Most small business owners go out of their way to serve their customers and have happy, loyal customers as a result. But there are some people who'll never be happy regardless of what you to do to accommodate their needs. Appeasing them can be a chore. We all know that word-of-mouth helps our businesses grow, so it also follows that bad word-of-mouth spreading quickly through social media can have a very negative effect.
For this reason, several of our clients have been hesitant to get involved with social media or even have a blog lest they become the target of a disgruntled, difficult customer. Having seen how some people can blast a business mercilessly, even when not warranted, they aren't sure they're up for the hassle. Well, that's really not the best way to handle that issue. After all, following that logic, you might never unlock the front door of store in the morning for fear of someone coming in who'll go out and spread unwarranted negative remarks about you or your store. Assuming you know that you've done everything you can to insure customer satisfaction, there's really nothing you can do to someone who just refuses to be satisfied.
That being said, just go forward and develop your social media presence ... create and keep your blog updated with all the news about sales dates, new products, interesting relevant information, etc. Participate in this amazing means of being found and joining in . . . and reap the benefit of having new people discover your business and become your customers/clients. Do your best for your customers. Stand by your products, treat customers well, treat them fairly, and smile sincerely when waiting on them (even over the telephone -- you CAN hear a person smile) ..... it's hard to be angry with someone who's smiling while trying to resolve a problem. Most people will respond in kind.
In the event a cantankerous customer decides to grill you over the flames of your own blog or Facebook page, be calm. You'll have other good customers who'll come to your defense if you're truly serving your clientele well. And there are ways to let the rest of the world see how well you DO treat people, who maybe don't even deserve it. I could sit down here and go over all the many ways to handle a social media heckler, but I don't have to .... our friends at the SBA posted an article that I think says it very well. Click here to learn 7 Tips for Dealing with Criticism of Your Business
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