How Internet Marketers Should Address Criticism

There is no such thing as a company that is globally loved and adored. This is true both on the internet and off of it. It does not matter how good your organization is, you’re always going to have to deal with naysayers. It is actually what you do when you find that criticism that is crucial. As an online based business owner you don’t have any face to face discussion to help contradict bad text about you so this is especially true. So here’s what you need to do.

Answer any criticism you see quickly. This is extremely vital. You should not just let a poor review sit somewhere and not answer it. If you see the critique in a public forum, answer back through the same thread and thank the person for her or his thoughts. Write out you are checking out things and then ask the person for permission to continue talking about the matter in private. It will convince others that your top priority is the development of the best possible product…and that you do not react poorly when a person criticizes you. This can help encourage respect from other individuals.

Actually spend time looking into whether or not a complaint is about something that actually needs to be remedied. Everybody knows how to tell trolls and genuine feedback apart. You don’t need to react to “you suck.” It’s important, though, to have a look at things such as “the format is wonky” or “there is a 404 page where the about page needs to be.” Have a look at everything and if something does indeed need to be changed or fixed, alter or fix it. This proves to others you are paying attention and will act when action is necessary.

Any response you give needs to be personalized. If you decide to make a change based on something somebody has said, tell the person you’re taking what they said to heart and are making things better. You may also post things like this openly in message boards. It indicates that you don’t have an anger response if you are criticized. It shows that you work hard to give people what they need. This is a good idea even if you do not make a change that a person asks for. Inform them that you checked things out but made the decision not to take action. Be sure to explain why this is.

Reputation management is the name of the game when you react to criticism; remember that. If you simply criticize someone for criticizing you, you look foolish. If you dismiss criticism and simply keep insisting that everything is okay, you’ll look like you do not know your business effectively. Keep your ego on a leash. In most cases, the criticism isn’t meant to be about you personally. They basically had a less than great experience with your product. You must make your product better so they won’t have the same experience later on.

The way you take criticism says a lot both about you and your business. Keep positive with it as well as you are able to!

Tags: criticism, Internet, marketing, Online