Handling Negative Feedback On The Web
With all the web has to offer these days you have to be willing to take not only the good but the bad.
We have found businesses that have an online presence have not fully embraced the idea of implementing certain forms of user generated content on their site, such as a forum or a blog. Lots of business owners use the excuse that they don’t want to give consumers the ability to leave negative feed back about their products or services. But, Why NOT?
You may not realize this but your buying audience is talking online all the time and they hold all the cards. The online surfers of today are sharing what they like and what they don’t like on message boards, blogs, forums and more. At no other time in history has the consumer had as much power as they do now. The consumer is in control from the first search query to the blurb they left on their blog about how they felt about their experience shopping with you. WOW! Think of the implications of that!
You should know that a person is more likely to go out of their way to let others know about a bad experience they had then they are a good experience. If a customer has a bad experience with a company they are going to talk about it and share it with others.
Word of mouth was the only way individuals could make their displeasure known before the Internet. Now, with the conception of the world wide web word of mouth magnified by millions. Hundreds of thousands of people now have the opportunity to read a negative comment about your services. And from that, they may make a decision on whether or not to purchase your products or the next guy’s.
With that in mind, we have to think carefully about how we are going to react to negative comments that will certainly be left by unhappy customers.
Now, you could:
Ignore the Problem: You could simply not respond at all. However, that’s like taking the ostrich approach and sticking your head in the sand, missing the world because you are too scared to surface and handle confrontation. Not only can this lead to a large loss in business and a damaged reputation but it’s a weak business practice that will most certainly never result in happy repeat customers. And isn’t that what we all want?
Calm Your Angry Customers
The Defense Rests:
Defending your company’s bad business habits or mistakes, whether major or minor, can prove to be a costly mist ake too. Tone is often hard to judge when written and can be taken defensively by the already annoyed customer. The only response you are likely to get is an angry one. Again, this will result in loss of repeat business and a possible bad rep.
The customer is ALWAYS right! We have all heard that before, right. The thing about though is it’s true. The customer is always right and nobody is perfect. So own up to your mistakes and do your best to rectify the situation so you keep them coming back.
Businesses make mistakes all the time and a good shopper knows this. The problem comes when the mistake is handled poorly. If you ignore the issue or become defensive you have lost the sale and probably any repeat business from that customer. You also take a chance on this disgruntled customer sharing their experience with others, and they will. So, why take a chance in today’s connected world?
So, what should you do when faced with negative comments or complaints?
The first thing you should do is apologize or recognize the error! There is nothing wrong with recognizing the mistake and acknowledging it took place.
Next, you should see how you can quickly rectify the situation. Yes, that bad comment is out there for everyone to see but so is your response.
If you handle your response well it can show other potential customers that you care and you have the customer’s best interest at heart. They like it when you care.
Make your customers happy no matter what it takes
It also shows you’re involved with your customer base. Just because you’re doing business online doesn’t mean you can’t see eye to eye. If you make yourself available to your buying public you can’t go wrong. You can achieve this by utilizing some of the social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, a blog and forums.
If you ask me, the web is just another way to provide great customer service and support for your products. Remember, good customer service keeps people coming back. Just because they are shopping online doesn’t mean you can’t treat them like they were standing right in front of you.
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