Brands must respect Bloggers

I would like to share a recent experience we at MySmartPrice faced with a blog post that stated that we are a "fraud company". An upcoming fashion blogger seemed to have an unpleasant experience with us and before we became aware of the issue or could address it she had published an account of her ordeal and suggested other bloggers in the field to stay away from us. The issue is now solved and the post has been voluntarily withdrawn by the blogger. Normally such allegations are brushed aside with a wand by giant multi national corporations. Criticism isn't a new thing for successful ventures, be it B.P, my ex employer or Flipkart, one of the chief players in Indian eCommerce space. Often allegations are made without substantial evidence, at other times serious flaws in the workings of the company make for embarrassing PR moments. For MySmartPrice, however, this was a new experience.

MySmartPrice and I have always engaged with new media, mainly bloggers in the technology field to communicate our value proposition(lowest price) to their readers. The method has consistently proven to be cost effective and rewarding. In the case of the Fashion blogger, we were able to clear matters and the post is now removed. However the lessons learned from the experience are worthy of sharing.

1) Blogs are Influential

In the age of social media, bloggers are not just another media, they are fast becoming "The Media", any word they say is taken as the truth. Make sure what they say is the truth. Even if it isn't flattering. Blogs have helped the growth of several ventures and brands through their evangelism. Including brands such as Flipkart in India in the early days.

2) Respect Bloggers and Acknowledge them

In a popular example of blogger influence, one of India's leading tech blogs, Digit had an angry blogger who wrote at length about how Flipkart had screwed him over. The post made the rounds all over the internet and in the end Flipkart had solved the issue in perhaps quicker rate than it usually does. However Flipkart is perhaps one of the most respected brands in eCommerce among Indian bloggers. The wrath for other sites such as SnapDeal, the now extinct Timtara etc are quite well documented. The case here is to prove that Flipkart did Acknowledge their short comings and rectified it. The post may exist forever but actions do speak louder sometimes than posts.

3) Don't Screw Up and Be Proactive

Prevention is always better than cure. When dealing with Bloggers or customers it is always in the best interest of a company to respect them and try to eliminate grievances. No system is perfect, so grievances will always be part and parcel of the Customer-Brand interaction. How we deal with them is the important issue. Take for example this example of Amazon gifting a blogger from BGR free Amazon Cash for an apparent lag in viewing a movie on Amazon from Helsinki. Note the word Apparent. The customer had hardly any complaint, yet Amazon rose to the occasion to deal with grievance. This is the difference between a good brand and a great brand. Great brands do preemptive grievance solving.

MySmartPrice today caters to over 12 Mn visitors in a month. We are bound to make mistakes and cause grievances to our users. However if our one experience has taught us one thing it is to Acknowledge, Apologize and be Proactive. Brands are made through experiences. If experiences are made well Brands will move up the value chain. If experiences fail to make an impact or make negative impact brands will soon die out. The choice is yours.