What to Do About Facebook Reviews

I spend a lot of time analyzing social media accounts of all types of businesses across every platform. Something I see far too often is unacknowledged Facebook reviews.

A customer takes the time to give feedback on their experience and what do they get in return? Crickets.

What a missed opportunity!

Whether positive or negative, every review should be addressed. Every. Single. One. Only in the case of obvious trolls should you ignore a review.

Positive Reviews

What’s really confounding is positive reviews that aren’t acknowledged. Someone took the time to tell you what an awesome experience they had and you say nothing? Unacceptable. This is not only social media 101, it is customer experience 101.

And let’s get real, y’all! It’s just bad manners to ignore a compliment.

At the very least, a like and a thank you must be given. That’s simple!

I advise clients to not only thank the reviewer, but to dig deeper. Ask if there are areas that could be improved. It doesn’t make your organization look bad if they give suggestions. Quite the opposite; it shows you care about your customers.

This does three things: Acknowledges a compliment, elicits more detailed feedback, and demonstrates to the writer (and to readers of the review) that customer experience is a priority.

So, that’s the easy one. Now for the more difficult one.

Negative Reviews

They must be addressed.

The only exception is a troll. Troll reviews can be deleted and the poster blocked.

While it’s good manners (and just smart business) to respond to positive reviews, negative reviews may be even more important to your brand.

In telling you that their experience didn’t meet expectations, your customer is providing valuable feedback. It’s an opportunity to review your processes. Who better than your customers to point you to an area that needs correction. Of course, there will always be people who have a semi-bad experience and write a review in anger, even exaggerating events. You should respond to those people, too. Remember, these reviews are public and can be read by anyone visiting your Facebook page so, in essence, you aren’t just addressing the writer of the review, you’re addressing everyone who sees it.

Your initial goal is to deescalate the situation. Next, address the concern, apologize for the less than stellar experience (even if you don’t believe the complaint is valid), and offer a solution. Yes, offer a solution even if the complaint has little merit.

This approach will take your brand from zero to hero very quickly. You’ll demonstrate that you hear your customers’ concerns, that your brand cares about their experience, and is open to making changes to improve customer experience. When you then offer a solution, you’ll demonstrate that you always strive to do right by your customers. Depending on the severity of the complaint, offer a discount or some other perk on the customer’s next visit.

The bottom line: Brands must take Facebook reviews seriously. They are serious.  As I wrote years ago and have preached ever since:

I think sometimes brands forget that handling complaints via social networks are the same as dealing with them face-to-face (only with higher stakes).  If a customer were standing in front of you with a complaint, you’d never ignore them, walk away from them, or simply apologize without offering a resolution. So why would that approach be acceptable via social media? Answer: It’s not!

(You can read the full article here: 5 Ways Brands Respond to Negative Social Media Comments (Hint: Only One Is Effective))

Examples

Let’s take a look at some unaddressed reviews and how they should’ve been handled.

First up, Houston Toyota Center:

During the NBA playoffs, singer Pink had two shows scheduled on a Saturday and Sunday at Toyota Center. When the games came back to Houston, the Sunday show was moved to Friday – on short notice. They had no choice, of course, though I do wonder why that date wasn’t held in the first place. Come the weekend of the show, there were issues. Lots of issues.

Here’s a review a fan posted on Toyota Center’s Facebook Page in the aftermath. The thread goes on for a while with other fans detailing similar experiences as the author. One woman claims she was told by the venue that Pink’s tour would contact her about a refund. Of course, it’s improbable that the tour would process refunds, but this customer believed  (or misinterpreted) what she’d been told by whomever told her. See the screen shot of the review below and read the entire thread here.

And another…

Ouch. Without question, that fan deserves a response. Both do, actually. But, a sick daughter? How can you ignore that?

Not once does the Toyota Center social media team jump in. No apology, no explanation, no customer service email or phone number. No acknowledgement. Nothing.

It makes no sense. They surely got many notifications as these conversations were happening. And these aren’t the only Pink-related reviews. I love Toyota Center, but there’s no excuse for this. All these weeks later and still no response.

I don’t know if these customers ever got a refund or some sort of credit or any resolution at all. And that’s the point. Neither does any other Page visitor! What’s worse, I can’t call this an oversight. None of the reviews on Toyota Center’s have been acknowledged.

But some brands do get it right. Behold!

Here’s the Facebook Page of my neighborhood Chili’s in Houston. They haven’t responded to every review, but they absolutely got this one right!

This is a perfect response. This likely isn’t even a local social media manager (it’s possible that it’s not even a person, but a bot). Whatever their system, they hit every point with this response.

How does your brand stack up? Are your Facebook review responses more Toyota Center or Chili’s?

My hope is that all brands recognize the importance of quick and thoughtful responses to reviews. Often there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut way to respond which leads to hesitance on the part of social media teams. I help clients create a framework and protocols for responses, empowering your social media team to confidently respond to reviews, comments, and complaints of all types.

If you’re ready for a more efficient and customer-focused way to respond to Facebook reviews or have any questions, please get in touch.

Leave a comment or send an email to: carole@seeksocialmedia.com.

###