This thing called 'badvocacy'

LAST WEEK, my friend Jenny wrote on her Facebook status that she ate at an Italian restaurant and found a cockroach in her pasta. Judging from the number of comments posted by her friends, that Italian restaurant has just lost about 10 possible customers as of today. And if each one tells her friends and family about it, tsk tsk, that restaurant may be doomed sooner or later. This is one example of ‘badvocacy.’ According to a new e-book released by Weber Shandwick called The Good Book of Badvocacy (downloadable for free at http://www.webershandwick.com/Default.aspx/Insights/Advocacy?DivID=7), badvocates are “people who stand on a virtual soapbox to criticize or detract from companies, brands or products. They represent a considerable segment of the global online adult population (20 percent). They are passionate enough to share opinions. Their influence reaches far and wide…on average, they tell 14 other people about a bad experience.” It used to be that when people had a bad experience about a product or service, they just told their family and friends about it. But with the coming of the Internet, they have found out that spreading the bad news is just a mouse click away. Negative feedback can be posted in blogs, chat rooms, social networking sites, and even in the customer feedback form of the company website. The sad part: everything is searchable, thanks to Google. And such negative feedback can really hurt a company's image. So how can companies handle badvocacy? The book lists six things a company can do: 1. Be prepared 2. Defend yourself 3. Embrace dissatisfaction 4. Apologize 5. Don’t ignore 6. Inoculate Each step has tips on how to achieve it. With the nice graphics, easy readable style (you can read it in 5 minutes) and relevant insights, The Good Book of Badvocacy should be a must-read for every corporate executive.