Having a negative experience on social media? Here are a few hints and tips on how to perfect damage control….
The thing about social media is that it’s all very public – which can be great in some ways, and not so great in others. As a business, there is a chance that you might experience an unsatisfied customer here and there, no matter how hard you try. Back in the day, this meant a strongly-worded letter, a phone call and unfortunately, bad word of mouth to a circle of friends: Only now in the world of social media, that circle of friends has expanded ten-fold in the form of followers. So, say someone has had an experience with your business, their words are rather offensive and you feel that your company and service is being portrayed in a negative light on social media – what do you do?
Take it Offline
First of all, apologise to the person and ask them to please contact through private message or send further details to a company email address. If you start answering back in a negative fashion, you will look unprofessional in the eyes of your other followers (and the followers of the person complaining too)
Listen & React Accordingly
Once you are in a private conversation with the person, ask them for as many details of the experience as possible. Was there a misunderstanding? Are they even talking about your company? We’ve seen that one before! When you know the issue – let the customer know that you will be taking action to fix it in a polite and professional manner.
Eg: “Thank you for your comments – I have arranged a meeting with the staff that were on that night and will be taking action to ensure that something similar will not happen again”
Take a Deep Breath
Sometimes you cannot please everyone. Despite apologising, despite acting on their comments, despite offering a token for the trouble, some people simply want to get a reaction. The important thing is to keep your cool and to detach yourself – even though a negative comment on your company may feel like a negative comment on your character. Regardless of how much someone may taunt you, no name-calling under any circumstances.
For outsourced damage control for your business, across various social media streams such as Facebook, Twitter or TripAdvisor, get in touch
