The Repercussions Of Not Responding Back To Someone Online

Posted by Jason Kienbaum on Dec 2, 2010 in Small Business Marketing | 2 comments

In a web world that is now built on the conversations that we have with others, whether that’s via Skype, email, Twitter, or blogging, we need to always be responding to those who reach out to us. As the very relevant saying goes – we love to buy from those who we know, like and trust. In creating that know, like and trust factor a very important element online becomes good content, but besides having the good content what is equally important are the people who enjoy what you do and what you have to say. These individuals become the ambassador of your brand or fans of you online. You never know who is going to become your next biggest ambassador so do you really want to risk that by not responding back to someone?

If it’s public, people judge by what they see

Whatever people write on the web can come back to haunt you and them. This is what I always try to make clear to new users on social media. The web is not a private place where you can trash your boss or talk smack in any other way. Well obviously I guess you can talk all the trash you want as long as you are willing to face the consequences. However, the same goes for those who choose not to respond at all because people judge by what they do see and saying nothing at all does say something. For example, let’s say someone is a new fan of your business and they take the time to write a comment on your website, but you don’t reply back. What does that say when others see this? Well for starters I bet no one else will take the time to connect with you. By simply responding back in some shape or form is a way of just saying thank you and letting the other person know they are appreciated. So I think if social networking master Gary Vaynerchuk can find a way to respond to everyone, why can’t we too?

Are you burning any bridges you might need later?

If you make a choice not to answer that email or DM that person back on twitter, is that a connection that you are willing to lose? Because that’s what will happen. By not responding back that person is going to take that non-response as a huge NO! No I don’t want to do business with you or no I don’t want you to buy my product. A no can mean a lot of things and people don’t forget them.

Timing is important

This is a critical part when getting back to people and my rule of thumb here is you must get back to someone within 24hrs! To me that is a reasonable time to reply. If for some reason you cannot fully address the situation a simple message back as to why would go a long way. One of the common examples I can provide here is the automated email response back saying I am out of my office until…. This type of communication is all that is needed.

You are then what they say you are

If someone makes a statement about your brand or leave a review of your brand online and you choose not to respond to those statements whether they are good or bad you become what people say you are. So if it’s a negative review and you choose to have no comment on the matter it will surely come back to bite you. Here is something that is pretty awesome that is happening over the web; those individuals or businesses that have taken the time to care about people and develop a loyal following will see these people come to their aid on negative comments and respond with good statements about you. How cool would that be? However, if you are a non-responder online this will never happen.

Important note: spammers don’t count!

Now this whole time I’ve been talking about how important it is to respond to others online and I just want to make it clear that SPAMMERS don’t count in this situation. Spammers consider everyone just a number because they are looking to make a quick buck online. Sorry, but spammers are just one of my bug-a-boo’s

What’s your take on responding back to people online who reach out to you?

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