Every American company has at least one bad critique hanging around on the Internet.
A single defective product component or the smallest customer service slip-up can cause a sharp comment or review on a popular website, such as Google+, TripAdvisor, and Yelp.
While a few snarky comments cannot bring much damage to a brand or company’s reputation, time will come when one comment can shift from a mere personal opinion to harmful slander.
Experts at InternetReputation.com say that a few negative comments scattered among the good reviews can bring good fortune to a company’s reputation.
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An unnamed executive who works for the website says comments should have a mix of positives and negatives to avoid readers from suspecting about fixed reviews.
The InternetReputation.com official adds that a few negative reviews seem to assure readers they are not falling for the work of a professional writer.
Although some negative comments are good, other comments bring more harm than help, and expertise to stop the damage is vital.
Another anonymous official of the site says some reviewers get out of hand and accuse the companies they had transactions with of committing crimes or other forms of unethical behavior.
The second official adds that harmful comments can scare away potential customers and affect a company’s end users.
While only a few writers read review sites with definite rules on what kinds of comments are permissible in a review, most sites say they will delete comments that violate the guidelines.
A third unnamed InternetReputation.com official says the firm works with a group of lawyers who are Internet experts and know content rules inside out.
The site says its lawyers know which comments are fake, untrue, or violate the terms of service of major sites.
The official adds that the team of lawyers can easily pull down the comments – even those that threaten or imply threats that violate a company’s terms of use – with a few letters and small fragments of evidence.
InternetReputation.com focuses on keying out which comments are fit for removal.
A company representative says most of its clients do not know that this service is available, and they do not know how to deal with the removal of harmful comments.
The spokesperson adds that the firm helps companies identify the comments that violate the rule of thumb, and it monitors the sites going forward to make sure the harmful reviews are sealed off forever.
