Taking Poor Customer Ratings in Stride

“You can never please all of the people all of the time.” These famous words were first spoken by Abraham Lincoln and they ring just as true within the world of online content marketing. Even the most professional and prolific authors have come across a client who seems nearly impossible to satisfy. Not every client knows how to give constructive feedback. We often learn about this through poor customer ratings with no explanation. As a writer, how should you respond to this criticism so that it does not impact your subsequent work?

Business as Opposed to Personal

Most writers tend to be emotional individuals. This is what provides them with the innate empathy to successfully meet the expectations of an anonymous (and sometimes confusing) article request. Ironically, this very same trait can become an issue if you begin to take a poor rating to heart. Even if the review is accompanied by equally harsh comments, the fact of the matter is that the client is being critical of the work as opposed to you as an individual. Take a step back and try to remember all of those positive comments from the past.

Take an Objective Perspective Towards Customer Ratings

As we never personally meet our customers and due to the fact that we are frequently unaware of where a specific piece of content will be posted, it is nearly impossible to approach the end result from the perspective of the client. Still, keep in mind that there are many extraneous reasons why you may have been given a poor rating. Perhaps the customer did not properly explain the tone of voice that was required. Or, his or her superiors may have been less than satisfied and you experienced the “trickle-down” effect of negative sentiment. Let’s also keep in mind that the client in question could simply be having a bad day.

Like Water Gliding Off of a Duck’s Back

One of the keys to being a successful writer is possessing the ability to take criticism in stride. Although you may indeed feel personally slighted, the fact of the matter is that this temporary dark cloud will be overtaken by stellar ratings in the future. We all inevitably receive poor reviews from time to time. The hallmark of a resilient author is an ability to rise above the negativity and to focus upon the digital content horizon.

In reality, not all authors deal so well with poor ratings or harsh feedback. Therefore it is also important for clients to consider a few important points when giving feedback to authors. Refer to an earlier Textbroker blog titled Faceless Feedback: The Challenge to learn more.