I would never modify–or attempt to modify–a negative review that’s posted on an independent blog or online pub. If I’m allowed to post a comment, I’d simply say “Thank you for the honest feedback. You bring up some good/intriguing/interesting points, and my team and I are taking them into consideration.” You can change the tone of this comment based on the level of negativity, but I’d always recommend taking the high road and never engaging in fight.

Sure, you might come across the occasional review that’s written in a nasty way–I don’t think there’s much point in dealing with this since you probably won’t be able to say anything to change the mind of the reviewer. But for those reviews that are genuine and honest–even if they aren’t saying the things we want to hear–I’d thank these people and I really would consider their critiques/objections. And if you hear any consistency with these negative reviews–say all of them point to a flaw with a particular feature of your product–you really do need to consider what they’re saying.

As for your website…I wouldn’t recommend posting negative reviews. That’s not the place. Let the independent pubs and blogs do that. You want to put your best foot forward on your website. However, if some of the negative reviews influence changes you make to future products…or if they, say, lead to product enhancements, I would say something like “We listened to what you had to say about our product–the good and the bad–and we’re proud to introduce version 2.0…”

Carla, as to your celebrity endorsement…it really depends on who the celebrity is. Celebrities are polarizing. Not everyone will respond to them, and if someone doesn’t “like” the celebrity who’s endorsing your product, it’s possible you might lose that person. So, again, it depends on who the celebrity is and if that celebrity will resonate with your audience. Celebrities like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are incredibly polarizing. They might be the perfect people for a younger audience, but they probably would turn off women in the 40-55 demo. Vanessa Williams is one of the celebrities endorsing Proactiv. But I doubt she’d have been considered 20 years ago after the Miss America scandal. If you’d like to get my opinion on your celebrity, feel free to email me: robyn at etrobbins dot com.

I’m also curious as to what to do with negative (real customer) reviews myself.