EBlog

Don’t fear the comment.

January 24, 2008 | Posted by: Lee

When I talk with clients about adding a social component to their web site in order to tap into customers' thinking, start engaging with them on a more personal and consistent basis, and joining in the conversation, the most common response I get is, "But how do I handle negative comments?  What if everyone just starts complaining?"

It's a good question. One that for everyone who's seriously considering taking the plunge into the "social" world needs to consider.

But the news isn't all bad.  According to respondents to a Bazaarvoice survey:

• 36% of the people who posted reviews on a company's products and services left positive comments every time
• 51% left positive comments most of the time

• 11% split negative and positive comments
• 1% posted negative comments most of the time
• 1 % posted negative comments every time

9 out of 10 respondents said they wrote reviews to help others make better buying decisions.  Almost 80% said they wrote reviews to "reward" the company.  Additionally, comments tend to be less negative when outsiders are posting on a company's site (versus on a 3rd party site).  It seems that most people really want to be useful. 

If you open up your site to comments, you are going to get negative or unflattering comments.  That's a given.  But this study seems to suggest that negative comments won't be the norm.  Plus, your customers are going to talk about you anyway.  Having their comments on your site gives you an opportunity to address issues head on and help shift their perceptions.

For those of you who post comments and reviews on sites, what's your ratio of positive to negative comments?