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Babblesoft founder Aruni Gunasegaram found herself in a position that any company would dread. She had launched a new product that she had hoped would be well-received by her target audience, mothers who breastfeed their children. Unfortunately, the product was immediately reviewed, and shredded, by Jennifer Laycock, a very popular mommy-blogger who blogs at The Lactivist. What happened next is a great lesson for companies wanting to handle crisis-management in the blogosphere.
Here's what Jennifer said about the software program, Baby Insights: I
don't know about you, but the last time a family member had the gall to
ask me "what did you do all day" they got a talking to that made it
clear they were never, ever EVER to ask that question again. At least
not until our children were old enough to have children of their own.
Besides, when was the last time your friends and family members sat
down with you so that you could "proudly and confidently" show them
just how much time you spent feeding your baby in the last few days?
Am I the only one that wonders if this is a gag?
Understandably, Aruni was in a state of almost panic upon seeing
this. But what Aruni, and Jennifer did next, is a great lesson for
companies that want to interact with and respond to bloggers.
First, Aruni didn't get defensive and lash out at Jennifer. That
would have made a potentially bad situation a four-alarm disaster.
Instead, she contacted Connie Reece at Every Dot Connects, who was
handling her PR, to seek Connie's advice. Connie explains that To
her credit, Aruni not only asked for advice, she followed it. She did
not respond in anger, but did her homework and learned something about
Jennifer, her blog, and her readers. When Aruni did add a comment to
The Lactivist, it was well received. She and Jennifer also exchanged
e-mails, establishing the basis for a relationship.
Aruni left a comment to Jennifer's post
and graciously accepted the feedback from Jennifer and her readers, and
calmly stated her reasoning for creating the product. That was the
perfect response as it made Aruni look like she was confident in her
product.
But also notice how Jennifer reacted. In the comments section, while
some of her community agreed with her on the product's potential
utility, some thought she was being too hard on the software, and added
that they could see themselves using it.
Jennifer eventually added in the comments: While I
could still never imagine using a program like that myself, my readers
have really given some great reasons why it's still a useful programs
for some moms....That's the great thing about this blog. If I go on a
rant without thinking something through from all angles, my readers
aren't afraid to call me on it.
Two big lessons here for companies:
1 - Even if a blogger slams you, how you respond is STILL more important. Aruni's response determined the positive outcome.
2 - Bloggers are usually pretty reasonable people. Even though my good friend Jennifer
came out pretty hard on Baby Insights, she was reasonable enough to see
that some of her readers definitely disagreed with her opinions of the
software.
A bad product review from a popular blogger isn't always the end of
the world. In fact if you keep your wits about you, it can actually be
the start of a friendship. As Connie adds: Several
months later Aruni started her own blog, entrepreMusings, and she and
Jennifer follow each other on Twitter now. And to show what a small
world it is, I had dinner with Jennifer last month at BloggerSocial08
in New York. We shared a laugh over how the situation had unfolded and
how the former critic had become an ally.
BTW this episode is better explained in a great case study that Every Dot Connects just released.
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Comments
Yes Mack, that is the point; YOU hold the key to what happens next and how good/ bad things can get.
Believe me, more than once I've wanted to reply, "Dear Mr. Jackass...", but it's important to see past the sting and look to the recovery. Your critics can be your best allies because they may help you tailor the product better to your audience or, as with Aruni, allow you to more fully explain your thinking. In the end, they can provide you with an excellent platform to fully and more thoroughly engage that audience.
Basically, knowing WHO the audience is- again, getting back to being involved in the community of your target customers/ audience- will help you deliver the correct response.
Great post Mack.
Posted by: Tim Jackson | 05.29.08
It's a tightrope to walk Tim. I can definitely see how a company can panic, they've poured their finances and lives into launching a product, then it's immediately roasted by the very people they were hoping would promote it. Aruni handled it the exact right way, and got great advice from Connie.
And I think Jennifer's response was just as important. Bloggers aren't just sitting back looking to rip companies. Jennifer did rip the product, but when some of her readers disagree, she came back with a sort of 'hey I could be wrong' admission.
Good example of how many companies might not know how to respond to bloggers, and that they might misinterpret our motives. Most of us are actually pretty cool people ;)
Posted by: mack collier | 05.29.08
Mack, I think these types of write-ups are terrific; they provide excellent best practices on how to deal with potentially disgruntled customers. I find one of the most effective strategies for dealing with these types of situations is to not respond right away. Take a break, grab a cup of coffee, walk around the building. Then come back to it. I'm usually able to offer a more rational and cogent response instead of flying off the handle...
Posted by: Paul Barsch | 05.29.08
This is a great post and example of how a bad situation can be sometimes turned into a good one if handled properly. We commend her for thinking things out and not acting impulsively and ruining her business. It's easy to do that - that's for sure!
Posted by: Brick Marketing | 05.29.08
Thanks Paul, I think we can try to tell companies how to interact with bloggers, but case studies such as this one are always easier to grasp, IMO. There's still a ton of misconceptions that companies have about the blogosphere, and I think examples such as this one help debunk the myths.
Posted by: mack collier | 05.29.08
What was it Chuck Swindoll once said? "Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond."
I've found that a measured, well-reasoned response will help to win over the opposing side much more often than a fanatical, knee-jerk rant.
Like the Good Book says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger." Good advice for any company responding to blogger criticism.
And, Mack, you're right. Most bloggers are usually reasonable.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | 05.29.08
Great example of damage control. It definitely shows how just a confident (but friendly) comment can change things.
-Gina
www.salesconx.com
Posted by: Gina | 05.29.08
Aruni's response was brilliant. Thanks for sharing this excellent example of a very smart way to deal with bad press in the Blogosphere.
Posted by: Sarah | 05.29.08
A great example of how to manage a blog. As someone looking into blogging as a marketing tool, this is a great "teaching moment" before I even make a mistake. Thanks Mack!
Posted by: Aaron Fish | 05.29.08
Mack, thanks for writing about my case study. Aruni was a stellar client -- smart enough to look past her anger and disappointment and listen to sound advice. That's not easy to do, and many company founders have caused damage to their business by responding in the heat of the moment.
When Aruni did her homework on reading more of Jennifer's blog before responding, she discovered they were both passionate about the same cause: donating to milk banks. That became a point of connection between them.
Kudos again to Jennifer for handling it so professionally. She won a loyal reader in Aruni. And in that "it's a small world" way, we've all had the opportunity to interact with each other and establish online relationships.
Posted by: Connie Reece | 05.30.08
Hi Mack - It was an odd sensation seeing this in print on Connie's blog and now here because it brings back some stressful memories, but I'm glad I listened to Connie's advice. :-)
I have a great amount of respect for Jennifer Laycock. She has done a lot for women and breastfeeding women in particular so I know that even if she isn't the type to use our software that hopefully I at least gave her pause to think that there are other new moms who could use such a tool to get them over the hump on to a successful breastfeeding path!
For some, breastfeeding happens naturally...for others, like me, we sometimes just need a little help. That's what I hope to accomplish...give people a tool to help them when they might just give up instead.
She and I have the same goal with regards to promoting breastfeeding. At Babble Soft we provide what I like to refer to as a little bridge to help them to the other side.
Thanks for sharing my story! I hope it helps others out there. :-)
Aruni
Posted by: Aruni | 05.30.08
Connie and Aruni, this is why I really liked your case study. I think it dispelled two big myths that companies have about blogging:
1 - That a critical post from a blogger is a disaster
2 - That bloggers are just out to rip companies
Thanks again Connie, this is a great learning example!
Posted by: mack collier | 06.01.08
Cheers Mack and Connie - key lessons for me include the importance of facing the music and responding. There's more to gain than jus stewing and igoring it.
Posted by: Tony Eyles | 06.01.08
Ahh...the joys of seeing the stupid things you've done brought back to life. ;)
No worries though, this really is a fantastic example of how companies should respond when bloggers go negative and is also a potent reminder to us bloggers of the need to remember we aren't just impacting our readers, we're also impacting the companies we write about.
I'd like to think my post gave Aruni some insight into better ways to word future press releases (the line about proudly showing what you did all day still makes me giggle) but I also can't read it without wincing at just how brutal I was. Aruni definitely took the higher ground on this one and I commend her for it.
I ended up writing my own side of the tail as a cautionary post to bloggers over at Search Engine Guide in response to this one.
http://www.searchengineguide.com/jennifer-laycock/bloggers-need-to-accept-responsibility-t.php
Posted by: Jennifer Laycock | 06.02.08
@Jennifer - I definitely learned something from the experience from wording press releases to otherwise! I guess the best we can do is learn and move forward!
Thanks for the post. I'm working on my own one right now.
Posted by: Aruni | 06.03.08
Excellent post on how to deal with negative pr in a blog. I'm preparing our company's first corporate blog so this is very good actionable information on how to deal with such a situation if it arises.
Thank you!
Nathan Lands
http://www.hiyaya.com
Posted by: Nathan | 06.04.08