Have you ever gone on a Facebook page to see what people are saying about an organization? I do it all the time. I mean we all love to Get Talked About, but Facebook comments could be either dangerous or a business builder. It is amazing to me to see how little management is done on many business sites. I also see a lot of flippant answers that really don’t show the customer that you as a business care about your customer.
Customers who take the time to post on your wall generally have a strong opinion about your company. They either had a fantastic experience or a really bad experience. Either way you will Get Talked About! It is vitally important to respond to both types of customers. Facebook is where people know their opinion will be seen. So an appropriate response to their comment is very important.
Responding to your fans is a simple way of saying,”We here at the company recognize you and are thankful for you.” I usually try to get an executive with the company to respond to praise of the company. You have no idea the difference that is made when the C.E.O. or a Vice President tells that person how important they are to the company. Imagine your response if a few years back Steve Jobs would have responded to you when you were singing the praises of the new I-phone. You would have showed that post to everyone you knew. Others would then become engaged in hopes that he would respond to them.
Dealing with the negative comment is very tricky. I have taken two different approaches depending on the intent of the negative post. There are some people who post something negative to get back at your company or to get something free. These posts get deleted from the wall but before I delete them, I make sure that I have all of their contact information. I immediately call them or private message the person who negatively posts. I let them know that I have read their complaint, and I would like to speak to them personally in order to rectify the situation. This in most cases allows me the chance to personally help the person and get them a solution that works for both the company and its customer.
In other cases, since the post was public, it is appropriate to see a public solution to the problem. For instance say somebody comes to your hotel and has a bad experience with their room. Then immediately you start to see others chiming in with the same problem. What do you do? This is again where I have the responsible staff member and even a high ranking officer respond. In public, I would have your staff member responsible sincerely apologize and then tell them that they will have a resolution to their problem. Following that response, I would have a high ranking officer within the company state that they have seen the complaints and will address the situation personally.
In a private message have that officer send their personal e-mail address and even direct line for that person to get in contact with them. That will give the complaining person an avenue to vent their frustrations and for the company to fix the problem.
Once the issue is resolved in a satisfying manner make sure you post what you did to highlight your company’s responsive nature. When you Get Talked About after responding to your customers, it will be because you help them and make their experience a good one, and Facebook becomes an active part of promotion and change within your organization.
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