Hug Your Haters summary

Imagine you’re at a dance class to prepare for your wedding. If the instructor never points out to you that you’re basically crushing the life out of your partner, you’ll keep doing just that.

That’s because we sometimes need negative feedback to improve our performance and in the case of companies, this feedback generally comes from customers.

Even in this age of instantaneous digital communication, most complainers vent their frustration in private through an email to customer service and not via Facebook. And if you know what’s good for your business, you’ll want to keep it that way. So, to keep complaints private and retain customers, use the mnemonic H.O.U.R.S.

First, be Human. That means interacting with your customers in a personable way, showing that you see them as people, not just data points. To do so you need to show your concern and avoid boilerplate messages.

Someone who criticizes your company publicly is not necessarily expecting you to answer them, but you always should. To do so, you can use the mnemonic F.E.A.R.S.

First, to resolve public complaints you need to Find them. You can use services like Google Alerts and social media listening software like Mention.net for this.

Every day we are growing more connected through a variety of online channels from social networks to rating portals. The impact of this technological connection on the world of business has been enormous.

That’s because all these channels offer customers unprecedented power over corporations. For instance, Google Reviews, Twitter, Facebook and online forums all offer avenues to express satisfaction – or dissatisfaction – with a given product or service.

So, responding to complaints is key, but why wait for a complaint?

After all, if you want your customers to value you, it’s a great idea to correct a mistake right away, before anyone even has time to mention it. In fact, you can often prevent customers from complaining by making up for errors as soon as they occur.