In the past 12 months Ryanair’s 330 aircraft have flown over 79 million people to more than 180...
Well the summer is almost over, the children are back at school and as parliament returns from its recess, normal service is resumed. MPs have already started ripping each other to shreds, this time over the policy regarding a third runway at Heathrow. But hold on a minute... surely the silly season hasn’t quite gone away just yet? Many of the papers today quote Mr O’Leary, Chief Executive of Ryan Air as saying that anyone who can’t print off their own boarding pass is and I quote “an idiot!”
Now Mr O’Leary is well known for his outspoken nature and bullish attitude to his customers. However this story isn’t about one unhappy customer. It started because the customer in question posted her unhappiness about being charged £236 to print off 5 boarding passes on Facebook and asked the social network world if they felt the same. Half a million Facebook users responded, sympathising with her plight.
Customer dissatisfaction no longer means writing a individual letter to ‘whom it may concern’ and waiting months for a reply. It’s about getting your grumble out there, seeing if anyone feels the same and spreading the word so that things do change.
This is why it is so important for PR teams to have an effective new media monitoring strategy, so you know what everyone is saying about you. It’s about engaging with your customer not just through the normal media channels but through as many new media channels as possible. Engage, monitor and participate are the watch words to a successful new media plan. Then you retain your credibility and your company reputation. It’s about being proactive and managing the message rather than being reactive all the time. New media and mainstream media management now go hand in hand.
Mr O’Leary may feel he has won this particular battle but it is a fine line between larger than life, tough talking business man and laughing stock – just remember Gerald Ratner.
