Technology has evaporated the barriers of complaint. With smart phones and always-on Internet access, consumers complain more often and across more channels, many of them public. This requires a completely new system for instantly finding, evaluating, and addressing these complaints. Jay Baer and Edison Research conducted a landmark study of more than 2,000 consumers and found that not all complainers ("haters") are created equal. In fact, there are two vastly different categories of haters: Offstage Haters and Onstage Haters. The book includes The Hatrix, a detailed examination of the differences between these Offstage and Onstage haters. The book reveals: How, where and why people complain (by demographic and by channel) How and when consumers expect a response when they complain The advocacy impact of answering (or ignoring) a customer Differences in complaint type and expectations by industry Supported by dozens of interviews with large and small companies, social networks and review websites, psychiatrists, and legal experts, Hug Your Haters gives readers a step-by-step process to magnify the impact of happy customer interactions, and to minimize the impact of haters and complainers. Customers expect more from business than ever before, and the importance of real-time customer service has never been greater. Hug Your Haters explains this new reality and shows readers how to embrace complaints and turn bad news into good.