December 17, 2020 
Social media has given customers an easier and flexible way to send in comments and reviews, be it negative or positive. By simply navigating to a business’ page, they can leave comments under their posts or by sending a direct message.
Brands usually have a hard time composing a perfect type of response, even if the customer’s message is not negative. Some brands because they are not sure how best to reply, leave the messages unresponded to – do not do that.
There are different ways to respond to customers based on the type of message, comment, review or feedback they have sent.
However, for all types of response, there is one constant – the need for automation. You make it difficult on yourself if you do not automate the responses you give your customers.
Firstly, the large volume of customer queries and messages can be tiring, and you have a short frame of time to respond as customers have very high expectations and very short patience, especially on social media.
With several automation and marketing tools like the Zebrabuzz chatbot, you can create many different types of replies. Once your customers send in a complaint, a compliment, or need help, the chatbot takes complete control.
With the latest Artificial intelligence, it will also be able to recognise keywords and learn on its own using the latest machine learning features. Even when you are not online, customers still expect immediate responses, and because this chatbot is always available, your business will always be available to respond to customers as well.
Why Should I Respond to Customers on Social Media?
When you respond to customers on social media and assist them, it builds brand loyalty. Many people use social media nowadays, and the nature of the platform makes it the obvious choice for customers when dropping a review, comment, or message.
Also, responding to customers on social media helps reduce the number of the same type of queries, especially if it is a public response. Other customers can learn from the assistance provided to other customers.
How To Respond To Customers On Social Media
There are different ways to respond to customers on social media platforms. The type of query that a customer sends in will determine the type of response you give.
For the sake of this blog, we will classify customer messages and comments into three parts:
- Positive or Happy Customers
- Neutral or Customers Seeking for Assistance
- Negative or Unhappy Customers
Positive or Happy Customers
This is the delight of every brand – positive reviews and compliments. It shows you have done something right. Some businesses think positive reviews signifies the end of a job well done.
However, you should not just stop there and leave the compliments unresponded to; there is more to do. Here are ways you can respond to customers with positive messages and compliments on social media.
- Respond Quickly
Speedy responses are constant in any of the types of response. Quick replies are some times underestimated by some brands which should not be.
You must ensure your customers maintain the impression that no matter when they reach out, you are always available.
While this may seem difficult, especially on days when you may not be available or at hours when you may not be online at the time, automation tools, as stated above, can be used.
You can stay online 24/7 with chatbots like Zebrabuzz and be able to reply to customers at any given time.
- Say Thank you
The obvious response after receiving a compliment is “Thank You.” It’s no different here either. You may use other forms of appreciating the compliment, but you cannot go wrong with a simple “thank you.”
To make it better, personalise the response by adding their name or tagging them. This goes a long way. As chatbots can personalise responses, it makes it even more important to integrate one as you respond to your customers on social media.
- Share and Like the Positive Comment
Sharing and liking a positive comment is very important. It can make the commenter excited that you are sharing their post as they will feel connected to your brand. This can, in the long run, increase their loyalty to your business.
The original commenter also feels appreciated because their friends and other people get to see it. It can also magnify the impact of the positive review as more people get to see it and know people are having a good experience with your brand.
As stated earlier, automation is a constant and with automation tools like the Zebrabuzz Facebook auto liker, you can automatically like and boost the publicity of comments on your page.
- Show Interest and Ask More Questions
Positive responses are a great window to explore the customer’s interests and likes. As they are happy with you, they are more likely to be responsive.
This will develop your brand’s knowledge of the customer and ensure you can help better their experience and personalise their services.
Neutral Comments And Messages
These are usually customer queries that ask for assistance or more information. Besides being quick with the response, the next thing to do is offer step-by-step guides on how they should go about it. You can also offer to solve the problem from your end if it is possible.
Negative Comments Or Unhappy Customers
Apology
Remember to give a quick response; you don’t want to upset them further. However, as important as replying quickly is, you should also apologise.
Whether it is your fault or not, when you want to respond to a negative comment or upset customers on social media, an apology is the first thing that must precede the response.
However, when it becomes obvious that a customer is not interested in solving the problem and wants to attack your company’s values, you don’t have to say sorry. If you do, do so not more than twice and expressly state your desire to solve the problem.
Take the Conversation Private
After apologising publicly, take the conversation into the private chat where you are expected to solve the problem from there. Do state publicly that you have sent them a private chat, so people know you did not just apologise, but you are committed to making them happy.
The Zebrabuzz auto commenter or autoresponder tool is great for such things as it can automatically send different type of responses to your customers based on the type of query they have sent. It can also take the discussion private to the chat room.
Always Stick to Your Values
We discussed taking a stance when it is clear the customer wants to attack your brand identity. When this happens, ensure you maintain your ground.
Resist the Urge to Delete
Negative comments can understandably tempt you to delete the message or hide it. However, when you delete negative comments and leave only the positive ones, your page on social media becomes suspicious, especially to new customers.
Negative reviews show that you are real, and some people may encounter problems which is why it is important to also leave your response public as well. This is so new customers know you are not a scam and if they ever run into problems, you are always on hand to solve it.
