Handling Haters: How to Turn That Social Media Frown Upside Down

Handling Haters: How to Turn That Social Media Frown Upside Down

Tips to take the potency out of pessimism and put positive in its place.

“An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” - Rene Descartes

In today’s social media-powered, “the customer is always right” world of commerce, it can be difficult for small business owners to navigate the hazardous waters of social media customer complaints. But thank goodness there are ways to deal gracefully with those that are unhappy with the service or product they received.

And no, firing back a nasty message or calling all-out toilet paper warfare on their house isn’t the way you want to handle the situation. There are much better ways to deal with social media customer complaints, and one is preventing them in the first place by addressing them thoughtfully and sincerely when they arise.

Here are some pointers you can implement when addressing social media customer complaints.

Steer clear of the Streisand Effect 

When people use social media to attack your business, your first impulse, obviously, may be to arm your legal troops and fire the lawsuit canons in hopes of bullying the attacker into removing the complaint.  Do you think that is the wisest course of action? 

The rule on the internet is that a defensive reaction tends to bring additional publicity, and I don’t mean the kind your business wants.  The internet branded “Streisand Effect”, named after Barbra Streisand, became a phenomenon when she sued a photographer in an unsuccessful attempt to remove an aerial photograph of her mansion from the California Coastal Records Project. As a result of Streisand’s aggressive reaction, public knowledge of the picture increased substantially; more than 420,000 people visited the site over the following month and spawned nationwide fame. Obviously, Newton’s Third Law of Motion wasn’t what she was going for.

Unfortunately, businesses are determined to learn about the Streisand Effect the hard way. Browbeating your customers, for all intents and purposes, never solves the problem, and it often backfires spectacularly.

Directly address online complainers

What if you noticed a scandalous tweet about your company online? For example:

Yourcompany.com has the worst customer service ever, are unbelievably rude and the owner has bad breath—Must Not Give a C**p About Their Customers—#diva_efelle

Wow! That is totally insulting, and difficult to accept. So, what do you do? I know what you would like to do, but that isn’t an option if you want your business to be successful. At this point you will want to take a few moments to calm down and then you will need to prepare a response that is professional, considerate and positive. A positive and considerate response in a situation like this is uncommon, specifically because it’s so difficult for someone who has just been insulted to assemble a thoughtful, positive response.

But that uncommon positivity makes it potent: A considerate, positive reply can come as such a shock to an online reviewer that it can help to convert that critic into your advocate. At the least, it will reduce your losses instead of amplifying the situation.

Communicating with a social media critic to ask for an offline discussion is digitally comparable to escorting an angry, loud customer into your office for a discreet conversation. You move the discussion out of a public location and into a more personal and private situation, where you can focus on your customer without hundreds of eyes scrutinizing your every move while trying to figure out the problem. After a positive solution has been reached, respectfully request that the complainer amend or withdraw the unpleasant comment.

Avoid online complaints in the first place

Discontented customers are not likely to complain via public devices like Twitter, Facebook or Yelp if they know they can contact you directly by email or a telephone call and feel assured that their complaint will be addressed straightaway. You can do a lot to put out a small fire by making yourself and your staff accessible, therefore ensuring the fire doesn’t become an inferno. Offer chat links and a contact form on your website which will provide an easier way for your customers to reach you.

Propose a solution

Suggest a solution to your critic’s problem. In this respect, you want to always focus on a resolution as opposed to the dilemma. There are always solutions. It may not be precisely what they are requesting, but if you concentrate on what you can do to make things right versus refusing to remedy the problem altogether, your customer will be more likely to accept your offer and put down arms.

Be sure to follow-up

Once you have met the complaint head on and successfully resolved the social media customer complaint, make sure to follow-up with them to ensure that they are satisfied with the agreed upon solution and that you have positively and effectively dealt with their complaint.

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