Posted by Social media is widely used all over the globe. It is a source of connection between people. It might not be wrong to say that social media is a public platform. Anything posted on social media is shared, liked, disliked, and commented publicly. Brands and companies use promotional apps for customer engagement and facilitation.
Good reviews and high ratings encourage customer’s satisfaction, and a good impression is left. It acts as a catalyst to boost product sale rates. It enhances brand and customer relationships. Same as these negative comments discourage customers and customers no longer rely on that brand or company. Whenever someone writes negative comments about the product, everyone can see it.
It captures the attention of numerous people. They very keenly observe the negative statements and respond accordingly. They will judge based on; how the brand responds to negative comments, how much time they took to react, what was their answer, what was the customer’s reaction, the way to make an unsatisfied customer happy, and how did the whole thing end.
Dealing with negative comments is quite different from dealing with regular compliments.
1. Respond Quickly To Negative Comments
On receiving a negative comment, try to respond quickly. Customers will have a great impression of that. The report of Convince and Convert shows that 42% of customers are looking to have a response within 60 minutes while 32% of them are expecting the response within 30 minutes. Many business rivals are looking for chances instead, they contact the regular customer and grab him/her, so try to reply soon and resolve issues as soon as possible.
2. Be Polite, Calm and Helpful
Respond calmly, politely, and with delight to all new and regular customers. Most complaints come from people who like your company and want to remain as a regular customer. When one listens, the customer develops a sense of emotional attachment towards the company for this fair and healthy response. In the future, they are likely to share their views openly. For long term relationships with customers, treat them as valued friends.
3. Respond Publicly First Before Moving To a Private Conversation
Always prefer to respond publicly first to any negative comment on social media. It is significant to showcase the brand as cooperative, caring, clear, helpful, and attentive. After responding publicly, contact customers privately to help resolve the issues and problems into a healthy discussion, thus to meet customers’ need. Contacting them personally also makes them believe that the company is sorry and is willing to help. It also personalizes the overall experience of switching from public to private.
5. Customer Satisfaction Should Be a Priority
Above all, customer satisfaction must have to be a priority in dealing. Customer bonding is necessary for promoting brand image. Refund money as soon as possible, if there was some problem or flaw in the product. It will leave an impact on the customer that you are valuable, and the brand cherishes you. It will help you gain customers’ trust. The customer being satisfied will share their personal and healthy responses with their friends, family, and relatives, etc. Companies should share satisfied customer stories on their social media platforms. These stories will promote business in a more understandable way than any other form of advertising.
6. Tap Into Social Listening
It is a crucial step that helps you to handle negative comments related to brand or product. Sometimes customers do not directly comment on your brand page or app, rather they will mention it on different brand pages or apps. Set Google alert that can detect wherever the brand name will be used on different social media platforms in real-time and will notify. It will help to trace all those customers who had bad experiences, and all those are destroying brands’ reputation on purpose.
7. Watch Out For Internet Trolls
Connecting with the customer is essential for promoting public relations. Care for customers’ thoughts, views, and liking is very important. However, there will always be malicious people who aim to cause trouble by randomly posting negative comments. Negative feedback is inevitable for business. If, after investigating, it proves that those comments are baseless and lacks truth, then without being anxious, cautiously delete and hide troll’s comment to prevent any inconvenience. It will help you to prevent spinning situations out of control.
Final Thoughts
All stated tips will help to handle negative comments on social media as a professional. Other than this, try to avoid taking customers’ complaints personally, responding to negative comments in a defensive attitude, and being anxious about negative reviews. Companies and brands should set some rules and regulations or policies to handle negative reviews as soon as possible to avoid any kind of mismanagement, distrust, and dissatisfaction. If customers are not entertained, then the business will be on shaky terms.
Shawn Mack is a content writer who offers ghostwriting, copy-writing, and blogging services. His educational background in business and technical field has given him a broad base from which to approach many topics. He is also fond of writing interesting blogs on technology & digital marketing related topics. He occasionally writes blog articles for Upkeep.
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