As your business grows it is inevitable that you will receive some negative reviews. In reality, it is much more likely for customers to post online reviews when they are unhappy, rather than when they receive a positive or standard experience.

We know now it is incredibly tempting to respond to these negative comments to defend your performance, but a smarter strategy is required. Just like in any argument, a shouting match is hardly ever the answer.

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Here are a couple steps we recommend for responding to negative reviews:

1. Take a breath. Analyze the situation. Determine if the complaint has merit, or if there has been a misunderstanding.
2. Place a generic post e.g. “NAME, very sorry to hear about your negative experience. It’s really important for us to address these problems and keep our customers happy. We will send you a private message right now to try to resolve this issue.”
3. Send a private message to the person who commented.
4. If the person is a client, have a customer service rep follow up with a phone call.
5. Ask the person to revise their comment if they are satisfied.

The best you can do with a disgruntled customer is to be understanding, as you are acting as a representative from the company’s brand. Some people will never be satisfied and simply want to hurt your image, which is why it is best to take these discussions to private messages, email or phone.

Negative reviews are not the only comments that should be addressed! Any review by a customer, new or old, should be acknowledged to continue to relationship and reassure their importance to your company. A simple “thank you,” or “we appreciate your patronage,” can go a long way.

At Orbit, we believe that the communication and engagement your company creates on social media channels will have a large impact on the company’s growth. See how we can assist you with social community building through our Marketing Machine platform.