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Social Media Complaints Are Rare But How Should You Deal With Them When They Occur?

Guest post by: Keredy Stott

Article Overview: Although following a brand on social networks like Facebook or Twitter is now commonplace across the world, last week it was widely reported that very few customers make complaints to these companies through the social channels that are available. According to the research by the IAB and Lightspeed Research, just 2% complain via Twitter and 7% via Facebook but Punch Communications, which advises on and executes social media strategies for businesses, believes this small number can potentially be very damaging. Here are some suggestions on how to deal with complaints via Facebook.

Social Media Complaints Are Rare But How Should You Deal With Them When They Occur?

Although following a brand on social networks like Facebook or Twitter is now commonplace across the world, last week it was widely reported that very few customers make complaints to these companies through the social channels that are available. According to the research by the IAB and Lightspeed Research, just 2% complain via Twitter and 7% via Facebook but Punch Communications, which advises on and executes social media strategies for businesses, believes this small number can potentially be very damaging. Here are some suggestions on how to deal with complaints via Facebook.

Firstly, it is significant to note that one of the main operating attributes of social media platforms is that it is real-time. Therefore, the expectation of the majority of users is a very quick, and personal, response and the recent research found that people anticipated a reply much faster than when complaining by email or, somewhat surprisingly, the phone. Companies should therefore ensure they log-in on a daily basis and if possible during the weekend; a two-minute check on a Saturday and Sunday could save a business from losing at least one important customer and maybe potential ones too. Look at the business' existing complaints procedures and revise it to include timescales for social networking platforms.

Comments left on a Facebook wall can be viewed by all users who follow that particular page and it can potentially invite others with the same complaint to also speak out. However, many brand fans are extremely loyal and there have been reported occasions where other users have come to the company's defence. By discussing offensive comments with Facebook it is possible to get them removed but one must be careful not to unnecessarily antagonise an angry customer, especially when at the initial stage one probably doesn't know the full details and the grievance could be entirely legitimate.

If appropriate, a company can reply under the comment, which ensures all other fans can see the complaint has been noted and is being dealt with; it can simply say that you will contact the person via a direct message to discuss the problem in full. From here it may be better to ask the person for their telephone number or email address and follow the company's official complaints process, explaining to the customer or client what the next steps and time frame may be; social media is a less formal platform but complaints should be dealt with as officially as a letter. The business has hopefully responded at a speedy rate and met the customer's initial expectations, now it needs to set the person's expectations on how the issue may be resolved.

The IAB and Lightspeed Research study found that many people, 44 per cent, preferred to complain via the web but there is no doubt that social media is an emerging channel for people to protest, criticize and moan at companies. Therefore, all businesses with social pages should have a protocol ready to combat any negative messages that could sway existing or potential customers in the direction of a competitor.

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Article Tags: Facebook complaint procedure, social media complaints, social networking protocol
Referred by: http://www.punchcomms.com



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