Former Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) engineers recently launched a new-fangled search engine, called Cuil. The goal was pretty ambitious; that is, to be the next Google.

Well, the debut was shaky, as the online reviews were mostly negative. Basically, the quality of the search results were lackluster -- and the overall performance was erratic.

No doubt, in the social media world, things can get brutal. Yet, it's something that many businesses need to think about.

So, how do you deal with negative reviews?

First of all, it's a good idea to monitor the chatter about your company. To this end, you can use services like Google alerts. There is also a free application called Social Media Firehose that monitors various social media channels.

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In many cases, an online review site will provide for comments. And, according to Todd Defren -- a principal at SHIFT Communications -- it's a good idea to respond to negative comments. However, be diplomatic.

Here's one of his approaches:

"We were really sad to see that you had a bad experience with our product. Even though we have thousands of happy customers, we're always striving to improve and I can assure you that we're going to use your review as ammunition to make sure we do a better job in the future. We appreciate the time you took to put our product through its paces; even though we seem to have stumbled this time, our success is a marathon not a sprint, and you've helped us train for more success in the future."

Having such an approach shows that you are serious about customer feedback and that you're proactive. And, in light of the fact that many customers research the Net before buying products, it's a good idea to have some participation.

"A bad review is an opportunity for a company to learn about a failing they might not have otherwise known about, connect with and win over a consumer and fix a problem," said Marc Karasu, who is the president of MeasuredUp.com.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.