Shopee: Flipping the Flop
Effective social media crisis management should be in any companies’ portfolio strategy long before the any issues arises.
Ever heard of Shopee? Yes, that Shopee, one of the biggest e-commerce platforms in Taiwan, recently has made its way into a social media predicament due to misinformation created by a regular promotion campaign post. But, instead of covering up the seemingly devastating incident, Shopee came up with witty solutions that called for laughter, blending hilarity and marketing perfectly to turn the tides.
Indeed, much can be learnt in terms of interaction between social media and e-commerce from this well-managed crisis.
The Rise of Shopee
When it comes to online-shopping in Taiwan, most of the netizens would inevitably mention the biggest online platform known in this country, RuTen. However, after going through a couple revamps, RuTen unfortunately misses out the chance to utilize the advancement of mobile apps, which costs the platform its domination in online shopping business.
Lacking a decent app to optimize its customers’ shopping experience, alas gives Shopee, an e-commerce company from Singapore, a chance to take over the leading position. Shopee maximizes the growth of mobile commerce following the incredible pace of mobile usage by Taiwanese citizens across the country and incorporates it into its platform to give its customers exciting shopping experience they are craving for.
The Post Went Wrong
With the increase of mobile phone usage, people have depended on their mobile phones more than ever. Added to the equation is a numerous reliable mobile phone apps that offer both functionality and mobility, it is only natural that more people opted to use their mobile phones instead of desktops or laptops to do most of their purchases online. Shopee has successfully uses this chance to mark their territory in online shopping world in Taiwan. Still, the path to success is full of rocky bumps.
Among the diversity of mobile apps that Taiwanese people use, some, naturally, have got something to do with social media such as FanPages or Instagram accounts. The particular quandary that made this headline occurred when a promotion-code-related post appeared on Shopee FanPage, asking a solution to a mathematical question “What is the highest common factor between 84 and 98?”
This seemingly fun and interactive post quickly found its way to trouble. Shopee’s oversight lies on the given answer it gives, which is 7, while any mathematicians would know that the correct answer is supposed to be 14. Needless to say, public was outrageous because those who correctly answer 14 missed their chances to earn discounts due to the admin’s blunder. Obviously, they took the internet and flocked into Shopee’s FanPage to question the curator for releasing the wrong answer.
So, what did Shopee do to handle the wrath of its online customers?
Actionable Reaction
As an experienced e-commerce company, Shopee understands clearly that fostering bonds with their customers is the key to keep their brand’s supremacy in Taiwan’s online shopping industry. Hence, the platform went all out to mend the relationship, following the traditional crisis management strategy “Own Your Story”, with an amusing and creative twist.
Be Humorous
Instead of covering their mistakes, Shopee took a comedic route to admit their error by launching various whimsical posts. From uploading a post of their mascot “The Little Shopee” going to one of Taiwan’s most well-known cram schools to study math, uploading a hiring post on Taiwanese version of LinkedIn, the 104 page, asking for an employee who clearly knows the highest common factor between 84 and 98 is 14, as well as creating a Vlog about it and uploading it to YouTube so its customers and others can laugh at the upheaval.
(Learn also the importance of video marketing here.)
Naturally, the subtle self-depreciating posts successfully hit their intended goal: to shift public’s attention from the actual mistake and to subconsciously encourage the public to join Shopee in promoting its brand in a playful way. This is a perfect example how to turn mistake into opportunity.
Be Honest
The next step that Shopee took to pacify the anger of its customers is to once again announce the promotion code, with the correct answer this time. Companies should realize that instead of remaining silent, hoping that time will heal all wounds, it is always better to release compensation as soon as possible because, from a more holistic perspective, ignorance can only burn all bridges built and damage the company’s reputation even more. Customers might resent the missed opportunity and eventually affect their sentiment towards the brand.
Customer loyalty should be a priority for brands to bounce back from a crisis and earning back the customers’ broken trusts can only be achieved through integrity, relentless and speedy communication to salvage their reputation.
Be Open-minded
Criticism and negative comments are daily breads for social media curators, especially after a setback. Instead of being cynical and sarcastic to these types of responses, Shopee curators took everything in as valuable feedback and developing critics. They respond almost every negative, unpleasant, and unfavorable comment with the kindest and most pleasant words.
Successful social media crisis takes into account that people nowadays value authenticity, human-ness, accessibility, dialogue, and engagement. That’s why, instead of avoiding and being defensive to obstructive comments, facing them with positive attitudes will not only stop the flow of the negativity but also gives brands an exemplary portrayal of genuineness, competence, and dignity, characteristics that people would respect.
At the same time, Shopee curators went above and beyond to draw away customers’ attention from the catastrophe by feeding them with wide variety of offset plans and upcoming promotions, which not only could stir away the despondency created by a single flaw but also boost potential sales in the future.
Lessons Learned
Social media crisis is bound to happen for any brands dealing with customers of various backgrounds and demands, which can chip away at the carefully crafted reputation in seconds. Learning how to manage and handle the crisis is critical for any brands, large or small.
Social media, in particular, is the double-edge sword for crisis management.
It is especially difficult to retain control of your own story in social media and attempts to do so via traditional methods such as controlling information access or deliberate formal responses, can often be counterproductive.
On the other side of the coin, Shopee’s case serves as an ideal example of an impeccably effective management of crisis using social media, turning the fiasco into an opportunity. With proper social media skills and attitudes, any brands can recuperate from a slip-up. Remember, success is measured by how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.
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