Why the Public is Less Tolerant of Business Mistakes

One of the reasons why it is so difficult for companies to stay ahead of online reputation crises is the public’s utter lack of tolerance for business mistakes. People find it easy to believe that any company is the bad guy out to get the little guy. 

The sins of an entire industry or sector can come back to haunt companies, and those are harder to fix than an individual company’s reputation. Nevertheless, in Britain the Confederation of Business Industry is trying. A recent Guardian article outlined what CBI-Director General John Cridland thinks must be done to start creating an environment where customers are a bit more willing to cut companies a bit more slack.

…5 years of recession, sluggish recovery and falling living standards has made the public far less tolerant of the corporate world. 

Tracing the start of the downward slide in the reputation of business back to the “naked capitalism” of the late 1980s, Cridland said companies needed to reach out to their shareholders, become more transparent in their dealings and deliver for their customers.

The speed of the Internet conversation, of course, can contribute to this sense of dissatisfaction and magnify it 100 times over. Individual companies who have been targeted in the past have certainly felt the sting of this speed.

Still, you can ride Cridland’s wisdom to some solutions that help you safeguard your company’s reputation both online and offline.

Treat your employees well—and be very public about what you are doing to make your employee’s lives better. Treat your customers well, and improve your practices and products however you can. When something goes wrong, own up to it. Then make it right.

Online reputation management services are helpful for removing defamatory content and erasing unfair reviews, blog posts, forum posts, and conversations. But they won’t save you if you’re just a bad company who is out to make a buck at other people’s expense. Eventually, no amount of covering up can slow down the tide of anger which is coming for you. SEO techniques aren’t going to help Wal-Mart improve its reputation in the eyes of the people, or Spirit Air, or BP. Only a focused campaign of doing the right thing will help those companies turn their reputation around.

Certainly, you should do everything in your power to monitor your reputation and to make the web work for you. But remember, you’re working in a hostile environment. Faking it till you make it may not be enough.