12 real-life examples of how you should and shouldn't work with customer comments

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A quick guide to online reputation management.

Now only the lazy does not think about reputation management. Modern companies try to be in touch with customers 24/7, and the Internet is the ideal place for this. At first glance, working with feedback on the Web seems simple. Agree, it is much easier to react to the negativity that slipped through on "Otzovik" than trying to keep the scattering audience, which this negativity scared off.

But despite this, the reputation of many brands is suffering greatly today. The company seems to be doing everything to improve the situation: regular monitoring of social networks, opinion polls, focus groups - but the result is often subtle. What's the matter?

First, the fact that working with reputation should be an ongoing process, and the effect of it is cumulative. You need to keep your finger on the pulse constantly, and you should expect a visible result not earlier than in a few months.

Secondly, it is important to understand that reputation management is not only about responding to customers: "Thank you, your opinion is very important to us!" and fill the sites with stamped reviews.

To once and for all understand how a brand should behave on the Internet, we share with you the basic "no" and "yes" in ORM (Online Reputation Management).

How not to do

1. Write stereotyped

Remember that when working with online reviews, you are not just dealing with text, but primarily with people. And they are waiting for a human attitude to themselves. Surely you are annoyed by answering machines on hotlines? A carbon-copy answer has the same effect. But an individual approach to everyone is highly valued and is much more likely to support audience loyalty.

2. Get personal

This point is closely related to the previous one and warns against extremes. To communicate in a human way does not mean to offend in response, to write: "But yourself …", which, in truth, is often found in personal communication. Even if you really want to tell a disgruntled and rude customer everything that you think about him, remember that you are primarily a representative of the company, and the company simply has no right to offend consumers.

3. To delay the answer

Constructive feedback must be given on the day the review is written. D. Baer found that today only 32% of consumers are satisfied with the speed of the brand's reaction on the Web. Most people want to receive feedback within an hour, but in 63% of cases they wait for it only in a day!

You can't make your client wait. Moreover, this applies to both the reaction to a negative comment and gratitude for a positive assessment. Show that your company is always connected.

4. Remove reviews

According to Revoo, 68% of consumers tend to trust site opinions more when there is a healthy balance between good and bad reviews.

If the company is really to blame, then the truth will emerge sooner or later, but the opinion of you will be spoiled.

Better show how you got out of a difficult situation. For example, invite a client on a tour of your production, and then publish a photo report of the visit under his comment.

5. Redirect a person to another resource

If your brand is present on any platform that allows you to communicate with consumers, use it to the fullest. VKontakte messages look very strange in the spirit of: “Write to us by mail / fax / in WhatsApp”. I would like to ask right away: "Why did you create a page here?" In addition, remember that the client had reasons to write exactly here: convenience, time, technical capabilities. Why take him out of his comfort zone?

In the example above, the girl lost her card. After a personal appeal, the bank promised to release a new one in three weeks. The deadlines were not met, and the service fee was debited. Indignation spilled over into social networks.

There are several mistakes:

1. Transfer to another site, where the client, obviously, was no longer able to get a prompt response.
2. In pursuit of the speed of processing a request, the company lost sight of the speed of solving the problem itself.

6. Overdo it with praise

There are no ideal companies, like people. A large number of great reviews looks suspicious, especially if other companies on this site have several times fewer of them.

Competently evaluate the resource on which your company profile is posted and its potential audience. Don't go to extremes.

How to do it right

1. Check your messages for literacy

It sounds obvious, but official comments from a brand with typos, missing letters and incorrect punctuation marks are very common on the web. And the point here is not only that illiterate speech repels people, but also that sometimes one comma changes the meaning of the whole sentence!

2. Use agents of influence

Some will say that guerrilla marketing is the lot of those who have no real positive feedback. This is not true. Many companies, with thousands of loyal customers, use word of mouth.

Talking about the benefits of new products, communicating the benefits of short-term promotions, notifying you of changes in work schedule or conditions - all this information requires immediate and widespread dissemination. The more mentions of this will be on the Web, the more of your target audience will be aware. And data from ordinary people is always trusted more than direct advertising.

3. Communicate with the audience in their language

Even if you produce electromagnetic water purifiers, you should not press on the client with the "thick stream" and "ionic composition" - leave it for advertising slogans. Most likely, a person only knows that hard water is bad and that a magnetic cleaner works from a magnet. Imagine that you are chatting with your friend. Explain to him the benefits of your product in clear words.

4. Write honestly

This is a prerequisite for being treated respectfully and as a guarantee that you will never be screwed up.

How to respond to complaints? Do not under any circumstances evade an answer. Admit your mistake and focus on the real positives of your brand. A constructive response will only benefit.

5. Handle and positive feedback too

Some confine themselves to answering only the negative, not considering it necessary to thank for the positive comments. But by ignoring the approving marks, we can offend the client. Judge for yourself: your company helped the person, now he himself wants to please you and writes a flattering review. As a polite organization, you simply have to thank him! Otherwise, other people will lose all desire to praise you, and haters will crawl out to the first lines of the search.

6. Use feedback to improve your business

Sometimes even the leaders do not understand why things suddenly began to go badly. Perhaps the reasons for customer dissatisfaction can be easily corrected? At such moments, it would be nice to look on the Internet and read what they write about you. And then it just turns out that couriers are late, personal managers are impolite and, in general, you have a new competitor. This is what gives the impetus to quickly begin to refine business processes.

We hope that these rules will help you to competently organize your work with reviews on the Internet. Remember: it is very difficult to regain the trust of the audience, do not lose it!