Lessons from the Amazon, Domino's Debacles

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2. Establish a credible presence in blogs and social media. If Amazon or Domino's had a brand presence on Twitter, either could have responded to conversation quickly. Chances are good that their participation would have been welcome. All they had to say was: "Thanks for letting us know there's a problem. We're looking into it." If the issue blew over quickly, that wouldn't hurt anything. If it escalated, at least they would have joined the conversation early.

Domino's was right to cut the video, but it acted too late. Anyone who cared knew a full day earlier that the employees had been identified, fired, and prosecuted.

3. Acknowledge the conversation where it's happening. When a statement is issued, don't ignore new media. Domino's and Amazon talked to mainstream media first, ignoring bloggers and social networks. That strategy backfired.

Endless conversations about whether blogs are journalism, or whether Twitter has any actual communication value, are moot. They're here, they've got millions of readers (more than much of mainstream media), and many of the writers are trusted online influencers. The day after the crisis erupted, while the blogosphere was ablaze with the news, major news outlets had yet to contact Domino's spokesman Tim McIntyre, according to Ragan.com. "Right now, it's on Web sites and blogs," McIntyre is quoted as telling the blog. "It's not ABC, CNN, or USA Today." What's that supposed to mean? It's not news if mainstream media ignores it? Tell that to the Tweeters.

Amazon waited three days before issuing an official statement to AP, admitting that they handled the incident in a way that was "embarrassing and ham-fisted." While the company's chief technology officer is on Twitter, he didn't say a word about the incident.

4. Explain how you'll address the problems to prevent them from recurring. Companies whose customers complain are the lucky ones. The real problem is people who get so disgusted they walk away without saying a word, never to return.

Listen. Respond. Help. Here's a list of companies already involved in Twitter. Their approach may not be perfect, but at least they aren't ignoring the millions of people who talk to each other online. Here are more than 35 examples from Mashable. If you are listening, responding, and yes, changing, you are more likely to keep complaining customers than to lose them.

5. Have a crisis strategy ready to roll. The main thing Domino's and Amazon had in common is that they did not have a social-media crisis strategy in place. If you haven't participated in social media deeply enough to know who your brand evangelists are and where they talk to each other, how are you going to be able to enlist their help in a crisis?

If you don't have tools in place to monitor your brand—and if you'd have to scramble at the onset of a crisis to set up a blog, learn how to send a message or post a link in Facebook, develop a channel on YouTube, and follow people on Twitter—you're already too late.

Ochman, president of Whatsnextonline.com, has been creating new media marketing and online brand strategy since 1995 for companies including IBM, Ford, McGraw-Hill, Budget Car Rental, Stacksandstacks.com, and American Greetings. She tracks online marketing trends and campaigns in What's Next Blog.