I hate to break it to you, but as Community Manager you’re going to get blamed for everything whether you’re the culprit or not. It’s not that folks want to blame you, but as the person who is reaching out to the public, it will be you who bears the brunt of the anger when stuff happens. And stuff always happens.
- If folks don’t like a new design or interface, they’ll gripe to the Community Manager.
- If folks are having trouble logging in or the site is down, they’ll gripe to the Community Manager.
- If the forum or user group isn’t functioning, they’ll gripe to the Community Manager.
- If folks aren’t happy with the response from a member of the team they’ll gripe to the Community Manager.
- If results aren’t happening quick enough….you guessed it.
It’s not that your community wants to dump on you, but who else do they have? The CEO who doesn’t respond to emails or the techies who have a pile of support tickets to deal with? They have two options: let it go and not stand up for things they don’t like, or gripe to the Community Manager.
When this happens, be gracious and do everything you can to soothe jangled nerves.
Remember:
- It’s the Community Manager’s job to ensure community happiness. If folks aren’t happy, find the reason why and do everything you can to fix it.
- Check your attitude at the door. You’re sure to receive some nasty emails or comments. When this happens walk away. Come back later when you had a chance to cool down, respond pleasantly to the other’s concerns. Never fire off an email in anger.
- Always let folks know you’re doing everything in your power to address their concerns. Sending them a note telling them you don’t have the answer yet, but are looking into it is much better than not responding at all.
- Apologize even if it’s not your fault. Don’t point blame or make a lot of excuses, but an apology on behalf of your company can do wonders to make a situation better.
- Each individual member of a community is important. Never stop making folks feel special.
You know and your team knows when mistakes aren’t your fault. Still, as community manager there are going to be times when aren’t quite showing you the love. Count to ten and address their concerns. When you have your community’s trust, the angry finger pointing becomes fewer and farther between.
