What HP Has Learned From Blogging
Author: Danny Wirken

Blogging has gone mainstream. It has reached a critical mass.
Companies are starting to wake up to the mighty power of blogs
and the heightened voice of the customer fueled by blogs. What
HP has learned from blogging clearly validates this fact.

HP Commits A Blunder

Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) is a technology company that
operates in more than 170 countries worldwide. It has also
launched a blog program to further enable it to connect with
customers and build beneficial long-term relationships.
However, its blog program met a snag when one of its blogger,
David Gee, head of worldwide marketing for HP's management
software business deleted a negative comment on his blog. It
elicited a damaging backlash from the blogging community.

It all started when an HP customer posted a legitimate comment
on David Gee's blog about the not-so-good experience he had
when he upgraded his media center personal computer. The
comment was immediately erased and his HP passport (requirement
to be able to leave comments) was revoked. Angered, he retorted
by blogging about the incident. The tech blogging community,
pretty tight and fast got wind of the news and a storm ensued.
David Gee was taken to task and the comment was reinstated. He
apologized and admitted that it was a humbling learning
experience. He further reiterated that HP is making an all-out
effort to maintain an honest and open dialogue with customers.
They want to hear from the customers.

The incident has taught HP a valuable lesson in dealing with
customer comments. Understanding that there are inherent risks
involved in blogging, HP has developed a blogging policy and a
set of guidelines for blogging responsibilities to mitigate
these risks. Acknowledging that negative comments are
inevitable, HP's strategy is to politely respond further
expounding the facts as the blogger sees them. Keeping the
dialogue constructive and flowing forward instead of engaging
in a useless and unfavorable debate will be standard policy.

Companies should realize that simply deleting critical comments
can bring damaging repercussions if found out. For one, company
credibility and reputation will suffer. Companies should think
carefully how to handle negative or critical comments. Unlike
an individual blogger, corporate bloggers are answerable to
management, shareholders, fellow employees and most of all the
customers.

Handling Negative Comments

Discussion and the ensuing commentaries are what makes blogging
a different and exciting medium. Blogging, at its best, is a two
way conversation. But getting negative or critical comments do
happen in the blogosphere. When blogging publicly, offering
opinions and views to the world, negative responses will occur.
Some are just constructive criticisms but others can really be
downright nasty. So, how does one deal with negative comments?
Simply delete them?

Dealing with comments means identifying and handling
inappropriate or off-topic comments. For a start, it helps to
have a standard policy on comments and privacy. By allowing
comments, readers should understand that the company will
protect their privacy by not displaying or using their e-mail
address, even if it might be required for making comments.
General rules and guidelines on what will or will not be
allowed on the corporate blog should be set. It is well-advised
to have a Legal Policies page that summarizes all legal issues
and stands displayed on the main site. This includes the
Privacy Policies and Comment Policies. There are some corporate
blogs that incite debates or attract controversy. It is wise to
be clear on what the company will tolerate, say, name calling
might not be allowed. The scope of topics, language,
allegations, negative discourse, and arguments should all be
clearly stated in the Comments Policy.

With a clear policy, it will be easier to handle a negative
comment. If you (blogger) receive a negative comment, make sure
you fully understand what is being said. It is easy to read
something critical and hastily write a response that might not
be as enlightening as it should be thereby causing more
trouble. If the negative comment is on topic and calls for more
discussion, provide the necessary information, do not delete it.
Comments, good or bad, are good for business. Most businesses
adhere to this adage. A negative comment gives you the
opportunity to explain, persuade your readers and strengthen
your stand about a certain issue. You will be surprised at the
things you may discover about how readers perceive your
products or services.

If you filter out negative comments, there is no true dialogue
and thus no way to change the commenter's mind about your
product or service or his perception of your business as a
whole. Use negative but legitimate comments as a medium to
demonstrate how your company handles customer complaints or
issues. Before responding, think long and hard. Consider you
response carefully. Do take time to evaluate the best response
that will benefit the customer and your company as well. Bear
in mind that the purpose of your blog is to build and foster
lasting relationships with your customers and to connect with
potential customers as well. On the other hand, if a
disparaging comment does not provide any help to the topic of
the post, you can delete it.

You can get rid of comments you deem offensive. Offensive may
mean different things to different people. To some, offensive
may mean treating someone with irreverence or contempt while to
others it may mean any comment that goes against their personal
beliefs or blog content and purpose. Again, you decide.

If you feel the need to respond to a negative comment, respond
kindly and show your willingness to understand. A negative
comment can turn into something positive by making an effort to
take in the point of view of the commenter.

Sometimes, you will get negative comments simply because you
are wrong. Admit it and learn from it. You will earn the
respect of your readers if you own up to your mistakes. You and
your company's credibility standing will even shoot up.

If you do not want negative comments to appear on your blog,
you can always turn off the comments feature on your blog. The
ball is in your hand.


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