SMM: KRYPTONITE CASE ANALYSIS

Aditi Srinivasan
2010110035
as348@snu.edu.in

1. What factors led to the social media explosion of the Kryptonite story?
Chris Brennan, a biking enthusiast had uploaded a video on social media on how a kryptonite
lock can be opened by a bic pen by extremely simple means. This is what led to the social
media explosion

2. Do you agree with Donna Tocci’s claim that the company couldn’t have done
much differently? If so, why? If not, what about its response could have been
improved?
I don't agree with Donna M Tocci's claim as if they had responded faster I feel that there
wouldn't have been much of a backlash. The impact could've been reduced if they had admitted
their mistake and proved to their customers that their new improved lock model would overcome
this issue.
Their way of dealing with the social media followers could've been better.

3. What can Kryptonite do now to prevent customers from getting inaccurate

information about its products?
They can create a separate webpage with a few Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs) and a live
chatbot that can respond to their queries whenever required. Customers should be able to
approach them directly because 'customer satisfaction is what they should aim for in the very
first place.

4. What can other companies learn from this experience in terms of listening
to the community and designing their social media strategy and objectives?
Companies should learn that even a single negative thing posted on social media can ruin their
brand image and create numerous problems for them. That's why they need to realize that
being interactive on social media should not be an option but a priority.
They should increase their response rate and should also improve the way they communicate
with the public because directly or indirectly this is gonna impact the number of complaints
they're gonna receive in the future and their primary goal should be to minimize it.