Reputation management

How Lidl used storytelling to alter the brand perception

One of the big news stories in UK retail last year was the massive growth of discount grocery stores Lidl and Aldi.

Lidl’s success can be at least in part attributed to its neat #LidlSurprises campaign, which managed to change its brand image by cleverly challenging the public’s perception of its products.

Your guide to competing in the age of social proof

In the world of social media, social networking and instant access to information, people have become more talkative than ever. So it comes as no surprise that when making a decision online, consumers look to the readily accessible experiences of others and have done so since the dawn of the internet. With 70% of people […]

What is online reputation management and should you use it?

“You’re getting a bad rep, young man. Smoking in the toilets. Bunking off early. Listening to rock and roll music. What are you rebelling against?”

“What have you got?” you reply as you kick-start your motorcycle and zoom off to an early death, leaving a trail of dust and alienated friends behind you.

You think you’re so cool, and you probably are, however your brand isn’t in the business of selling cool… Unless of course your business happens to sell air conditioning units or Ray Bans… Unfortunately your business sells bespoke handcrafted scratching posts for kittens, so that argument is moot.

You’re giving the wrong impression. 

And by ‘wrong’ I mean one that you didn’t want to give when you started out and continues to develop.

Reputation management is about creating a perception of your brand, one that you’re happy to cultivate and present to the general public and one that falls in line with your own goals.

Six customer service lessons for @British_Airways

In the past month I had a bad experience with British Airways.

In short, I left my iPad on a plane and it took six days for them to find it and charge me for its safe return.

This post is more about the way BA handled my issues both online and offline and how there are a lot of flaws in its customer service and social media management.

I’ll write about my experience as objectively as possible while still providing actionable tips.

Time travel, flapjacks & smoking – a psychological take on social media: part one

Reality is an illusion. Ask 100 people to describe the same event, and each one will tell you a slightly different story based on their perception of what has transpired, much like the metaphorical tale of the blind men describing an elephant.

But if changing reality is as simple as changing perception, where does this lead us? Could reality be altered retrospectively? Can we change the past?

In short. Yes we can, and social media is the key.

“Social media can help us alter the past.” That’s quite a claim, so let me explain myself.

Are consumers killing Madison Avenue?

Marketing, as we know it, is obsolete.

So say Simonson & Rosen in their recent book ‘Absolute value’. Theirs is not a lone voice,  similar sentiments date from as early as 1999, in the Cluetrain Manifesto.

As it came in the peak of the dot-com bubble, though, that message was largely ignored.

Why do they say we’ve no use for marketing? It’s because of the rising power of the voice of the customer. With the growing availability of consumer opinions, the importance of brand messaging is diminishing.

Consequently, things are changing in the world of advertising. Slowly, but surely.