Online Reputation Management – A Necessity?
Online reputation management is another one of those new buzz words which are doing the rounds of the corporate world but few understand the meaning or relevance for a corporate brand in managing its online reputation. As a web 2.0 Strategy Consultant by profession its interesting to see how many companies are affected by the word of mouth that happens in the online world and how very few of them do little or nothing to join such conversations about their brand. Maybe most of them are even unaware of the negative online comments and buzz about their brand.
Some people still consider this age of online resurgence to be a Fad and hence are not bothering to keep a tab on whats being said by whom online. So we felt that we should do some research inorder to break this myth and bring out the reality.
BLOGS – The hub on brand conversations
Blogs are increasing day by day.. here are some statistics
Few statistics:
Total daily blog postings in…
February 2005 : Roughly 5,00,000
February 2006 : Nearly 12,00,000
February 2007 : More than 25,00,000 Posts per Day
A study by JuxtConsult (An internet research agency) revealed:
84% of Indian Netizens follow blogs.
Checking blogs and has become the second most popular activity online after e-mail.
Lets look at some really BIG CORPORATE HOUSES and how they are incompetent in Online reputation Management.
What are Blogs saying on India’s Topmost Banks??
Here are a few customers thoughts on Icici on Blogs (easily accessible through google blog search)
| 26 Apr 2007 by Sushubh The ICICI Bank so totally sucks. They have made my life a living hell. My debit card is still missing. The head office claims to have sent it to my local branch. The local branch has no records of them receiving it. … Sushubh’s Blog – http://sushubh.net |
| 27 Jun 2007 My recent experience with ICICI bank is a glaring example of complete apathy by senior level management towards customer service, particularly NRI division. No one wants to apply their mind in understanding customer need, no committment … Diary of Madhukar Tanna – http://springs.rediffiland.com/ |
| 27 Jun 2007 by Partha Kempanna THE GOOD PART OF BANK IS THEY ARE WELL TRAINED IN APOLOGISING EVEN WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT CUSTOMER IS ASKING AND AIRCONDITIONED BRANCHES, REST ALL SUCKS. I WONDER WHAT IF THIS BANK CLOSES OVER NIGHT AND RUNAWAY WITH ALL YOUR MONEY? … ICICI Bank is fraud – http://icicifraudbank.blogspot.com/ |
Here are a few on HDFC Bank..
HDFC Bank Online Mutual Fund Interface Sucks
| 15 Mar 2007 by Webmaster India’s leading Private Bank, HDFC Bank is an arrogant bank and sucks badly in customer service. Here is a Case Study on how HDFC Bank has violated the norms of Association of Mutual Funds of India in providing online mutual fund access … Dalal Street – Indian Investor – http://www.dalalstreet.biz/index.html |
| 28 Feb 2007 by abhishek FROM HDFC BANK STAY AWAY … I have never seen back like hdfc… for everything they will charge you instead of they are in private banking space. I opened a saving account there …. Soon I am going to face troubles . … Welcome to My Unknown WORLD – http://abhishekkabra.blogspot.com/index.html |
| 1 Jun 2007 by Dhriti Arya http://meowlife.blogspot.com/2006/10/hdfc-bank-totally-sucks.html I’ll keep you updating about my problem till than here is the first installment: > Subject: Re: NOTICE! > To: unik_uttam@hotmail.com > CC: simon.benjamin@hdfcbank.com; … HDFC – The Most Hopeless Bank Of India – http://hdfcbankbank.blogspot.com/ |
| 27 Oct 2006 by Cyberkitty HDFC Bank totally sucks – How HDFC Bank left me cashless during the Diwali Season ! hdfc bank icici aditya puri This HDFC Bank saga started around four days before Diwali when I found a HDFC Bank letter on the stairs of my apartment … That’s How It Really Works !! – http://meowlife.blogspot.com/index.html |
AGAIN THE ABOVE HAVEN’T BEEN RESPONDED TO.. ALSO THEY ARE AGAIN IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS.
There are many other banks like Citibank, HSBC and others which have similar posts all across the web and it doesn’t only stop at banks the story is similar for any company which has customers who might have had a bad experience but almost none of the companies are venturing into online reputation management by taking these posts seriously and responding to them.
The above was an example of blogs now lets look at complaint forums like Complaintboards.com
ComplaintBoard.com – According to this article forums like ConsumerReview.com and ComplaintsBoard.com have played their part in mobilising the consumer voice online. Very often, the voice is disgruntled, as consumers are wont to complain more than commend. Unless companies have the pulse of fast-moving opinions on the web, they can end up with egg on their face.
Lets look at the Mobile Sector and the complaints on complaintboard.com.
TATA Indicom is a scam!
I had booked for a tataindicom broadband connection. I had got in touch with the sales person and he visited my residence, as per procedure and collected all the necessary documents and i paid him 500/- as cash, 50/- as his charge!! Well i was promised the connection in 2 days, but its already…
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tata-indicom-c3074.html
Tata indicom
Customer in King? My arse.
"With more than 1 billion people in this country, the customer is not really the king and you don’t have to keep him happy. If one goes away dissatisfied, 10 more will come. This seems to be the Mission stateent of Tata Indicom Broadband"
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tata-indicom-c548.html
Reliance
Very rude, humiliating and irresponsible behavior of customer service!
I am a regular reliance customer since last 3 years. After repeatedly bringing it to notice of the people at chairmans office, my genuine problem is not solved and ultimately i had to decide shifting to some other service provider. Presently its because of very rude, humiliating and irresponsible…
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/reliance-mobile-india-c5729.html
Airtel
Illegally debiting money without using services
SUB: Fraudulent/Illegal activities by your Airtel mobile service.
I would like to bring in your notice of illegally debiting money from my prepaid number by sending message for the services that I haven’t used from the phone. I received a message from num 5009 from airtel…
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/airtel-india-c1756.html
Looking at the above examples one can say that
1) Online reputation management is a necessity
2) Its should be taken seriously by all those companies that have customers who are online savvy.
There are many more companies which have many such complaints all across the web on everything from blogs to consumer forums but none of the companies seem interested in joining this conversations and engaging with irate customers! Would it stay this way for long? I dont think so.. This is because more and more people are searching online for information on brands.
Online reputation management @ WATConsult
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS Feed OR Email Alerts!
ICICI direct trading site stops when ur scrip starts falling and starts again after bottom reached or when in profit they dont allow u to sell and allow u to sell only when scrip falls and u go into a loss customer support sucks they just reply we apologize and this wont happen again but the same thing has been going on for last 3 years is it possible IcicI is making money by such methods or any of thier employees as such a site only stops when u start goin into loss cannot happen every week for 3 years Since ICICI Isa big org How Can I seek compensation They have have destroyed my portfolio