You understand how important it is to manage your brand’s online presence. However, you may not realize that this involves responding to reviews and comments, regardless of where they are posted.
Well-orchestrated social interactions with your brand can help manage and develop invaluable customer relationships.
When a comment or question is posted, it may not be clear why you need to respond to it. This is especially the case if the person commenting is angry, upset, or putting down your brand.
As you begin to craft a response, it’s important to remember certain goals. These include:
- Build rapport
- Reply in a timely manner
- Be consistent
- Stand out
- Manage feedback
With that in mind, now it is time to begin thinking about what you can and should say to certain comments. Keep reading for some tips to help with this.
Positive Feedback
Your brand will hopefully earn compliments from customers on various customer reviews that you need to respond to. Creating a short response is going to go a long way. Most customers appreciate it when a business takes time to engage with them. Receiving compliments on photos or posts should also be answered with a “glad you liked it” or “thank you.”
While that’s important, you also need to personalize the response you provide. Customers like it when they feel like you are addressing them personally.
Answering Questions
Asking your customers different questions about the services or products you offer is an effective way to determine their sentiment. Even if the answer they give is not always positive, you need to let your customers know you appreciate that they took the time to respond.
You can take the time to send a personalized message, thank them for their comment, or have a deeper discussion on a private forum. These interactions will help increase loyalty and trust because you are showing that your brand cares and listens.
Customer Service Issues or Questions
You may receive questions as social media comments, brand mentions, direct messages, or through a customer review. Customer service issues and questions can represent real problems and concerns your customers have. Writing an effective response can be seen as a type of customer relations management.
What this means is that, when you can, make answering these inquiries a priority. Chances are, if one customer has a problem, there will be others who do, as well. They will appreciate that you have taken the time to answer.
If you have a question that can’t be answered quickly or involves sensitive information, send a direct message or even email to your customer. By doing this, you can avoid possible negative situations and may be able to retain your customer.
Managing Online Comments
When it comes to managing online comments, you need to ensure that you are actively doing this. Also, respond in a timely manner. Having someone check and respond daily is best to ensure positive customer interactions. This is going to pay off in the long run.