People have the habit of complaining about products and services online. When the complaints are relevant and an apology is needed, company representatives often post them on the blog where the initial problem was revealed. While some are great and solve the problem while both gaining the support and admiration of the blogger in question, others fail. After looking into a few of these apologies and trying to understand where people most commonly go wrong, I have rediscovered the art of writing effective replies to people’s problems.

But before I start, if you’re wondering why you should apologize in the first place, it’s because news travels fast online, if the problem is significant, there are great chances more people will complain and all that negativity will pop up when potential customers look you up online. You shouldn’t apologize for nonsense and give credibility to shady bloggers and nonexistant issues, but when the problem is real, you need to solve it, apologize for the inconvenience and let people know it has all been taken care of.

Here are a few tips for writing apologies that will help your company and not worsen the situation instead:

1. Recognize the problem and give it due consideration

Some apologies fail because while they say the “I’m sorry”, they fail to focus on the problem and the discomfort experienced by the customer. Instead, they rush through the apology and the unpleasant situation and focus on what the customer should have done, the proper channels to report the problem and how they can solve future problems. This is all wrong because if you’re replying, it’s clear the online piece of posting has reached its goal of making the issue known. Writing an apology that says this is not the right way and you won’t do much about it makes you look bad!

Instead, show sympathy for what they went through and recognize there was a problem on your side. Don’t try to cover it up with procedure mambo-jumbo.

2. Carefully explain what’s being done to solve the problem

Make sure your reply statement focuses on what you’re doing, not what should have happened when the customer noticed the issue. You may say it’s an unusual behavior, but focus on how you’re going to fix it, not how this is not typical for your company. The person in question won’t care, and those reading or following them won’t either. They will sit quietly and wait to see how you handle it and what you plan on doing.

3. If there’s a better way to report issues, express it while showing empathy

Don’t rush into listing 5 ways in which the customer should have reported the problem. Yes, it’s important for them to know they could have solved things faster, but make this part a side note and ask them nicely to follow your procedure in the future, never try to force it on them. They need to see why they should go through the trouble of doing as you ask rather than publish an angry status on Facebook, for example. Focus on the benefits of complaining to you directly and not to the world – quicker replies, professional assistance etc.

4. If you’re offering free stuff, don’t make it look like a bribe

Some freebies might seem like a good idea for a quick getaway. But if it looks like you’re trying to buy them, it will backfire. Make it sound like what it really is: compensation for the trouble they’ve been through, for the time they’ve wasted, etc. It has to be clear that this isn’t just a way to make the problem disappear, you will still deal with it, solve it and make sure it won’t happen again.

And here comes the most important part:

5. Write it like you mean it!

You might follow all my prior suggestions and you might still fail because you can’t make the person you’re addressing feel like you really mean what you say. They need to feel you really are sorry, you realize they are pumping money into your company and that you need them, while they can choose someone else, and that you actually are going to look into the issue and get it all sorted out. The apology needs to sound personal and genuine, not a cold piece of corporate writing that gets posted as a reply to all online complaints.

Have you written or received apologies? What’s your take on the subject and which are the tips and tricks you’ve discovered?

If there is one thing I’ve learned about PR is that there’s always something new to learn. And you find lessons in all possible places, such as learning about word of mouth from stray dogs. One of the best resources for new things to learn are your clients. While working with them, you’ll discover PR mistakes and PR goldmines. You will brainstorm and get to implement ideas that you’d never considered possible.

But while this is obvious, the link to knowledge run deeper. When you work with a client for a longer period, you get to know their partners and their clients. You learn about their issues, the mistakes they made and what they did that worked as a charm. If they come from different parts of the world, you will be receiving extremely valuable tips on intercultural communication.

So when you’re getting ready for your next meeting with your client, their customers or their partners, remember to keep your eyes and years open. I for one have learned a lot about crisis management from clients who’ve never been through a crisis, but whose target market was prone to PR disasters

What valuable PR and marketing lessons have you learned from your clients, your partners or from people you’ve worked with?

While browsing through my LinkedIn account, I just noticed this question about apps that allow you to schedule tweets. Some of the answers stated no one should ever schedule tweets, as it is spammy. Automation is bad, don’t do it. And I started wondering. Is it really spam? Or is it just a way to make work easier and give your followers a break? And the answer is, like always, it depends

I should first say I manage a few Twitter accounts. On some I schedule tweets, on others I don’t. On those who are there to provide news on a certain topic, I do schedule tweets. I usually find the news all at once and just sending them all out at ones is actually more spammy to some users than scheduling them throughout the day. That does not mean I ignore the conversation. I check the stream every couple of hours, check what others are saying, retweet, reply, thank people for their comments and retweets.

When it comes to blog post, a lot of what I write is scheduled. And when I set the publishing time and date, I also set the tweet. Basically because I tend to get caught up and I might forget. I do check it, I do interact, as I said before. And I really don’t think programming tweets is a form of spam.

When all your tweets are programmed and you are never there to talk, reply or answer questions, it is definitely spam. You are there to broadcast more or less forcefully whatever you please and you really don’t care what your followers have to say. But from that to saying any form of automation and of rendering your work fast and effective is spam is a long road to be traveled.

What bout you? Do you schedule tweets? Do you think it’s spam when others do it? Should we ban all automation, good or bad from social media? I say not, yet it all needs to be approached with great care. And over to you…

The purpose of pitching a story is to get coverage for it. That means that if someone offers to write about the topic you’ve proposed and asks for the product you mentioned or simply for more info, you need to reply to their emails. Not keeping track of who you’ve pitched to is a bad idea in such a case. Especially if instead of following up, you resend the same pitch and fail to reply to the second inquiry.

If you don’t know how to keep track, here’s a simple idea: get a list of names and emails of people to contact. As you send your message to them, mark them in a different color. If they reply and need more info, use a third color. It’s easy and a bit playful. And if you’re good at mixing colors, it looks good too.

Following up is a must. For both those who have shown interest and for those who’ve not replied. Those interested will actually publish after you give them what they need to do so and a friendly reminder with some interesting details might help others decide to publish your story in the end.

Why is this such an important matter? As it happens, lots of pitches are released in the wild – as a recent comment by Karen Swim also shows – and bloggers’ emails are never replied to. For example, yours truly received an email asking her to review a business book. The book seemed interesting enough, so I replied, asking for a copy. Of course I never got one. Judging by the semi-standard message, I wasn’t the only one who received that email. And  I can bet I wasn’t the only one not to get a proper reply. Which translates into missed opportunities.

Pitching is not always a single-action task. Sometimes you need to follow up, provide more information, be able to answer additional questions. In all honesty, most times it’s not as easy as just sending out an email. If you’re not going to seize all opportunities and focus on getting as much coverage as possible, don’t do it in the first place. You’re not only missing out on something really good, you’re also making sure you get yourself and your client one of those nasty, negative  images.

In need of Marketing and Public Relations advice and services? Check us out and get in touch! We can definitely help!

What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

The first week of spring is officially here and we have some chirpy blog posts for you to read. How you find them as inspiring and energizing as a sunny spring day.

Drew McLellan shared some amazing marketing insight after learnign a few tricks from a dog whisperer. Now that I’ve read the lessons, Drew, could you be so kind as to teleport the dog whisperer here, I think I need some help with my lab!

The newest, coolest thing when going to a conference is to live tweet it. So how exactly do you effectively present to a room full of tweeting birds? The answer comes from Tamar Weinberg on Pistachio.

Do you want a custom design for your blog? I know I did and my dream came true. But before you imlement this project of yours, please stop to consider a few issues explained by Alex Cristache of Blogsessive.

Stuart Bruce discussed PR, SEO and the fact that public relations, while employing quite a lot of search engine optimization, is not really about SEO, it’s about reputation.

We’re all obsessing about elevator pitches. While doing so, Frances Cole Jones, guest writer at Women on Business, point out that we overlook the importance of the FAQ page and the great results such a page can deliver.

What do you do when you want to launch a new product or service and have no idea what customers would think of it? Daniel Secareanu suggest the simplest and best solution: ask your customers.

You’ve all seen your share of teasers before something new hits the market. Michael Martine of Remarkablogger shows us how to get an audience drooling for a blog that doesn’t exist yet. His approach seems a lot more effective than a criptic add!

Google rankings involve a lot of things. It’s a secret recipe everyone’s after. And one of the reason no one has discovered it yet is that it’s learning and adapting to new tricks. Aaron Wall noticed a new trend: Google started placing heavy emphasis on branding.

When organizing an event, keeping the audience interested and excited about it is critical. Barbara Rozgonyi shares 9 ways to keep events alive with social media.

And we’re closing this week’s edition with a business puzzle from Corina Saceanu. Where’s the money?

What great posts have you run across last week? Please share them in the comment box!

What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

This week’s edition is short and sweet. Not because I didn’t find enough interesting articles (there were about 9), but yoursturly has yet to learn that leaving 60 tabs open in Firefox is not the safest way to keep said interesting articles and not lose them if FF was to, say, crash…

So I give you the three articles I actually saved in this post’s draft

You might have already seen this one, I’ve certainly ran into it a few times, but just in case: John Jantsch entry on how to raise the price of free. Must read, so use your bookmarks, learn from my mistakes

If you’re interested in learning more about search engine marketing, Josh Klein’s entry on process and framework is also a must read. It will help you better understand what SEM it’s all about and build your very first strategy.

With the jobs market in a full recession, here are some findings that might help: what recent hires recommend to job seekers. This is only a part of a larger survey published on Web Strategy, find out more on Jeremiah Owyang’s full list of posts.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks short version of the monday roundup. As I did miss a lot, please share your interesting reads in the comment box

What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Nice to see you all at a fresh new edition of our Monday Reading Roundup! I’ve prepared some cool articles from the week past for you to enjoy.

But I want to start on a hillarious note. We’ve all been dealing with spammers for a long time. They waste precious moments, never take no or an answer and basically are so many we can’t possibly add all the addresses to our blacklist…So here’s a little laughing of them and our own problems: Mihaela Lica discovered that spammers are stupid and can definitelly prove it!

When promoting your business on the internet, you will make some mistakes. Some might harm more than you could ever predict, so here’s a list of what not to do when promoting your business online from Cath Lawson.

Janelle asked a great question on Create Business Growth: while we know we are extremely dependent on the internet as individuals, have businesses become too dependent as well?

RSS subscribers come and some are lost along the way. If you’re thinking of getting them back, you should definitely read this guest post on ProBlogger by Glenn Allsopp.

When the winter holidays are approaching, we all think of the gifts we want to give to others. Karen Swim recommends a few gifts to give ourselves, to make us happier and stronger for the new year.

Thinking of pitching a blogger? Not all of them have personal “how to pitch me” guides, but if you use Diana Huff’s you’ll probably throw in a successful one. And here’s some advice from the other side of the border, the PR person’s view on pitching by Alan Weinkrantz.

And to end on the note I started with, here’s a little something from Jeff Pulver: The Twitter Girl Song!

Have a great week and see you next time!

What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Today is Wolrd AIDS Day and also Romania’s National Day! Thank you all for joining me on this week’s monday reading list on such a special occasion!

We’re all crazy about all things social media, both general and niche. But while there are plenty of niche social media sites, only a few can be considered successful. What differentiates a good site from a bad one? Find out on Traffikd.

When you run a business blog, turning your readers into buyers is one of your major goals. Danny Thompson of Busines and Blogging explains how to achieve your goal without annoying your readers through shamless sales pitches.

Cath Lawson discusses the “Free” concept. Find out more about when and how offering free producs or services helps your business.

In a guest post on Women on Business, Mark Tewart teaches 4 politically incorrect lessons aimed at helping women succeed in their career. Go on and read it, it really is wonderful advice!

Businesses count on holiday sales to increase their incomes. But with this year’s recession on our doors, it looks like holiday sales won’t be as easy as before. So here are some tips from Noobpreneur to get sales in this year’s season.

Comparisons seem like the perfect way to get a clear image of our own accomplishments. Yet most of the times, given interests, abilities and fields are extremely different, it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Michael Martine explains why comparisons are not good for your blog’s (or business’) health.

The economic downturn is driving everyone to cost reduction. Costs are diminished, while also trying to boost sales. In this economic environment, consultants, coaches and creatives still need to maintain their current rates. Here’s a simple Q&A post aimed at helping you keep your rates and still get business from Barbara Rozgonyi.

Ian Lurie has done it again: another post that will make you laugh to tears yet still be extremely useful. A guide for an SEO’s wife/girlfriend/significant other to the perfect Christmas Gift!

Brian Fetherstonhaugh of OgilvyOne has launched an interesting theory on how the 4Ps of Marketing (Product, Placement, Price, Promotion) have become the 4Es (Experience, Everyplace, Exchange, Evangelism). To get you started, read Katherine Liews’s (Brand Curve) review of this theory first.

That’s it for today! Don’t forget to add your recommendations in the comment box

What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you’re week is off to an amazing start and that you have time for some reading today as I come with interesting suggestions.

If you’re planning to boost your e-commerce sales through blogging, Michael Martine of Remarkablogger has 10 wonderful tips to help you achieve your goals.

Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing explains a very important interdependence: social media and SEO go together and can’t possibly be separated.

We all want to increase our traffic. And Ted Demopoulos of Blogging and Business has some great tips for us to read and apply.

Erica Douglass from Erica.biz is determined to show us how to obtain a difficult, yet rewarding goal: making a million dollars with our business.

As word of mouth is such a powerful marketing tool, we all want others to talk about us and, more importantly, our business. Dawud Miracle explains how to get the conversation started.

As this week seems to be dedicated to 10-tip lists, here’s another exciting collection: read NetBusinessBlog to improve local search rankings in Google.

If you were wondering how not to pitch to a blogger, here’s Eric Karjaluoto’s (Ideas on Ideas) take on bad blog PR.

From tips, moving on to 10 commandments: Beth Kanter of Beth’s Blog: How Non Profits Can Use Social media has recently published the 10 commandments of of panel discussions.

And if you’re ever using Typepad and want to switch to WordPress, stop by Confident writing first and read Joanna’s Young guide to the move.

I do hope you’re able to find something useful on this list. See you all next week when I promise to be back with more interesting articles for you to enjoy. Have a lovely Monday and week!

Alina

What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Welcome everyone! This week’s edition of our Monday Reading Roundup if significantly affected by the holiday breeze. Meaning it’s a combination of new stuff, new finds, humor, crazy news and interesting articles. Hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed previous ones.

First of all, I have to tell you all that Alex of Blogsessive has released a free WordPress theme called Simple Balance that you can download and use on your blog. It looks amazing, so consider it in your blog redesign plans.

I’ve also find an extremely cool site on tea, Ya-Ya’s Tea Bord. As I know a few of my readers are tea lovers, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Speaking of crazy news, Geeks Are Sexy reported that a teen tried to sell his vote on eBay. When the police came knocking on his door, he’s excuse was it had all been a joke. Seems like everything is up for sale on eBay these days

Jonathan Fields has brought an interesting question to my (and your) attention: are smartphones actually making us dumber? It appears they are. I for one, if deprived of my phone, would be unable to contact any of my relatives or close friends.

Now that you’ve relaxed, had fun and sighed at others’ craziness, it’s time to relax. A guest post on Blissful Travel on the Thai island of Lipe. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be there than in the office

Matt Jones of Blogging Fingers states it’s possible to make more money by blogging less. And he has also done a terrific job at explaining us how to achieve such a goal.

And instead of conclusions, I give you John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing explaining how cheap gas makes us lazier and how the rise in gas price comes with more physical exercises.

I hope you’ve had fun reading these fine articles and blogs. See you all next week for another round of summery readings.