Don’t shirk from negative comments on your B2B Facebook page

When your business has a Facebook page, it’s inevitable that there will be some negative comments posted. At first these negative posts might sting a bit, but B2B companies should view them as a customer service opportunity, publicly demonstrating how much your company cares about a client’s experience. To successfully turn these negative posts into a positive brand- and relationship-building experience though, B2B companies need to take the following six steps: [contextly_sidebar id="1c2990deeff628420a615f870b87ce1a"]1. Don’t delete the negative post. Once the negative post is online, then it exists, meaning it might not be on your B2B Facebook page but it’s out there. Deleting the post tells your client two things: you and your B2B company don’t care about him and you and your business is trying to hide something. Is this the perception you want your client and others to have about your company? 2. Acknowledge the negative posts immediately. If a client calls your office with negative feedback, do you let the phone ring incessantly? No, you answer it. Not acknowledging a client’s negative post on your B2B Facebook page is like not answering the phone when it rings at your company’s office. You don’t have to instantly solve the issue, but you should at least respond to the client saying that you’ve heard them, you are working on the issue, and will follow up with any new information. 3. Don’t get defensive. Responding in a defensive manner to a negative post will make your B2B company seem resistant to feedback and not open to listening to clients. A defensive response will say to your clients that they are wrong, you are right, and you are not interested in helping to try to solve their issue. 4. Take it off-line. You want to make sure to provide an environment that fosters open and honest communication so take the conversation off-line. Ask for the client’s phone number or e-mail address so that you can reach out directly and solve the issue in a more efficient manner. Also, provide the client with your contact information. As soon as you receive the client’s contact information, then reach out to him and begin the conversation. 5. Be honest and sincere. Your B2B clients can tell when you are not being genuine. It’s not a good feeling, leaving a bad impression. Again, your B2B clients want to feel as if you do genuinely care about helping them find a solution and improve their experience. Clients are smart. They will quickly sense when they aren’t being taking seriously by your B2B firm and won’t hesitate to give their business to your competitors. 6. Follow up. If your B2B business does not follow up, then your client will assume that you have forgotten about them, their issue, and are not trying to find a solution – in other words, they are forgettable. Your clients will remember this message when you circle back asking for their business. They will remember that when they had an issue it was forgettable and unimportant; however, now when your B2B business wants their money, they shoot to the top of the callback list. Readers: How do you respond to negative feedback on your page? Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Don’t shirk from negative comments on your B2B Facebook page

Franceen Shaughnessy

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Franceen Shaughnessy