So far, summer’s looking to be a smorgasbord for geeky moviegoers. Not only did you have Godzilla and X:Men days of future past rocking the box office, you’ll still have Maleficent, Transformers 4, and How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Now what do this have to do with telemarketing? Well, the geek subculture is actually solid proof that your biggest critics are not only good for, they’re actually well sold on your product already!

This Forbes article by marketing analyst and box office commentator Scott Mendelson further drives home the point:

“The vast majority of the promotional material is about keeping the film in the news cycle for sites that often target the already interested. Now on the other side of that coin, studios know full-well that the difference between success and failure is about getting everyone else into the theater. Fan outrage isn’t what killed Batman & Robin and fan approval didn’t make Batman Begins into a hit. It’s about convincing the general audiences to check out your comic book adaptation or fantasy property that makes it a hit.”

Not to make a war between geeks and the general public, but the main point here is that criticism could very well be what will draw a set number of audiences. Your biggest worry would be those who don’t know well enough to criticize because they don’t even know why they should do business with you in the first place!

You can even go as far as to say you don’t even have to call these critics about your new product. Counting them amongst your following is already an achievement in of itself. If they’re well intent on thoroughly finding what’s wrong with your product/service, it’ll be a lot easier if they gave you the first sale.

That’s definitely what gets the angry geeks lining up in theaters for adaptations they claim to despise. This doesn’t mean it won’t backfire somehow but the following tips should help you play it safe:

  • Check your long-term plan – These people are guaranteed to give it at least some sort of sales purchase but that their intentions could still prove problematic in the long run. How do you deal with their effect on your reputation and other marketing strategies?
  • Prioritize their problems first – Since they’re so good at spotting problems, you should be just as fast when resolving them. If you’re worried about their impact on the general market, then addressing issues they find prevents those problems from even reaching their ears.
  • Use them to formulate rebuttals – On the frontlines of your telemarketing campaign, the common complaints of critics should serve as the template for your rebuttals. More importantly, know that they aren’t the main targets but those they’re likely to influence.

For the most part, even critics themselves overlook the fact that they judge products/services only after they paid for them. That payment can be good enough for the day and with the right planning, their criticism can help you plan for tomorrow.