For almost two decades, I’d been a loyal Lipton Tea drinker. But a few weeks ago, I switched to Top Tea.
Now Lipton is a widely popular brand from Unilever – the British-Dutch consumer goods multinational behind well-known food and household items, ranging from PG Tips, Ben and Jerry’s, and Pot Noodle, to Dove, Persil, and Domestos.
Top Tea, on the other hand, is a smaller African brand produced by Promasidor Nigeria – the local facility of the parent company, Promasidor Holdings, which is domiciled in South Africa. Other brands produced by the company include beverages (Drink-O-Pop and Proma Café), dairy products (Cowbell Milk and Loya), seasoning (Onga and Jaba), and cereal (Sunvita and Yumvita).
But my decision to switch to Top Tea, a product from the homegrown African corporation, had nothing to do with politics, economic empowerment, or support of the underdog.
It was a decision based on the quality of packaging and my drinking experience.
I’d explain why.
My experience with Lipton
My Lipton Tea obsession began when I returned home after my studies in the U.K. Abroad, I was a Tetley fan, so upon my return to Nigeria, I deliberately chose that tea brand and continued with it.
However, after a while, it didn’t make sense to continue with the more expensive (imported) British brand. So, I opted for what I decided was the next best thing: Lipton Yellow Label Tea, which was produced by Unilever Nigeria – the local hub of the consumer goods giant.
And that decision worked well for me for about 20 years. (I’m a creature of habit). But in recent years, I became annoyed by the deteriorating packaging of the Lipton Tea bags in Nigeria.
With almost every packet I’d find in my local supermarket, tiny tea particles that escape the tea bags would visibly ‘float’ outside the packaging. I’d spend considerable time at the supermarket shaking sealed boxes to see if the tea particles would seep through, and they usually do. Still, I’d manage to get a few ‘clean’ boxes after several attempts. But that wasn’t all I’d needed to contend with.
Whenever I’d put two tea bags—I’d always take two—in my mug and pour in hot water, a few of those minuscule tea particles would break out of the tea bags and float in my brew!
So when shopping recently, I ignored Lipton Tea and impulsively selected Top Tea – an option still unfamiliar to me, which was placed on the same shelf. I then performed my usual ‘test’ by shaking a few boxes. When no tea particles escaped, I immediately bought three packs of this new beverage.
Some days later, I tried Top Tea. After the first tentative sip, I became a fan. The round tea bags were perfectly sealed, ensuring no leakage of tea particles; the taste was rich, and my faith in a high quality locally produced tea was restored. At that moment, while savouring the smooth flavour of Top Tea, I decided I wouldn’t be returning to Lipton for a very long time.
And just like that, my almost-two-decade-long loyalty to Lipton (and by extension, Unilever) ended.
Curious to know what other Nigerians thought about my decision to switch to Top Tea, I posted my experience on LinkedIn and was amazed at the responses. Engagement on the post, which lasted about two weeks before it petered out, garnered 20,282+ views, 140 reactions (‘likes’ etc.) and 120+ comments (including my responses).
Based on my interactions with professionals on LinkedIn, below are two main points brands must note to effectively handle complaints on social media if they want to retain customers.
How to respond to online complaints
1) Be empathetic in your messaging
As the discussion thread continued on LinkedIn, I noticed that no representatives from Unilever responded in over a week. Two junior staff initially contacted me privately and apologised for my unfortunate experience. One wondered if I could kindly take a picture of a defective Lipton Tea box and send it to them. And I thought: Why would I still want to keep the poor Lipton packaging when I was displeased with the product?
Although well-intentioned, I considered the apologies grossly inadequate and out of touch with the experiences of other professionals. I politely told the Unilever staff to advise their executives to comment publicly on the post, given that many Nigerians shared similar negative accounts of Lipton tea.
One lady, responding to my account, posted: “Top Tea has always been…stronger and richer than Lipton. You were really a faithful customer to stay with Lipton for so long“.
Then a gentleman remarked that although the discussion had been ongoing for a week, he was yet to see responses from Unilever.
Eventually, a professional from the quality unit at Unilever responded publicly. Despite apologising for my negative experience with the Lipton Tea bags, his comment was focused mainly on their stringent processes that ensured quality and health benefits. I was unimpressed. For someone who had been loyal to the brand for virtually 20 years, Unilever’s response did little to empathise with my experience or to win me back.
I also resolved never to return to Lipton Tea unless Unilever improved their processes – and even then, I couldn’t be sure I’d switch from Top Tea.
Now, Unilever may have lost me, a once-loyal customer due to a quality problem. But they failed to win me back due to weak communication that
– didn’t seek to empathise with my experience
– didn’t make any moves to compensate me in any way (again, after almost 20 years of sticking with them)
– didn’t state what they’d do to solve the problem
I may be just one disillusioned customer who publicly posted her experiences. But based on the responses posted, others had opted for Top Tea. And those comments would have been seen by Nigerians still deciding whether to brave it out with Lipton Tea or choose another brand.
So, as an international brand, why wouldn’t you take a customer’s complaint on social media seriously – one that has been echoed by others?
2) Focus on finding solutions
This tip is a no-brainer, but I can’t stress it enough.
Despite the sole comment from Unilever on my LinkedIn post that focused on their processes (and I suspect that their legal team vetted the response), no concrete solutions were stated.
My complaint was about the poor packaging, which led to tea particles seeping out of Lipton Tea bags into the boxes, and incredibly, into my mug. Imagine having to endure that problem for years, if you’re a tea lover.
Unilever ended up not addressing the complaint, beyond the general statement that they’d improve their processes. Since there wasn’t a stated line of action, I was unconvinced that the Lipton Tea packaging would be improved.
And I wasn’t going to give it much thought since Top Tea met all the criteria for an enjoyable tea experience.
Conclusion
So, what should brands note about customer loyalty?
It’s simple:
Treat customers like they matter, and act like their voices carry weight.
If you don’t believe that the unfavourable experience of one person is enough for you to revamp your system, then you would lose your fan base, perhaps permanently. Remember that no matter how loyal your customers have been, they would switch to your competitor if you don’t show you care.
Also, never underestimate the power of social media in managing customer relations. If you don’t communicate with empathy and seek solutions to complaints, your reputation will take a hit – losing your coveted market share.
And if nothing else matters to you, this would:
My account is a cautionary tale of how to lose customers by not using effective communication to boost brand loyalty.
Over to you:
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N.B: First and second images are courtesy of Stuart Miles, via freedigitalphotos.net. Third image is courtesy of Gino Crescoli, via Pixabay. Last image is courtesy of Stuart Miles, via freedigitalphotos.net.