424. Online Reputation Management › how it works › step 3: managing – dealing with opportunities and threats When to talk (and when not to): When everything being said is nice? A fantastic position to be in is that every possible mention that includes your company, its employees and products, is overwhelmingly positive. Well done. However, that does not mean that there is nothing to do. Stakeholders are being positive about the brand because their expectation is being exceeded. Unfortunately expectations change. Brands that constantly exceed expectations will see the expectations of stakeholders change to meet this new norm. Brands need to stay on their toes and constantly be on the lookout for new and innovative ways to meet and develop their brand promise. That said, during this time the brand must do everything in its power to drive high volumes of conversation. This conversation will typically carry some or all of the sentiments associated with the brand. What if everything being said is neutral? Then it sounds like the company is very boring – not a good way to get attention. As Seth Godin (www.sethgodin.com) puts it, “safe is risky”. If a company is playing it so safe that no one can be bothered to either send praise or criticism its way, it’s in danger of being forgotten. The next step is no one talking about the company at all. What if negative things are being said? Negative statements should be understood as broken brand promises. There is underperformance on expectation, and it must be dealt with as a matter of high priority. During this period, brands need to be very careful not to stir up any more conversation than is absolutely necessary. That said, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom. If the conversation is broadly negative, it is normally because there is some underlying problem and this information provides the business with focus to resolve it. Complaints are from stakeholders who have had dealings with a company which hasn’t met their expectations. By complaining, this customer is, often unwittingly, giving the company the opportunity to make things right, and is probably indicating where the company can improve. Usually, the skilled customer service department of a company should deal with these. They should also share insights with the business strategy department so the underlying problems can be prioritised and resolved. If a complaint is online, the resolution should be there as well, although you can try to have it taken offline first. Even though the customer service will likely take place either over email or by phone, posting a personalised comment in a blog post, for example, will demonstrate to the community that the company, listens, responds and serves the critical objective of actually resolving the underlying issues.428