I recently had the distinct displeasure of being moderated. Yes, I voiced an opinion that obviously wasn’t in line with someone else’s, and my comment was removed. I hasten to add that I wasn't rude or offensive in any way - quite the opposite, in fact. I praised their service, but said I thought they'd overstated their case a bit.

It was their blog, and they were perfectly entitled to remove my comment, but they missed a golden opportunity to either argue their point in a clearer way, or make a slightly different one in light of mine that would validate their stance. Or, heaven forbid, they might even have conceded they hadn’t thought of it that way, and having done so their opinion had evolved to a slightly different position.

Either one of these options would have been better for everyone than simply removing a comment. Who benefits from that? Nobody. Well, I get to write about it so I benefit.

You see, reviews and opinions are incredibly important and are incredibly helpful in the buying or researching phases. Or, looking at the bigger picture they can be instrumental in shaping a brand.

In my book there is no such thing as a negative comment. In my selling career it’s been drummed into me to turn negatives in to positives. Abusive (and retarded) ones aside, a negative comment is simply an opportunity - an opportunity to come back and either rectify, adjust, or even retract a statement. Either of these will give you more credit than just removing it. Or, where customer service is concerned it is an opportunity to deal with a problem in the open, or point someone to a product or service that might be better for them, thus helping others too and positioning oneself as a problem-solver.

One never quite knows who one is dealing with, so if you’re a moderator, think twice about getting rid of that awkward comment. If it disappears you might just become involved in a social media storm or the subject of a blog! Deal with it in a way that helps others, and it will ultimately help you.