If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you have a very rare company if you haven’t felt the sharp sting of bad publicity. We’re churning out “news” 24/7, and if there’s anything people gobble up, it’s a negative story. In today’s world, that bad publicity could come in many forms.

It could be:

• A negative story in the newspaper, radio or TV news

• A harsh commentary on your website or Facebook fan page

• A word-of-mouth story that’s being passed through email or social networks

• A website built just to trash your brand or company (it happens every day)

• Twitter trash talk

Your consumers have more ways than ever before to take a shot at you, if they choose to. For most businesses, it’s just a question of when and where. So what do you do when it happens?

Monitor: You can’t decide how you’re going to react if you don’t know it’s happening. Fortunately, with most traditional media now having a digital portal as well, in most cases you can do some online tracking that will cover most occurrences.

Though there are some very smart online services that will set up elaborate tracking systems for you, most organizations can get by with some free tools such as Google Alerts, www.Kurrently.com and www.SocialMention.com.

Listen: If someone is mad enough to start an online rant, or the media has picked up on something, you need to listen. Within a matter of seconds, you’ll be able to discern if it’s a nut on a rampage or someone who truly had a bad experience or complaint that is worthy of your response.

It’s easy to get seduced into responding to everything. After all, you can’t just leave their statements unchallenged, can you? Actually, yes, you can. If someone is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, other readers will be able to pick up the clues. If you jump into the fray, it becomes a little like having a logical argument with a toddler. All it can do is get worse.

Respond: This is your opportunity to turn a bad situation into a huge advantage. How you respond will tell all the readers, listeners or viewers more about you than any ad or sales presentation ever could. Imagine you are on a huge stage, sitting across from the person who has caused the hubbub. In the huge audience are your current customers, your co-workers and a ton of people who might do business with you one day. All listening intently.

With that setup, you can feel the weight of your words. Choose them carefully. Acknowledge the problem or the mistake if you made one. Do that first. Say I’m sorry. Ask questions to get more of the story or to get clarity. Then offer a solution. Now, the solution might be, “You know, Mrs. Jones, I honestly don’t think we have a product that’s going to meet your needs. But I think XYZ might.” If it’s the media, offer more information or access to whatever they think you are hiding.

Remain professional and empathetic. Don’t be afraid to show emotion. You don’t want to come off like a robot. If the situation escalates, suggest that you take the conversation off-line or off-camera so you can talk specifics. No one wants bad publicity. But being ready to handle it makes it much less damaging.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached by email at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2011 Drew McLellan