Lately, I’ve been helping several clients to inform their customers of price changes and other seemingly “bad” news that needs to be delicately communicated. We’re using the technique of “bookending,” or sandwiching bad news between two pieces of good news.
I think I first heard the term bookending in management training as a way of giving negative feedback to employees during performance reviews. You want to find positive things to say before and after the negative feedback, presumably so you don’t bum anyone out too much.
The real challenge in presenting not-entirely-positive news – such as a discontinued service, higher rates or the departure of a key employee – is being authentic while still showing the news in its best light.
After all, we don’t want to lie or deceive anyone, and we don’t want to dwell on the negative. It’s the delicate balance, often encountered in life, in which we must tell our truth and still be sure we are heard and understood. In this case, we want to remind our clients why they love doing business with us, and yet cushion the news so that it doesn’t seem so terrible after all.
I think the worst way to do this is the way credit card companies do. So frequently, the communication from them has the underlying message, “The following changes are not what we originally agreed to do. The new conditions will not be any better for you. If you don’t like it, cancel your account.”
My fancy coffee company, on the other hand, exemplifies the best possible way to bookend “bad” news. Ostensibly, the purpose of the postcard I received from them recently was to inform me that prices were going up $.50 per bag. This is uncool, theoretically, since I signed up for a subscription just six months ago, and they’re basically letting me know they can’t maintain that any longer. It could go poorly for them, but what do they say?
First paragraph opens: “Great news!”
Wow, it turns out there’s an even more exotic line of coffees coming to surprise me in the new year. They’ve been searching the world to find exactly what discerning clients like me want. Okay, go on…
Delicately stating the reasons why, the company explains the price increase will really benefit me, because they can ensure the superior quality of product I’ve come to expect. Normally I would roll my eyes at this B.S., but with the goodwill they’ve built up with me, the news only evoked a little growly sound.
In the third paragraph they conclude with something that was probably true all along but not too well-known, which is that shipping charges will be a flat amount and not fluctuate with the size of your order.
The net result: I got the news, and I felt fine about it. They fulfilled their obligations to me in a way that made me continue to feel good about doing business with them. Instead of trying to deceive me by distracting me from important information, they merely softened the blow by putting it in perspective with all the benefits their business offers me.
Have you used the bookending technique to deliver bad news or inform your clients of unexpected changes? How do you present your message in its best light while still being to be true to yourself and to your customers? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sweet girl bookends courtesy of “G” jewels g is for grandma
