You’ve probably heard that Intel was attacked by activists opposed to minerals mining in the Congo, that Nestlé was attacked for using palm oil from companies that where trashing Indonesian rainforests, that Shell was attacked by human rights group Amnesty International  for their activities in the Niger Delta. Or, more recently, that BP was attacked on Facebook by a boycott movement called “Boycott BP,” urging a worldwide boycott of all BP brands and services.

Even if your business chooses not to engage in the online conversation, people are talking about your products and services whether you like it or not. Surely it’s far better to acknowledge the presence of these conversations rather than ignoring them to the potential detriment of your business, especially given that any business would be adequately prepared to enter the world of social media without fear with the right social media strategynand social media policy in place.

In fact, brands who take on board the criticisms they hear on Facebook, Twitter or through social media monitoring, and then try to improve on them, will be the ones who continue to grow and prosper. Every single piece of information that is picked up online, be it good or bad, is a valuable learning.

A good example of a brand that has the ability to embrace criticism as well as praise is Domino’s pizza. Instead of cowering in shame or responding angrily to negative online reviews and comments about their products, Dominos pizza met the criticism head on -  “Oh yes we did – The Pizza Turnaround“. They made a documentary describing the extent of their problems and the efforts they were making to improve their products and services. They posted the documentary on YouTube:

What’s refreshing about this reaction is that it’s completely transparent and wholly honest. Dominos acknowledged the shortcomings their customers highlighted and made every effort to address the issues.

Even more intelligent is the fact that Dominos clearly thought about their long-term business strategy rather than the immediate need to quell any negative comments. They openly addressed the issues that their customers were complaining about so that these same people would  spread word of their proactive response via the same fast-spreading medium. In other words, if you act on negative comments and turn them into positive experiences then the people who you’ve listened to are likely to become your biggest advocates and will start doing your marketing work on your behalf.

Does your company care enough about its customers to rebuild a bad product from scratch?

Make sure to read:

• How does Audi turned to social media for ideas
• Is social networks key to improved customer relations and product development

Short URL & Title:
The ability to embrace criticism on social media — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/uxr

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