• It’s more of a Yin-Yang situation, where satisfied customers sing praise and unsatisfied ones condemn.
• Strategy is the art of dealing strategically with both types. 

This is a multifaceted strategy where brands allow their customers to shout out their products while simultaneously processing some grievances. Although it’s not a recognized marketing approach, “Letting the Customers Shout” can be great in handling irate customers while providing a platform for satisfied customers to voice their experience. Obviously, shouting can go both ways: praise and condemnation. 

Letting customers vent their frustrations publicly, on calls, on social media platforms, and on review sites acts as a pressure release valve and a way to gain valuable feedback. However, there’s a downside to consider—negative publicity. Brands need to apply intuitive ways to counter this situation. 

How Domino’s Pizza Handled the PR Nightmare While Employing “Letting the Customers Shout” Strategy?

Back in 2009, two Domino’s employees posted a video on YouTube showing themselves unhygienically messing around with food and preparation items. The video went viral and led to a major public relations crisis for the fast food brand. People started criticizing the brand, sales dropped significantly, and the reputation was damaged. 

Embracing the Feedback & Turning the Table

But instead of trying to downplay the incident and making ways to announce it as a fake, Domino’s took a drastically different approach. They publicly acknowledged the video and admitted their shortcomings as a fast food brand. This transparency allows the brand to take control of the spreading narrative. 

Patrick Doyle, Domino’s CEO, came out from meetings and the office to film a video apology, admitting that the pizza looked “disgusting.” Further in the video, he outlined the plan to improve the pizza quality and food safety standards across all Domino’s outlets. This greatly helped the brand regain the trust of existing customers while emerging as a bold and trustworthy brand for future customers. 

Excited Social Media Engagement & Owning the Narrative

Furthermore, Domino’s didn’t shy away from the negative publicity and ramped up their social media engagement to counteract the issue. Strategically using social media platforms like Twitter (now X) to address customer concerns directly and answer their questions. By allowing this open communication facility, the brand slowly regained its trust. 

Domino’s strategically owned the narrative and incorporated the message in all social media and marketing campaigns, stating that “We Got Heard.” The team called harsh critics to tour their facilities and see the firsthand improvements made after the incident. Thereby owning the whole narrative of the PR debacle. 

Domino’s skillfully used customer feedback as a springboard to revamp the pizza recipes, introduce fresher ingredients, and create new dough recipes. All this helped the fast food brand improve the quality of its product. In the end, Domino’s turned this PR nightmare into a revamp opportunity by employing the “Letting the Customers Shout” marketing strategy. 

Ultimately, Domino’s gamble with transparency and taking the PR issue head-on paid off. Customers appreciated the brand’s honesty and willingness to address the issues. Also, the new recipes were widely accepted, and the sales actually increased after the crisis. 

What is the “Letting the Customers Shout” Marketing Strategy? 

Interestingly, “Letting the Customers Shout” isn’t your typical one. It’s an amalgamation of handling angry customers while providing a platform for customers to shout their praises of the product or service. The core is to build a positive customer relationship and handle grievances.

Customer Advocacy: The Positive Aspect

The Let Them Shout marketing strategy could empower satisfied customers to become brand advocates. In such a case, the brand must facilitate a space where happy customers can sing the praises and generate positive word-of-mouth marketing. 

They could be done through online reviews, social media mentions, custom hashtags, or simply recommending your product or service to others. When a brand takes care of a happy customer, it gives them a sense of belonging and creates a long-lasting personal relationship. 

The Hum-Sing-Shout Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy called “Hum-Sing-Shout” focuses on scaling the marketing efforts. Here, “Hum” represents a constant, low-level marketing presence similar to a bee’s humming. Where it’s humming while sucking the nectar, and it’s just there, not overpowering or over showing its presence. 

The “Sing” refers to a medium-intensity marketing push. For example, Spotify created the Personalized Playlist for Your Mood campaign and sent targeted emails to users with curated playlists based on their listening preferences, encouraging them to explore more music in similar or related genres. 

The “Shout” is a high-impact marketing campaign. For example, Apple’s new iPhone release and the Far Out launch event featured live-streamed keynote addresses with celebrity appearances. This was followed by social media hype, TV commercials, in-store promotions, and exclusive pre-order offers—a classic example of Shout marketing. 

How to Skillfully Handle the Irate Customers

Another aspect of the “Let Them Shout” marketing campaign is skillfully handling irate customers. It involves active listening; when an upset customer calls you, it’s essential to listen to their concerns, acknowledge their frustration, and empathize with their situation. Also, during calls, brand representatives should not interrupt or become defensive. 

The next is the angle of problem-solving; measures must be in place to solve the customer’s problem as early as possible. This could involve working collaboratively with them to first understand the problem and then with related persons in the team to solve it. By being transparent about the policies and limitations, brands can paint a positive image while solving the problem. 

The third step is communication: Establish a clear line of communication between the customer and the brand. The message must also be clear and consistent throughout the process. Keeping the customers informed about the steps to solve the problem in the expected timeline helps build a good rapport.  

Lastly, it’s the follow-up; considering that the issue might have been resolved if the customer hadn’t called back would be a wrong notion. There’s still a possibility that they might have switched to your competition. Following up with customers is important to ensure that the issue is resolved and that they are satisfied. 

Pros and Cons of “Letting the Customers Shout” Marketing Strategy

Similar to every other marketing strategy, “Letting the Customer Shout” has pros and cons. 

Pros

For some customers, venting their frustrations publicly might act as a pressure release valve and calm them down. Data suggests that after venting their frustration, the once-angry customer is now docile and receptive to pointers that help them find a solution. 

The end user is your harshest critic. Public complaints can highlight the recurring problems your product or service might be facing. For example, after a car manufacturer starts delivery of a new car and receives concerns about a particular problem, they can proactively correct the problem in upcoming models. 

Cons

Public negativity can significantly damage the brand image, similar to the PR debacle faced by Domino’s Pizza in 2009. Potential customers might not entertain your brand or your offering due to this negative perception based on a few loud noises. 

Sometimes, public complaints can snowball or start a domino effect, attracting more negative attention and amplifying the already negative issue. Allowing customers to vet out without actually addressing the concern would showcase a lack of care and could deplete customer trust. Plus, the employee might not be willing to work in a company with a negative brand image. 

Ultimately, the “Letting the Customers Shout” marketing strategy is like two sides of the same coin or a yin-yang-type situation. Positive shouting, where satisfied customers happily sing praise, is beneficial, while negative shouting requires measures to deal with unsatisfied customers. The core here is to let them shout and use their voice for the greater good.