How Businesses Can Deal With Negative Feedback?

negative feedback

Negative feedback is something that usually exists for every business or entrepreneur. We cannot expect each business to be perfect for everyone in the world. Large and successful companies also make a mistake and usually receive some response that isn’t positive.

Therefore, it is normal to have negative feedback from customers, users, clients, prospects, etc.

However, what is important is how an entrepreneur or business as an organizational system can deal with this type of feedback.

This article was provoked by Google and the problems concerning privacy with their social media – Google Buzz.

Namely, Google launched Google Buzz on February 9th this year, and as of February 10th, around the world, most of the content was written about this hole in the privacy of Google Buzz. On the other hand, Google’s goal is clear, over 170 million users of Gmail automatically become Buzz users, versus 75 million on Twitter.

The purpose of this article is to provide feedback from the users.

The company’s feedback immediately after the startup process is harmful but negative in a positive sense. In a positive sense because the company found a real problem that must solve. On the other hand, the feedback is not always positive for the company, but sometimes it can be harmful.

Three Types of Negative Feedback

I tried to summarize this type of feedback from what I have experienced in three basic types:

  • There is a problem that requires a solution.
  • It’s only the customer’s opinion.
  • They want to do damage.

Negative Feedback #1: Existence of Real Problem

When there is a real problem, negative feedback, in many cases, is a well-intentioned or constructive one. This feedback reveals the problems and seeks solutions to problems. Encouraging such types of answers is necessary.

Negative Feedback #2: Personal Views or Opinions

We all have our views or opinion about something. Our opinion about something can sometimes be negative. While with the first type of negative feedback – the real problem, we had proof that there is a problem. With this kind of feedback, we have no evidence at all but simply a subjective view or opinion of individuals.

Negative Feedback #3: Damages

As third negative feedback is so-called “damages.” These people nor find any problem and nor have any position or opinion of what they want. These persons only want to damage you with negative feedback. These people get energy when they damage someone, or they are paid (perhaps from the competition) to disseminate this type of feedback or anything else that does some damage to the entrepreneur or the business.

How Can Entrepreneurs Deal With Such a Feedback?

Now we know that there will always be negative feedback, and the first piece of advice for entrepreneurs is that there is nothing personal. We also know that there are three types of feedback. So the next things that you need to make as an entrepreneur is:

  • To establish a system for monitoring feedback from potential and current customers.
  • To respond to every feedback regardless of whether it is positive or negative.

Dealing with negative feedback means responding to it. When do we know which feedback of which type is? You can develop the answers quickly. Here’s how the answers will look for you:

  • Problem – Problem-solving must be implemented as soon as possible and informing that the problem was solved and the solution implemented.
  • Personal views or opinions – Entrepreneurs must try to change that view or opinion with clear evidence about the matter’s subject.
  • Damage – Entrepreneurs must give a cultural response and try to change that type of behavior.