Visible Criticism - Useful Tool or Silent Enemy of the Entrepreneur?
by Startacus Admin
Effectively any web based or tech startup is probably going to end up using a comment section somewhere on their pages, and most businesses today are engaging in social media outlets to further their business and communications. The question then arises, how beneficial are these public 
forums to businesses? If so, can they become toxic and ultimately ruin a business outlet?
Let's take a look.
The first thing to remember; opinions are very different to Lamborghinis; everybody has an opinion. From the most enlightened, experienced and cultured individual to the people who think it’s the funniest thing in the world to spam posts with racist remarks, memes and general content that is in horrible taste, the unfortunate truth of the matter is this, the Internet granted the world an unprecedented freedom of speech. It’s unfortunate that people choose to exercise this freedom despite having nothing of value to add.
(For reference - check out any popular video on YouTube. The Comment sections are some of the funniest (and horrifying) things you may have the misfortune to read).
But ultimately this leads back entirely to a marketing standpoint.
If people on your site see horrible comments and content posted, will they continue to use your service or purchase your product? Probably not.
Another side of the dice (there are more faces to this than a coin, hence the creative dice metaphor), if there isn’t any feedback at all, is that going to inspire customer confidence? Probably not.
This is the part where things get complicated; the balancing act.
One of the best things you can do is to make sure any public discussion of your products has a diverse mix of feedback, all the while making sure that the positive definitively outweighs the negative. Ideally there shouldn’t be negative but let’s face it, there’s no way to please absolutely everyone.
“Why would I leave negative feedback visible?” – Good question! The answer’s simple - to convince people of your customer service. By deleting it just means that you’re a dictator, whereas if you were to calmly address the issue, and promote yourself, you can improve the appearance of your customer service all the while proving to potential customers (who can see your response) that you’re not as bad as any feedback may indicate.
Comments and feedback are just opinion, and someone having a bad day whilst also having had a relatively mediocre experience with your company may absolutely SLAM you in a feedback setting. It’s your marketing and customer service teams’ role to control the damage. That isn’t to say however “Censor all of the bad things! We are the Masters of our craft!” Calm down Adolf. You’re a company run by fallible humans who can make mistakes! People need to be aware of this! People also need to be aware of the fact that you’ve learned from any mistakes and are seeking to build on it and ensure it won’t happen again. Too much of a good thing can be bad for business, showing that your service will only get better and better!
The only thing you need to monitor (and this is a definite NEED) is obscenity and something decimating to your company’s reputation. These are the things your team needs to take very seriously and handle with the utmost professionalism.
Ultimately however, this all comes under your marketing for your brand, This is Your venture and Your policy. It’s only fair that someone warn you before starting up, so you can be ready to deal with any eventualities that will come up from doing business online.
Here at Startacus we believe that you know what you want to do - we’re just throwing our two bits into the mix to help you when it comes to these steps on your startup journey!
Good luck!
For some more unorthodox advice, tips and stories, why not check out these other articles?
Exhibiting at a trade show? Do’s and Don’ts of Promotional Material
Business Cards, 6 simple ways to make the most of them
What Freelancerswish they had known from the Start
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
The inaugural LINEUP tech event, happening in Derry, NI has announced key speakers, sponsors and themes for its 5th March event.
Take advantage of today’s digitised world! Here are 4 reasons digital marketing could work for you and your business.
Research shows that the majority of staff prefer benefits to high monetary compensation. Here are some ideas on how to increase talent retention...
Innovative project launched by UK Proptech startup to reduce workers' commuting and in turn help alleviate pollution and congestion
Startup funding is never easy, however here are a few of the options that can help you fund your startup without going broke in the process
The future and success of Britain’s high streets has been long debated. So, what are the tech trends that could help impact the Highstreet in 2020?
Innovative startups are currently being sought by BMW Group Financial Services UK which has just launched the third instalment of its Innovation Lab
Starting a business can be a lot of hard work, so here's a few ways to avoid burnout and find a healthy work life balance.
The child health app on a mission to become the first nationwide digital redbook, just got a step closer to making their mission a reality...
The Cambridge-based startup that has created an empowering tool to drive the next wave of biological innovation
Published on: 25th November 2014
.png)
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Lineup 2020 announces key speakers, sponsors and themes 27th Jan 2020 The inaugural LINEUP tech event, happening in Derry, NI has announced key speakers, sponsors and themes for its 5th March event.
- Ideation NI Thon at NI Science Festival sets out to solve global issues 17th Jan 2020 At one-day event Ideation NI Thon, students will get the chance to solve global and local sustainability, environmental, city and health problems.
- NI startup ESTHER takes flight to New York 16th Jan 2020 NI startup ESTHER, a peer-2-peer giving platform allowing charitable donors to give money directly to people living in poverty, head to New York for a 4-day fact finding mission.
- 2019 stats show that the gender pay gap continues 14th Jan 2020 Recent research by Starling bank shows that in 2019, women earned up to £12,319 less per year than their male colleagues of the same age and within the same industry
