It’s happened to the best of businesses. Somewhere along the way, a customer is going to complain. And in the new business world of social media and online shopping, opportunities abound for customers to express their opinions, good or bad, more than ever before. Ignore social media, and you’ll ignore a valuable customer base: more than 93% of people shop via the internet, and online reviews are big factors in decision making. Simply put, what your online reviews say about your company matter.
Transparency struck. Now what?
Gleaming web-fronts on social media networks are a start, but what about addressing negative reviews when they come in? Approach each issue in a logical, straightforward manner. Yes, people can be unpleasant, but at the end of the day most customers just want to feel they’ve been listened to. Ignore an angry customer and they’re much more likely to continue to complain publicly. Take the negativity in stride and analyze potential issues with an end goal of arriving at a solution. By addressing customer concerns in a timely fashion and a polite ear, those negative reviews will end up being solid representations of how diligently your company provides excellent customer service.
Don’t despair.
The solution to handling negative online reviews won’t be solved by ignoring them, but by following good business practices and being proactive about the company’s online image. Set up profiles on major social networking sites, and take charge of the face your company puts forward to the public. Offer solid, honest information about goods and services, and encourage customer feedback. The more transparent you are, the better, and taking good and bad feedback in stride will earn you respect among consumers, building a loyal base of customers over time.
Deal with it like a professional.
When it comes to addressing negative reviews, professionalism is key. There’s nothing that looks worse for a company than an overly emotional or unpleasant reaction to customer criticism. It may not be fair, but separate your personal feelings from the criticism and maintain professionalism. Stooping to unprofessional attacks on critics usually ends up drastically decreasing respect and credibility for your business. Once you post online, it’s public. One poorly timed nasty comment towards a customer only takes a fraction of a second to post to Twitter, MySpace, or Facebook. Avoid fallout from engaging in personal battles with customers; be the bigger person, maintain some dignity, and don’t let someone get the best of you. A quick visit to consumer rating sites such as Kudzu or Yelp is a virtual graveyard of companies who have chosen to lash out at customer criticism and failed.
Is it a legitimate complaint?
There’s also the possibility that negative reviews won’t be legitimate. If reviews seem inaccurate, fraudulent, or just plain ridiculous, politely acknowledge the comments but keep it short and sweet. Engaging in drawn out battles over small issues can reflect poorly on a business, and seem petty. Even better, if a particularly ridiculous customer insists on publicly posting an angry tirade, write a polite response indicating all the ways the company addressed the issues. Staying calm and publicly sticking up for your company’s response can turn a negative into a positive. Customers will recognize a jerk when they read one, especially when the company proves it addressed all the complaints. By showing clearly and professionally the ways which the customer’s concerns were resolved and addressed, it indirectly shows the pettiness of the negative reviewer- contrasted with the measured, factual response from your company, readers will end up admiring the way in which a difficult situation was handled with ease.
If ten people say you have a tail,
you should probably look behind you.
If a series of complaints about a similar issue arise, it may be time to examine your business model. What can be improved operationally to bring a higher degree of satisfaction to customers? Are there processes that can be introduced or changed to remedy concerns? It’s important to address criticism as constructive – perhaps some of those negative reviews will end up pointing out issues early on that could potentially have become PR nightmares. Swaying a discontented customer can be challenging, but showing you are working to address their problems goes a long way in building a positive public image.
Learn from the experience.
When dealing with the public, it’s a given that dissatisfied customers will rear their ugly heads from time to time. Use the criticism as a chance to improve and strengthen your business plan. Simply put, the best way to avoid negative reviews is to run a solid, respectable company in the first place. Understand that the negativity isn’t personal, and view it as a way to potentially improve your business or product to make it even better. Criticism and feedback is essential to keeping a solid handle on customer experiences, which greatly influence a company’s bottom line. To keep the profits pouring in and complaints to a minimum, maintain transparency and address concerns swiftly and directly. Be proactive, positive, and honest when maintaining a presence on social media networks. Put your best face forward and encourage satisfied customers to post their experiences as well. Follow this framework and you’ll achieve one of the greatest business strengths of all–a loyal and dedicated customer base.
Encourage positive reviews.
Let’s say you’ve been following all of the advice above but still feel your customer’s online comments aren’t properly reflecting the company’s merits. Perhaps there’s an imbalance between positive and negative reviews. Maybe there aren’t very many reviews period. There’s an easy solution for this: encourage happy, satisfied customers to post reviews and responses online. Remember, the social media sites are meant to reflect accurate customer experiences, not merely complain. A great way to encourage positive feedback posts is to e-mail reminder messages, simply and politely worded, asking customers to post positive feedback regarding their experiences. More often than not people will be flattered to be asked their opinion, and will publicly state their love for your product or service.
