How to Handle Bad Online Reviews

You know your business offers honest, high-quality service and products and you have loyal customers who agree with you. Recently, you decided to Google your company name and check out what review sites such as Yelp had to say about you. At first, you were pleased to see some positive comments. But then you scrolled down and found a few negative reviews and they didn’t sugarcoat anything. How did this happen? You don’t even remember the experience the customer is talking about. This can’t be good. So what do you do?

First of all, don’t post fake positive reviews. Fake reviews are everywhere, and if Yelp finds it suspicious, it will not publish it. Fake reviews can also get you in trouble with the law, in which you buy reviews which are dishonest and inaccurate. You are doing a disservice to your customers and business by posting fake positive reviews.

Second, address negative feedback personally, but with care.  Connect with negative reviewers personally through a phone call or email. Ask questions, let them vent, and offer a discount or refund if warranted. Then prioritize each future customer service interaction. Act as if they will post a review about you. Practice self restraint when responding rather than jumping to defend your business. Next, move conversations offline. Talk to customers outside of social media and encourage them to write a follow up post when the problem has been solved.

Finally, be proactive. Ask customers in an email or phone call how they did during their time in the store, which will catch complaints before a person vents publicly. This can help you uncover things that are broken and find solutions to reoccurring problems. Make it happen!

© 2014 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Don’t Make Them Tell You a Thousand Times

It’s safe to say we’ve all been in a customer service situation where we wondered if our issue was ever going to get resolved. You may have had multiple concerns simultaneously or simply had to explain your concern one way and then explain it again…and again.

Recently, I was listening to a phone conversation my dad was having about a customer service issue in which he had one simple request and one simple question. They were not unreasonable and certainly sounded like things the company should have dealt with and taken care of on a daily basis. Despite his patience, I listened to him repeat the same two statements at least five times in the same phone call. He was transferred from person to person, each time having to start over and express in detail why he was calling and what he needed. He was on the phone for almost 45 minutes. I started thinking: There has to be a more efficient way of resolving this issue. Why isn’t he off the phone yet? My dad concluded the conversation fairly confident the problem would not happen again, but not 100% sure.

So why did it take the company so many tries to fulfill a simple request? Of course, not every associate will know how to handle every situation, but there should be a streamlined system in place to get customers to the right person in a matter of minutes. This company’s customer service procedures were clearly disorganized—make sure yours won’t be with a few easy tips.

First, associates need to be prepared for various customer service scenarios. My dad was very polite, but not everyone will be. Employees need to learn how to listen to the problem, remain calm, acknowledge the mistake, and if needed, ask for help. If they take every disgruntled attitude personally, they will never survive in their position. If the first person didn’t know what to do, he should have known who to put on the line to take care of the issue and that should have been the end of it. Second, policies and procedures for daily operations and simple requests should not only be taught in training to each employee, but also available in writing for quick learning on the fly. When ideas for improvement come about, they should be implemented as soon as possible.  Finally, no matter what the problem is, don’t make the customer repeat themselves a thousand times to explain the problem to several different people. If you are the first person they contact, listen carefully and take notes if needed so that if someone else (or more than one person) needs to step in, you can be the one to reiterate their request, not them. At the very least, you can tell them you will call them back within the hour if more time is needed to resolve the problem. This will save the company and the customer time and hopefully, keep them from getting frustrated. Make it happen.

© 2014 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

 

 

Business Uses for Pinterest

Pinterest—is it really so unique it coined its own word? Maybe. What’s certain is there are some valuable uses small businesses can get out of Pinterest. While it’s not a necessity, it can serve as an effective marketing tool when used correctly.  If you aren’t familiar with this social media site, a user creates boards that they pin to. Pins are images associated with how-to’s and popular trends from another website or something you created yourself. You can have an unlimited number of boards for multiple subjects and you can re-pin items from anyone else’s board. It’s a method of organizing your interests, kind of like an inspiration/projects bulletin board. Now that you know what it is, try implementing these uses for a company Pinterest page.

Employee boards are great for companies that have visual representations of their work such as a salon, restaurant, or one with popular products. Each employee can have one board that they post to that will showcase their work. This not only organizes and displays some of your business’ best work but is also fun for each employee and a means of encouraging excellent performance. Consider, on the flipside, customer boards. They could post how they are using your products to inspire other customers. Similar to a blog but more visually dynamic, you could have a Pinterest board for ideas and tutorials, using your products. You can even hold contests that require the use of your products and services to create something new. (For example, an art project contest that uses a specific shade of the paint you sell).

Sharing a wide variety of content is effective here and you can link to your own work or blog as well as others in the industry. Finally, contests are a great method of interaction for customers and it also promotes your products while offering incentives for loyal customers.

Can you think of other uses for Pinterest? Try those out as well! In today’s social media connected culture, it can only help you. Make it happen.

Phrases to Avoid with Employees and Customers

As a manager, it’s important to have great communication skills in every form—written, verbal, and body language. You know quite a bit about how to make both your employees and customers comfortable and how to gain their trust. However, there are a few common phrases you should be very careful about using and avoid when possible.

“We need to talk” is a phrase associated with bad news and will immediately evoke anxiety in an employee even if the conversation will be positive. Instead, try saying “Do you have a few minutes to meet with me?” This sounds more inviting and implies a neutral tone. Also, try to not to start a negative statement with the word “You.” Even if you need to address a specific person’s issue, try saying “It’s important that everyone follows this procedure” rather than “You failed to follow this procedure.”

“Always” and “never” are absolutes and rarely accurate in any case. In conversations with employees, avoid these words with both positive and negative conversations. With customers, don’t make statements about things you aren’t sure you can do (always), but don’t disregard a request completely right away (never) if it may be possible.  “Unfortunately” immediately sounds disappointing, however, it is easy to say when something inevitable is preventing you from saying “Yes.” Instead, try using the phrase “as it turns out”. (We would love to attend the business conference, but as it turns out, we are already scheduled at another event).

There are many more phrases that could be listed here and you will discover more in your future communications. The main idea to take away is to try and avoid these connotations: negative, condescending, non-committed, and overly-authoritative. While you do need to be firm in some cases, make sure you are using the best tone and phrases possible. Make it happen!

© 2013 eMarketing 4 Business LLC