Negative social media reviews and comments are interesting sometimes but can pose major problems to businesses. Many studies have researched the impact of social media reviews on customer behavior and the general conclusion is that; most consumers care about and read online reviews and how businesses respond to these reviews.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google are unavoidable in running a business today. They are the connection between your business and your customers. While these interactions can be beneficial for your business, they are not private and can damage your reputation if handled without caution.
It only takes one loud unhappy customer to convince others about a certain negative experience they had with your delivery, product, or service to tarnish your reputation. This is certainly every business's nightmare and that is why we have come to your rescue offering you some tips on how to deal with negative comments in a timely and professional manner to scale your business as far as delivery is concerned.
How Negative Comments In Social Media Can Harm Your Business?
Customer loss.
Negative reviews automatically turn away current and potential customers. Social media platforms are seriously considered as a recommendation of a friend. If this negative feedback is justified or not it could be detrimental to your company’s image, negatively impacting customer retention and business growth. Customers will be driven to your competitors.
Negative customer service reputation.
Some businesses think that ignoring negative reviews will solve the problem. However, this is perceived by the customers that the customer service is ignoring them which damages the business's reputation. Always reply to a negative review and try to find a solution
Damage of online community.
Businesses open community social media accounts to create a community of customers who purchase their products and services. Nobody wants to be part of a community that is filled with negative comments. Negative reviews make it hard for businesses to convince their customers otherwise.
Release of confidential information.
Employees with inside knowledge of your company can relieve confidential information destroying your company’s competitive advantage. For example, before the invention of social media, a letter sent to the wrong address or an email sent to the wrong person can retrieve the information and secure it. Since social media is a public domain once information is leaked it is already out and unretrievable.
Unauthorized personnel communication on the company’s behalf.
It is difficult for companies to prevent unauthorized employees from speaking on behalf of the company on social media platforms. The freedom of employees to air their views online comes with the risk that even a well-meaning post can tarnish your company’s reputation and scare away investors.
Causes Of Negative Reviews Due To Delivery Experiences:
Delayed or missed deliveries.
Most customers need their product delivered to them as fast as possible. A majority of eCommerce stores offer same-day delivery. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the company to deliver the package within the agreed time frame. However, due to unavoidable circumstances such as traffic, or wrong addresses, packages are usually delayed leading to negative reviews.
Wrong product delivery.
A customer could order an item but getting something different from what they purchased. This automatically makes customers unhappy having to complain to the company and having to wait longer for the right package to be delivered.
Delivering broken items.
Brittle products like porcelain or glass need to be handled with care. Some items also need product packaging and storage to prevent breakage. However, a business could have careless drivers or substandard trucks not fitted with belts leading to the delivery of broken and expensive items. A negative review is inevitable.
Rude delivery staff.
Some employees could be rude to frustrated customers after delivering an improper or broken item. Last-mile delivery is hectic and delivery personnel can be overwhelmed. A customer could reach out to an unresponsive customer service leading them to breathe fire in social media platforms concerning a negative experience
Lack of customer updates.
Businesses need to update their customers about the situation of their package. If there is a traffic jam, it is the responsibility of the company to inform the customers that delivery will be late. Lack of communication frustrates the customer and the consequence is a negative social media review.
How To Deal With Negative Social Media Comments:
Quickly respond to the negative review.
Ignoring a comment makes a customer feel like you are ignoring their concern. Potential customers will consider your silence before buying a product. If you do not have an answer at the moment, comment that you are investigating the matter and will get back to them.
Be transparent and honest.
Communicate and state your genuine concern and commitment to addressing the situation. Negative comments make your profiles humane. A 100% five-star review raises eyebrows so engage with customers sincerely to generate goodwill and neutralize situations.
Offer necessary discounts.
Most customers need to know that you understand their situation. Do not just say it but show it. A discount might seem to cost you but will guarantee you of keeping a loyal customer.
Directly interact with the customer.
You should know when to leave a polite response and when to directly communicate with a customer. Watching a Twitter battle might annoy customers despite you being kind and sincere. You can move the conversation to private messages where you can try to make things right.
Make yourself available and visible.
Use websites and social media profiles to make customers easily reach you. Social media pages do not have to be fully public. You can give a polite reply that you are looking into the issue and get back to them through messenger to rectify the problem. You can also give them your company’s email or customer service phone number to give them direct messages.
How Can The Technology Help Secure Your Company’s Reputation?
Automating your last-mile delivery can go a long way in preventing delivery delays and negative customer reviews. An AI-based route optimization software like Norma helps you plan the optimal routes for effective fleet management making deliveries on time. Norma automatically corrects addresses into locations enabling you to easily find solutions to location problems. Norma will pull outstanding delivery orders at a cut-off time.
A delivery management system like Altair DC gives live visibility of delivery statuses enabling you to inform customers of the status of their package. It makes early predictions of missed deliveries enabling you to command and control the execution of your planned routes live. This will ease the last mile delivery processes leading to happy customers and positive reviews.
Download our case study “Mylerz Success Story” to learn how Softec empowers Mylerz to achieve a 96% delivery success rate with AI. For more information, visit softec.ai