by Matthew Mora
We’ve all had the angry customer, the unhappy individual or group that has shown unhappiness for your service or product, and chooses to express this unhappiness over the internet. More specifically on social media pages, yelp, or on your google business review. In the cyber realm, it feels as if you can’t do anything about these negative reviews. Though everything that is put on the internet is set in stone, your ability to address the issue could make a huge difference in customer perception. We’ve gathered some ways to deal with these negative reviews:
Empathize with your customer
Acknowledgement is the first step in handling these bad reviews. Empathizing with the customer would be the next step. Anyone can simply apologize online, but it takes a little more to actually communicate that online. Since the communication between the customer and you are strictly over the internet it’s hard to articulate any emotion, and thus any empathy for their disdain. This goes for anything that is not done face-to-face. As a result, we’ve gathered some statement that you can lead with that will assist in this:
1. I see you’ve been with [Company Name] for X years. That’s a long time!
2. I appreciate your patience.
3. Thank you for remaining so positive.
4. Your business means a lot to us.
5. I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
Create a dialogue
Whether it be a review or a comment expressing any sort of disdain it is important to quickly acknowledge the user, and address the issue head-on. Make it so that you address the user’s negative comment in a constructive way, and in a manner where you can offer some sort of resolution then and there. Open dialogue is always the best way in which you can resolve this issue not only for the customer, but to also gain some sort of feedback on your customer’s experience. Make sure you keep the conversation in a neutral tone when typing out your responses to the customer, address everything head-on while keeping their attention. Give them something they want to reply to during this exchange. This ensures the customer knows you care about their issue and want to resolve it.
Offer Incentives
This is a good option if user is extremely fired up behind the keyboard about your product/service. This is a constructive way is to ensure they are offered an incentive for their bad experience. For example, if a customer expresses their disdain, offer them a coupon or x amount off on their next stay, purchase etc. Offer free drinks, meals, or something that could 1) diffuse the situation further 2) ensure you maintain retention by keeping your customers happy. In the end, that is the ultimate goal. In the cyber realm, your performance scores go a long way when trying to bring in more customers who are searching for a service just like yours. Ask the customer for their email, or message them directly in order to send them their incentive.
As you see, customer perception is very important and even if your attempts in reaching out to unhappy customers falls flat. Your attempt to fix the issue will be acknowledged by other customers, and it could make a difference in customer perception. Everything on the internet is set in stone, you should make it work to your advantage. Finally, don’t forget to keep the communication channels open with your customers online and offline. Go above and beyond in addressing concerns in an effective and timely matter, and it will help your brand and image in the long-run.