Better messaging can’t repair a bad customer experience. Sometimes the smartest marketing move is solving the problem behind the complaints.

They respond to the bad review. They apologize on social media. They ask customer service to smooth things over. If the problem shows up often enough, someone eventually asks what marketing can do to improve the company’s reputation.

That’s often the wrong question. The better question is whether customers are pointing to a real problem. If they are, the most useful thing marketing can do may be to help the company see it.

PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey found that 52% of consumers had stopped using or buying from a brand because of a bad experience with its products or services.

Inside a company, everything has an owner. A late delivery is an operations issue. A software bug belongs to product. An unanswered call might be customer service.

Customers don’t make those distinctions. They experience the company as a whole.

A hotel can promote exceptional service, but guests will remember waiting 20 minutes at an empty front desk. Once customers share experiences like that, they become part of your brand story.

That’s especially important as AI becomes part of how people research companies. An Idea Grove survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers found that only 2% would buy from an unfamiliar brand based on an AI recommendation without additional research. Reviews were the top trust signal respondents evaluated.

AI may change how customers discover you. It doesn’t prevent them from checking whether your claims hold up.

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