In our last post, ‘”Are You Managing Your Online Reputation?”, we talked about needing to monitor and actively protect your online reputation . Each company needs to create an online reputation management protocol . This protocol is in place and ready to use when a negative response occurs and everyone in your company needs to be aware of it if they have the potential to react.
The first criteria needs to be : do not have a knee jerk reaction. Above all remember you are in a social arena .Just as students gather in the school yard to watch a fight, people will watch to see who wins an online confrontation. You have to take the high road. There is a good chance you have already lost the customer with a complaint but other clients and potential clients are watching or waiting to see how you react. There are a few possible way to handle the situation.
How Can You Handle Negative Online Comments?
- Adopt a wait and see attitude. The remark may go unnoticed.
- Try to draw the negative person offline by offering to talk via email or telephone.
- Take the high road , acknowledge their response and offer a solution or an apology, especially if the point seems valid.
- Whatever you do, do not give them more ammunition with your own negative comments openly.
The single best way for negative comments to be handled is by your own “community evangelist”. These are not the people you ask to come to your rescue or that anonymously swoosh down from the sky like super heroes. These are the people you have taken the time to interact with and build an online relationship with. The best way anyone can expect to keep community relationships thriving is to be involved and create experiences that validate and affirm the community members. Offer support and information freely, be part of the community not just a spectator and don’t be the guy that is always trying to sell something. Then when someone brings a negative comment your ” evangelist” can sing your praises because they know you as the person who brings value to their community. They can back you up and defuse the situation without you ever having to get involved because they know you, even if it is only online. That is the ideal and what we all should strive toward. Do you have a reaction protocol in place and are you cultivating your online “community evangelist”?
photo credit Frederico Melo
