Originally posted on Compass Consulting & Solutions – Paul Nottingham
The internet and social media in particular, have made it easier than ever to learn about a business from your home or cell phone without having to go into the business to try their wares. If you are in business today, chances are very good that you will have a certain number of customers that will review your business on social media. The good news is that potential customers can glimpse your business from afar and if you have created an interesting website and social media presence, it can have a very positive effect on garnering new clientele. The bad news is that sometimes no matter how hard you try there will be someone who complains publicly about your business and social media seems to be the new bully pulpit for such complaints. In fact, a recent study shows that 66% of bad reviews of a business occur on social media. So now that you know it is probably going to happen, how do you overcome the naysayers??
Build a strong and positive online presence…
If you build a strong website with a features and benefits based approach, you can help to avoid certain negative reviews. For example, if you own a dry-cleaning business and you do some repairs but don’t work on leather coats you need to make sure you spell out what you can and can’t do in your website. This can help eliminate frustrations from some customers that just assume all dry cleaners can work on leather coats. Likewise, if you are a Sushi restaurant and do only Sushi and no other cooked type foods, you can help reviews from disappointed customers that won’t eat anything uncooked. Be sure to portray your services and products in a positive light and with an eye on value added quality and service.
Resist the urge to retaliate…
In football, they say a good defense is the best offense. But in the world of social media, “flaming” a negative poster can get ugly and may be perceived as hostile to all customers and can turn many folks off. You should respond privately, and acknowledge the issue, while offering to make the situation right by the customer. Realize, that sometimes no matter what you do, you won’t be able to satisfy some folks. If this particular customer continues to post negative reviews even after you have exhausted all options to provide a mutually beneficial resolution, you may just have to ban them. And when you are done, be sure you turn your attention back toward satisfying your current and future customers. By accentuating the positive you invite many ore positive reviews and that is the best remedy for curing a bad review or at least minimizing its impact on your overall persona.
Entice customers with online only offers……
You can measure the effectiveness of your social media footprint and also help to overcome a negative review by offering online only specials/deals. After all, the online crowd is going to see the reviews online and what better way to overcome a negative than with a positive?? By utilizing the social media tools to help advertise, you minimize costs associated with advertising, and you can do a bit of data mining to determine who is responding to the ads and offers- resulting in a win-win-win. Your customer wins because they are able to take advantage of the discounted offer, you win because you are gaining new business, and your business wins because you are able to glean data that helps determine who is responding, what price point they are responding to, age groups and other demographics that can help you plan for future offers and growth-Win-Win-WIN.
Show a commitment to constant improvement. . . .
One bad review is not the end of the world, and if you are proactive and constantly vigilant about improvement, you can rest assured that your customers will respond accordingly. Take the opportunity to reflect on a poor review and determine if it is a gripe or if your business stumbled. Either way, address the complaint and manage the processes that lead to improvement in your quality and service levels, and if you do, you should see more positive reviews and enjoy new growth from folks eager to spend their money with you!