Receiving engagement on your business posts is usually a positive, but on the (hopefully rare) occasion that a user comments negatively – what do you do?
It’s never nice to be criticised and I think a natural reaction is to panic a little bit. Do I respond? What should I say? How many people have seen this already?
The best thing to do is to step back for a second, breathe, and think calmly. Is the offending comment true and relevant? If the user is reporting a problem, has it since been resolved?
In customer-facing industries, we have to pay special attention to the idea that the customer’s always right. Yes, it is often easier to appease someone by agreeing with them, but when you are online, the dynamics are a little different.
We’ve all heard the saying “Once it’s on the internet, there’s no pulling it back” and, whilst that’s not always true, it’s worth bearing in mind when it comes to negativity. One short, hot-headed reply could land you in trouble with future customers for years to come.
So, what should you do when people leave negative comments or reviews on your online business activity?
How to respond
Firstly, make sure what they’re saying is correct. I’m not suggesting that you ever call a customer a liar, but there are ways of diffusing tense situations if you can calmly prove that these claims are false.
If the comment is true, then check to see if the problem has been resolved before replying. For example, if someone is complaining about an order being delivered faulty, you may have already sent out a replacement or given them a refund – spell this out in your response. Prospective customers seeing this interaction will be reassured to see that you handle problems in an efficient manner.
Secondly, make sure the comment is relevant. Are they talking about your business specifically and are they a genuine customer?
When marketing for an estate agent, I once received a comment complaining about estate agents in general – I addressed it directly by saying “We’re sorry that you’ve had a negative experience with estate agents in the past. We see you haven’t worked with us before, so feel free to get in touch to see how we could help you.”. Exposing irrelevant comments helps to disassociate the business from the negativity whilst remaining polite and helpful.
On that note – apologise to customers when they’re unhappy, BUT be careful what you’re apologising for. I prefer saying “I’m sorry you haven’t had a positive experience with us so far”, instead of explicitly addressing their complaint; avoid seeming to assume guilt.
Lastly, if a comment is true, relevant, and you haven’t yet fixed the issue, BUT the criticism is written in a constructive manner – say thank you. Adding a short sentence along the lines of “Thank you for your feedback, we’re committed to constantly improving the experience for our customers.” can show users that you’re not being defensive and you’re happy to learn.
Summary
In my opinion, it is incredibly important to address all online negativity towards your business. By ignoring complaints, it can make you look ‘guilty’ or as if you don’t care about your customers’ feedback. The key things to remember are: be polite and as helpful as possible.
Grace Appleby 