How to deal with negative reviews via social media?

How to deal with negative reviews via social media?

Determine a strategy in advance

Be prepared for negative reactions or criticism. Ensure that all employees are prepared for this and draw up a number of rules internally on how to deal with this. Record this in your online strategy, so that negative reviews are responded to in an unambiguous manner. This exudes professionalism.

Ignoring is out of the question

Ignoring may seem like the easiest option, but that is definitely not the case. By ignoring a frustrated customer, you often make the problem worse. The frustrated customer becomes even more frustrated. This can ensure that the responses he publishes online are even more intense. If you do not immediately know what response you can give, suspect the customer for a moment and apologize for having a closer look at the problem. It is important that you provide a suitable answer afterward. This way you prevent reputation damage.

Think before you react

Customers expect a response via social media more and more quickly, but it is important that the quick response also contains a qualitative message. Think before you respond. When customers give you a negative review, it can also frustrate you as an entrepreneur. By responding too quickly, you might say things that you shouldn't have said. Do you not always know what to do? Then consult a colleague. The more input, the more informed your response.

"Under Snow" in the search results

The bad news is usually better remembered than good news. A disadvantage of negative reviews is that potential customers can come across them when searching for your company name, and that can cause them to drop out. The easiest solution would be to remove the reviews, but you shouldn't do this. There are always people who have seen the reactions. If you remove them, it often comes across as a form of shame or concession of the problem, even though you think the negative review is unjustified. 'Under snow' does not mean here that you have to pretend that your nose is bleeding. What you can do is optimize your online communication for search engines ( SEO ). This way, other things about your company are at the top of the search results, without the negative reviews disappearing.

Empathetic, but not uncertain

It is often said that the customer is king. The truth of that lies somewhere in the middle. You must indeed always treat a customer with respect, but that does not mean that they may portray you disrespectfully. You always have people who get into the pen with the slightest annoyance. As a company, it is therefore important that you respond with the necessary respect and empathy, but make sure that you do not come across as uncertain and that you do not allow yourself to be acted across the board. When customers scold your skin, you don't have to pick this up. Inappropriate language may or may not be removed from social media.

Enter into a dialogue

By entering into a dialogue, you get a better picture of what the criticism or review is about. Customers also appreciate that you take the time to talk to them, instead of briefly soothing their conscience with a short response.

Respect privacy

It is important that you respect the privacy of customers. If you feel that the review is about personal information, switch to the private chat or contact us by phone.

Bend it to something positive

Bear in mind that the complaint may come from an influencer. These are followers or customers who also have several hundred fans themselves. Incorrect handling of a negative review can make it from bad to worse. But if you take the tips in this article into account, then influencers who are pleasantly surprised by your answer can, in turn, spread this to their fans or followers.

Monitoring tools

Often you have more than one social media channel where a negative review can end up. We recommend that you use monitoring tools to follow up all questions or complaints quickly and efficiently. This can be a platform on which you can see all the questions on social media in one dashboard. An absolute no-goes in formulating a quick response via social media is that you tell the customer to send an email or to call your organization. Also, do not refer to Facebook when a complaint arrives on Twitter.

Rate feedback

Don't try to see a negative review completely as something negative. Everything from feedback to your company ensures that you can only get better. Take every review with you in your backpack to tackle it better in the future.
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