There is tremendous PR value in taking what
amounts to negative feedback, internalizing it, fixing it and making a
very public showing of how you resolved the problem.
Michael Schrage wrote an excellent article some years back in Fortune on what really moved customers to rave about an experience...it wasn't a no hassle stay, it was a stay that had a minor inconvenience that was resolved promptly and beyond the customers' expectation.
Neville Hobson summarizes the opportunity that is in front of Land Rover that began with some very negative blog feedback. I concur with Neville and believe this is what corporate blogging is all about.
Customer dialogue...have a great customer experience, publicize it. Have a negative one, make a very public showing of how you fixed the problem and create an evangelical following amongst your customers. Bloggers do not represent the sum total of your customers, but they do represent the most vocal ones...the ones who take the time to write and tell their friends about their experiences. They are early adopters, get in touch with them.
UPDATE:
Another perspective on this story is from Dave Taylor. He admonishes Adrian (the anti-Land Rover blogger) for publicly trashing Land Rover. Don't know that I agree with Dave, and I continue to maintain that this is an opportunity for Land Rover. It goes back to the point that you cannot control the blogosphere, you can only engage in it, raise the level of the dialogue with your own input, and be very public when you make right with a customer who feels wronged.
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