Do you run Corp. Comms for an airline or an airport? Time to get your head out of the sand

Over coffee in Kuala Lumpur…

I had an intriguing debate with a new friend (and long-time Twitter follower) during my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur. When I asked about her organization’s resistance to even listening about the brand on social media – her answer was that their Head of Corp. Comms strongly feels that if it’s important enough, it will appear in the newspapers – after which there can be a proper response.

I recognize where she’s coming from, but I just couldn’t accept that reasoning. It’s like saying that I will never check my email, because my name card has a fax number, and whatever is important enough will pop out from the fax machine. It just doesn’t work that way anymore!

I won’t whisper feedback in your ears!

Customers are using a variety of mediums to communicate (and rant) these days, and press releases or forum submissions to newspapers rank way at the bottom.

If I don’t like the food on an airline, I’d submit a NOW review to Eezeer.com– instantly. If I find the wi-fi at your airport slow, I will tweet about it, or include it in my check-in information. Same goes for compliments. But how would you, the brand manager, or the corporate communications manager, know?

You need to go where the customer is, and not expect him or her to come to you. After all, how many completed feedback forms does an airline get, compared with emails? Means of communication have evolved, and social media tools rank way above anything else today.

I recently read a statistic that more emails are sent in a day than postal mails in a year. I think the time is not far when we will see more tweets and Facebook messages being sent per day, than emails in a year.

The big difference is that Tweets are one-to-many conversations; hence you’ve got to pay attention to what people are saying. Forget about engagement, you’ve got to listen first!

After all, you don’t want to look like the ostrich with his head in the sand, isn’t it? Time to wake up and smell the coffee!

So, what do you think? How can we change the attitude of traditional executives such that they embrace the changes in the world of communications? I’d love to hear your thoughts, in the comments and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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