As a small business, you always want to try to provide a WOW! experience customers will love, remember, and want to tell their friends about. These experiences don’t always happen when things are running smoothly and everyone is happy—often, it’s quite the opposite.
When your customers, clients, members, or supporters are unhappy, for whatever reason, it’s one of the best opportunities to show just how committed you are to providing them with a memorable experience.
But what happens when that unhappy customer goes to your Facebook Page to share their negative feedback? How do you deliver a WOW! experience then?
Here are 5 tips to turn a disappointed fan into a happier customer.
1. Know what people are saying
You can’t respond if you don’t know what’s being said. Free tools such as NutshellMail and HootSuite can help you stay on top of what people are posting on your Facebook Page so you’re always “in the know” and can respond appropriately.
2. Respond quickly and publicly
If you see a complaint posted on your Facebook Page, don’t ignore it—or worse, delete it. Instead, respond as quickly as possible with a polite message that says “Sorry you’re having a problem,” or “Sorry the experience/meal/product/service wasn’t to your liking,” and a quick offer to help make things better. This shows others you’re listening and you want to improve the situation.
3. Be real and forthcoming with information
Most often, your fans just want the truth. They are fans for a reason. They support your business and trust that you’ll do what’s best for them. Don’t betray that trust and make a bad situation worse by avoiding the facts.
4. Don’t fight fire with fire
Whether or not you agree with the feedback received, don’t get defensive or start a debate with the person—especially if the feedback is irrational or insulting. One of the worst things you can do is broadcast a “he said, she said” discussion for all to see. Some things are just going to be a personal opinion and you can’t change that. Focus on what you can change: the customer experience.
5. Take the conversation offline
If you can, offer to get in touch with your dissatisfied customer offline, either through email, phone, or by asking the customer to come in to your place of business to talk with you in person. Obviously, you don’t want to ask the person to broadcast his or her personal info on your Facebook Page, but it’s better to deal with these kinds of issues outside of social media.
The power of the WOW! experience
More often than not, your fans will appreciate your response, understand the situation, and be much happier than they were when they first shared the feedback.
You never want to disappoint your customers, but dealing with the situation successfully when it happens, will not only make them say WOW! it can also turn them into a valuable advocate for your business.
Have you turned negative feedback into a WOW! experience? Tell us about it!
