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What do you do when someone writes negative comments about your company on social media?
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6 Answers
1. You thank them for the time they took to share their frustrations, let them know you are not in business to disappoint and let them know you appreciate their comments because now you can go about trying to fix what irked them and ask for their email or phone so you can talk with them to find out everything to see if there is something you can right or change.
2. Address it briefly back on social media so others see your attentive and not shying away from negative comments, but make sure to take the majority of the conversation offline - b/c you need to get personal with them because you don't know how much of an influencer they are and because social media is good for quick comments back, not full discussions and such. They will appreciate you took this time to care enough to want to discuss this in depth too.
3. After you resolve the situation, you get back on social media and let others know you have learned a lot from person "A"and would appreciate if others would come forward with good and bad comments always so you as a business can grow.
4. You mean what you say. If you find out something was wrong, and you say you'll go to the CEOs or you will fix it or whatever the case may be, DO what you say - don't just give a line. Also, email them each time you have an update on that fix - even if it's a one liner. this will again reinforce how much you are a person of your word and you really want them to reconsider giving your company another chance once you get this resolved.
So even if it's a 'hey person A, just wanted to let you know, have a meeting to discuss what we talked about tomorrow at 2pm with the CEO, and I will get back to you within 24 hours as to the updated status" they will be surprised and honored how in touch you still are with them and that you are including them in the process of attempted change or change.
If you can turn their image around or fix whatever they felt was wrong, by doing all these steps/things, you will have a customer or at least a referral vs a naysayer for life! Even if they never say anything about your company again, - nothing is better than negative :)
Stew Leonard, Sr. of Stew Leonard's Dairy Store was fond of saying, "A complaining customer is my best friend." When someone cares enough to write anything about you, thank them for their input. Try to use their comments to learn more about ways to improve the service they received. Also, use the occasion to encourage others to be candid. Communicate what steps you plan for take to insure future hiccups do not occur. And, as your service delivery changes or improves, give some of the credit to those who provided you feedback. The temptation is to "straigten them out and set the record right." Find other ways to do that. Think of customer complaints as not a teachable moment, but rather an opportunity to learn!
Much of it depends on the context but:
We address it head on. If the statement is false, we attempt to educate the author. If they are pointing out a flaw with our product or practices, we attempt to learn from it.
We are as transparent as we can be!
I suppose it all depends on the accuracy of those comments. Maybe your service is inadequate and this person is doing you a favor by bringing their poor experience to your attention. Sometimes this happens and you should learn from it and take measures to raise the bar.
On the other hand, if you believe this customer is an outlier from your usual customer experience, engage them by asking if there's anything you can do to clear the matter up in a professional manner. Sometimes being heard is enough for the person to have a change in attitude, especially if they see that you're willing to help.
I think it is important to engage, they are contacting your organization using a different medium, to a certain degree it is like customers who call you or send you an email to complain about your organization. You look to resolve their issue in a way that is consistent with your organization, and based on your culture you can do that publicly or privately. Then as an added step, it may be a good idea to also have someone manage your social reputation online.
Much like Larry mentioned earlier, it depends upon the context. We tend to address the statement head on as well. I see it as an opportunity to improve what we are doing as a business. It is also an opportunity to correct the information if it is indeed incorrect, or possibly it is an opportunity to educate the customer and others further on the issue or product. It's kind of like being on a sales call and getting an objection. That objection is nothing more than an opportunity for you to get behind your product/company and sell to the customer. With so much information on the internet, people tend to believe everything they read. The opportunities are many - take advantage of them, and know that you can't please all the people all the time, but you can correct false statements and in so doing, build some customer loyalty possibly.
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