The benefits of professional social media profiles are numerous, but every business must also be prepared for the less than stellar reviews and customer complaints that will find their way onto their profile. It is important to maintain open interaction with your customers regardless of the nature of the feedback.
When it comes to your business, it is of equal importance to take a dedicated approach to management of criticism as well as praise. It is prudent to remain alert, as not all negative criticism will appear during regular working hours. You can set up automatic email alerts from the selected social media sites you use and ensure immediate notification when a user interacts with your business profile.
You can use a social media monitoring tool to track and respond to criticism that appears in customer focused group forums on sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Prompt response is paramount. If negative comments are allowed to sit on your timeline it may give the impression that you are not as connected to your page as you should be. This can lead people to believe that you are an unprofessional outfit that is not prepared to provide customers with a legitimate response.
Always maintain a professional attitude and never veer away from a helpful and accommodating manner. Remember, your media page is a public forum and exposure can be as damaging as it can be helpful. You can take the conversation away from the eyes of others by contacting the customer privately and offering a telephone number or email address. By showing the customer that you are dedicated to resolving the issue they are much more likely to respond positively.
If a complaint is valid it is important to accept responsibility, offer a public apology and a suitable solution. As complaints need to be treated with the same respect as validations it is better to leave them on your page and let people see that you did your utmost to find a solution.
Social media has immense power and is an effective business tool when used correctly. As your company continues to expand and your satisfied customer base grows the online profile of your company will speak for itself as the negativity will be heavily outweighed by the positive comments and feedback.