Outdoor Business Network » public relations http://www.outdoorbusinessnetwork.com/blog E-Commerce & Web Marketing Mon, 02 Feb 2015 16:10:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Responding to Negative Criticism on Social Media Pages http://www.outdoorbusinessnetwork.com/blog/responding-to-negative-criticism-on-social-media-pages/ http://www.outdoorbusinessnetwork.com/blog/responding-to-negative-criticism-on-social-media-pages/#comments Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:44:12 +0000 admin http://www.outdoorbusinessnetwork.com/blog/?p=133 Continue reading →]]>
When you start any social media page, you are opening yourself up to two-way communication between yourself and your audience. The public has the ability to share comments about your business with friends and others in that network. Eventually, no matter how hard you try to please everyone, there will be that one person who is incessant on posting negative things on your page. Don’t worry, this is not the end of the world. In fact, depending on how you handle this situation, you can turn a cranky customer into a lifelong shopper.

One thing that we see on corporate sites all the time is the bland, generic answer that is almost like the computer is talking, not a customer service or PR rep. Do not respond with a cookie cutter answer that is impersonal and – to be honest – mildly offensive to the consumer. The last thing you want to do when a customer gets upset is coddle them with a generic response. Imagine if you went into a brick and mortar store, upset about service, and the salesperson or store manager simple pulled out a cue card from behind the register and began reading a scripted prompt, asking you to call an 800 number or email the corporate offices. It would be a slap in the face.

If you are a professional in the public relations or internet marketing field and you are managing social media pages, you should be embarrassed if your company is responding this way. How hard is it to respond to the customer complaints on an individual level?

Doing this on Facebook or Twitter is especially damaging because now potential customers can track your conversations and decide if they like the way you handled the situation. In addition to that, the person who has complained can also share these comments with friends and respond to them in an unsavory manner. Don’t treat your customers this way. Send them personal messages and always assume that the customer is in the right – even if they aren’t. Responding with scripted answers makes your customers feel unimportant and will lose your company business.

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