The internet can be a free-for-all of consumer commentary and reviews – and some of these comments, inevitably, can be negative. According to a 2022 survey of U.S. consumers by BrightLocal, a reputation management company, 76% of consumers “always” or “regularly” read local business reviews online.
As a business owner, it can be difficult to know how to respond to negative comments or whether to just let them go. Even tracking negative comments can prove challenging, with many small businesses managing multiple social media accounts and online profiles.
If you’re at a loss for how to respond to negative comments on social media, here are five tips to help you deal with them in a way that reflects favorably on your business.
1. Don't blame the commenter
Reading a negative comment about your business, employees, products, or services can make you want to justify yourself and claim the commenter is just plain wrong, misinformed, or off-the-mark. While these can be natural reactions, they may not help your brand or your social media presence.
Whatever you do, try to avoid saying that the problem is a result of something the commenter has done, even if you think that’s true. Also aim to avoid blaming the commenter for a false or misleading comment. Pausing before you respond can help avoid that. Instead, you can analyze what’s been said, then respond in a balanced, appropriate, and professional way.
Additionally, there can be fake reviews: 42% of consumers in the BrightLocal survey reported seeing fake social media reviews in the past year. You can see if the commenter has a following. If not, consider keeping the individual on your radar and put a pin in it. Many online customers have developed their own filters to screen reviews.
2. Be brief
Social media is a public space, so it may be best to comment briefly and clearly. If needed, you can continue the conversation in a direct message or other private channel to provide an even more satisfactory response. For example, you could comment “We’re sorry you’ve had this experience. Please call our customer service line if you'd like to talk about the specifics of your situation.”
In some cases, revealing too much in a public comment can have consequences, particularly if it deals with personal or medical information. Keeping things brief could help prevent problems down the line.
Mastering how to respond to negative comments can help you to demonstrate how caring, thoughtful, and engaged your business is and how it reacts to potential problems.
3. Consider comments free research
The comments you receive on social media can actually help your business as a kind of consumer research. You can keep a record of comments as you respond to them, and make a note of any suggestions, tips, questions, or problems people mention. After all, feedback from your critics might yield valuable information you’d otherwise have to dig deep to find.
It can be hard to look at negative comments in this light when you’re in the midst of drafting a measured response to a tough review. But taking a constructive approach can help you derive value from something that can seem negative at first.
4. Remember your responses are public
Although not everyone will comment themselves, they may check out others’ comments and pay close attention to your reply.
Mastering how to respond to negative comments can help you to demonstrate how caring, thoughtful, and engaged your business is and how it reacts to potential problems. If you show your business listens to and responds to feedback in an appropriate manner, you can create a sense of trust that can go far beyond the comment you're addressing.
5. Hire someone to respond
To get the most out of social media, you might consider hiring a social media manager to stay on top of interacting with the public. If you go this route, you can set a clear, consistent policy about commenting and responding to comments, so your social media person is on the same page as you.
Having someone to manage your social media presence may be one of the best ways to keep negative comments from ruining your day. You can check in now and then to see what comments are being made and what helpful information they may be revealing.
Examples of How to Respond to Negative Social Media Comments
Hypothetically, here are some ways to respond to negative comments on social media:
- “Martin – We apologize for the long wait for your lampshade. We are constantly working to improve our efficiency and hope to serve you again soon. - Sarah (owner)”
- “Sonya – I’m so sorry to hear that you had a negative experience. Please send us your order number in a private message, and we’ll take care of it right away! - Javier (manager)”
- “Oh no! We make every effort to see that the plants we sell arrive and thrive. In this case, please take advantage of our 30-day ‘happy plant’ policy.”
You can also respond to positive comments as well. A simple “Thank you! Come back soon!” can be accompanied by additional information if it makes sense. You can consider doing this selectively, or it could become overwhelming. It's also generally not the right place for a sales pitch.
How to Use Social Media Management Platforms
Even with a solid strategy and a dedicated staffer who knows how to respond to negative comments on social media, there’s one more challenge: How do you stay on top of the flow of comments to address them all quickly and appropriately? Social media management platforms can help.
While managing multiple feeds, social media management platforms have various ways of identifying negative comments, via keyword monitoring, “social listening” for all mentions of your brand, and the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to determine whether the “sentiment” of commentary is positive or negative. Anything concerning would trigger an alert, whether on the platform’s dashboard or by email.
Platforms like these can also help take a business’s response to the next level. For instance, you can create integrated workflows that can share a negative experience with the customer service department. In turn, for example, the department would resend the correct purchase along with a coupon to build goodwill.
The Takeaway
Responding to negative customer reviews online can help your brand. You can aim to be brief and positive, keeping in mind others can see your responses. If the total number of reviews are hard to keep up with, consider hiring someone to manage responding or leveraging a social media management platform.
A version of this article was originally published on September 11, 2014
Photo: Getty Images
