Negative social media comments and reviews might be funny at times, but they can be quite damaging to businesses. The influence of internet reviews on customer behaviour has been studied extensively, and the general agreement is that:
• Online reviews are viewed (and cared about) by most consumers
• According to GoDaddy, most customers are interested in how companies respond to negative comments
When someone leaves bad feedback on Google, for example, all your present and future customers may see it, as well as your response. Is that reaction calm and compassionate, impulsive, and emotional, or something else entirely?
It’s important to respond to all comments — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
If you’re a business owner and haven’t discovered a way to politely deal with your clients online, this is your sign to take note and make a change! In this blog, we’ll go over key advice when dealing with negative social media comments, including what not to do!
Take it offline
Our first and most important piece of advice is to take it offline. When someone gives you negative feedback, it’s easy to want to delete it altogether or take it as a personal dig and try to explain your side of the situation then and there. You can do this, but just not online for everyone to see! The problem is it can quickly escalate into a ‘he said she said’ type situation. If you respond to the negative review with compassion and offer a form of communication to resolve the query, this can stop the issue from escalating publicly. For example, you could offer an email address, phone number or website link (feedback survey).
Make yourself noticeable and available
Customers should be able to contact you and you should be able to reach out to them easily, for example through a support email address, company chatbot or social media profiles. If you are easily contactable and the customer is aware of who they need to speak to (for example an Account Manager) this could stop the negative review from even happening in the first place!
Offer a solution
Actions speak louder than words and accidents happen! If there has been a genuine error on your part, an idea would be to offer a discount/money-back as part of the resolve. This can pay off in the form of a loyal customer or future business – word of mouth marketing is a powerful thing.
Pay attention to feedback
The best entrepreneurs understand that they must take the good with the bad, and that bumps on the road — such as unfavourable comments — are unavoidable. Make an effort to respond to unfavourable social media remarks properly and to pay attention to the customer’s views – this could actually help shape your business for the better in the long run.
Finally, bear in mind that while considering how to respond to negative feedback, the most essential thing to remember is that your consumers are seeking assistance or we’re unhappy with a service. If you manage to resolve this efficiently, they may even retract the initial comment/review and reassess the situation.
If you’d like any help with social media strategy, social media management or any other of our rockstar digital marketing services, we’d love to help. Get in touch with our Warrington based team of rockstars today!
Stay Safe,
Eve
