I don’t know where you got this advice from. But my experience has been completely the opposite.

A few months ago, a young blogger with a strong following made inaccurate statements about our company.

I commented, apologizing and saying I would look into it.

It was like letting a drop of blood into a Piranha tank. The shit-talking got MUCH worse. Everyone jumped on-board because they knew they would get a reaction from our company.

Looking back on this now, I would’ve left that comment alone and everything would’ve been fine.

I know of one podcast in particular that deliberately slanders companies just so they can publish the private emails they receive for comedic value.

The simple fact about blogging is that picking and escalating fights with people is the easiest possible way to generate controversy and traffic.

If Jim Cramer had ignored John Stewart instead of walking into his kangaroo court, he might still have a career.

Rohit Bhargava, 360 Digital InfluenceHow to Manage a Blog Crisis Like a Pro One of the most important parts of successful word of mouth marketing is dealing with those who say unflattering things. Rohit does an excellent job here of…

And of course approach respectfully. Be prepared to take criticism. Listen

@Mike - You are totally right about converting negative experiences into positive ones and apologizing in the situation you outlined is definitely the right response. There are lots of other negative “blog crisis” types of situations though … such as a blogger leaking news about your company, or accusing you of some wrongdoing. There are also lots of situations where a blogger may write about your company but is not necessarily a customer, which creates a different requirement for communicating with them (more as media than as a customer, I would argue). The tough thing about writing a post like this is that it offers a framework without trying to assign a one-size-fits-all solution.

You’ve called this a “blog crisis” however I cant help thinking that the term doesnt give full weight to what may be occurring.

If these negative posts are about your Company, isn’t it instead, a Brand Crisis?

Although the comments may be on a blog they could certainly spread like wildfire outside that domain if not managed well.

As you say there could be many reasons for a negative post however what I’m finding more and more is that the reason people are becoming more vocal online is because they are not getting the apology they perceive as being required.

I would like to talk about a scenario where the company has messed up, and lets face it, people and technology are not infallible, problems do occur.

In instances where the Company has screwed up an apology goes a long way to diffusing the situation before it ever becomes one.

With regard to what an apology is, there are some pretty poor attempts at apologies out there these days, “I apologise” and “I regret” do not, in my opinion carry the same meaning as actually saying “I’m sorry”.

Here is my short list as to what a Company needs to do when they have messed up.

Only 3 things that any Company needs to do:

1. Say “I’m sorry” directly to the customer in the opening sentence.
2. Say why/how they screwed up.
3. Say what they are going to do to put it right or ask you what you would like to put it right.

And that’s it….

Often the most vocal opponents of your Company can be turned around and they become some of the most fervent supporters.

Mike Ashworth
Marketing Coach and Consultant
Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, UK