Be prepared for bouquets & brickbats

I published an article a couple of days back, after a hiatus of more than 3 months and I was pleasantly surprised to notice the chord it struck with the readers based on the responses I got as comments in the article itself and messages via whatsapp. For a change, it wasn't uniformly raving and positive and hence this article.

Some of the comments I received via whatsapp are as below and as usual I shall not reveal the identities of the senders.

"Lovely. I love being a participant rather than part of audience. For me participating is like meditation, totally into it"

"Hi Badri nice thought provoking piece - it’s true that most people ( including me ) prefer non participative watching to participation- fear overcomes most peoples enthu to get on stage - and a self conscious behaviour of thinking that the world is constantly observing you - little do most people realise that everybody around them is also doing exactly the same"

"Very true"

"Very insightful Badri"

"Very deep"

"This is personal experience! And for me it was doubled. My father was very strict when young and I never opened my mouth - but later when he grew old and mellowed but still I hesitated. That just became part of me. Nicely written!"

So far, it was all nice and now let's read a very different response from another friend.

"There is a disconnect in the whole passage for me. Preferences are purely subjective. Why should one not settle for the back row? Why should one not opt for the comfort of home and watch a match rather than sing one self hoarse? Who is to stand judgement upon one's choices. A holier than thou attitude never ever went well with me and that is what this piece reeks of."

And because you can read the comments on the article in that page itself, I am not reproducing the contents here.

As you can see, the same article has generated different responses from various people based on their life situation and their perceptions which are coloured by their own experiences. I was fortunate to receive these varied communication because very few people take the effort to share their feedback (whether positive or otherwise).

So why am I sharing all these with you?

When you send a message to your customers, the responses can be widely different. While you may receive encouraging response from some, be also prepared to face not so pleasant ones from some others for the same message.

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The Author is the Principal Consultant of Idea To IPO Growth Consultants