One of the most basic things that happen when you sell a product/service is that your customer will have views about their experience with it. These may be positive or negative depending on the quality of your product/service and your level of efficiency when it comes to customer care. The response to negative comments should be well-thought as it may make or break your company/ brand’s image forever.
Social media has allowed these views to come to the forefront and customers can now voice their opinions, as they rightly should, knowing that someone out there is listening. So while you do put in an effort to keep up your social engagement, you need to put an extra effort to tackle the negative comments and views on social media that customers might voice. One thing that you must remember while handling these is that the customer is always right and these tricky situations need to be handled cautiously for the sake of your brand.
Check out these tips on how to handle negative comments and reviews, and keep your customers happy:
Don’t take it personally!
The first thing to remember is that you personally are not being attacked. Negative comments are not a reflection of you as a person, it's a view on your product/service. Detach yourself emotionally from the situation, and put yourself in the other person's shoes. Think about what caused the comment and how it can be rectified.
Respond as a Business Owner
Don’t act like a hothead, be patient and understand the customer’s feedback and find out the reason behind it. You might not always find logic in the customer's views, which means you have to be extra calm while handling their irrationality. A calm response will help pacify the customer as well.
Monitor customer engagement
There are various settings on social media platforms that allow a spectrum of customer engagement. You might allow customers to post freely or require approval on posts before they are made public. The settings you choose depend on you and the kind of product/service you provide. Make sure someone on your team is monitoring the level and kind of customer engagement. Posts should be responded to in a timely and appropriate fashion.
Always respond
Attitudes like “I don’t have time” or "Just delete the post" don’t work when you’re running a business. Customer’s feedback with a few negative reviews is common. No matter how busy you are, always respond and make it right with your dissatisfied customers. Going that extra mile will build goodwill in a highly competitive market.
Start with acknowledging the complaint
A negative review or a feedback is coming from a person who is annoyed or dissatisfied. The first thing you need to do is let them know that they've been heard.
No Excuses
Your response to angry customers will say more about your business than the positive reviews you receive. Do not make excuses or pass the blame to others. Why it happened, what went wrong, it isn’t your customer’s problem. Do let them know that you're doing your best to rectify your mistake and assure them that they will be compensated for their discomfort.
Let them know you care
End your comment by letting the customer know that you care and that their feedback is important to you. Customers are like children who need to be assured that they are special. So thank them for their feedback and tell them that you will act to make things better.
Don’t sweat it if you receive a few bad reviews, respond in the right way and you'll leave a customer happier than they were a while back!
Give us a shout if you need help with managing your Brand's Social Media Reputation!
RedAlkemi was created out of the desire to deliver measurable online success to its customer base. The founders consider themselves the alchemists who work with passion (Red) to develop processes (Alkemi) that turn a basic digital presence to a measurable and successful one, therefore the name RedAlkemi.
Yes, it’s possible! Motivated by innovation, RedAlkemists believe they can help take your business to the next level. In an ever-evolving online environment, our vision is to keep “Shaping a holistic digital presence for businesses through innovative processes.”
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