So When Is It Appropiate to Talk Back?

Whether it is looking at an example and discussing if a company should respond, or asking yourself self if you should open up dialog to a certain topic, we have all tried answering the question of when is it appropriate to talk back.

Mike Manual's blog, which can be found here, addresses this issue. He lists three questions that a company should ask itself before responding to a comment:

1) Is the post factually inaccurate?
2) Is the post a fair expression of opinion?
3) Is a relationship with the author important?

I agree with these three questions, and I like how Mike mentions in the first paragraph of the blog that every situation is different and there is no formula that can be followed when deciding if it's better to, or to not, talk back.

So, after a company decides to engage in the conversation, what is the next step? What if a company engages in conversation too early and quickly realizes the pros of talking back are out weighed by the cons?

If a company finds themselves in this position of responding to a blog too quickly, I think the best thing to do is continue the dialog. Of course, this is all situational, but if a company actually has a flaw and tries covering it up by responding to a post, than gets called out again, the worst thing to do is stop the dialog. At this point, I think it's better for a company to address the issue. In fact, being in a situation like this could actually be a good opportunity for a company. If the company continues dialog and updates people about the changes being made to improve the situation, it could result in some positive press.