I think the more transparent you can be the better. Those hidden fees are certain to piss people off and I’m sure US Air was completely aware of this when they made the decision, but they are trying to be sneaky about it. By clearly stating any recent changes, explaining why and what those changes will do for the customer you have a better chance of cultivating trust. When a company genuinely cares and puts the customer at the top of the list it shows.

Some people are expert manipulators. I think that they are so convincing because they’ve convinced themselves (of things that are untrue or misleading). But there are also people that are so genuine and so goodhearted that you know they are authentic. I think one of the prominent qualities in these people is their ability to listen, as well as ask questions, and you can just tell that they are genuinely interested in what you have to say. These people who do less talking and more listening are often perceived to be the most interesting people.

We obviously value the opinions of people that we know and those opinions can lend a great deal of credibility to a product or service. Even if someone is not looking to make a present purchase, there is clearly value in people sharing their positive consumer experiences and contributing to brand recognition. The key question is – how do you encourage customers to share their experiences through social media outlets?

Funny, this is something I’ve thought about recently. Why do I have a significant number of friends that I don’t communicate with, don’t pay attention to status changes, and some of which I’ve never even met? These friends make it more difficult to follow the people I do care about. I think I’m going to choose quality over quantity.

Uh, this is such a great post David! This is an issue that most brands or individuals probably don’t even think about until it happens. And obviously if aren’t on facebook or twitter, you should be for social networking purposes, but who would think that they’d need to do so in order to take a defensive stance?

Great post and Randall’s comment is right on. It’s necessary to be very upfront with policies and show that you stand behind your product or service 100%. Honesty and a satisfaction guarantee can certainly assuage consumer concerns. I think Hyundai has made a great move with their return policy. They’re building an image based on trust and genuine concern for the consumer. I would imagine we’ll see an even greater surge in sales after the recession due to the messages they’re sending now.

It’s definitely critical to think about which approach(es) you should take and why. Just because social networking works for many other companies doesn’t mean that it’s right for your company. You need to look at your company’s goals and figure out which approach(es) align with them and what you are trying to accomplish.