“…We’ve reached 100,000 likes!…”
We’re happily celebrating the growth of our page’s followers when someone decides to stop the music in the middle of the party:
A customer who didn’t get the results they expected from our product and couldn’t find a solution through Customer Service decides to leave a comment on our Facebook page, explaining how badly we handled it.
All that joy about community growth turns into stress and worry because someone is publicly telling us how poorly we managed their issue — exposing us in front of other potential customers. What should we do with negative comments on social media?
1. Measure the Impact
First, prioritize complaints. Not all claims are the same or equally important.
Which channel did we receive it through? Is it valid? It’s also important to look into the user: How many friends, contacts, or followers do they have? What reach does the comment have? Are they a regular customer? Do they interact frequently with the brand?
2. Stay Calm Above All
We must respond naturally, using a positive tone (even if we disagree with the complaint), with humor if possible, apologize if we made a mistake, and never minimize the complaint. Making excuses will only make us look worse.
3. Fast!
On Social Media, response times are very demanding. While replying to an email within 24 hours is acceptable, on social networks that’s a different world.
Customers assume we are available 24/7, and with every minute that passes, more users read the complaint — and if they don’t see a reaction, they empathize with the customer.
Even if we can’t solve the problem immediately, it’s crucial to respond. The customer must know: “We’ve received your comment and we’re already looking for a solution.”
4. Training
It’s important that the person responsible has knowledge of Customer Service, the company’s processes, and Social Media.
They must know how to connect and empathize with customers, understand their situation, and use the brand’s tone in every interaction.
5. Be Consistent
It helps to have prepared talking points for frequent questions, comments, or complaints. But be careful — this shouldn’t remove freshness or personalization. Every customer is unique, and they should feel that way.
6. Crisis Management
Some situations go beyond the customer service team and need to be escalated.
For those cases, we should have a crisis plan that explains which situations exceed the first level of support, what to respond in those cases while the plan is being activated, and how to activate it (who to contact, how to do it, etc.).
7. Prevention
We should clearly state — both on our website and across all communication channels — how customers can contact us. This (along with an updated FAQ section) will reduce the number of people who complain through social networks.
8. Common Sense
Before replying to a comment, think twice about what you’re doing and how it might be received by your followers.
9. Never Delete a Comment
Deleting a negative comment can turn it viral, no matter how unimportant it may seem. If you’re not familiar with it, look up what the “Streisand Effect” is.
