In today’s highly connected society, people share their feelings about both good and bad service, products, and companies simply by going online and posting to their social media profiles. It’s also common for them to go directly to companies’ social media feeds and attempt to engage with brand representatives there. However, social media feedback is not necessarily a reason to panic. It’s crucial for businesses to take prompt action to communicate with upset people.
Show Receptivity and Willingness
Various best practices exist for companies that want to respond to their negative feedback on social media. As a start, reply in a way that shows you’re open to the person’s comments, and that you have read them carefully. Then, demonstrate that you’re ready and eager to do anything within your power to make things right.
Customers don’t want to get the feeling that you’re just giving them the run-around. Express empathy and convey that you understand what made them want to weigh in with their thoughts. You can’t know precisely how they’re feeling, but try to imagine how you’d feel if in their position. Being that receptive sets the stage for you to smooth things over with the person.
Consider Inviting the Customer to Talk with You Offline
Sometimes, getting maximum effectiveness from your attempts to calm a customer means requesting that the individual communicates with you in a way not involving social media. Although social media is a very accessible way to have a discussion, it also has shortcomings. For example, the customer and any other members of the public that can view your social media feed have the option to capture screenshots of what’s said, then take them out of context.
Social media also has the disadvantage of being a text-based mode of communication. That means it’s easy for things to get misunderstood.
Manage Your Social Media Presence Before Problems Arise
Hersh Davis-Nitzberg is the founder and CEO of a reputation management firm called Reputation Control, Inc., and he recommends that you take the time necessary to proactively manage your company’s reputation before damage occurs. Taking that action extends beyond social media, but you can start in that sector of the online realm and gradually broaden your scope.
Depending on your company’s size and resources, it may be worthwhile to hire dedicated team members that solely handle needs related to the company’s reputation, including crafting all relevant communications on social media and elsewhere. Those people can stay on top of issues so that they don’t get out of hand.
Protecting your company’s reputation before and after negative feedback gets published on social media is not always an easy task. But, it’s a crucial one that could directly impact your enterprise’s marketplace longevity.
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