Even the best companies run into problems with their customers and clients at some point and with so many blogs and forums, it’s highly likely that customer complaints will find their way online.

What do you do when you come across a negative comment about your company online?  For example on a forum or a blog post?  It’s tempting to rush in and deny any accusations of wrong-doing.  Many people think public relations means saying your company is wonderful and perfect and never does anything wrong, but, as the saying goes “nobody’s perfect” and it can cause more damage to take that line…

Is it a reasonable complaint?

Assess the complaint. What is the complaint about?   Is it reasonable?  Can your Customer Support team put the problem right, by replacing damaged goods, or offering a refund?

Is it easy for customers to contact your Customer Support team?  The correct action may be to put the complainant directly in touch with the people that can help them (and do make sure that they can help them, otherwise the complainant will be doubly aggrieved).  In this case, respond to the original comments politely.  Don’t make false promises or confirm/deny the original complaint.  Be sincere

Is the comment libellous?

Libel is a tricky issue, but if the comment is excessively heated (“Don’t use blah.com – they are rip-off merchants!”) it’s probably not worth your while getting into a debate.  It may be worth your while contacting the publisher/webmaster and pointing out the wording.  Most forums have strict policies about such content and will either remove the post, or remind the poster to abide by their T&Cs.

Don’t demand the post to be removed! Again, that could make the reputation problem even worse if you are too heavy-handed.

Is it that big a deal?

If the negative post is appearing prominently on searches for your brand name, this could definitely cause you a problem.  In this case,  the negative post will surely appear on a highly popular forum/blog and replying to the original post may well lengthen the life of the negative comment.

In this scenario, the best action is to “push down” the comments by engaging in a PR campaign that will generate lots of top level results.

If the post is hidden away on the 5th page of results on an obscure forum or blog, it’s probably best not to take any action, other than to learn from any mistakes your company may have made.

Reputation Management tips – get the basics right….

  1. Make sure your customer complaints route is effective and can be easily found
  2. Don’t rush into responding
  3. The customer may not always be right, but they should always be spoken to as if they might be right