Surviving Social Media Backlash

Dell recalls batteries after reports of "exploding laptops" (YouTube)

It’s a bad day for everyone when a laptop spontaneously combusts.  It happened to several Dell customers in 2006, including one man whose laptop went up if flames at a conference in Japan. 

(Engadget.com)

Pictures of the “flaming notebook” fueled Dell’s already-vocal critics in the blogosphere.  In many ways, it was rock bottom for a company that had initially succeeded with its offering of custom built laptops and a reputation for high customer satisfaction.

Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, authors of the book Groundswell, dub this time “Dell hell.”  But they also explain how social media helped the company regain its customer focus and restore brand loyalty. 

“Authenticity was crucial.  Dell couldn’t get anywhere in the groundswell until it honestly admitted its flaws.”

(Li and Bernoff, 211)

In July 2006, Product PR person and Chief Blogger, Lionel Menchaca, addressed the “flaming notebook” situation on Dell’s official blog and assured followers they were actively looking into the suspected cause.  

Read the post:  “Flaming Notebook” 

A month later the post was updated with a link to recall guidelines for the faulty lithium ion batteries presumed to have caused the fire.  Instead of further criticism, most people responded with gratitude.  Dell was finally admitting its flaws and showing a commitment to making changes.

While Dell learned its lesson, other companies have continued to make customer service mistakes and have subsequently faced the wrath of social media.  In July 2011, Netflix announced it was doubling its rate and splitting services into two different companies.  Netflix would continue to offer video streaming services, while a new company called Qwikster would distribute the dvds.  Instead of paying $8 per month for both services customers would pay $8 per month for each service.  The result - Netflix stocks suffered as roughly 800,000 customers ended their subscription. 

These are just 2 of the 81,754 comments on the Netflix Facebook page following its announcement.

The customers who stayed criticized the company for choosing a new name that was already in use on Twitter.  People who searched for the handle @Qwikster found tweets featuring profanities and drug references.  In September, Netflix apologized for its "arrogance "and in October the company officially ended its plans to separate services.

Read the post:  DVDs Staying at Netflix

Had Netflix read Chapter 10 of Groundswell, it may have avoided the backlash.  The company was already well-established in social media, but it wasn’t using the groundswell to effectively engage or listen to customers.  Instead, it boldly announced a major change and simply assumed customers would go along with it.  Maybe next time Netflix will take advantage of the customer insight at its fingertips.