The blind leading the blind?

Amcu’s and the lonmin workers’ demand for a 100% wage hike is unreasonable. This is because never in the history of mining or union bargaining has a worker’s union achieved this record high demand; also a pay hike of this magnitude would just lead to mine closures and  job losses.

  Amcu had erred by misleading and setting unrealistic expectations in the minds of its members and this could work to their demise. This is because as a mining union  that is for and represents the needs of its members, Amcu should have been upfront , honest and created an understanding of the illogicality of their the demands and the improbability that those demands  will be met-ever.

Therefore as a union that is well versed and boasts years' negotiation experience Amcu is in a better position to lead from the front and hammer home the fact that higher salaries will lead to the industry’s demand for higher competency and higher competency will mean that either the productivity gets higher or mines will have to shed jobs.

How to effectively manage you Online Brand Reputation

It does not take a genius to understand that negative online brand perception and dialogues can be damaging to a brand. And not all brands can take negative feedback.  Although negative online brand perception can put a dent on a brand’s image, there are ways to handle it effectively so as to turn negative perceptions into positive ones.

Firstly no brand is beyond reproach and therefore no brand should think it is invincible to online attack. Humility on the part of brands is key as it will ensure that a brand expects attack on the web. Anticipating brand attack does not mean short selling one’s brand, but means the brand can be able to recover should it be under siege. When a brand accepts the possibility of online attack, that brand will do anything in its power in ensuring a good online reputation.

However a good online reputation cannot be maintained if brands fail to acknowledge how consumer complaints have evolved. More and more consumers are doing away with traditional complaint channels and are expressing their dissatisfaction online. It is therefore imperative that brands use the online space to their benefit. Brands should watch what their consumers are saying about them; listen to the consumer generated content, so as to have their hands on the pulse.

Listening to complaints about a brand is not enough, after listening action has to be taken and taken promptly. A brand that listens and reacts immediately is able to build a solid reputation for itself and consumers will certainly take it seriously as they are always monitoring reaction to their complaints. Not reacting to complaints may simply mean that you do not take your consumers’ complaints into consideration or you basically do not have a clue about what is being said about your brand. None reaction therefore kills brands.  It is also important that a brand does not overreact by launching an attack on it’s complainants as this will lead to more customer dissatisfaction and possibly loss of any respect left for the brand.

On the other hand it is always advisable that a brand reacts consciously to complaints by acknowledging such and reacting accordingly.

Not all online brand attacks are correct and therefore if it happens that the attacks on a brand are unfounded ; a good reaction would be to relay the correct facts about the brand, factually highlight to the consumer that they are incorrect, lodge a request that they retract their statement and also give them surety as to you giving them future brand news. The trick here is to refrain from fighting fire with fire. On the other hand if complaints about your brand prove to be true, telling your side of the story and taking the issue offline, always proves viable. This may lead to the complainant taking of their comment or blog or simply stating something good about your brand.

Lastly it is important that brands generally show care for their customers by engaging in conversations when negative aspects of their brand are concerned by doing this you’ll be showing respect to your customers and also giving good service. With all this said it is always advisable and remains of utmost importance that brands stay prepared for any online brand attack by formulating strategies that will aid in responding effectively to a crisis. Online credibility always comes in handy when a brand is under attack.