In today’s digital world, look no further than the first social media app you open to find critical feedback on just about anyone or anything. 

There’s no longer a need to write a thoughtful letter expressing your disappointment over a lousy interaction or poor customer service experience. Hated your last meal? Blast them on Facebook. Rude cashier? Leave them a one-star review on Yelp.

But what happens when someone gives you negative feedback about your business or nonprofit and it’s online for the whole world to see? Should you respond? Should you push back? Delete the comment? 

This topic is decisive, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. However, you can follow some best practices if you wake up to a bad review online. 

Please don’t ignore it

There are two different schools of thought here. Some experts tell you to ignore the comment and move on. However, I find it best to respond professionally and try to move the conversation offline. 

For example, if someone leaves a negative comment on your social media post, you might reply with:

(Name, we are always interested in ways we can do better as a business, and meeting customer expectations is a priority. So please give us a call at (###) so we can learn more specifics about what happened and make a plan to address it. 

Nine times out of ten, the customer will never call. However, everyone else who saw the comment and your response will have a positive impression of your company based on your response. 

Expect messages to be shared

If you receive a negative response or review from a customer or donor via an email or instant message through a social media platform, expect that anything you write in response will be shared publicly. 

All it takes is one screenshot of a heated discussion to ruin your brand’s reputation. Provide training for your employees on how to respond if a negative response is received and consider giving templated responses that can be copied and pasted.

If you’ve had an experience where your brand has been damaged due to bad publicity, hiring reputation management experts may be an excellent next step. 

Use the feedback as a learning tool

No one likes to hear criticism, but the best leaders can separate criticism from personal attacks and use feedback as a learning tool. So often, the most effective way we learn how to meet customer expectations is by falling short. 

Instead of becoming defensive and angry when a donor or customer points out a failure or misstep, give yourself time to digest the feedback and determine if part of the review is accurate or necessary. 

While you might disagree that your employee was rude, perhaps it is time to refresh customer service expectations with your team. Or, if you’ve received negative feedback about the appearance of your retail location, ask a few trusted friends if they agree. 

It’s difficult to take this perspective, but those who can often see through the poor delivery and take the comments as constructive criticism. 

What is your plan for responding to negative feedback? 

Until next time,

Andrea