For many business owners, social media has been a boon to their companies.
Not only does the social media venue assist them in selling their products and services to customers, but they can use the medium to have one-on-one real-time interaction with the buying public.
That being said, one of the potential negatives of social media is that customers can take to the Internet and instantaneously complain about a product and/or service, raise questions about the strength of one's business, and potentially plant seeds of doubt in the minds of other current or would-be customers.
As a business owner who has a significant online presence, how should you go about handling customer complaints, meaning you solve the problem and avoid negative publicity to your company in the process?
There are various methods in dealing with this, including:
- Listen to what people are saying about you - The initial and worst thing one can do is over react with a customer. Let's say a customer comes into your salon for a haircut and leaves disappointed. They could complain to the stylist or you on the spot. More than likely, however, they will use the Internet to vent some frustration, telling others about their negative experience. It may be an innocent share or tweet, but it can have negative ramifications for your business as it spins its way around the web. Maybe in the past you blew off a negative comment or two figuring it would go away. With today's Internet world, such comments have the ability to spread quickly while being archived for an unlimited amount of time;
- Think, and then respond - In the heat of the moment, it is very easy to fire off a response that could bring you repercussions for some time to come. Take the time to think through what you want to say to the customer online, how your response might be weighed, and what you want from this relationship going forward. It is better to have a well thought out response and take the extra time then to respond angrily and potentially lose a customer or two;
- Gather all the details - As the head of a business and/or department, you don't always know what the staff under you is doing. That being the case, make sure you obtain all the facts before going online to respond. There may have been something as innocent as a miscommunication that upset your customer. Talk to any and all involved employees and get their side of the story, the customer's version of events, and any other extenuating issues before acting;
- Learn from others - It is never a bad idea to pan around the web and see how the competition handles such matters. By doing so, you get an idea of the response by both business and customer;
- Have a policy in place - While all situations are likely to be different, it is good to be consistent with your online customer responses. One thing that customers seek from a business is consistency. If how you handle such matters is all over the board, you are likely to come across as not knowing what you are doing, out of touch with folks, and quite frankly, ineffective.
As the social media medium continues to grow, business owners are best advised to become more skilled at handling online questions and concerns from consumers sooner rather than later.
Remember, it just takes a handful of bad customer experiences online for the viral world to explode unfavorably against you and your business.
Dave Thomas writes extensively for B2b lead generation online resource Resource Nation that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs. He is an expert writer on items like credit card processing companies and is based in San Diego, California.