HOW TO MAKE BAD NEWS BETTER
Marketing is mostly about shiny things. Try this, buy that, switch to something better. Most of what we do is about getting people to buy more stuff.
But every big business also has bad news. Price increases, product changes, mistakes that need an explanation. And every bit of bad news makes customers like us less. It’s a challenge.
Hunch makes bad news better
For over a decade, Hunch has honed the craft of communicating the stuff we don’t want to share, but really have to. We euphemistically call it ‘Customer Change’ – but it’s usually bad news. Those price changes and compliance requirements that don’t often get the same marketing love as other jobs. We’re really good at making bad news better.
We use clarity, accuracy and empathy
No matter the message, the principles of customer change are the same. We sort the news from the noise to make things clear, we understand the legal constraints and make sure we tell the truth and we think how humans think to find the best way to mitigate a negative reaction. This all adds up to making bad news feel better.
The best response is no response
Unlike normal marketing activity, we aim for no response. No calls, no socials and nobody throwing in the towel to switch to a competitor. Successful projects fly under the radar and don’t cause a ripple. Like that time we contacted a million bank customers to let them know what would happen if the bank went bust. We got fewer than 100 customer calls. Win.
No response will save you money
Let’s be honest, no amount of expert craft will make someone love a price change. But you can make them hate it less. And it matters. Our goal is always to lower potential churn by 0.5%. It doesn’t sound a lot, but it really adds up.
Imagine you’re a service business, increasing the price for 50,000 customers who spend $50 a month. By lowering your churn by half a percent you’ll save $150K. And it will probably cost less than $10K to do it.
It’s also good for your brand
While 15x ROI is worth having, there are other benefits too. Simple, clear comms can reduce impact (and cost) for your frontline teams. And crafting a story that makes sense and feels fair can also lessen the dent in your brand. Plus, the more people you’re talking to, the bigger the return. So it’s well worth the time in the craft.
The secret is our passion for bad news
Anyone who cares can get these results. But the truth is, most people don’t. That’s because most marketers are driven by the energy and excitement of acquisition so the bad news comms just don’t get the same love. That’s why you need specialists.
Our team are experts in human behaviour, communications craft and wrangling your data to make things as simple as possible. And it works. When you focus on clarity, accuracy and customer empathy – it’s easy to make bad news feel better.
Want to know more?
Just download the pdf below to see some of the work we’ve done and how we’ve done it. Or give us a call for a confidential chat.
Your customers (and your CFO) will thank you.
