You have all heard it. Social media...it is "the" way to get customers to become rabid advocates for your goods and services. They do the marketing for you by talking about you on Facebook, your Fan Page or sending out tweets on twitter. Wow...this stuff is cool! To repeat the phrase from McDonald's...you sit back and say "I'm lovin' it!"
But how would feel or more importantly respond when it goes the other way? You know the kind of tweet and/or bad press that stays with you. And not just for a day, but forever? We have clients everyday who ask us "How can we control what people say about our business?"
The truth is you really can't. And if negatives are there, don't do what some others before you have done and just delete the comments. While this is a downside to social media, you can also use this time to win this person back and perhaps make things right.
Don't engage publicly with the person who is commenting negatively!
The last thing you want to do is get into a public war of words in a public forum! Things can quickly be misconstrued and the result is that things could get worse...a lot worse! Even if you are right, you will be perceived in an ill light. Take another approach.
Should you respond personally and publicly to these types of comments?
If you have done a good job prior to this, let your fans take over for you to have your back. Customers who are satisfied and actually love what you do for them speak louder than you ever could.
Reach out privately to the individual!
Sometimes, people just want to be heard and acknowledged. You will be surprised how a "Sorry you had a bad experience. How can we help you?" sent to them makes the situation better. But remember to provide them an opportunity to do that offline. Many times it can end right there.
You can send that person a message on Facebook or DM them on Twitter to keep unhappy folks out of the public view and handle them on a more manageable 1 on 1 basis. If you have a help/support staff that can be called, you might provide their number to the party who is disgruntled. Or if you have a second tier support, that would give this person the feeling that they are truly being heard (make sure you communicate the times the line is staffed and do make sure they are heard and attended to)
Now that you have that person being treated in a very personal manner, provide them the same level of support that you would with anyone that is calling. More often than not, if you resolve their issue, they will be happy once again. And they will probably tell everyone they know how they used social media to get their issue fixed.
Finally, if at all possible, when the situation is at a conclusion, just follow up to see that the person had their voice heard and needs met.
Are you interested in how to use social media in your business? Don't know where to start or which sites you should be using for your business?
Believe it or not, not doing social media right can actually harm your business.
If you are looking for free tips or advice on how to approach your social media, go to Social Media Dudes
Or follow our tweets on Twitter at twitter.com/johnpanico
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