As business people, we’re all used to reviews, testimonials and are aware of their power when displayed online or in print media.  We proudly display them on our LinkedIn profiles, our website widgets, inside the cover of our books.  However, how should we respond when someone posts a negative comment?

If the reviewer is wrong…

• If the review is factually untrue, and this can be demonstrated, then write to the reviewer and politely ask them to take it down, stating those facts without emotion, blame or threat.
• Prepare yourself for the possibility that they will refuse.
• If they refuse, decide whether to remove the review yourself, or not.  (Beware that many public review and testimonial sites do not offer this facility, and there are many that do not offer you any control over the content at all, or any recourse (such as posting a follow-up comment, or refutation).

If the reviewer has a point…

• If the review is partially or fully true, then write to the review and politely ask them to amend the part that is untrue, or remove the review altogether.  Prepare yourself for the possibility that they will see things differently to you.
• Regardless of the outcome of this request, offer to make a clearly defined restitution (preferably in kind, though not financial) to the reviewer, by way of an apology for their bad experience of your organisation. Some organisations publicise this restitution, for PR purposes.
• NEVER make the mistake of offering restitution on condition that the review is removed.  This will only make things worse, and damage your reputation further.  Restitution should make the customer happy, and be of no immediate benefit to you whatsoever.  (We all know that this will benefit us in the long term though.)
• Statistics show that complainants whose complaint is resolved quickly will most often remain with a supplier, and may become advocates.

If the reviewer makes a personal attack…

Online

• This type of behaviour can only serve to condemn the writer.  There is one correct way to communicate when making a criticism: truthfully, briefly and factually.  Resorting to personal attacks is the way of the emotional abuser, a person who is lacking in self-esteem.  And, it is lazy.
• Remove the review immediately, if possible.  (This is especially important if someone uses your website to attack another person.  Avoid being viewed as someone who allows personal attacks on your sites and profiles.) If it is not possible to remove the review, respond quickly, asking for constructive feedback in order to deal with the issue.  This places you in the stronger, positive, assertive, proactive position.
• If you receive constructive feedback, follow-up quickly with a thank-you and a brief outline of what you have done to improve things.
• Avoid carrying on a slanging match online.  It makes everyone look stupid.

Offline

• Tell them what they’ve done. Keep it factual.
• Tell them how it makes you feel.  Keep it short.
• Tell them what you’d like them to do instead.  E.g. replace the personal attack with some useful suggestions on what the problem really is, and how it can be resolved.
• Tell them what the consequences will be if they don’t do as you ask.  E.g. you won’t begin to work on improving something, if you only receive a vague personal attack.  Make sure you carry through with the consequences.  That may be, for example, to avoid association with that person, as personal attacks are designed only to harm, not help.

I hope these simple strategies help you to understand what happens when someone reviews your product or service.  And, that you never have to use them.  ;)

Image credit: lavverue.

Comment below on how you have dealt with negative reviews or testimonials on and offline.  I’d love to hear your thoughts, and whether you have tried the suggestions above.

The advice below is geared at professional users, not anyone else.  You are trying to lose friends and alienate people on Facebook aren’t you? That’s what you’re trying to do isn’t it?

1. Spend your time on Farmville and other games and make sure everything you do there is updated to your Profile, so everyone knows just exactly what stage you and their other 200 friends have got to in the game.  Do this with every game.
2. Like every Group that people recommend whether it’s relevant or complimentary to your business or not, including things like I’d like to see things from your point of view but I can’t seem to get my head that far up my ass.  This makes you look engaging, as you’re interacting with others.  ;P
3. Connect with everyone that sends you a Friend recommendation.  It doesn’t matter whether you know them, or have any connection to them or not.  The more friends the better.  Numbers are everything.  (You’re the type who throws your business cards around like confetti, right?)
4. Don’t be selective; post every Twitter and LinkedIn update to your Facebook Profile and Page.  That way, you wear people down by the sheer force of repetition, and you know, the more times people see your face and logo on Facebook (and other social networking profiles), the more likely they are to click into your website and buy multiple products.
5. Don’t bother with adding your email address or telephone number on your Profile or Page.  If people really want to learn more about your service, they will figure it out.  Everything’s available on Google, innit?
6. Share all photos of you and your friends and family.  The more photos in your albums, the better.  And, the more you show of your personality, the better.  Getting drunk and falling out of your top shows character, “ladies”!
7. Send people Friend suggestions over and over again, for new people you want to help on Facebook, even though no-one is interested.  This is a charitable activity, and the newbies will love you.
8. Ignore the growing numbers of people hiding your Facebook stream.  It’s their loss.
9. Give other people advice on how to use Facebook, but don’t do any of this yourself.  People know that you know what to do and how to engage with followers, it’s not necessary to model this behaviour.  You shouldn’t have to prove yourself.
10. If people disagree with you on Facebook, or post a negative comment on your Page, delete them.  There’s no room for differences of opinion or other viewpoints, it creates a bad impression of your business.
11. Randomly follow people, then engage them in 2 hour Facebook Chat conversations.  When they politely try to leave the conversation, ask another question.  Or, better, make a random creepy flattering comment about their appearance.  They’re sure to stay on and talk longer.

Allen and I are huge followers of the right to express sarcasm at any given opportunity, and we are fully aware that it is the “lowest form of wit”, so we’d love to hear your crucial suggestions for how to lose friends and alienate people on Facebook.

Literally.  Thinkers throughout history have tried to draw a link between the structure of the mind and the structure of the world. Why? If there is no link, then we can’t prove that what goes on in our heads bears any resemblance to how things really are out there.

A contemporary example of this is Tony Buzan’s concept of radiant thinking. Radiant thinking is the idea that our thoughts can branch out from a central concept in dozens of directions, emulating patterns found in nature. This is the basis of his famous ‘mind map’ technique. Many don’t realize that Buzan claims mind maps are not just a useful learning devise; according to him, they work because they reflect the structure of reality.

More recently, scientists have found that the brain works more like the internet than ‘top down’ company. The traditional view of the brain was that there were higher and lower functions that former a hierarchy. The higher functions acted like a boss giving direct orders to individual lower functions from a position of central authority.

Now findings indicate that there are “loops between differing regions, feeding back to and directly linking regions that were not known to communicate with one another. This is a better fit with the model of vast networks such as the internet.” It seems our brains work in loops, not lines!

It interests me that this research is the analogy between brains and business structures. I’ve blogged before about how the new view of business relationships – both between and within organisations – is one of networks over hierarchy. Now neuroscience follows suit. Which came first? Likewise, with the parallel between a brain and a computer network. Did the technology cause the analogy, or is it an effect of it?

Anyway, if you want to find out more about this topic, read ‘Hypothesis-driven structural connectivity analysis supports network over hierarchical model of brain architecture’. Or speak to Dawn about the practical benefits of social media and business networking.

On second thoughts, just speak to Dawn.

Image credit: Marc_Smith.