What to do about Negative Feedback?

Customer feedback is a great way to get insight on customer experience. It's also a great way to boost brand visibility and recognition. 

But what if the feedback is negative?

We work closely with our clients throughout the process. We ensure that they know we’re just a call away if they have any qualms or queries but 99% of the time, we’ve nipped that in the bud. How? By communicating clearly with them. When we sign a client up, we tell them that this will be a collaboration. We know marketing but they know their industry and that we’ll welcome and feedback that they have. Instantly, the customer feels free to express themselves to us in person and to say if something isn’t quite working for them, at which point we’ll tell them that’s fine, we’ll sort it for them, and then we actually do.

That said, there are some customers out there who simply can’t be reasoned with, no matter how accommodating, civilised and professional you attempt to be. They’ll take to their computer to leave a negative review because, lets face it, it’s far easier to type your feelings rather than discuss them.

What should the business do now though? They’ve been left with a negative review by an unreasonable customer. Many businesses choose to ignore them which isn’t the answer as this just makes it look like you bury your head in the sand at the first sign of trouble.

First off, keep the calm collected composure that you (hopefully) had when you spoke to them directly. Retrace the customer journey and try to look at it as objectively as possible. Is there something that needs to be improved? As you go, gather the facts. Who said what? Did someone from your company say or do something they shouldn’t have? Now, it’s time to respond using the facts of the matter that you have gathered. Depending on how “angry” the review seems, it might be worth seeing if an actual dialogue can be held to discuss things and resolve the matter amicably. If the customer refuses to remove the negative review, then you will need to respond.

Don’t make it super lengthy, summarise it or else people won’t read it all and will be biassed towards the customer. End your response with what I call a “coverall apology” such as “I am sorry that you feel unhappy with your experience with us.” This shows that you’re not above apologising but you’re apologising for the way that customer feels rather than conceding defeat.