Businesses and brands reap many benefits from an active social media presence. Unfortunately, the personal connections that make social media special can also lead to uncomfortable negative comments on your page from disgruntled customers. No business or brand wants to see unhappy customers putting their name on blast for other potential customers to see. There’s no real way to prevent negative comments, but how you handle them can make or break your relationships with customers.
The don’ts
To start, let’s address some of the things you should avoid doing when you see a negative comment or post relating to your brand.
Ignore it- by thinking the comment will somehow resolve itself by avoiding it, you’ll probably make the situation worse. There may be the occasional internet “troll” that’s trying to get a reaction out of your business, but most negative comments come from unhappy customers. One ignored comment can quickly turn into a social media wildfire that’s rather difficult to put out. It’s better to have some sort of response than no response at all.
Delete it this if no one saw it it didn’t happen
Approach can also cause brands to lose the trust of customers who notice their comments and feedback being removed. Remember, even if that customer’s review isn’t seen by others on your page, they have hundreds of friends and other calling lists ways to get their message out that will cause much more damage than a negative review. The example below shows a furious customer re-posting an incredibly angry message after her first one was removed. When people see this message, they lose trust in the company who is attempting to cover up a product flaw. You can delete spam, profanity, or random attacks that are not related to your company. Deleted comment
Non-apology apology- you should absolutely avoid responding with an apology that’s not heart felt or sincere. We’ve all seen the comments before from a company that touts their success instead of responding to the actual problem. The response usually goes something like this: “our company has been providing excellence for over 75 years, we are sorry that our product didn’t meet your expectations.” this kind of half apology puts the blame back on the customer for having unrealistic expectations instead of apologizing for a fault in the product quality. One thing to remember is that the customer is always right, even when they’re wrong.
Identify who you’re talking to
The rude apology- it should be a no brainer, but avoid saying anything mean or rude to your customers. This not only makes them angrier, but also ruins your brand image.
What you can do
Now that you have an idea of some IS Lists of the things that you probably shouldn’t do when you receive a negative comment, let’s talk about some things you can do. Remember, customers who take the time to complain are usually looking for a reason to stay a customer. They care enough to tell you about their experience with your brand and are looking for some sort of resolution.
Just like crayons, not all customers are alike. A study on customer complaints outlines three kinds of customers that issue complaints. By knowing what persona the customer fits into, you can better tailor your response to suit them.
