Many businesses are scared of social media because they fear their product of services might be criticised publicly.

Let me assure you that the criticism will still happen if you’re not there.You just won’t be around to do anything about it.

The best way to quash fear is to dismantle it into manageable chunks. Let’s assume that your product or service is criticised online.  You can have a contingency plan on how to react. Here are some suggestions:

Preemptive apology: 

If you know you’ve made a mistake but no one else has noticed it yet, you can soften any future criticism by apologising in advance. Whatever you do, don’t put your head in the sand. When Kryptonite’s bike locks were heavily criticised online, the company took a week to respond!  By then news organisation CNN was already reporting it. (1)

Full apology:

If you’re sure you’re in the wrong then please make a full public apology quickly and offer a full refund and/or something extra to those affected.

Non-apology:

Don’t go apologising every time someone criticises your business. If you’re not sure whether some criticism is fair let your audience know immediately that you’re aware of the comment and are looking into it. 

After the apology:

Once all apologies have been dished out you can ask for feedback from your audience.  Ask them if they thought you reacted promptly and effectively. Also, invite them to make any further suggestions on improving your market/services. They then get to engage with your business and you get market research for free!

I’m not advocating that you bow to every whim of your customers.  After all, you can’t please everyone. However, the way to triumph online is to develop trust amongst your followers.  With mass production, overseas call-centres and faceless corporations, customers really have time for you if you treat them like the distinct person that each of them is.

Good luck!