OFF-MUTE 🔈
😬 What happens when your product gets not one, but two, terrible product reviews?
⭐️ 🚨 Bad reviews can range from low star ratings to cataclysmic failure (think: things on fire).
🤷♀️ But most don’t require crisis communications.
📝 Until the two major consumer tech review sites reviewed and published reports on our #client Molekule – an air purification company that manufactures air purification devices.
💀 Wirecutter called Molekule the worst air purifier they tested of all time, and Consumer Reports questioned if the device was worth the “hype.”
🧑🔬 Here’s the kicker: It turns out both review sites had legacy testing criteria and weren’t able to properly test Molekule’s innovative, newer technology. They also declined access to proper testing facilities.
📖 💃 Luckily, Molekule’s story didn’t end there. The show must go on, right?
🧭 Molekule’s Vice President of Global Marketing Communication Stephanie Borman guided her team through this PR nightmare.
🚶♀️Today she’ll walk us through the six steps she took to help repair the company’s reputation and rebuild trust:
☑️ Focus on your customers. The first step in our comms plan was to articulate to our customers how Molekule does work. We pointed out the flaws in the reviewers’ testing criteria (both sites publicly stated that they didn’t have the proper testing capabilities to test Molekule’s core technology), provided access to third-party data on our technology on our owned media channels, and extended our return policy. Customer satisfaction is what matters most and the best way to prove Molekule worked was to get it into the hands of customers.
☑️ Pivot…quickly. We doubled down on testing our devices with accredited third-party labs. This provided us with more than enough material to reference when customers asked if our devices really did work. The culmination of this testing led us to work with the FDA to clear our air purifiers as Class II medical devices. Additionally, we expanded our return policy for customers and implemented a ‘try it for yourself’ campaign to re-engage customers without risk.
☑️ Uplevel your SEO strategy. Most major review sites capitalize on key search terms to help rank on Google. It’s important to have an active SEO plan that protects your search ‘real estate.’
☑️ Lean into social media. As part of our media response to the reviews, we issued a YouTube video response with our CEO. Why? Because YouTube is the third largest search engine in the world. Use it! We spent time building relationships with influencers as well because it’s one of the most effective ways to create (and boost) brand advocacy…and we needed it during this time.
☑️ Prioritize quality over quantity. Together, Inkhouse and Molekule have established relationships with a handful of media “friendlies” that we can work with to tell important stories about product innovation and the science behind the device. For instance, we invited a Forbes reporter out to our labs in Florida to see for himself how testing really worked. The result? Forbes has since written 10 profiles on our company.
☑️ Don’t hide from the problem. If you believe in your product, let that define you rather than your setbacks. Be transparent and communicate often. This can make or break your reputation during a crisis. And remember, the truth will eventually come out.
