Unlike in the past, social media gives you instant access to your customers – but it also gives your customers 24/7 access to you. With the instant access of a post or a tweet customers now expect a swift resolution to their problems.

In a previous blog post, we spoke about the top 16 most embarrassing social media fails in 2013:
http://www.irelandwebsitedesign.com/blog/439-the-top-16-social-media-fails-of-2013

In this post, we hope to help you avoid being added to that list next year.

No matter what you sell or promote you are going to need to deal with a complaint on social media at some point. It’s inevitable. However, your ability to deal effectively with complaints is a wonderful PR opportunity and can also turn an upset client into a loyal fan. See complaints on social media as a chance to show your customers how much you value them by going the extra mile.

Lots of Complaints

If you find you are receiving lots of complaints around 1 particular issue or problem, fix it! Calm down and sort the problem out. If it cannot be rectified immediately then update your customers on your progress.

Apologize

When you are wrong say “sorry” to your customers, be sincere. Show people, you regret the problem and show them that you care.

Never Delete Comments

This will just make the customer who made the complaint even more upset. It will also look bad to any fans who did see the post and saw you delete it rather than dealing professionally with it. Think about how you deleting a post will look to other followers of your page. You can however delete any comments that promote something unrelated to what you do.

Canned Responses

People never like canned responses, especially on social media, remember social media is about being personal. If you think a customer is not happy now just wait until you issue a bland corporate response, it will be like lighting a match in a firework factory.

Never:

• Get emotional
• Get rude
• Get into a fight

Follow these instructions and be sure to leave your customers happy and fans of your service. If you struggle with social media, why not consider hiring us to help you engage with your customers in the best possible light?