How to Respond to Negative Comments on Social Media

Regardless of the seamless experience you provide your customers and the hundreds or thousands of happy shoppers who will sing your praises, every small business will have a few unhappy customers who let their unhappiness be known. Unhappy customers leave negative reviews that can bring down your ratings and send a red flag to potential customers. Fortunately, how you handle negative reviews online can turn frowns upside down and even leave a positive impact on that individual relationship and your brand's image overall.

Image via Mashable

How to Respond to Negative Facebook Comments

1. Reflect. Negative comments can shed light on unknown issues. Take a moment to reflect and consider the truth to their statement.

2. Respond. Always respond! Engaged pages are the best pages and a response will show you are open to feedback and approachable.

3. Add a positive. Your response is an opportunity to share something positive about your business. Never tell the customer they are wrong-- an online fight doesn't help anyone. Hear the customer out and then use the space to share a brand commitment. For example, "We are so sorry for your experience....Throughout our 10 years in business, we have always worked to..."

4. Send a message. Sometimes the issue is too big to be handled with a comment. Send a direct message needed-- and be sure to comment on their public post to ask them to check their inbox. This is also a great time to ask them to call you directly.

5. Let it be. Often, customers will remove or revise a heated negative review once the issue has been resolved. If time has passed and the review still stands, let it be. Potential clients will see your thoughtful reply and other positive reviews. Most pages have a few negative reviews sprinkled in with the positives.

6. Add to the good. Ask satisfied customers to leave a review on Facebook and share their experience. Most people are eager to share their thoughts-- and a photo of their new purchase! Our online marketing department can create collateral and promotions to increase online reviews.

Have a question? Call us toll free at 1-800-373-4373 or shoot an email to ashley@gemfind.com.

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