#3 Key Tips to Handle Negative Feedback on Social Media Realising the importance of customer feedback is something even big brands tend to miss.
By Nidhi Singh
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Social media plays an important role in brand building and engagement. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter give the brand a perfect option to reach out to their customers directly and organically. However, social media can also be challenging for businesses. Things can get out of hand when a customer shares a negative review on a public platform over which you don't have a control. The more bad reviews, the more brand will suffer.
In this scenario, it's important for companies to step up and decide a course of action before its too late.
Given below are a few steps that companies must take to deal with negative feedback on social media.
Become a Good Listener:
For Afsar Zaidi, CEO HRX and Founder Exceed Entertainment, the rules of engagement on social media remain the same irrespective of the platform.
"We implement social media rules all the times when dealing with customers. Brands must remember, the competition in the job market is very high. So be a good listener because listening solves a lot of problems. Secondly, don't delay. Pick up the phone and reach out to the customer if required. And lastly, apologies and pacify publicly," shared Zaidi adding that brand must break rules and make exceptions in case of disgruntled customers.
Navigate Conversations from Online to Offline:
In today's aggressive e-commerce space, it is practically impossible to live in a world full of 5-star reviews. However, a single positive response to negative reviews can actually boost sales for your business.
According to Neerav Jain, Founder and CEO of CityFurnish, the tonality of your response in itself is a response that can make or break your business. Depending on the problem, sometimes it best to initiate the conversation offline rather than leaving a public comment.
"An offline conversation shows your commitment towards the individual concern and leaves the ball in customer's court to further express his/her satisfaction online. Lastly, it is imperative to remember that negative feedback does not mean that your product or service is bad, more likely, it is just a result of mismatched expectations. Businesses should always remember that the best impact of negative reviews is that it highlights other positive ones, some people were unsatisfied but the majority of them loved the product," said Jain.
Be Responsive to the Feedback :
Realising the importance of customer feedback is something even big brands tend to miss. Gaurav Mehta, CEO & Founder of Jaipur Watch Company feels the most important thing a brand can do is interact with each customer and be responsive to the feedback, be it negative or positive.
"Make them feel that their opinion matters because it really does. Reply to their queries, solve their issues related to your products and services as your responsibility doesn't just end after a product is sold. Lastly, always remember that customers validate the existence of your brand. Afterall, a brand image is not what you think it is, but what people think it is," stressed Mehta.
