Business Education

I Just Learned One of My Best Employees Criticized My Business On Social Media, What Should I Do?

You’ve just discovered one of your best team members has criticized your company on social media. So, you’re wondering what to do about it. Well, that depends if the comments were overall positive or negative. If the former, there’s quite a bit you can do. However, if it’s the latter, there’s relatively little you can do. Read on to learn more about how to deal with employees who criticize their organizations on social media.

Dealing with Negative Employee Comments about Your Business

Let’s begin with a negative situation. You’ve recently found out a great employee (who you like and trust) has made some really disparaging comments about your company — maybe even directed at you personally — on social media. Now, you’re wondering what to do about it. If the comments are negative and harmful to your business’ reputation, you most definitely need to address the situation immediately.

Criticism in the workplace can be constructive if an individual is pointing out concrete inefficiencies and offering suggestions for positive improvements; or criticism can be destructive, when one person tears down and negatively critiques the actions of others while offering no suggestions for positive improvement. —Houston Chronicle Small Business

This is a difficult conversation to have, there’s no doubt about it. But, a stern warning might be enough to move past the moment. It’s probably also necessary to talk about his or her future and potential separation from the company, should the behavior continue. While it’s a hard thing to do, derogatory comments simply are not acceptable. So, invite him or her to vent their grievances in private instead of on social media.

Dealing with Positive Employee Comments about a Your Business

If this is a situation where the comments were critical yet constructive or positive, it’s an entirely different set of circumstances. Since it’s a totally opposite attitude, you might still be personally hurt or feel undermined, but it’s far better than dealing with a completely negative scenario. Here are some effective methods for dealing with a good employee who publicly criticized your business on social media:

Make him or her understand the proper context. The very first thing you need to do is to let him or her know that it is not acceptable or appropriate to criticize the company on social media. Instead, the appropriate time and place is right in the workplace, where discussions are private and between colleagues, where such input belongs.
Let your employee know your door is always open. Of course, it’s up to you to open your office door and make all your employees understand they have an open-ended invitation to speak with you at any time they feel it is necessary. (Obviously, you’ll need to set some boundaries to ensure there’s mutual respect and interactions remain overall positive.)
Solicit feedback from all your team members regularly. While this might be super-obvious, it’s most definitely worth repeating. You cannot operate in your business in a vacuum. It’s not a good dynamic and worse yet, when you don’t listen to the people around you who are in the trenches with you, it’s only going to erode the environment and worsen over time.

What other suggestions do you have? How else would you handle such a situation? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your unique perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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Entrepreneurs Beware! Upselling will Undermine Your Business, So Do This Instead

July 31, 2024 No Comments

Entrepreneurs Beware! Upselling will Undermine Your Business, So Do This Instead We’ve all experienced it – visiting an electronics chain to purchase a single item. Something you want and you’re excited to use. Reaching the checkout counter, an uneasy and annoying feeling begins to creep up. Just wanting to complete a simple transaction, you present your payment, only to be asked if you’d like to add a warranty. Then comes the follow-up savings pitch – you could save a significant percentage if you open a new credit card. Declining both, you walk out, disappointed but unsurprised at what could have been a good experience. The figures don’t lie. Retailers often earn more upselling add-ons than the margins on their products. It’s why consumers have to endure these unwelcome offers time and again. Such encounters persuade people to skip the physical store and just order what they need online to mitigate the upsell tactic. After all, it’s much easier to swipe or click past such offers than to tell another human being “No.” Now, apply this mindset to your own business. Upselling may seem like a tempting strategy to boost your revenue, but it could be the very thing that undermines your sales. Instead of pushing more products or services onto your customers, you should focus on building genuine relationships and delivering exceptional value. Why Upselling Hurts Businesses Let’s face it – most people, whether retail employees or skilled tradespeople, don’t relish upselling customers. It’s uncomfortable because they’ve been in the same position too. Like everyone else, those individuals also endured the awkward upsell and don’t want to be required to do the same. Worse still, upselling, when done improperly, can harm a business. But, that’s not all; upselling can be counterproductive for several reasons. For instance: Customer trust. Aggressive upselling or misleading customers into purchasing more expensive products can erode customer trust. Customers value honesty and transparency from businesses. If they feel a company is trying to take advantage of them through upselling, they may lose trust in the brand and choose to shop elsewhere. Negative experience. Here’s the most obvious reason. Overly pushy or frequent upselling can create a negative customer experience. Customers may feel pressured or annoyed by constant attempts to upsell, which could lead to dissatisfaction and potentially drive them away from a business. Unmet expectations. Upselling can sometimes lead to customers purchasing products or services that don’t meet their expectations or needs. This can result in dissatisfaction and negative reviews that can harm a business’s reputation. Lost sales. If customers feel they’re being upsold too aggressively, they may decide not to make any purchase at all. This could result in lost sales for the business and bad word of mouth from dissatisfied customers too eager to share their negative experiences with others. Resource misallocation. Focusing too heavily on upselling can divert resources away from other important areas of the business, such as customer service or product development – two positive and helpful things. Damage to brand image. This bears repeating, if a business gains a reputation for aggressive or misleading upselling, it could damage its brand image and make it harder to attract new customers. To avoid these pitfalls, businesses should focus on providing value to their customers, rather than just trying to increase sales at any cost. This means only offering upsells that genuinely benefit the customer and being transparent about the value of the upsell. Better yet, instead of upselling, try upserving. 7 Compelling Reasons to Upserve Instead of Upsell You may have heard the term “upserving” before. Regardless if you’re familiar with it or not, it’s a great alternative because it puts customers’ needs first. So, businesses should focus on upserving their customers instead of upselling for many compelling reasons: Customer satisfaction. Upserving means providing more value to the customer. Again, this could take the form of offering a product or service that genuinely meets a need or enhances their experience. When customers feel that a business is looking out for their best interests, it increases their satisfaction and loyalty. Long-term relationships. Upselling can sometimes feel like an annoying sales tactic, one that can erode trust and damage the long-term relationship with the customer. On the other hand, upserving builds trust and fosters a stronger, more positive relationship. Positive brand image. Businesses that focus on upserving are seen as customer-centric and trustworthy. This enhances the brand’s image and reputation. What’s more, customers are much more likely to make referrals based on such positive experiences. Increased sales. While upselling can increase sales in the short term, upserving can lead to even greater sales in the long run. Satisfied customers are more likely to make repeat purchases and recommend the business to others. Customer retention. Upserving helps to retain customers. It’s much more cost-effective to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one. When you upsell, you run the risk of losing a customer because they feel like you’re putting your bottom line before their needs. Differentiation. In a crowded market, upserving can be a key differentiator. It sets the business apart from competitors who may be more focused on upselling. Customer Lifetime Value. Upserving can increase the customer lifetime value (CLV). CLV is a measure of how much a customer is worth to a company throughout their relationship. By upserving, businesses can increase this value. So, upserving is about putting the customer first and providing them with more value. This leads to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, more sales over the long term. Want to Accomplish More? Do you want your company to grow faster and earn more while you spend more time with your family doing all the things you started your business to do? We can make that dream a reality. Give us 30 minutes and we will show you how to get your life back. Skeptical? Good! Put us to the test. You can call us for your free appointment at (602) 541-1760, or, if you prefer,

Your Industry Is Dying, But You Can Survive (and Thrive!)

June 19, 2025 No Comments

Industries evolve rapidly, and business owners may face the daunting reality that their skill set—or even their entire industry—is becoming obsolete.

Here are the 3 Biggest Leadership Blind Spots Harming Businesses Right Now

January 1, 2019 No Comments

The top leadership blind spots aren’t new phenomenon. In fact, these are common and have persisted for practically as long as the market existed. Even in an age of readily available information, it’s far too easy to get caught up in these traps. So, let’s take a quick look at the most common leadership blind spots to avoid. Leadership Blind Spots Lead to Failure Blockbuster. Walden Books. Barnes and Noble. MySpace. J.C. Penny. Sears. K-Mart. Edsel. Steak and Ale. The list goes on and on and on and on. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. But, even in when things began to unravel, these brands just didn’t do enough to adapt. When you look closely at what triggers crises in organizations, you often see that there is a major leadership oversight or blind spot that has allowed the crisis to exist in the first place – and then grow, unrecognized, until it’s too late. Just as many leaders want to be perceived as trustworthy in a rapidly changing environment, leaders themselves need to be aware of who and what they are trusting. Misplaced trust is a clear precursor to trouble. —Forbes What so many in the public saw as clear writing on the wall, the powers-that-be or rather, were, internally didn’t fully comprehend or heed. The result — utter failure. All of the above examples are prime examples of blind spots taking over and leading straight to obsolescence. Top Leadership Blind Spots Harming Businesses It’s not altogether clear what actually happened to bygone companies but it is readily clear what action was taken simply did not suffice. Okay, that’s a bit obvious. However, it’s not always easy to see what’s truly going on and that’s what gives blind spots their names. Here are the top three leadership blind spots harming businesses today: The dreaded status quo. Sure, we’ve all heard and even used the term. Still, it’s used so much that its meaning has nearly been lost. Status quo ante or literally, “the state in which before,” says it all. “Before,” meaning a shift occurred. When things are going well, it’s all too easy to forego considering what might lie ahead and that’s a big blind spot. Spending even more money. When a project doesn’t go the way it’s planned, there just might be a temptation to turn it around — by throwing more money at it. But, bailing out is only a stop-gap measure, it doesn’t actually remedy the problem. Focusing on the short-term instead of long-term. Although short-term wins do much they also can obscure long-term consequences or trends. While it’s great to accomplish something that pays off today, it’s very damaging to let that satisfy and take the edge off the unknown of tomorrow. What other leadership blind spots would you include? And, how do you identify and get past them and others? Please share your experiences by leaving a comment! For more good reading on Blind Spots, please click on these links for a book written by a good friend, author and paid keynote speaker, Kevin McCarthy. Bestselling book: Blind Spots: Why Good People Make Bad Choices Www.KevinMcCarthy.com Www.LinkedIn.com/in/kevinmccarthyCSP Www.Twitter.com/kevinmccarthy01 Immediate Past President for National Speakers Association, Oregon Chapter. NSA Chapter Member of the Year 2014-2015. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.