The example of an undercover reporter sending a letter to a CEO under the premise that they will write a nice article about the company if the CEO responds is pretty absurd.
Re:I Write Letters to CEOs
by freeone3000 on Thursday May 31, 2018 @02:06PM
(#17198574)
It doesn't have to be a nice article. A request for comment can either be responded to, where you have a chance for your words on record, or you get "<companyname> has not responded to requests for comment as of publishing." which is worse than whatever spin you could have concocted.
Reporters who are reviewing products do. They might have 10 different blenders to review, and if there is a button that doesn't make sense a good response takes you from "2/10 the buttons don't make sense" to "9/10, the buttons are a little weird but once you get used to them..."
Likewise, many companies have a comments toll free number. Almost nobody will call them (who has a comment about their toothpaste), but it turns out the type of person who does call those numbers is likely the type of person who tells all their friends which is the best toothpaste, and so it is important that whoever answers that phone is an expert on what makes their toothpaste great. (honest answers are important - this type of person already knows their stuff so lies will hurt)
Also, CEOs often know they have trouble connecting with their real customers. If a real customer writes, that is real information that they cannot easily get in any other way. A good CEO will pay attention because what one person writes 100 others think but don't say at all.
All of the above are things that make a CEO who doesn't respond under perform.