When Marketers Mess Up
Sooner or later, a really big mistake happens to most of us in marketing and communicaitons. I’m not talking a minor typo in a memo, a botched calculation in a report or a few pages out of order in a PowerPoint.
Is there a way to fix a very big marketing mistake? Sometimes. I believe the best thing to do is to follow the lessons taught in service recovery:
1. Promptly acknowledge the problem – Even if the mistake was caused by a vendor, it doesn’t really matter. Your customer has been inconvenienced and therein lies the problem.
2. Apologize – This step must be done sincerely, not a simple brush off.
3. Fix the problem – If it can be fixed, do it as quickly as possible. If not, get to work to fix the situation so it doesn’t happen again. Tell the customer and all others that the problem is being addressed.
4. Do something extra for those who have been affected – If it is possible to comp the customer, do it. If a donation must be made to an injured party, do it. You’re not “buying trust.” You’re showing in a concrete manner how much you want to make good on the issue.
5. Follow up – Develop processes to prevent the problem in the future. Let it be known internally what needs to get done. Track your progress.
And finally, don’t beat yourself up. Move on. In marketing and public relations, almost all your efforts are public efforts. Your errors will naturally seem bigger because they are often on display. Live with what has happened and learn for the next time.
