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A Guide to Handling Negative Feedback about Your Brand

Social media has become a powerful platform for businesses to promote their brand and maintain relationships with their customers. It has immensely helped companies boost their online presence and attract audiences from different parts of the world.

The downside of these developments is that it has become much easier for unhappy customers to voice their complaints in the public sphere and potentially put your brand’s reputation at risk. And unfortunately, if these kinds of crises brought on by social media keep escalating, they can pose a significant threat to your company’s profits. 

This is why it is essential to establish a business Action Plan focused on handling negative feedback about your brand and have a strategy to respond to client complaints. To keep these issues from evolving into much bigger problems, there are a few steps you can take to save your business’s reputation. 

Monitor Your Social Media

To fix emerging issues promptly, you need to be updated about all the comments or complaints from individuals interacting with your social media posts. We recommend using software that allows you to track mentions of your company online. 

This way, you will be able to see and address negative feedback immediately. And when you respond promptly and in public, it will show potential and loyal customers that you care about their concerns and are willing to correct any mistakes on your part. 

Respond Promptly

It is no secret that the speed of company response to complaints matters a lot to customers. After all, they spent money on a product or service, and it follows that they expect a quick response to whatever their concern is. Service-level agreements (SLAs) vary among industries and will largely depend on the type of product or service you offer, but it is always best to issue a reply within 30 minutes. 

Slow responses can make a customer feel frustrated and ignored, possibly encouraging the circulation of negative feedback about your brand across different social media platforms. 

Be Genuine to Your Customers

Clients are humans and want to know that they are talking to humans, too. This is why it is best to avoid defensive, rigid, and scripted responses that make customers feel like you are treating them as one of many nuisances.

Running a business is not easy, and we understand that you want to maintain a clean, spotless image for your target audience. However, do not be afraid to talk about your lapses and apologize for them when addressing negative feedback. Try your best to make a human connection with your customer by assuring them that you are genuine about wanting to talk about their concerns. 

Determine the Best Way to Engage

We understand that you should always be aiming to satisfy your customers. However, you must also set non-negotiable boundaries for derogatory comments from your customers or social media followers. Do not hesitate to be firm about unacceptable language and reiterate what actions are considered a violation of your online community terms. 

It may be best not to delete comments since this can make the customer angrier and encourage more complaints from other users. On some platforms, you can choose to hide a comment from the public while letting it remain visible to the person who posted it. Otherwise, gently remind users that you are always open to discussing and fixing a complaint but do not tolerate disrespectful behavior on your channels.

Conclusion

With this guide, we hope you become better at assessing and responding to negative comments online. This type of feedback is experienced by most companies regardless of their industry, so do not be discouraged or feel that you have failed in your enterprise. Instead, treat negative feedback from your customers as opportunities to enhance your product or service and improve your business processes. 

For reliable resources on starting a business, connect with New Business Centre. We help new business owners navigate the complex world of starting a new business, from operations, sales, marketing, and more. Get a free Action Plan today!