In Unmarketing by Scott Stratten he says, "If I offered you a tool 10 years ago that allowed you to listen and respond to the casual conversations of your potential, current, and past customers, you would have paid me $20,000 a month for this 8th wonder of the world." This is what is so great about Social Media. You can literally see what your customers are thinking, where they are going and so forth. This is amazing. It's wonderful when people put "I like it" on Urbanspoon and tell everyone how great you are, right?
But, when you give everyone a voice you also get unsatisfactory reviews. This makes a lot of business owners dislike social media. "Any Joe Schmo has the potential reach of 1,000s?!?! That's obsurd!" It's actual great for your company if you can turn their opinions into constructive criticism and then solve the problem. The key here is not to take it personally. There is no way for a CEO, manager, or anyone to know what's going on in their company 24/7. Social media outlets allow you to hear Joe Schmo's complaints and face them head on. Here are 5 steps to turning an unhappy customer into a fan:
1. TAKE A DEEP BREATH:
You put your blood, sweat and tears into your company. Somewhere along the line it becomes a part of your identity. You also have to remember the good ole "customer is always right" maxim. Realize that what you read, good or bad, is not a personal attack.
2. "OWN" YOUR PAGE:
You should have ownership and control over your business page on every platform you can. This will help with the next number. Whether it's Yelp, Google Reviews, Urban Spoon, Facebook Places or any other platform there is always a button saying something like, "Is this your business?" You want to make sure that you can control all the information so it's correct. If you aren't open on Sunday and Google told a potential customer you are, they will likely blame you anyways.
3. SHUT UP AND LISTEN:
If you own your page it will allow you to receive alerts when you get activity on the page. When there is a review be sure to look at as soon as you can. You need to make sure you are monitoring your Facebook and Twitter as well. If you've got great reviews and everyone loves you then feel free to stop reading (and thank them for their kind words). Now, chances are you don't have a page of 5 star reviews because let's face it, even if you're a rock star people tend to be curmudgeons. Reach out to the bad reviewers (#4). Every platform is different so contact me if you have questions.
4. BEG FOR FORGIVENESS:
So, something fell short of fantastic for a customer. It happens. What defines you as a company is how you react to it. If you contact an unhappy customer be sure to address the problem. Don't give a generic. "I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Will you give us another try?" Address the problem directly so they know you read their comments and care about their experience. A good response would be, "I'm sorry that the service was slow when you visited us. Do you remember the name of the waiter that was short with you? My name is Cari. I'm the manager here. Please let me know the next time you come in and I will personally take care of you. My email is...." It's really important that you give your name so they know who to seek out when they come back in. Depending on the severity of the offense, you might want to offer a free drink or meal.
5. DO BETTER NEXT TIME:
Most people will give you a shot if you took the time to reach out. Obviously you will want to make sure they get the best service possible when they come in. However, even if they don't come in it's a learning opportunity. The service was slow? Spend some time watching the flow of your restaurant. Is it running as efficiently as possible? The waitstaff was rude? Maybe you need to bring it up in the next staff meeting. Criticism sucks. There's no way around it. It's easy to turn those lemons into a lemoncello martini by using it to take stock of how your well your company is doing.
So, ask not what social media can do for you. It's simple it can give you a living breathing pulse on your customer. The question is what are you doing for social media and, in turn, your customer?
'Til Inspiration Strikes,
Cari
You put your blood, sweat and tears into your company. Somewhere along the line it becomes a part of your identity. You also have to remember the good ole "customer is always right" maxim. Realize that what you read, good or bad, is not a personal attack.
2. "OWN" YOUR PAGE:
You should have ownership and control over your business page on every platform you can. This will help with the next number. Whether it's Yelp, Google Reviews, Urban Spoon, Facebook Places or any other platform there is always a button saying something like, "Is this your business?" You want to make sure that you can control all the information so it's correct. If you aren't open on Sunday and Google told a potential customer you are, they will likely blame you anyways.
3. SHUT UP AND LISTEN:
If you own your page it will allow you to receive alerts when you get activity on the page. When there is a review be sure to look at as soon as you can. You need to make sure you are monitoring your Facebook and Twitter as well. If you've got great reviews and everyone loves you then feel free to stop reading (and thank them for their kind words). Now, chances are you don't have a page of 5 star reviews because let's face it, even if you're a rock star people tend to be curmudgeons. Reach out to the bad reviewers (#4). Every platform is different so contact me if you have questions.
4. BEG FOR FORGIVENESS:
So, something fell short of fantastic for a customer. It happens. What defines you as a company is how you react to it. If you contact an unhappy customer be sure to address the problem. Don't give a generic. "I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Will you give us another try?" Address the problem directly so they know you read their comments and care about their experience. A good response would be, "I'm sorry that the service was slow when you visited us. Do you remember the name of the waiter that was short with you? My name is Cari. I'm the manager here. Please let me know the next time you come in and I will personally take care of you. My email is...." It's really important that you give your name so they know who to seek out when they come back in. Depending on the severity of the offense, you might want to offer a free drink or meal.
5. DO BETTER NEXT TIME:
Most people will give you a shot if you took the time to reach out. Obviously you will want to make sure they get the best service possible when they come in. However, even if they don't come in it's a learning opportunity. The service was slow? Spend some time watching the flow of your restaurant. Is it running as efficiently as possible? The waitstaff was rude? Maybe you need to bring it up in the next staff meeting. Criticism sucks. There's no way around it. It's easy to turn those lemons into a lemoncello martini by using it to take stock of how your well your company is doing.
So, ask not what social media can do for you. It's simple it can give you a living breathing pulse on your customer. The question is what are you doing for social media and, in turn, your customer?
'Til Inspiration Strikes,
Cari
*I am growing to dislike this statement. A social online prescence doesn't just happen because you make a Twitter account people!
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