It can be a real bummer when you read an online post that slams your brand. One of the first reactions is typically a defensive one - 'how dare he said that about me?'..'that is completely false, don't they know we just fixed that bug?' and so on. Since hundreds if not tens of thousands of people can read and jump onto that conversation, it's important to take action. So what should you do?
- Take a deep breath and do not hastily respond out of anger or defensiveness. Due to the nature of the web, people use language and tone that may really overstate their real emotions.
- But, do respond. A 'non response' can appear as an implicit admission of guilt and lack of a customer-centric brand.
- Act quickly, bad news travels fast.
- If necessary, circulate the negative news to appropriate people on your team, and get their feedback. Has customer support already talked with this person? Is product development aware of this issue? Does your PR team need to be aware?
- Once you have the full picture, respond to the comment online. Use full disclosure here, no cloaking. State who you are, your relationship with the company and a concise, candid response to the situation. Letting people know you are actually listening to them, and that there feedback is important to you is a very powerful thing!
- Make sure the response comes from the responsible person, not some support function.
- Don't be sales-y in your response and don't make tons of excuses.
- Post your entry on your own blog as well, telling your side of the story.
- Keep an eye on the blog to see if your comment was posted. If not, try contacting the blogger to see if they saw your response. Although you can't control whether or not the blogger will post 'your side of the story' It's important to get it published.
A couple notes:
- If the comment is particularly nasty, you may want to contact the person before submitting a comment in order to get more context into the issue, and the personality of the consumer.
- We've seen very reputation-damaging posts get diffused quickly by taking the actions above. We have also had several clients tell us that posting a timely, honest response can really help turn a frustrated customer around to a brand promoter!
- A side benefit of responding is due to the sequential nature of most blogs and forums. Newer content is placed above older (negative) content which other people will then see first. Your newer content will also come up higher is search engine results!
- Approaching bloggers on their own terms through comments and posts on your blog create a conversation where the issues can be discussed and explored in the open.
- We usually learn more from criticism than praise:)
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