Rope-A-Dope Marketing Won’t Work

I’m sure there are more than a few of you out there who remember the “Rumble In The Jungle” in which Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman.  It was one of the great matches and there’s a fantastic documentary about it you should watch if you want to see The Greatest in his last great bout (and at the peak of his promotional abilities!).

It was in this fight that Ali introduced the Rope-a-Dope –  strategy in which you hang on the ropes and let the opponent punch himself out so you can fight back to decreased resistance.  Of course, there’s a good chance you’ll make a defensive mistake and get knocked out yourself before that happens, so it’s highly risky.  Naturally, this was the first thing that came to mind the other day when I saw the results of a new marketing research study.

As is sometimes the case, the headline of the story elicited a “duh” from me as it probably does with you:

According to The Retail Consumer Report, commissioned by RightNow and conducted online by Harris Interactive in January 2011 among 1,605 online US adults who shopped online during the most recent holiday season, consumers who have a bad experience, will not come back.

But then it gets kind of interesting as it points out how those retailers that were proactive in monitoring digital media for complaints and responding to them could have a dramatic effect and turn a negative into a positive:

The survey found that, of those who received a reply in response to their negative review:

• 33% turned around and posted a positive review.
• 34% deleted their original negative review.

That’s impressive even if it’s not terribly surprising.  Consumers – particularly those who’ve had a problem – just want to know two things:  Someone cares and someone is actively doing something to help.  This is actually more important to the angry customer, I believe, than actually resolving the situation which we’re not always able to do (but should ALWAYS try to achieve).

What it says, in short, is that Ali’s strategy in marketing terms – lay back on the ropes and let angry, dissatisfied consumers punch themselves out – doesn’t work.  A third of consumers – and this number will grow – use social tools to research product purchases.  Being passive about what people are saying about your brand, your customer service, or your product is a guaranteed way to get knocked out, not to win championships.  The dope getting roped by ignoring active, authentic participation in social media is you!

Thoughts?