Comments on: How Negative Comments Can Be Great for Business http://www.soutterandcaolo.com/featured/dealing-with-negative-comments/ Helping small businesses establish a thriving web presence through social media and blogging Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:15:30 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Elizabeth Soutter http://www.soutterandcaolo.com/featured/dealing-with-negative-comments/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Elizabeth Soutter Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:33:35 +0000 http://www.soutterandcaolo.com/?p=319#comment-22 Analisa -- that's a great point. The issue here is customer relations. If you have a good relationship with your customers -- a good product -- than you have nothing to fear from a broader communication. You just keep doing what you're doing and dealing with the natural blips on the screen the way you do. You apologize when you're wrong, you work to make it right, you take advantage of every opportunity to prove how good you are. I think there are very few people who will just comment negatively out of spite. Most people are interested in solving the problem and that's good for business. Analisa — that’s a great point. The issue here is customer relations. If you have a good relationship with your customers — a good product — than you have nothing to fear from a broader communication. You just keep doing what you’re doing and dealing with the natural blips on the screen the way you do. You apologize when you’re wrong, you work to make it right, you take advantage of every opportunity to prove how good you are.

I think there are very few people who will just comment negatively out of spite. Most people are interested in solving the problem and that’s good for business.

]]> By: Analisa http://www.soutterandcaolo.com/featured/dealing-with-negative-comments/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Analisa Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:41:41 +0000 http://www.soutterandcaolo.com/?p=319#comment-21 Great points you make here! I just spoke to a group of businessmen and women who greatly fear opening the door to criticism online. They called social media an "electronic picket sign". It sounded like they have a horrible relationship with their consumers! It was hard to explain to them that the root of the issue is really that they don't properly deal with negative criticism to begin with, in person, not just online. But I suggested that simply showing they care by giving consumers a place online to vent would make them look much better than ignoring the situation. I also wrote about this concept on the HyperArts blog: http://www.hyperarts.com/blog/social-media-business-negative-feedback/ Thanks! Great points you make here!
I just spoke to a group of businessmen and women who greatly fear opening the door to criticism online. They called social media an “electronic picket sign”. It sounded like they have a horrible relationship with their consumers! It was hard to explain to them that the root of the issue is really that they don’t properly deal with negative criticism to begin with, in person, not just online.
But I suggested that simply showing they care by giving consumers a place online to vent would make them look much better than ignoring the situation.
I also wrote about this concept on the HyperArts blog:
http://www.hyperarts.com/blog/social-media-business-negative-feedback/

Thanks!

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