The era of internet has changed the way people communicate in line with how they interact each other. In the real world, people can possibly air their ire directly face to face or by phone.
Subsequent to Internet has brought up a virtually communicative world, the way people complain or vent their negative feedback has changed and expanded in many different ways, as the anonymity of the internet lets them hide behind a computer screen. You will find people that troll, send spam or just create some random complaints. There are also many genuine voices out there to be heard and listened to. Here is some advice to get you thinking:
- Listening
Listening is always important when approaching any complaints as the first step to understanding the situation. There may be many clear examples of what your customers don’t like, but often, we don’t go out of our way to find this information.
Socialmention.com is a site that allows you to put the name of your company in the search field where it can search the internet for places where your company has been mentioned.
Get on Facebook and Twitter. Search for the name of your company or product on Twitter to see what is being talked about. Search for your company on Google. Do you find conversations out there about your products?
- Understanding and address the problem
If someone talks behind your back about you as they have an issue with your company, address their concern. This way, people will see it and find that the company is indeed listening to their concerns. It is often a good way to handle complaints early on, rather than letting it simmer and snow ball with more of your customers (and potential customers).
- Involvement in the conversation factor
Take heart, join the conversation, and solutions will come somehow as you face to handle the issue with the customer. Don’t argue with them, neither respond defensively, simply put empathy of the issue out there as impartially as you possibly could. As negative comments come up, you will find people even defending your side of the situation, but only if you stay away from the blame game and negative comment trap. Stay positive, assured of your responses and responsive to the customer, and you will have good standing in their eyes.