Member Article

How retailers can have their cake and eat it

It’s already been an interesting time in the office for bakery giant, Greggs recently. Despite being the victim of an unfortunate logo image hijack, the company’s response on social media helped to diffuse the issue and painted it as a hero on the web. Whilst Google has now fixed the problem with the logo, it does raise the question of the fragile nature of brands online.

Although the unfortunate incident may have left Greggs momentarily red faced as the story went viral, there are important lessons to be learnt here and brands need to act quickly if they find themselves in a similar situation. Ultimately, there is no immunity and crucially there is nowhere to hide online (Greggs customers themselves were quick to alert the company’s social media team to the issue), so savvy retailers need to put measures in place so they know how to deal with potential nightmares like this.

First and foremost, the Greggs logo mishap was an ugly way to bad mouth a brand. But it clearly serves to highlight how hijackers themselves are now becoming spin-doctors, and are deploying even more aggressive tactics to ultimately harm a brand’s reputation. This logo mishap is shocking not least because a logo is intrinsically vital to a brand; it’s an identity, and any attempt to unhinge this casts a dark shadow that makes a mockery out of the business.

As such, it’s vital that businesses don’t ignore what happened to Greggs. By following these series of tips brands can be on the front foot if they find themselves dealing with a logo blunder.

Proactivity first

Showing customers that you are being proactive is key to reassuring them and rebuilding trust. If a brand’s reputation has been compromised, whatever the situation, it is important that you are seen to be taking action and communicating with your customers clearly to keep them informed.

Greggs has an army of brand advocates thanks to the presence it has built on social media and this has paid dividends with the logo hijack. Connecting with consumers through tools such as social media, customer reviews and blogs reduces the damage when an unfortunate mishap like this happens.

Reinstalling trust

Greggs took the right approach by contacting Google publicly (in a fun way), which really helped to turn the situation around. It took an opportunity to show its brand advocates that it is proactive, and by posting an image of a tray of doughnuts and offering them to Google if they fixed the problem, (also using the #FixGreggs hashtag) they turned the situation into a positive piece of PR. This will always reinstall trust in a brand. Retailers, and in particular, online sellers, should also take steps to reassure their customers that it is still very much a case of ‘business as usual’ to alleviate any anxieties that despite the unfortunate incident, your website IS still safe to purchase goods from.

By taking a zero tolerance approach to any attempts to compromise your brand, retailers can stand up to the hijackers. This won’t grant immunity but it will help keep faith with your customer – and in turn, may actually foster a sense of brand loyalty. Whilst it was very much a Greggs 1, hijackers 0 end result, keeping a watchful eye on your website is crucial. Otherwise failing to act will add fuel to the fire, and the hijackers will have their cake (and doughnuts) and eat it.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Phillip Smith .