Problem Resolution On Social Media - Part 3

In this last part of a series about resolving customer complaints and negative comments on social media networking sites, we will complete the process of turning a negative situation into a positive for your company. In the first part, we looked at the process of finding and analyzing negative comments to determine if they require you to respond. In the second part, we began the process by responding and then owning up to the problem while taking the high road.

1.  Apologize for the Problem

A customer with a valid complaint must receive a sincere apology from your company. If your company is in the wrong, admit it and say to the customer you are sorry. Don't try to make excuses, but promise to try and see that it never happens again.

2.  Offer to Move the Venue

In most complaint cases, the customer is not trying to drag a company through the mud in front of the world. They just intend to let off some steam in front of their friends and force you to respond to their displeasure. If they persist and are especially upset or become irate, offer them the opportunity to move the discussion to another venue, such as email or telephone. Suggest to them that social media's limitations, especially on Twitter, require another way for you to give them the full attention and response they deserve. Make the transition as easy as possible for the customer.

3.  Control the Discourse

By maintaining a positive, up-beat and pleasant tone throughout the discourse, you can control the conversation. The situation can be positively diffused so long as the person is capable of being helped and not so irate they have become inconsolable. You probably weeded out those individuals much earlier in the process anyway. Never try to be authoritarian or come across as smarter than the poster. Taking this attitude will surely backfire on social media. The pleasant tone of your responses will disarm the complainant and replace their barbs with a civil and cordial platform for resolving problem issues to their satisfaction.

Since most or all of this problem resolution process has taken place in public and out in the open air of social media, your company's professionalism, empathy, forthrightness, and willingness to redress perceived wrongs will endear your business to your customers and social media followers.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

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