Online Reputation Management – A Subtle Reminder
Comments(11) 
Optus brand reputation management non existent
I recently invested in the new iPhone and have really enjoyed exploring the technology, however just recently I’ve noticed a recurring problem and that is my iPhone will drop out during both received and dialed phone calls. So you can imagine my frustration when on a call and the call drops out, this happens at least 2 out of every 10 calls. So like most people today, I decided to search for the problem or I should say solution on Google, and what did i find? loads of information on the problems the iPhone network, in particular the Optus 3G network is having, and why there are drop outs. This information ironically, being provided by forum sites and other disgruntled consumers experiencing the same problem, nothing from the network that I’m with, which is Optus.
The number one result on my search query on Google is a forum site and contained within this site are numerous complaints about the drop outs, all citing the Optus 3G network not being up to spec as the cause of the problem, there are also complaints about Optus customer service and the lack of responce by Optus to customer complaints, some taking up to 2 weeks just to get a return phone call. But the interesting thing to me is the total lack of input from Optus on this site, now surely you’d think that a service company would be either monitoring this site or at least have a strategy to deal with all this negativity about their product and service, and don’t think that Telstra is any better at dealing with complaints, because they are not.
This brings me to the impact that social media has on brand building, consumers now have the ability to complain publicly about issues they are having with any company, and a simple search on Google will usually brings these forum and blog sites up at the top of the search, making them easily accessible to anyone wanting information or to complain about the service or lack of it from any company.
Business today needs to be very aware of the impact these sites can have on generating business from the web, and an effective web based brand monitoring strategy needs to be implemented and service related industries including real estate offices and agents really need to make sure they have both a monitoring and response strategy in place… Now I don’t know if Optus monitors or is even aware that these sites are on the web, but they should, the comments, complaints and opinions of current customers should be a prime concern, because if I’d read this forum before getting my iPhone, i would never have used Optus, and to allow the comments found on the forum site to continue without company moderation or input is just plain stupid.
So beware, take your on line reputation very seriously, you don’t want your brand or reputation destroyed on the web, imagine if you did a Google search on a prospective employee and found complaints and comments about them, complaints about their lack of service and response or their rudeness in dealing with clients, would you then hire that person? No I didn’t think so, well it works both ways.
You can no longer take your reputation for granted, you need to set up your strategy and a good place to start is by using this 3 phase process:
- Monitor
- Manage
- Repair
Start by monitoring what is being said about you or your brand on line, and you can do this by simply creating a Google alert for your brand name or keyword, if your brand is mentioned on the web then Google will notify you via email once a day of who,what and where you were mentioned.
This is the easiest and cheapest way to keep track of your reputation.
Optus monitors conversations via social media and I work in a team that monitors Twitter, blogs and various forums such as Whirlpool
I’m more than happy to look into your service for you if you send me through your details.
We’re online Monday – Friday 9am-6pm AEST and I’ll drop you a tweet as well so you know where to find us.
Cheers.
Robbie Bayros
Singtel Optus
Thanks for your quick reply, I’m glad to see that you do have a monitoring service in place, it should also be a timely reminder to all business of the importance of monitoring social media sites including Twitter and forum sites to protect your brands reputation.
Please give my regards to Austin Bryan
Regards
Mike
I stumbled on this thread after also having problems with Optus, tweeting about it, and getting contacted by Optus’
SpecialSocial Media Response Team (SMRT).Yes, it’s great that they have some monitoring in place and in my case, it meant that I received a $90 credit to my account that I was unable to get when I called their customer service robots but I think they could be doing a lot more to improve their reputation online.
The strategy behind the SMRT seems to be to take all of these conversations offline. Take a look at their Twitter stream http://twitter.com/optus and you’ll see what I mean. No discussion, no debate, no feedback, no input.
Much better, I think, to contribute to the conversations online, in the places where the comments are occurring so that you have a voice and are able to control or steer conversations. But that requires skill, tact and guts.
As an example, take a look at this blog post from Evan Williams (@ev) about some changes Twitter are making that could be controversial.
http://evhead.com/2009/11/why-retweet-works-way-it-does.html
No hiding, no PR spin, no rubbish. Just a statement of the rationale behind the decision. Let’s see people try to bitch and moan about that.
I too signed up with Optus on their seemingly awesome $129/mth deal with an iPhone (my first smartphone to boot !). I thought being in real estate this plan along with the #G networks capabilities to pump info to me in a timely manner would be the bees knees.
Like yourself I am very disappointed with the Optus network. I have kids who are anaphylactic and I also am the primary point of contat for a number of security monitored sites. So needless to say my mobile phone is very important. Optus gets a thumbs down from me. I have contacted them to be released from the contract due to the sensitive nature of my kids health. Optus blamed my phone, my intelligence (I kid you not – re: firmware upgrades and how to use my phone etc. !). They have changed my SIM card…. still dropouts, failure to make calls, crashes on the network etc.
Optus have a bad rep on Whirlpool and in the circles I travel. I meet a lot of people on a daily basis and not many have a good word to say about them. Their reputation is being sullied not only online but it transcends the virtual world and has come full circle to permeate the real world (with backup sought by people hwo check online)
Daniel
Thanks for your timely comments and input into my blog.
Hope you are well, in relation to Monitor, Manage and Repair. If you do come across negative feedback about your business online, and you have had no luck trying to solve the issue with the client how do you go about repairing or removing negative posts from the web or stopping them from appearing on Google searches or the like. Is there a way?
Ryan
This is very helpful and useful post. I love it. Thanks.
Property.
Thank you for your comment, glad you found the post helpful.
Mike