When to Duck and When to Punch

Research has found out that a high number of customers regard online reviews as a credible source of information for any company. People would first go to find out what others are saying about your products or services and how you respond to opinions, suggestions and criticisms before making a buying decision.

Many business owners feel offended and hurt when they get reviews or opinions that portray then in a bad light, they might feel the customer doesn’t have enough information to make such an assumption or that any problem their product or services caused is as a result of customer error. This might be true, but we need to remember that negative reviews can have a huge impact on our businesses; therefore as business owners, we knew to know when to duck, and when to throw a punch.

Even if you don’t agree with the person’s opinion, try to understand their point of view. Some of the problems they encounter might actually be problems you had no control over for instance; your website went down for a short time while someone was trying to carry out a purchase. You definitely didn’t cause the incident, but neither did the customer and the customers have every right to expect your website to remain live while he or she is carrying out their purchase. If you want to throw a punch, throw it at your service provider, but you have to respond positively and publicly to the upset customer. It wouldn’t look good for people to think that your website normally goes off just after they type in their credit card details. You have to respond in such a way, that the upset customer will be happy to report on that same page that you took care of the issue and made them Happy.

Some reviews are made by people who are known to be a frequent complainer or who through their language is clearly irrational. Ducking at this point can be a wise decision. Some negative comments are not just worth the strength of thinking or responding to them. If you enter into a dialog with someone who is irrational, you will find out that the person has no end of complaints and insights to offer. It is important though, to respond to legitimate issues and concerns, criticisms by customers who review frequently or reviews on popular websites like Facebook and yelp.

If a comment was made on a public website and you believe that the comment was intentionally malicious or was made by a competitor to put your business down, you can ask the owners to take it down, although they might not be too willing or they might be slow to do so.

Making use of reputation professionals can relieve you of the burden of choosing when to duck or punch.

Deciding to manage your online reputation can be a herculean task. It takes a lot of patience and hard work to keep up with the myriad of comments and criticism without losing your cool. But of you have the time and temperament, then by all means go ahead, only remember at the end, it’s only when you give your customers a reason to smile, that they will have a reason to make you smile.

About the author

Hello I am James I am a business man, journalist and social media expert from SocialQ.co.uk. I am very approachable and love to share good quality content. Always looking to explore new opportunities and help where he can.

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