What do you do if your company’s product is the subject of what you think is an unfair review?

Reviews can be complimentary or negative, and fair or unfair. It is important to understand the difference between the latter two.

If you believe a review is both negative and fair, then I would suggest a strategy known as “copping it sweet” where you acknowledge the problems, and state you’ll find a way to fix them.

Alternatively, you could attempt to silence or discredit the reviewer. This may work, or it may well backfire so spectacularly your company’s reputation is hurt far, far more than any damage the original review may have done. People love to back the little guy against the big corporation.

If the review is unfair and negative then the best solution is known as “Taking the High Road”. In this situation you can maybe win a lawsuit, but it’d be something of a pyrrhic victory and I can suggest an alternative method which is not only cheaper, but more effective.

First thing to do is contact the reviewer with a list of your concerns for consideration and see if they change their mind, or at least give you the benefit of the doubt. You might also consider how you came to be in this situation, your review process – could how you positioned the product and supported the reviewer be improved?

You can also create a react to the review, calmly and carefully demonstrating, not just claiming, why the review is wrong whilst not being disrespectful to the original reviewer, however reprehensible you may find them – it may also be a good idea to involve the original reviewer in this process. If they refuse, good-naturedly accept the refusal. You’ll look better for it.

You can also send your product to independent reviewers who, if it is good as you say, will disprove the unfair review and take pleasure doing so as we tend to be fair-minded people who enjoy taking down those who are unfair. These actions will more than nullify the effect of the original review and actually burnish your company’s reputation. How good is that?

Of course, it’s better not to have any negative reviews, and the best way to do that is to ensure your product is good, and properly defined so people don’t try and review it against a need it was never meant for. If you send a product for review, it’s helpful to include background on the product, and its intended purposes or limitations. A chat with the reviewer can help too, as is being available for mid-review questions. You can also ask to see a draft before publication and indeed this is my standard practice, but other journalists refuse access to drafts.

It is also helpful to remember that no good review will ever be purely complimentary. Every product has its limits, and it cannot be all things to all people, so pointing out its limitations isn’t necessarily a negative.

Are there bad products? Yes. For example I once reviewed a GPR receiver and found it to be slow, heavy, bulky, non-intuitive, low on features and expensive all relative to its competition. I submitted the review and the editor asked if I could possibly say anything positive. So I thought about it and said it was a nice shade of yellow. The review ran, whereas in some cases it would have been edited without my approval and when that happens, that’s the last time I write for that publication.

If you make a product that is truly sub-standard, accept this, and either price it low or improve it. Trust me, that’s where your efforts are best placed, not trying to persuade people your pig looks better in lipstick.

The last thing you want to do is sue. In fact, no matter how unfair the review, I cannot see a lawsuit being a better option than the more measured response I’ve outlined above, and the more egregiously unfair the review, the less seriously people take it. Of course if your intent is not to do the best for your company but to hurt the reviewer, then your best course of action is to give up making products and see a therapist.