Every kind of business has to experience negative feedback once in a while. How it is handled determines whether you have added a new consumer or driven away the potential sale opportunity.
To satisfy a consumer business have to go an extra mile. Negative can be transformed into positive. Here are tips to handle negative feedback swiftly and properly. This will help to keep consumers happy and return for more.
Tips to cope with negative comments
Professionally resolve the comment –
Negative feedback fall in one of these four categories misunderstanding, business error, spam or negative comment. You have to identify the category first and create a positive solution to address it directly.
Avoid being defensive –
Never allow a negative comment to dominate you or the business. When handling it avoid being defensive. Defensive response can rapidly escalate this issue. It is wise to accept it politely and genuinely listen to the complaint.
Accept the mistake –
In case, it is business error accept it, don’t hide it. Never try to delete or ignore the negative feedback. Mistakes occur, but it is human. The best way to handle them is to face them directly, but first identify the complaint, apologize publicly and remove the conversation from social media page.
Offer an incentive –
If the person is not satisfied with your clarification, try offering a discount or free business service to cool this situation. Hopefully, the complainer can be converted to a happy consumer.
Ask for clarification –
If the negative feedback is not a business error, but a misunderstanding, you will still have to handle the comment. Ask the complainer for a positive resolution. If the consumer is not happy with any suggested resolutions, make an apology and propose a refund.
Handle the spam –
Sometimes, the negative testimonial is not genuine. It is an attempt to damage your brand reputation. This must be handled just like a real complaint. Make an apology for the identified mistake and remove the conversation offline.
Be aware of what is being said –
It does not matter, if your business has no committed social media presence. However, what people say about your product or services on other review websites is necessary. You can attain this by plugging your business name into Google. To keep on top of negative feedback set alerts with online tools.
