4 Reasons Why You Should Never Ignore Customer Complaints On Social Media

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We’re certain you take critical precautions to protect yourself from a bad online reputation, however, Customer Complaints and negative reviews online are bound to happen at some point or another.

Social Media

Knowing how to respond to customer complaints online can be tricky. Many believe that ignoring the complaint is the best option, but consider how this might play out in real life. If a person walked up to you to complain, you would respond. You’d listen to his or her complaint and try to diffuse and remedy the situation.

Here are four reasons why you should never ignore customer complaints on social media:

1. Customers Dislike to Be Ignored

Whenever customers start to use social media as a platform to complain and to express their dissatisfactions, that shows the company failed to give them full satisfaction   through traditional customer service channel like late email reply or ignored their calls.

A study from Conversocial found that the way customers are treated on social media has a considerable effect on their feelings toward a company. In fact, if ignored by companies on social media sites:

  • 45% would be angry
  • 27.1% would stop doing business with the company completely

The Customer Experience Impact Report for Oracle had even more to say on the subject of ignoring customers:

  • 50% of consumers give a brand only one week to respond to a question before they stop doing business with them
  • 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience

So there you have it. If you don’t respond them immediately, your customers are likely to switch to a competitor. By the way, don’t even think of deleting a complaint — it will make the situation become worse.

2. Potential Customers Are Watching

Once an angry customer start to talk about his anger and dissatisfactions on social media, the whole world is watching including potential customers. Nowadays, it is easy a topic to go viral in an instant. This is not good for any company as it creates bad reputation to the company. And the thing is, the customer will be angrier than before if his complaints are being ignored. Conversocial found that 88% of customers are less likely to do business with a company that ignores complaints through social media.

From here, potential customers will analyse. How good and bad a company deal with such situation. Therefore company should consider replying the customers as fast as it can. Potray good example so that potential customers have some faith to your company.

3. Negative to Positive

Angry clients just want to be heard; they want you to listen and be empathetic towards their feelings and experience. Even if you can’t completely solve their problem, listening can help diffuse the problem and get you back into their good graces.

Customers who complained really liked that they received a reply. Of course they want a reply at the first place. In addition, an Oracle study found on customer complaints that 22% of customers who received a response from a complaint then went on to post a positive comment about the company or service provider.

4. Customers give pay cheque:

You must be aware as a business owner that bad news travels quicker than good news. Surprisingly, most customers that are unsatisfied won’t complain at all, but the ones that do have complaints will spread them three times faster. So, how should you respond to negative feedback from customers?

  • Staying calm is most imperative, be as factual as you can.
  • Address the issue in a timely (fast) manner.
  • You should be genuinely willing to help settle the issue (let them know you hear & understand them).
  • If you made a mistake own up to it.
  • If you need time to research the situation let the customer know that, or redirect them to where they can get more information.
  • Whatever you do, do not delete the complaint, it won’t resolve the issue and will make the customer feel worthless and replaceable.
  • Do not send an automated answer; people like genuine responses.

Article by Nabihah Jasri

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