How to Handle Negative Reviews on Social Media

A negative review on social media can be a serious problem for any business. It is important to never allow these reviews to go unaddressed. You need to react quickly and decisively. You also need to know exactly what you should and should not do. You should understand how to handle negative reviews on social media.

Post a Reply Every Time
You must post a reply to negative reviews on social media every time one appears. Take the time to create a positive and professional response. Be honest and clear. Ask for clarifications when necessary. If there is an immediate way to resolve the problems in the review, then post it in the response. Respond as quickly as you can. A fast response will show that your business is responsive and concerned about the customers on social media.

Do Not Post Excuses
Do not post excuses in an attempt to explain the problems described in a bad review. This could put the poster on the defensive, make the individual angrier or make your business look incompetent. Do not make excuses blaming things like your order entry system or an understaffed office. Customers want resolutions and do not care much about your internal business issues.

Never Resort To Negativity or Attacks
Never resort to negativity or personal attacks when confronted with bad social media reviews. The impulse for some business owners is to lash out at the person calling them names for not understanding or reading something. You need to stay calm. If the customer misunderstood something, then explain the situation in a constructive way or post links to where the information can be found. Negative comments and attacks could harm your brand for years to come.

Be Transparent
Be transparent when dealing with negative reviews on social media. If something was your fault, then simply let the person know that a mistake occurred. You do not even have to go into any detail. Just take responsibility for the error and move on to the next step. This is a very effective way to quickly defuse any situation unfolding on a social media website.

Dispute Factually Inaccurate Claims through the Site
If a negative review contains factual inaccuracies, then you will want to go through the social media website to dispute the claim with administrators. This tactic should be used when someone is clearly referencing another business, is just posting spam under the guise of a review or is making statements without actually knowing anything about your business. Although getting a post removed can take time, it is worth doing to keep social media filled with just legitimate reviews.

Move the Conversation Offline Quickly
You want to move the conversation offline as quickly as possible. Attempt to do this at the end of your very first response. Give the reviewer a link, phone number or email to use to contact your business directly. This will allow you to address the specific concerns of the person without worrying about hundreds or thousands of other people watching every part of the conversation. Private communications also usually defuse some of the anger behind the initial bad review.

Resolve the Problem
Do whatever you can to resolve the problem once it has been identified. This could mean replacing an item, issuing a refund or providing store credit towards another purchase. Keep talking to the customer until an amicable resolution is found. You can then post on social media again informing others that the problem was resolved. Alternately, you could ask the customer to make another post describing the resolution.

Mitigate Any Damage with Other Online Marketing
You will also want to mitigate any damage from the bad social media review using other online marketing techniques like search engine optimization. You can even get a loan to start a new marketing campaign quickly through Advanced Funds Network. You can use online marketing to ensure that good reviews and positive testimonials are what customers encounter first on search engines.