If it hasn’t happened to you yet, you are lucky – but at some point, your home care business might face some backlash over something you did or didn’t do. The Internet is practically a free-for-all, where anyone can share a feedback and voice their concerns.
Why Should You Care?
Research shows that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 72% report that positive reviews make them trust a business more.
Social media is public, which means every time a customer writes a negative review about your business; the entire social media audience is able to see it. People judge you based on various criteria:
- How quickly you respond?
- What is your reaction?
- What is the customer’s reaction?
- How does the whole thing end?
People on social media platforms, be it Facebook, Instagram or Twitter literally live there. They post in the morning, while having breakfast, after dinner, and even in the middle of the night. So, if you plan to take your business to social media, be ready to do the same.
Here’s How to Handle Negative Client Reviews on Social Media like a Pro
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Ignoring Online Reviews Isn’t In Your Best Interest:
You might think you should ignore the detractors in order to avoid getting into a contentious back-and-forth on a social platform. However, responding to negative comments or bad reviews on social media shows that you actually care about the concerns of your clients. On the other hand, ignoring them make things worse by giving off the perception that you do not care about them.
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Never Ever Remove Negative/Bad Comments:
You might be tempted to remove negative comments, but you should never ever do that. If you do so, be sure the upset customer will be back: angrier, louder, and more frustrated.
Note: There’s one case when you should remove a negative comment: when you are more than 200% sure that it is coming from a troll. If someone writes irrational things about your business or abuses you, delete it.
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See the Positive in the Negative:
Negative reviews actually have a silver lining for your business. Although it is difficult to see the real value behind those not-so-pleasant feedbacks, remember there are companies out there which pay big money just to survey people to get insight on how they can better themselves. So when you get it for free, see it as a chance to learn and improve. You will be amazed at how crafting a decent response can help you turn a negative feedback into an opportunity to regain trust of the reviewer, and even win over some new customers.
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Carefully Craft Your Response:
It is obvious to be offended or angry when someone badmouths you on a public platform. However, you must cool down before responding to any critical client feedback, especially when you think their opinion is wrong, unfair, or ill-intentioned. Come across as a reasonable person and not someone who flies off the handle after seeing the negative feedback.
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Ignoring Online Reviews Isn’t In Your Best Interest:
You might think you should ignore the detractors in order to avoid getting into a contentious back-and-forth on a social platform. However, responding to negative comments or bad reviews on social media shows that you actually care about the concerns of your clients. On the other hand, ignoring them make things worse by giving off the perception that you do not care about them.
Tips:
- Do not attack
- Be careful with your tone
- Avoid tit-for-tat
- Show empathy
- Be authentic and conversational
- Be thankful for the feedback
Follow Up To Show You Care:
Once you listen to the concern of a client, do not leave it there. Contact them to ensure they are happy with the steps you’ve taken for rectifying what they thought was wrong. Not only will this make you feel better, but will also help you create a culture that embraces both positive and negative feedback.
You have to be no less than a customer concierge, doing everything you can to make every one of your customers feel acknowledged, appreciated, and heard. Social media gives businesses the tools to do that for the first time in a scalable way.”
-Gary Vaynerchuk
So, follow the aforementioned tips and take advantage of the opportunity called ‘Negative Client Reviews’.