaint can create thousands of impressions -so I think responses like Woolworths where they recognised they made a mistake (apologised), then sought to fix that mistake whilst adding a touch of humour illustrates how the digital space has given brands the potential to express a more humanistic side thus developing closer connections with its consumers.
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Go Woolies! So funny! So great to see brands acknowledging complaints and creating a relationship between the brand and the consumer. It makes them more easy to relate to as a consumer and also develops a brand personality. Although digital marketing on social media allows for consumers to post negative comments about the brand or complain publicly, it also gives the brand an opportunity to publicly display their acknowledgement which gains a lot of support from viewers. Doing it in a funny way is so great because as I mentioned develops a personality that customers like!
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Great post! Its essential now days for brands to respond to social media posts wether they are positive or negative. it creates a great relationship between the consumer and company, as well as, it may create a social media freenzy (just like the Woolworths memes) which can attract new consumers and a greater reach. Dominos Facebook page is also a good example of customer and company relationship over social media
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I agree with jgrek’s comment. Unfortunately many brands today shy away from conflict, and don’t truly realise the damage that they are doing, as well as the potential for a benefit. It’s SUCH an important thing – especially in social media marketing – great post
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