Confidence or delusion?

How much weight should you give to survey results? Whether they are your own or from outside, when the results don’t stack up to what you think, do you write them off as an anomaly or take a good hard look at your own perception and preconception?

Seems that if you are Qantas and Jetstar you denounce them as irrelevant and inconsistent with your own internal customer surveys and therefore not worth the paper they are printed on.

Now I am not sure what the internal customer feedback processes are for those airlines, but the Choice survey is relatively transparent about what and who it is surveying. So it might not be such a good idea to totally dismiss the findings out of hand. If 9,000 people are telling you that things aren’t working as well as you think they are surely there are some lessons and takeaways worth considering.

Aside from the well-worn ups and downs of Qantas and Jetstar there is a deeper question at play here. When does confidence become delusion?

Over the years I have seen lots of brands drink their own kool-aid to the point where they are incapable of taking on any advice about how to be better and do better.

Knowing who you are is a great thing. Having a solid understanding of and confidence in the value of your promise and then working relentlessly to deliver that every day and in every way is how great brands are born and thrive.

However, when the relentless pursuit becomes an affidavit for the status quo then things can get ugly for your brand (and your company). A single naysayer is one thing, 9,000 people telling you your services are not up to scratch is worth a second look (even if your own internal feedback is telling you you’re wonderful).

It is hard to accept negative feedback. Hard because acknowledging it means there may be some truth behind it, which in turn means you might have to change the way you are thinking about things. Or even more difficult, change the way you are doing things.

When people retreat behind denial and delusion (aka. we are fine they are wrong) they miss a great opportunity. The opportunity to recommit to the promise and demonstrate they have the confidence to make things better. The opportunity to prove to customers past, present and future that they are important. The opportunity for their brand to become stronger.

Instead of saying “We’re not putting too much credence in it…Choice…they’re one voice in consumerland” Jetstar could have sent a far different and more positive message to their customers and marketplace by simply saying: “while the Choice survey results don’t marry up with what our own internal feedback is telling us, we always value the opportunity to hear from our customers and find ways to improve our service”.

But I guess a bit of humility and grace from the company who’s customer service track record reads like a Brothers Grimm fairytale is a bit much to expect.

So next time you get some feedback, don’t be Jetstar. Even if what you hear doesn’t sync up with what you think you know – don’t deny and dismiss it. Have the confidence to use it.

See you next week.

Michel Hogan is a Brand Advocate. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia and in the United States, she helps organisations recognize who they are and align that with what they do and say, to build more authentic and sustainable brands. She also publishes the Brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment.