Christian Affiliate Marketers Blog

Practical eCommerce Tip - respond to criticism respectfully

Sep 2, 2008 Tips for Merchants

Respond via comments on blog posts, forums, or consumer review sites. When you find your company is being talked about, don’t be passive, especially if what’s being said is negative in tone. Be respectful and state your case. More than once, I’ve seen critics become advocates simply because their complaints were responded to by a representative in the company.

Paul Chaney Practical eCommerce Contributor

I love this advice because I have been on the wrong side of it so many times as an affiliate manager.   I make  decision based on the information that someone has submitted in their application, some quick research, and a gut feeling, and next thing I know someone sends me back an angry email and flames me on a blog or forum.   Guess what - the decision wasn’t personal… do don’t let your response be.

The same is true with corporate blogs and forums.  When someone takes the time to post negative feedback, they are giving you a chance to address their issues and win a convert over.   It’s the guys who don’t post and just flame you privately that you need to worry more about.   If you get negative feedback on your site or blog here’s what I suggest.

1. Acknowledge -  post a comment and email the person with the issue and let them know you will look into the issue and get back in touch with them in a reasonable time period.  Be positive and thank them for the opportunity to fix the issue.
2. Act quickly - do your research and come up with a proactive response.  Do this as quickly as you can reasonably.   Try to put yourself in their place and come up with a solution that would make you happy in the same situation.
3. Follow through - Get in touch with your critic and apologize if necessary and lay out your solution for them.   If you give them a well thought out solution that would have made you happy in the same situation,  and treat them with kindness, most likely their anger will be defused and they’ll be cool with your solution.   Most likely they will follow up with a post or comment on how proactive you were.

One converted unsatisfied customer or prospect can go a long way - especially if you get that positive feedback after all is resolved for the public to see.

A big part of being a Christian in business is applying our values like kindness and forgiveness to business situations as well as personal ones.   If we keep this in mind, we should be in great shape when “hiccups” occur.

God Bless,

Wade

Tags: handling criticism, handling negative posts, reputation management