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In the video, Shel Holtz, author of Tactical Transparency, defines transparency. He says organizations shouldn’t expose every internal secret (particularly for legal reasons) in order to be transparent to their audiences, but they should disclose information about business goals and practices, and allow audience members to have access to all of the internal employees.
The key to fostering positive consumer relations is constant interaction between the customers and the employees.
Many companies are being forced into transparency. Consumers no longer call up a company’s customer service department if they’re unhappy–that message would only reach one person. They are instead going online to blast the company in front of thousands of other consumers. How should companies respond? Companies should join in on the conversation and explain to consumers why the service or product was less than mediocre, and work to rebuild a connection with angry consumers.
Dan Rather, formerly of 60 Minutes, made the mistake of closing the doors on his audience during the investigation on Former President Bush’s military service. If he had opened up lines of communication and updated viewers on the investigation, he could’ve kept from angering so many people. His lack of transparency cost him his job.
Dell on the other hand was forced into transparency after its outraged consumers created an angry network of blogs. Dell joined in on the conversation and created Direct2Dell and Ideastorm, which have been a huge success in rebuilding postive customer relations.
I found Holtz’s own personal story the most interesting. After a neglectful customer service experience with Park ‘n Fly, he wrote a blog post to complain to his readers. An administrative assistant from the company joined in on his conversation to apologize. What’s most important is that the Park ‘n Fly employee sent the message directly to Holtz, without checking the message with management first. By opening up free lines of communication between employees (lower and higher level) and consumers, Park ‘n Fly managed to uphold its relationship with Holtz.
The video’s central message is that companies should give their consumers a glimpse inside the organization to build a trustworthy relationship with them.
