What If You Can’t Give A Reply Members Will Like?
Every question should get a response, even if it’s a response the member won’t like.
No, they might not be able to integrate your tool with a specific service.
They won’t like that answer, but at least now they know.
They know not to keep searching for the answer, call customer service, or struggle to do something which can’t be achieved (and getting angrier).
Yes, there might be a legal reason why you can’t respond to the question. Far better to tell them (that exact sentence) rather than let the comment go unanswered.
If you don’t get a good, quick, response you won’t use the community again.
And if you see most discussions don’t get a good response, you won’t even bother asking the question.
If someone takes the time to ask a question, you owe it to them to make sure they get a response.
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So much of my time in my previous role was spent giving answers to questions of which those who asked them probably didn’t want to hear. But, because I was the company’s first CM hire, the community seemed just thrilled that someone was simply listening to them before I’d even shared their success and actioned their concerns.
But to relate this back to the post, this all flows into the idea that prevention is better than cure. If some questions are left to fester they may become toxic and affect your community in a very negative way. At least by peeling off that bandaid straightaway and quickly you’re preventing a bigger crisis further down the line.