A very common concern for midsize businesses as they get deeper into social media and other community building programs is negative comments.
What if people say: “You guys suck!” “Your product is sh*t.” #your_name_here_fail.
Unhappy customers, competitors, and lurking trolls lie in wait to trash your good name and destroy your hard earned reputation. Well, that’s the fear many company executives have, and they are not entirely wrong. However, the choice to shutter or never start social media programs has far greater destructive repercussions to their reputation, and is a squandered opportunity.
Dan Ziman hears these concerns a lot from businesses just getting their toes wet in the digital and social waters. His message is you have nothing to fear but fear itself…to coin a phrase.
Click to Tweet This Post: ★ Midsize Businesses Must Listen To Negative Comments ★
I asked him what companies need to grasp to align their content to close more business. Here is what he had to say.
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Interviewed
Dan Ziman
VP, Corporate Marketing, Lithium Technologies
Dan’s Blog
@lostintheflog
This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.
About Steve Farnsworth @Steveology
Social media, communications, and content marketing. Strategy and implementation that generate leads, builds customer loyalty and word-of-mouth buzz. Contact 650-331-0594 to see how you can increase your market position and sales.
Zoe Alexander
May 14, 2012
Some excellent advice! It always pays to listen to a complaint and get to the bottom of what is causing it. As stated, often it is someone who actually cares about your brand but just needs to have their comments taken on board. Work with them and they will in most cases strongly advocate you and your brand as one that listened and took action, and therefore is worth following!
Gabriel Carrejo (@GabrielCarrejo)
January 23, 2013
It’s funny. We started responding as quickly as possible to any and all complaints. I thought it was going to open up flood of more, thinking that people would see a pulse and start to really pile on. Instead, it seems the trolls (like cockroaches) scurried away when we turned the lights on. And best of all we have customers who have literally said, “it’s nice to know there are real people here” helping us. I’ll keep you posted as we get more data.
Steve Farnsworth A.K.A. @Steveology
January 29, 2013
Great illustration, Gabe! It is so true that good customer service pays off in dividends.
Brandon Riley (@ExposeYourParts)
March 13, 2013
Great advice to share with clients of mine that are hesitant to engage their customers via social media. Thanks!
Steve Farnsworth A.K.A. @Steveology
March 15, 2013
Let me know how that goes!