Bad Bad Buzz
Comcast's image is anything but Comcastic. They have been lambasted on numerous fronts because of their poor customer service and seemingly unethical mode of operation. To further confound their situation, they have been radio silent about most of their issues and seem to have a "don't wanna know" and "don't wanna care" attitude about it. That's the wrong attitude these days because consumers have a louder voice than ever and the old adage that bad news travels faster than good news can be frighteningly true. Companies need to realize that consumers have an ability to define a company's image very quickly through the collective force of social media. This can work for or against a company and the key to maintaining some level of control is to stop, think, Tylenol
Here's part of the damage report:
Digg search for Comcast sorted by most diggs
Google search for Comcast Sucks
There are definitely a few issues here to say the least. I can't help but wonder why Comcast seems out to lunch when it comes to garnishing any type of response to any of these issues. Here we have multiple channels streaming negativity around Comcast resulting in a rather "interesting" effect on the brand yet Comcast is doing very little to manage and control this bad bad buzz. Furthermore, most of these posts or articles were received by thousands if not millions of eyes because of their popularity.
So what should Comcast be doing here? It all comes down to a proactive attitude towards getting into the discussion. Comcast should first track down all of this buzz and get an idea what the negativity landscape looks like. From there, they can think about strategies that would be most effective to start repairing the damage. The first step in getting involved would be to acknowledge their issues and acknowledge the fact that they are listening. This can be done very easily by posting responses, comments, and other statements that tell people that Comcast does indeed have ears. The second step would be to start actually managing the reputation. Now that the dialogue is going, get people involved. Let the consumer know what steps are being taken to fix these problems. It would be even better if they could come up with some creative ways to really engage the consumers in the solution rather than the problem. Ask consumers for their top ten ideas for how to fix Comcast or make some humor out of it. Instead of turning away from the bad news, engage it and make it into something bigger that can be turned positive with the right tactics. The key is to become a part of the discussion. If you aren't part of the conversation, you can't steer it. When it comes to reputation management these days, you've got to have a voice of your own or somebody else will be speaking for you.
UPDATE
Steve Rubel wrote about the JetBlue CEO meeting directly with Genevieve McCaw in response to her blog JetBlue Hostage in order to manage the associated PR backlash.
Steve's take on this was what he called the cold French fry:
This is a great model for anyone in PR or customer service. I call it the cold french fry syndrome. If you go into a fast food restaurant and you get cold french fries, you're mad. So naturally, you start to complain. If the worker behind the counter takes the time to a) hear your complaint and b) try as best he or she can to solve it, there's a good chance they can win you back. The same thing applies when you have a blogger throwing swords your way.
So far, the comments on this post seem to fall into one of two categories:
- Comcast sucks and it wouldn't matter if they joined the conversation
- Every big company gets bad bad buzz so there's nothing really surprising here and nothing to manage
I'd still have to take the stance that by joining the conversation or responding to negative press online a company can do wonders for cold French fries they might have served. Jet Blue certainly stepped up here, so where's Comcast?
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Reader Comments (11)
- Ilya Lichtenstein, March 8, 2007
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This is the monopoly effect. I'm not saying Comcast is good by any stretch of the imagination, but people love to hate a monopoly. Can you name any monopoly that takes your money that people don't hate? Microsoft? Standard Oil? The IRS?
It's the twin forces of Comcast realizing it can get away with more without competition and of people resenting monopolies in general(the whole cheering for the underdog effect, not to mention millions of protesters hating corporations simply because they are big corporations).
- doug, March 8, 2007
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Aneil, great post highlighting Comcast's atrocious reputation. Yet I would point out that while "getting into the discussion" may be a great move for a business looking to leverage positive buzz or quash bad rumors...Comcast is spectacularly horrid, and conversing isn't going to help.
As a former customer of Comcast (in Maryland and Utah) I can say that Comcast does, in fact, truly suck. They are a horrible company. After 4+ years as a customer I can count on one hand the number of positive experiences I had with the company (two). In fact, both good experiences weren't even with Comcast employees, but with 3rd-party contracted techs who serviced problems at my home.
Nick Carr had it right when he said:
"Conversation isn't king. Good products and services at fair prices are king - always were, always will be. Which would you rather do business with - a company that delivers great goods but has no interest in buttonholing you into some pathetic excuse for "a conversation," or a company that sells you crap but is great at conversing? Well, duh."
Until Comcast stops selling crap there is no point in perfuming the manure.
- Tim, March 9, 2007
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A Comcast Technician Sleeping on my Couch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvVp7b5gzqU
- Chris Hemphill, March 9, 2007
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I think this is pretty standard for most cable operators at this point. I have to use Charter Communications where I live and their customer support is by far the worst I have ever had to deal with.
Does anyone know of a cable provider that has a good customer support reputation?
- Zach Katkin, March 9, 2007
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Comcast should use Serph to monitor all this (bad) press. I don't have much experience with Comcast's internet service (up until very recently I've always used Time Warner), but now that our TV cable has switched I have already fallen victim to the sub-par customer service Comcast offers. I have been hanged up on too many times to count while waiting in a service queue...
- Aneil Weber, March 9, 2007
- Shawn, March 9, 2007
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As Ilya, the first commenter, pointed out, this is the monopoly effect. However, the important thing about this is not the notion that we love to hate a monopoly, but that monopolies are immune to our hate.
- Rhea, March 9, 2007
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I'm sorry, but searching "comcast sucks" isn't going to return unbiased results. If I search "president bush sucks" I bet I'd get some negative results, too. I'd be more worried about the top 10 results for just "comcast" which Tim already pointed out shows a Comcast employee sleeping on someone's couch. Didn't mean to peck at the details, but that was a ridiculous search considering every company you could have possibly chosen. How about McDonalds or Wal-Mart while you're at it? Wally World just bought off my small town despite legislation telling them not to build here. They even tried multiple social media fixes and each blew up in their face! Search: "wal-mart social network" and "Wal-Marting Across America". Do you have some suggestions for that train wreck?
- Neil Patel, March 9, 2007
- strange, March 11, 2007
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Just a great example of citizen journalism. Internet will make marketing bullshit obsolete, thank god!
- Aneil, March 11, 2007
