Will Keurig will win big this Christmas?

Recently, social media has been awash with a handful of shared blog entries with people vowing to give up their Keurig and go back to the big pot. Nobody, to date, is talking about giving up coffee altogether – perish the thought!

But Jonah Engler, an avid coffee drinker says this latest social media share fad is nothing but momentary false insight. All the market indicators say Keurig is poised to win big this holiday season … as long as they don’t overreact to this inconvenient blip and make it bigger than it has any right to be.

According to Keurig estimates, 20 million US households already use their brewers. Now, the latest model – Keurig 2.0 – is poised to take the market by storm. Even with all this evidence, things could still go bad for Keurig if they mishandle the social media post issue. Right now it’s a relatively small social media PR issue. But, arguing against it too much simply lends credence to the emotional need to “click and join” that is prompting all the anti-Keurig shares.

This is one of those times in which a dedicated fan base can be huge for brand PR. There are a ton of people out there who love their Keurig. It’s time for the company to leverage that benefit. They need to get their legion of fans active in promoting their product. Effectively handled, that would drown out the negative posts without the company ever getting involved. The key word, of course, is “effectively.” If they try to get cute or clumsy, it will just make matters worse.

Remember, fans are both a brand’s greatest resource and its most delicate resource. Treat them well and win big. Exploit them and be prepared to watch a small PR molehill turn into a full-blown marketing crisis. Conversely, if they capitalize on the gift-giving season by focusing on what people love about their products they can expect to brew up another choice Q4.