Critics have always played an important role in the society by being the other side of the coin. They not only provide valuable information to consumers but more importantly keep creating ass-kicked situations for the companies! So far disgruntled bosses could take it out on their employees alone. But Yelp recently announced corporation – consumer cat fights are soon to be in effect with the introduction of reputation management! Well, jokes apart, this facility will provide a platform for healthy interaction between enterprises and the consumers (let’s hope it’s healthy!). Customer complaints, genuine or exaggerated, healthy or pointing fingers, will get an opportunity to be addressed, responded or refuted, whatever the case may be. Reputation management is not merely managing the company’s reputation as the name should suggest. It consists of damage control, service improvement through feedback and refuting allegations.
Firstly, not all negative criticisms are to be met with an uproar. In fact most maybe, to your dismay, be authentic ones and require looking into. Remember you are human and capable of mistakes. Don’t just dwell on counter striking every time to protect yourself. Give the critic benefit of doubt and check your premises. If you have really messed up, it is important that you acknowledge it to avoid any future occurrence and uphold your corporation’s positive image in the market. In some situations, there maybe a gross misunderstanding on the part of the customer. Keep a clear head and point out to the customer that he is mistaken. He could have misinterpreted some offer of yours or perhaps mistook you for some other enterprise. Keep in mind that it is very essential that you do not piss off the consumer with a condescending or infuriated tone. As the plus point you can add to your score with this favorable fix can be nullified if you have screwed up people skills!
Some issues are just meant to be ignored. If you find invalid criticisms or someone making gross allegations at you, see whether it is significant enough or should it be tackled by a deaf ear. Analyze the ramifications of engaging them. As it could turn out that if you lend a listening ear to every bark and get yourself into an argument over it, you may just be stepping into a marshy territory. Take home message here: avoid flaring up your scoreboard with your own ammunition and extinguish small sparks before they are born. Not every fight is yours. And even if it is, it is not always worth fighting. Another area worthy of your neglect is venting-out criticism. Some bloke probably got told off by his boss and now he wants to tell you off! Ignore it if it does not significantly batter your image. And of course the other good feedbacks can shadow the few nasty ones. It is understandable that you want to label every villainous critic as the bad and ugly. But allow yourself to have a broad minded approach as third party opinion can provide valuable insights. Your first instinct would be to discard all the comments from those you branded as biased trolls. But it will be advantageous to see the issue in concern from all sides possible.
Now that it has been illustrated the kind of sticky situations you could manage to get yourself into, let us see how to tackle them. The mantra you should follow for effective reputation management is sugar coating your replies. Your first step would be offering a listening ear. The customer is likely to cry out louder and create a big mess for you if he thinks he goes unheard. Make sure he knows he isn’t. Honesty, they say, is the best policy. And so is it in the realm of reputation management. If you find a screw up from your side, a sincere apology, acknowledgement of your fault and rectification will avoid future trouble with the consumer. Avoid using technical terms while you communicate because it will only worsen the situation as the layman will not understand you. And in case the other party hollers then it is not, I repeat, not a cue for you to holler back! Be the mature and wise one and handle the problem head on but with a cool head. Keep the staff which needs training in anger management 50 feet away from the reputation management department!
