(UPDATED 1/19/2007 approx. 9 a.m.: Some quick reading and the lack of reading of comments on Paul McEnany’s post means I rushed to judgement below. I’ve since I apologized, left a main point, and one final one about how we at times treat others behind our keyboard.)
Original post:
The ease and quickness offered by self-publishing (that is, blogging) has been both a boom and the bane of existence for corporations.
There are plenty examples of corporations successfully reaching out to and working with bloggers.
Then, there are times when companies just hate the power that some bloggers seem to have. And, like most things, that power can be used for bad or good.
Let’s look at what I’d call the bad use of blogger power.
Paul McEnany/Hee-Haw Marketing made a trip to Dallas Kohl’s store around Christmas and found much of the store in disarray. And, from those photos, that store did look pretty bad – at that moment.
But, for all we know, that may have been an extremely busy day, and atypical for that Kohl’s or any Kohl’s store. So, did McEnany go back later to see if the mess was a one-day deal or a pattern?
It doesn’t look like it to me.
And, while he may have received some great traffic, Kohl’s got a bit of a black eye. All because of McEnany’s jumping to conclusions.
If you are going to blog, no matter what letter you are, you have a responsibility for fairness and accuracy. It’s your personal integrity on the line. Now, I’ve jumped to a false conclusion in the past — and I apologized for it. But, that was a one-time deal.
Has McEnany learned anything — even after being contacted by Kohl’s? (Granted, Kohl’s response was pretty routine and didn’t do any good.)
Let’s jump to San Francisco and KSFO’s run-in with a blogger called Spocko.
Spocko didn’t like what some of KSFO-AM’s local talk show hosts were saying on air. So, he used the power of blogging to post some clips on his blog, contacted advertisers and encouraged them to stop advertising on KSFO.
From what I read, the “extreme comments” made by the hosts were not a one-time thing. So, Spocko voiced concerns and objections. He not only wrote letters, but he used his blog to post proof.
He seems to have a legit argument. The radio show host’s comments are not one-time events — like it seems the Kohl’s incident was. (Or, at least, McEnany hasn’t shown any proof that the sloppy stores are a pattern.)
Blogging in and of itself is neither good nor bad. It’s the level of self-responsibility and the integrity of the blogger that makes it so.
And, corporations are just going to have to deal with it.
But, that’s another post topic.
– Mike
Mike,
I see your point, but I can’t accept that even a momentary lapse in judgment is permissible in this day and age. I immediately form an opinion on the ‘brand’ in every place I visit. That’s part of my job as a marketer, but I’ll bet that everyone forms similar opinions.
If my lobby is messy and a potential client comes in to see us, I would expect they translate that to a perceived sloppiness on our part. That’s what branding is, perception vs. reality.
If a store is sloppy or a restaurant dirty I will likely not go back ever. That’s who they are because that is my perception of them.
Business should be about raising expectations always. That includes the storefront, lobby, public places in cities, the top of your desk, your front yard, etc.
You can’t stop people from forming opinion on your brand and with the growth in portable technology this will keep becoming more of an issue over time. PR professionals better get ready for more.
Matt,
It is a fine line — a trend or just a bad day — and first impressions are important. Today, rather than an upset consumer complaining about a store to his neighbor over the backyard fence, he can post photos and tell the whole world about that one bad incident.
While life is not always fair, I think individuals should bear responsibility for being fair, and realize the potential influence we all have.
One thing is funny. I remember last year many consultants blogging about how all this social media would be the downfall or lesson the importance of PR. Quite the contrary, I think it means that solid communications counsel and action will be in much more demand.
– Mike
That’s the key Mike. PR will become more important and stores need to realize that one photo could cause a lot of damage. That’s not a new thing though as this has happened in email for years, but it is more immediate.
The idea of ‘being fair’ is a little naive though. The brand experience is created over time and every encounter matters as this proves. Companies need to show their best face at all times.
Mike- HA! I love to have my integrity questioned!
Read the comments, buddy, it’s not an isolated incident. There are plenty of responses from others with similar experiences, including one from someone who even recognized that exact store.
None of that excuses you doing the exact same thing you accused me of, that is, taking a snapshot of a situation, and not investigating the facts fully.
By the way, I will be going back in, taking more pictures, and reporting back. Again, if you had done your homework, you would know that.
Paul
Mike: Thanks for your viewpoint; I appreciate that you say how you’ve jumped to assumptions before (I’ve been guilty of it myself!). A few thoughts regarding Paul McEnany/the Kohl’s example you cite:
1. If it were the professional press –vs. the citizen press– wouldn’t Kohl’s receive the same treatment? Paul did contact Kohl’s, actually repeatedly, to discuss the problem just as any journalist would. I raise this point as few bloggers that I’ve read have gone to this length. Very few, in fact. I am impressed with that.
2. But let’s take it to where it really matters: the customer. While “joe customer” may not blog about it, let’s face it, they certainly won’t go back to a store in that much disarray and “check back” as you say. What they will do is likely tell others–and we’ve read about the likelihood/stats on how bad WOM spreads from person to person. Actually, as I understand, Paul did go there as customer with a gift card and I don’t think he even used it. So my point is that I don’t know that Kohl’s hasn’t been given a fair shake as it’s their job to serve the customer. After all, the “customer being 1st” is what they attest to in all of their materials/communications.
3. Having worked in retail on the marketing side I well remember x-mas time (oy!). And we went to great lengths to staff the store with extra help so as to avoid these messes–and to avoid losing customers. It was “known” in the biz that you recruit extra help for the post-holiday sale frenzy. And that was widespread known in the biz 10 years ago.
So is this really a bad use of blogger power? Given that Paul reported from the view of customer and that he contacted Kohl’s to apprise them of the issue so they can do better? And given that Kohl’s has been in business many years and knows how messy the store gets during a sale? Please know that I’m working to look at this objectively…in this sense we learn from it (and hopefully so does Kohl’s).
I also checked at Paul’s blog and there seem to be several bloggers/customers in other stores/regions that have similar complaints on Kohl’s experience. My point being that it doesn’t appear an isolated incident. So if Kohl’s listens to this–and takes action to improve–then hasn’t Paul done Kohl’s a BIG favor? And for free? Actually, it would mean he’s done customers a favor by getting Kohl’s to clean up their act, improve the experience and staffing.
Sorry that was long but your good thoughts really got me thinking. As I’ve said over at Paul’s corner, what I truly hope is that Kohl’s and others use this as an opportunity to improve the customer experience–and that we marketers learn from it as well in our own work. That would be a tremendous use of blogger power.
Glad to know of your blog now, I’ll be adding it to my reading list (so I guess I should thank Kohl’s for that
.
“And, while he may have received some great traffic, Kohl’s got a bit of a black eye. All because of McEnany’s jumping to conclusions.
If you are going to blog, no matter what letter you are, you have a responsibility for fairness and accuracy. It’s your personal integrity on the line. Now, I’ve jumped to a false conclusion in the past — and I apologized for it. But, that was a one-time deal.
Has McEnany learned anything — even after being contacted by Kohl’s? (Granted, Kohl’s response was pretty routine and didn’t do any good.)”
I’m sitting here with my jaw on the floor. So because Paul went into his local Kohls and saw the store in the state it was in, it was his RESPONSIBILITY to go back later and make sure they had cleaned up?!? That’s like saying if I go to my car dealer and they forget to put the plug back in my oil pan when I have my oil changed (causing my engine to burn up), that after I get the car fixed, I need to be responsible enough to go BACK to the car dealer and let them change my oil AGAIN to see if they get it right the second time?
Kohls had the responsibility to Paul to give him a pleasant retail experience. Or at least a clean store. They didn’t meet their responsibility.
They were lucky to get one visit from Paul, they definitely don’t deserve a second one. And if you’ll check the comments, as Paul said, there were plenty of other bloggers that had almost the EXACT same experience in other Kohls around the country.
Fess up, you own Kohls stock, dontcha?
I think we can all learn from this. What I’m hoping is that Kohl’s will learn from this (!). Such an opportunity…as I’ve said from the beginning of Paul’s first post…to learn from the mishap and listen to one’s market. They get the BEST advice–and for free. Let’s not forget Paul’s time, or the time from all the follow-up posts (like Mack) and the time from all the people who have commented.
But Kohl’s has done nothing. The shame goes to them.
I agree with Mike in that many bloggers do take to publishing without checking facts; but Paul did. He could have just reported the photo facts…but he went the extra mile and even had to call Kohl’s multiple times only to get the company line. Shameful.
That so impresses me that he want the extra mile–that’s the example I want to see now that we have the power. I do think that is what Mike was speaking to and I do agree with that. But I call it “example” rather than responsibility as we do set the example, folks. Good of you to offer an apology, Mike.
And now you know of many more great blogs to check out…Paul’s, Mack’s, etc. I suggest you do as we all learn from one another (and these are tremendous bloggers who always go the extra mile and have taught this girl a lot).
“It just seems that bloggers in general have such a bad rep that we need to be sure we’re just not blasting companies without good cause. That’s the main point I wanted to make.”
As I said on Paul’s blog, I agree with this. But the problem is, companies see us as the enemy, and purposely avoid interacting with bloggers many times. If they would change their stance, they would see that bloggers would cut them a TON more slack.
Unfortunately, there are far too many stories involving companies not interacting with bloggers, and far too few instances of the opposite.
I definitely agree that companies get too tied up on “PR speak” or ignore criticsm all together. While you might be able to get away with that in traditional media, you can’t do that in social media — and ignore blogs, boards, etc.
That’s wrong and arrogant.
I had a discussion the other day with a co-worker about blogs. She pretty much said she would never engage a blogger — other than maybe to correct a wrong fact — because you don’t know who you’re dealing with and bloggers do not have to follow journalist guidelines.
I said that was a pretty negative view of human nature.
As Mack stated, companies (and bloggers who make mistakes
) shouldn’t purposely avoid interacting with bloggers. Hopefully, the more people blog, the more influence social media will have, and the more companies will *have* to interact.
Mike
[…] While I am still alive and kicking, blogging has (unfortunately for me) taken a third-row backseat to life’s other activities. As noted before, I tend to find blogging (or just writing in general) therapeutic and a good way to crystalize things (See bottom of post for reference.). While there are a lot of great issues and other bloggers’ posts to write about, I try not to be one to whip out a post without much thought into it. (I’ve been lazy before, and got burned.) […]