How to Manage Negative Feedback in the Social Media Age

I was honored to be quoted in a July 2011 article published by Insight magazine, alongside the amazing Sima Dahl.

Here are some of the key points regarding how to manage negative feedback in the social media age. You can read the full article embedded below.

“They may or may not be right. You may have to look at it as an opportunity to educate the public. It could be a great branding opportunity in that it may show you a side of your brand that needs attention, “ says Ionescu.

“Negative feedback is a gift… it’s an opportunity to make a change,” says Sima Dahl. It’s an opportunity for one-on-one interaction that can potentially earn you a new customer.

She suggests empathizing – expressing regret that a customer is feeling mistreated or facing difficulty – and the moving the conversation to a more private channel where the feedback “can include more than 140 characters”

Where the negative feedback is valid, Ionescu suggests that companies “acknowledge the mistake” and “don’t get in the blame game.” A company that comes across as humble and willing to rectify a situation will be perceived in a much more positive light than a defensive one.

Dahl feels that many accounting firms are treading cautiously for fear of making costly mistakes. “This concept of trying to think through every scenario before we try social media is a fallacy. Social media success is reserved for brands that ‘do’,” she explains.

“If a complaint comes through Twitter, we have to respond within an hour,” says Ionescu, pointing out that the larger the brand, the shorter the timeframe for response strategies. “Our stats suggest that if it gets beyond an hour, you tend to lose the customer or control of the message.”

How to Manage Negative Feedback in the Social Media Age

How do you handle negative feedback shared through social networks?