Why honesty can be so powerful…

Marketing, Xero,

I make no apologies that, once again, I’m talking about Xero! This time though, it’s not the software that has impressed me, but instead their honesty and openness in responding to customer feedback. Let me explain…

We love the Xero Expenses App, and believe it’s a really good tool that pretty much anyone using Xero should also be using. It’s been a round for a while now, and Xero have recently created and launched a new version.

So far, so normal.

Where the trouble started was that having promoted the original App to customers, when the new version came in, Xero announced that the ‘classic’ version would be withdrawn early next year. Added to that was the fact that, after September this year, there would be a nominal £2.50 charge per user for the new App.

And that’s where the trouble started!

All over social media and in emails to Xero Account Managers, accountants, bookkeepers and business owners told Xero that the decision was unpopular. And that was when Xero stood tall and made what we feel is not only a good decision, but were also entirely honest and open about why they’d done it. There was no attempt to quietly change their decision, or to hide it behind any other justification. Instead, they sent the following email to all users:

It’s a pretty good email, don’t you think?

The lesson here is obvious and one every business owner will come across at some point; what to do when something goes wrong. Why? Because we’re all human and things DO go wrong, regardless of how much we try to make sure they don’t.

When something’s gone wrong, honesty really IS the best policy, and can not only save but reinforce a relationship. Deal with the issue swiftly, be entirely honest and the outcome will be so much better than ignoring it or hoping it will go away.

Once again, a great lesson from Xero. Did we mention we like their software too…?

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