Adviser Summer 2017 Annual Conference Recap | Page 8

This Is COOL Insurance Made Simple Social Media ... (Continued from page 6) Tone matters. Perhaps a useful way to engage your customers is to incorporate a little humor into your social media messages. However, this may not be the best course of action when dealing with a crisis. If done correctly, your tone can ease customers’ minds and help boost the company back into a positive light. No matter how angry a customer is with your company or its products, do not reply with anger. If a person is intentionally attacking your company, invite them to contact you directly to deal with their issue. If the comment is full of derogatory language or attacks specific employees, delete the comment. However, if the comment is vague If done correctly, your tone can ease customers’ minds and doesn’t attack anyone in particular (i.e., ‘Your company stinks’), deleting it may encourage others and help boost the company back into a positive light. to post similar things. Other tone-related tips include the following: • • • • Always be polite and thank customers for their input. Politely correct customers who post inaccurate information, even if it is on another site that you don’t directly control. Be authentic. If you are making an apology, don’t copy and paste the same bland jargon to every comment. Humor isn’t always warranted, but it can have a powerful impact to turn your image around. Your customers will realize that people sometimes make mistakes, and a humorous message about how you plan to fix the problem can go a long way. Follow through. Just because you have a crisis response plan in place doesn’t mean you’ll be experts when the time comes to execute it. Conduct quarterly drills to keep the plan fresh in employees’ minds. The better your employees know the plan, the quicker you can respond. If a crisis occurs, let customers know you’re taking steps to correct the issue and share your plan. They will appreciate the honesty and you will be well on the way to improving the situation. If you need help implementing a program, call John Snow at Cool Insuring: 800 233-0115 or email: [email protected]. Provided by Cool Insuring Agency, Inc. This Is Cool is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice. © 2015 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Adviser a publication of LeadingAge New York | Summer 2017