10 Aug Is Bad Publicity Good?

There has always been the age old question, “Is Bad Publicity Good?”  Many people feel that any type of publicity is good because it brings your business name to the top of the media for thousands or even millions to hear.  The theory, then, is that they eventually forget the bad and just remember your name.  But has anyone ever heard of the company, BP?  Of course you have!  Anyone with a radio, television, newspaper, or an ear has heard lots of negative about BP and the way they are handling the Gulf of Mexico Deep Water Oil Spill.  My question for those of you who believe that bad publicity is good, do you think BP is doing well from all of the negative publicity.  After seeing their 2nd Quarter Profits, I would say that evidence is conclusive that they are not doing well as a result.  Now, I’m not saying fold up shop with any negative publicity.  You have to do damage control and take some losses to keep your loyal customers.  After time many companies can bounce back.  Exxon is doing well after it’s big oil spill in Alaska, so they recovered.  Bad publicity is going to happen occasionally.  While most of our businesses will not have a major incident such as an oil spill, we often get unhappy customers.  Sometimes, the customer is unhappy because of a valid point and sometimes we get those customers that can’t be made happy no matter what you do.  However, with unhappy clients, you have to rectify the situation.  Your customers may not always tell someone else about your business if they are happy, but you can bet your last dollar that they will tell everyone that will listen if they are unhappy.  So take a loss if you have to and make them happy.  Sometimes that may be a discount, full refund, or just a gift.  That gift can be a premium item printed with your business contact information.  These premium promotional products can usually be ordered in small quantities and kept on hand for your clients that are unhappy.  Many times, just a simple gift like this can make them happy.