How to respond to negative feedback online is a hot topic and one that deserves some good dialogue. In fact, just yesterday I weighed in on a discussion on Quora about How to deal with negative reviews and before the holidays, I had a similar discussion on my LinkedIn group.

I’ll be the first person to tell you that I’m very wary about research ‘statistics’, but depending upon the study you read, between 20-30% of Americans post online reviews. And, a vast number of us do online research to influence our buying decisions. And recognize this, the more fluent we become in the social media space and the more powerful we recognize our voices are, the more we will post reviews on the products and services we use. If your business is not currently thinking about to encourage and respond to reviews, you need to start.

Dealing with criticism online is fundamentally the same as dealing with it offline. The key difference is the number of people who may become exposed to this feedback, amplifying the number of people who will be swayed to buy or not buy your products and services. Some things to consider when responding:

• Don’t get angry, defensive or overly contrite – Remove emotion from the equation.
• Acknowledge the feedback, even if you disagree with it – Thank the reviewer for taking the time to provide their feedback. Remember, for all the people who post a negative review, there are far more who never say anything at all.
• Understand their intent – This is critical to understand as it shapes how you respond. Did they write the review to resolve an issue, be heard, provoke a discussion…
• Ensure you understand the full issue – Get the facts. If you need to, ask for more information, details, specifics so you can properly address and resolve their issue.
• Respond accordingly – If you should be apologizing, do it as soon as possible. If you should be expanding or explaining, do so. If the comments are unfounded, explain (in a diplomatic way) why your ‘perspective’ is different.
• Ask for suggestions about how you can resolve the situation – Yes, this is a reoccurring theme throughout my blog. Get people involved and they will have a vested interest in the outcome. Ask them what they would suggest for resolution.
• End with a solution or resolution (a thank you also helps) – Unless it’s flagrant spam, respond and end with an end. What is the ultimate resolution? Will this affect other customers? If so, explain.

Going through this process not only shows other customers that you care about feedback but that you are compelled to use it to improve the experiences for all of your customers.

Also remember that if someone has addressed you online, you need to respond online. However, there may be a point where it is beneficial to take the conversation offline. Examples of this could include that the issue is too complex to address in writing or that you require personal information. I would suggest that if this is done that the resolution be captured online. For example: “Dan, thank you for taking the time to continue this discussion with me offline, where we could better delve into the details of your issue. I’m so happy we were able to resolve your issue by doing X. I appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback.” The best scenario is that this prompts a delighted response from Dan.

You cannot make every customer delighted with you, no matter how incredible your company is. Sometimes it’s a bad fit, sometimes things just go wrong and sometimes there are other issues at play with your customer. But recognize that no matter the reason for discontent, your ideal customer may be listening.