There is a web company out there that puts out some amazing (actually super amazing content).
I hear that have a really good product too but I have no intention of ever working with them, in fact . . . I’ll probably go out of my way to never use them.
Why?
Because they’re consistently unresponsive on their blog.
I’m not talking about missing a few comments here and there.
I’m talking about flat out not responding to almost 100% of their comments.
Here are people saying “great job” or trying to contribute to the discussion and they are ignored.
My feeling is that if someone is unresponsive during the “courtship” its probably indicative of a potentially unresponsive marriage partner.
People are watching us from afar.
Sometimes they take a chance and reach out.
Responding is a good thing.
Not responding because you are racing to off to create more content seems a tad counter productive.
What do you think?
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Over the years, I’ve commented in quite a few blogs that never responded to me. I have a practice of responding to comments on my blog by personal email. This has been successful for me, but I don’t necessarily recommend it as a practice for everyone.
Sounds like you are not only responsive, but willing to take the extra step to show appreciation Van!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Sounds to me there is a lack of role clarity here…. I can say with some degree of confidence that this often happens when you have 2 different people tasks for a seemingly same role & none feels they are responsible for Business Development.
That might be the case Aditya. They have lots of people producing content so maybe there’s some confusion.
I tend to think that these things can be attributed to a company culture problem.
If you’re company culture is one where non responsiveness is alright, then people will comply 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Aditya!
I believe that the true purpose of the blog should be evaluated, on an independant basis. Some companies use a blog as an overly public bulletin board (by not responding as you have mentioned) while others look at it as a way of holding conversations and getting feedback from the general public. I feel that both serve their purpose, but I do agree that if a company is going to take the latter approach then they need to be responsible for their activity with their readers.
I agree John I wonder if in those cases everyone would be better off if they simply closed comments on their blog?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Paul it is just wrong plain and simple. I would rather produce less content and engage potential customers then completely ignore them bottom line. I attended a local social media seminar once, purchased a person’s book, spoke to them for 15 minutes, and then started to promote their content on twitter and other social media channels. Although I did not expect anything in return, I found it incredibly ironic that they could not take 5 seconds EVER to say thank you at least once. I mean, they were in the social media space not to just spew out content right? I took this as a lesson to conduct myself online in the complete opposite way that they did. Have an incredible day!
Answer some point Tim! We need to condition the behavior we want from others. So if this person wants people to promote them I would think a simple but sincere thank you would go a long way!
Thank you . . . You ate always appreciated here Tim!
Totally agree, and love the pic!
Thanks Francey and I really didn’t think I had the legs for it 🙂
They shouldn’t even bother having a blog if they are not going to pay attention to the people who are contributing comments. That’s as bad as throwing up a Facebook page, or Twitter feed or LinkedIn group and then never engage with the people you invited there in the first place.
A similar thing that bugs me is when the company doesn’t respond for days, as in the case of HP support. I had an issue with a new computer. Recovery disks were supposed to be sent to me within 2 business days. It is now 3 weeks later…never got them. Good thing I fixed it myself! After 6 days, I tweeted on the “support” account. No response for 5 days! When I asked why…they used the holiday weekend (I had tweeted that Thursday) as their excuse. Lame and they never even tried to fix the problem on top of it. So…they responded, but if you set up a support account and don’t have a plan to monitor it 24/7 regardless, why bother?
Paul, what you didn’t say outright, but I feel is the gist of your message is that not responding is creating a brand problem for them and the company isn’t even savvy enough to know it. Wonder who’s in charge of their social media strategy? They should go back to school:).
You are absolutely 150% correct uncle Paul,
How you anything is how you do everything…
Them ignoring their comments is them ignoring their clients.
I believe most people judge this way but hey I could be way off Mr Lopez!
Thanks!
Agreed Barb!
What this company doesn’t realize is that as much as they are kicking butt right now (and they are), they would be doing so much better if they cleaned up their act.
One of their reps sent me an email wanting to talk (prior to this blog post) I told him point blank that his company made a crap impression on me.
If I posted the name of this company here, I would have a ton of people saying I’m an ass for thinking this company sucks . . . lots of people love them! Their content is always retweeted etc
The shame of the matter is that I know I would benefit from their service.
Thanks again Barb!