After writing my post “Socialites prosper as the aloof fail” I came across Dr. Peter J. Meyers, a usability expert who wrote an article, When Is Usability Bad for Business? Part of his post related to what I had written on business transparency. I made the argument that businesses should be completely transparent and offer a complete social media experience in order to get down to grass roots with their readership and allow comments and postings from them. I had said that whether the comments were positive or negative feedback, a constructive twist could be applied by ensuring the business took on board problem areas and put them right hence improving business to peer relationships.
Dr. Pete had mentioned some barriers that were being thrown up by small companies in opposition of user feedback. With my view that negative can be constructive and spun to a positive, I decided to leave Dr. Pete a comment on my thoughts. We discussed on his blog site and through email and as this post is an offshoot of my previous post which used a dialogue script to open up, I thought this part would be quite fitting of a dialogue too rather than getting into an I said… Dr. Pete said… vocabulary.
Dr Pete (Within Post):
An offshoot of transparency: more and more customers expect to see product reviews and the opinions of other customers. I’ve encountered many small companies who were afraid to add these features and hear what their customers had to say. What if, to put it bluntly, your products suck?
DigiKev (Comment):
Pete, I have just written a post which picks up on some of the topics you have raised here, namely clients fears of embracing social media. In my opinion we need to talk clients around to the fact that all feedback is good even if customers are saying the product/service sucks. Conversing with customers and finding out the problems they have with the product/service and making corrections from this feedback is going to raise the clients profile, show that they care for their public and want to improve services. It may be a knock back in the short-term but put a good spin on it and the bigger picture looks brighter.
Dr Pete (Comment reply):
It’s a difficult balance; on the one hand, I think transparency is good for most companies, and listening to customers is essential. On the other hand, I think clients are right to be hesitant. Social media has taken on a certain mob mentality at times, especially for large brands. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates can’t sneeze without an army attacking or defending them online, and it’s understandable if that atmosphere creates some defensiveness among clients.
Dr Pete (Via Email):
Thanks for stopping by User Effect and commenting. I liked your post: I think you’re right about the hesitation of companies, especially those with established brands. If always felt companies were too concerned about competition, but I’ve definitely learned that that’s an area where we need to tread lightly.
DigiKev (Email reply):
I am pleased to hear you read my post and took something from it. You have got me thinking a lot more on the topic and perhaps I need to climb down from that ivory tower you mentioned as some of my thoughts are perhaps too idealistic of a perfect proponent for social internet in business use. I think it goes without saying that ignoring social media completely isn’t going to be detrimental; there are plenty of thriving businesses online making no use of this capacity. However I still believe that community based and comment enabled websites will have the edge over competitors that do not. Negative and constructive feedback I do believe can be given a positive twist and will develop brand awareness and loyalty. Now this is where I have added new thoughts off the back of what you have mentioned: Perhaps the user experience of business based communities and comment culture needs some rules set in place to protect businesses from, not the negative feedback, but the real black pr like seen written by the Microsoft/Apple haters. I am not entirely sure yet how this will be set in motion, we can’t suggest censoring comments as this will explode into further negative feedback; maybe it will be necessary for the user interfaces to be adapted to either discourage or disallow such activities. Something to ponder over further…
You’re right, this is definitely an area we need to tread lightly in and our clients need to be made aware of the graces and pitfalls user input can bring.
Dr Pete (Email reply):
I am not entirely sure yet how this will be set in motion, we can’t suggest censoring comments as this will explode into further negative feedback; maybe it will be necessary for the user interfaces to be adapted to either discourage or disallow such activities. Something to ponder over further…
I think this kind of thoughtful consideration is all we can really do. The online world is changing, and the impact of the internet in our lives and culture is just beginning to be felt, so we have to adapt as we go. I think you’re right in steering your clients toward social media and gradually more transparency, and that the trick is just to empathise with their concerns and keep your eyes open. Hiding our heads in the sand won’t help anyone.
So by having this discussion with Dr. Pete and thinking a bit more deeply about the very negative side that could possibly occur I have had a bit of a change of tact towards website visitor feedback. It is a tough one to judge as in my honest opinion the social internet really is a must for businesses. As the website is what it is, a social media environment, then the business running that milieu should be wholeheartedly involved in what is occurring in the website. Without fault. If not and the community is not getting answers or negative feedback is taking place then of course it will be to the downfall of the company. The whole point is to converse and engage with visitors. With all that said there may well be situations where a product or service just isn’t up to the job and negativity becomes rife. In most cases it will show that some serious rethinking needs to be done behind the scenes, in others it will most likely be to push clear of social internet or at the very least make it limited.