DECEMBER 2018 Business 17
environment, people like to be cared
for – consequently, the single most
important word you can say to your
customer is their name.
“But I do think that business needs
to be careful of opening a Pandora’s
box.
“For example, social media is a
wonderful thing, but you need to
ensure that you match your
organisational capabilities to the
abilities of your business and
workforce.”
Goldman also asserts that utilising
social media effectively is essential
when it comes to managing brand
reputation.
He added: “Social listening - for
brand mentions - is a great way to find
out what people are saying about a
business away from your profiles and is
often overlooked.
“Most businesses understand the
importance of actively generating
positive sentiments - including posts,
reviews, and comments - from
customers, but social media it is also a
great tool to manage any brand
negativity.
“It is so difficult for businesses to
keep abreast of all new technologies
especially when many are often passing
fads.
“However, by watching what others
are doing and also following or
subscribing to industry experts on
social media and blogs they can easily
find out what is happening and what
may be worth implementing into their
business.”
Bruce Jones (pictured), partner,
Intellectual Property team, at Kuits
writes...“The online reputation of a business
can be the difference between its
success and failure, particularly for
leisure start-ups that rely on the
engagement of new customers, or
even more established operators
competing in a busy market.
“It is all too easy for prospective
customers to be dissuaded by a
negative comment on social media,
TripAdvisor or Google. In fact, it has
been found that as many as 90% of
consumers read online reviews
before visiting a restaurant or bar.
“Online hostility directed at a
venue can be especially frustrating
when the review or comment in
question is malicious or otherwise
untrue. Operators find themselves in
the unenviable position of being
vulnerable to attack by anonymous
critics with the potential to reach
millions of people at the push of a
button.
“It is therefore vital that businesses
are able to make quick and refined
judgements when dealing with
threats to their reputation.
“It is useful when devising a
strategy for reputation management
to distinguish between opinions and
purported facts. In the case of anegative review which clearly
expresses only the subjective opinion
of the writer, it is important that
businesses respond tactfully, no
matter how unfair they consider
them to be. To over-react may well
then create a news story from the
ensuing argument, amplifying the
adverse publicity.
“While there is no substitute for
expert advice, the following rules of
thumb may be useful...
n It is always worth replying quickly
and politely.
n A prompt apology is often enough
to pacify a complainant.
n If possible, businesses shouldalways consider taking the exchange
offline to avoid protracted dialogue
on a publicly accessible platform,
provided that it is clear to potential
customers that the issue has been
dealt with.
“In the more serious cases –
typically involving damaging false
factual assertions – businesses can
sue for damage to their reputation
under the law of defamation.
“While this may seem extreme,
false claims of food poisoning, pests
and discriminatory members of staff
do happen and can have a significant
and long-lasting commercial impact
on a brand’s reputation and footfall.
“Claimants in such circumstances
must act quickly because the
limitation period for defamation is
just one year from the date of
publication.
“It is worth noting that your
employees can be just as big a threat
to your online reputation as any
customer, and operators can work
with an employment advisor to put
practical measures and policies in
place to protect themselves.
“Kuits is experienced in dealing
with defamation claims successfully
on behalf of leisure operators.”
To speak to an expert about
protecting the reputation of your
business, email brucejones@kuits.
com or call 0161 838 7816.protecting our online reputation
case study - revolution
ONE of Britain’s best-known cocktail bar
and restaurant chains is taking its brand to
the next level by embracing the full
potential of new and emerging technology.
Revolution Bars Group operates more
than 50 premises nationally, including
four bars across Manchester as well as
venues in Wigan, Wilmslow, and
Macclesfield.
The company works in partnership with
social media marketing agency, Social
Chain, which is based in Manchester’s
Portland Street, to drive awareness of its
brand.
Kate Eastwood, sales and marketing
director at Revolution Bars Group,
explained: “With our target market being
primarily in their 20s and 60% female,
social media plays a vital part in our
marketing strategy.
“We have partnered with Social Chain to
help drive our awareness in terms of reach
but more importantly engagement
through the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
and Snapchat platforms.
“The key to our success is truly engaging
content, the best of which is then boosted
with paid advertising.“Constant analysis of what is working is
in place. Social Chain encourage us to use
different styles of posts be it user-
generated content (UGC), videos or,
cinematography.
“The company also keeps us ahead of
platform developments which mean that
we can jump on new technologies quickly
ensuring we remain relevant and engaged
with our audience whilst controlling the
costs.”
Eastwood adds that the company also
works with another Manchester agency,
Cube, to advertise digitally.
She added: “Here, our best success is
coming from our mobile rich media
campaign particularly based on location,
but we are trying different routes with
website skins as well as the more
traditional banner ads.
“Chatbots are an area that we are
dipping our toe in at the moment, be it to
market our new food menu or enhance
customer communication by speeding up
responses.
“Agility is key, making sure that you try
out new technology, seeing what works
and what doesn’t.”Revolution
on Deansgate
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