Responding To Customer Complaints On Social Media

Responding To Customer Complaints On Social Media You’re human. Mistakes will happen. Nothing is perfect and something will go wrong. Not every customer will be satisfied. This is not a failure. The best businesses are the ones that mess up and show how they fix their mistakes. They build their customer’s trust and prove they are listening to them. When a significant other makes a mistake and owns up to it, do you dump them because they messed up or do forgive them and trust them more because they were honest? Depending on the situation, you’ll forgive them and that will make your relationship stronger. It’s similar with business. Mistakes happen, but when a business owns up to it and apologizes, they’ll build a better relationship with the customer. Listen To Your Customer Complaints When customers complain, sometimes they just want someone to hear them out. They had a poor experience, and no matter how big or small it was, the least you can do is listen. What do you learn when you listen? You find out about problems that would have created more dissatisfied customers in the future. When you listen to a customer, you have an opportunity to establish a relationship with that customer. By listening to them, youll let them know you care. Just because a customer is upset doesnt mean they are a lost cause, or gone forever. Regardless of the size of the issue, let the customer know you heard their problem and understand their frustration. One of my first jobs was a clerk at a small drug store/gift shop. I was 16 and terrified when customers complained because I had no idea what to do and no authority to do anything about it. This is when I discovered if I let a customer vent their frustrations to me and apologize for their poor experience, they would always leave happier than when they came in. Business Is About Relationships It is easy to forget the fact that business is all about relationships. Relationships  with your current customers, but with vendors, former customers, clients, the community, and more. The Perfect Apology, a site dedicated to helping readers craft the perfect mea culpa,  understands this relationship connection between a business and customer. It offers the following strategy about how to protect that relationship: 1.  Look at the reason behind your business apology and  who  has been affected by the situation. 2.  Determine the most appropriate way to apologize and  when  that apology should be given. 3.  Ask and answer the following four basic questions: What are you apologizing for? Who are you apologizing to? How do you apologize? When should you apologize? When someone complains, its not the end of the relationship. Instead, its an opportunity. Its a chance to strengthen that relationship and rebuild it. Business is about relationships. Complaints are a chance to preserve and build relationships.How To Apologize Face-To-Face When I was in the first grade, a teacher of mine told us that if we were going to apologize to someone, sorry is never enough. When you apologize you should state their name, tell them what happened, tell them why it happened, and that you’ll never do it agin. As Ive been doing research on business apologies, Ive been learning this form of apology is what most businesses use. Its a five-step process. Apologize.  Actually say you are sorry. Dont say that you are sorry they feel that way but say I am sorry. State what you did wrong.  Make sure you inform the customer what your business did wrong. This is you owning up to your mistakes and taking ownership of them. Acknowledge how they are feeling.  Imagine yourself in their shoes, and let them know you understand (or are trying to understand) how the situation made/makes them feel. Express regret.  Let them know you feel bad about the situation. Promise it wont happen again. It’s hard to promise that something will never happen again, but you can at least mention how you will do your best to prevent a mistake from happening again. A crisis is never fun but it does give you an opportunity to build a lasting relationship with your audience. Of course, this is based on how you handle it. Customers Value Apology More What do customers value more? An apology or some form of monetary value in exchange for the poor experience? The Nottingham School of Economics  conducted a study and found that unhappy customers are more willing to forgive a company that offers an apology rather than monetary compensation. Why would customers be more willing to forgive a company that offers an apology? Researchers theorized that when customers hear Im sorry, it triggers an instinct to forgive. Its an instinct that is difficult for people to overcome. I have to admit that the results of this study came as a surprise for me. From my experience, I know customers always value a genuine apology. Im on the marketing team for a sandwich shop and like anyone in the food industry knows, mistakes happen. Typically when a customer complains, we apologize and offer to send them something in the mail. That something is usually a free sandwich. Well typically say something that directly addresses their poor experience, apologize for it and ask for them to give us another chance to make up for their poor experience. I believe this is a good balance between an apology and compensation. Author Bruna Martinuzzi wrote a wonderful post on the best way for businesses to apologize, sharing some great apology dos and donts. Whats the big takeaway? Don’t use the word â€Å"if†.  An apology that is â€Å"if I offended you, I’m sorry† is basically saying â€Å"I don’t understand how you can be offended, but if you are so sensitive to being offended, let me apologize.† That’s not the vibe you want to give off to your customers. You don’t want to insult them again. Just say, â€Å"I’m sorry we offended you.† That’s straight to the point and you took ownership of the situation. Don’t give excuses.  Excuses are tempting because there is usually a reason behind your actions. Yet excuses are easily one of the most annoying things about apologies. â€Å"I’m sorry I offended you, but I was just following customer policy.† Even if you have an actual reason as to why a situation occurred, refrain from making excuses. You can explain the situation, but don’t use an excuse. It will make your apology less genuine. Make it brief.  Keep your apology short. It’s easy to ramble on, but don’t. Short and sweet is the rule. This will make it seem more genuine and less about you. The sooner the better.  The time frame on giving an apology does expire. Don’t delay an apology. 50% of consumers give a brand only one week to respond to a question before they stop doing business with them, according to RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report. If possible, apologize before the customer even knows about the situation. It will make the customer trust you more. For business, trust is everything. Value the relationship.  You dont always need to be right. The value of a relationship will often overshadow your need to be right. By arguing about who is right and who is wrong, youre doing more damage. Does it matter who is right? Will it harm the relationship between you and the customer? Is it worth it? Create an apology policy.  If you have multiple employees, it can be hard to keep everyone in the loop on whats the best way to apologize. Even if you are the only person in your company, an apology policy will help keep you on track with consistent and level headed responses.  Martinuzzi points out Starbucks LATTE method for dealing with complaints.  Starbucks baristas are trained to respond to complaints by Listening (L), Acknowledging (A), (T)  Taking Action, Thanking (T), and Explaining (E). There is emphasis on listening first and only lastly on explaining what happened. Try to create an easy to remember policy that will help you and your employees deal with complaints. How To Apologize On Social Media One reason business owners dont want to go into  social media  is because they are afraid theyll be on defense the entire time. Any time a customer has so much as a mediocre experience they come flocking to their social media networks and complain. It seems like all they would do  on social media is apologize.