One of the great fears of the companies on the Internet, and specifically social networks, have always been the criticism, those negative comments that have the power to scare other interested customers on your product. Hence, many brands choose to veto comments on its website and social profiles, or feel unable to cope with these negative words, and give no answer.

A negative comment cause more impact than 10 positive, and can endanger the reputation of a brand, if it is not able to act accordingly.

However, a critical need not be a disgrace to the brand. Companies are not aware of the advantages of being able to receive feedback from their customers and to manage these negative comments on turf. Because we must remember one thing, critics will always exist, can not veto the freedom of expression of customers, so you better be aware of these and act accordingly.

All things considered, a negative comment does not have to be a stain on the record, but provide an opportunity to improve, and to connect one on one with customers. Everything depends on the responsiveness and expertise of the company “victim” of this “attack”.

Tourism and hospitality is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable to customer feedback. Instead, they have to fear. According to data from a recent report developed by Bazaarvoice, the reaction capacity to respond to such criticisms and comments, provided it is done in an intelligent and thoughtful way, positively affects the image of the company and thus its income statement. In 41% of cases, the perception of these customers is that the brand that responds to negative comments really cares about its customers, has a service fabulous consumer (35%) or are brands that are you can fully trust (22%). A reality that can even encourage hiring. When companies responded to comments with guidance to make better use of the product or service, buyers showed more than 186% purchase intent than when he had not offered any response.

The least desirable reaction to the negative reviews is indifferent, work around them or even delete them. Even 22% of customers would recommend a brand that, despite having made a mistake, finally respond accordingly (Sentiment). Ignoring it can only help to unleash the wrath of customers, so they can start a crusade against the brand and its services, using all channels available. As if that were not enough, in many of these cases, these underdogs clients receive support from other users with more media power, before which is much more difficult to control the situation.The consequences can be terrible and seriously damage the reputation of the brand.

At this point how it should react to the negative reviews? It really worth dealing with customers?

The ideal is to have an adequate monitoring system, which allows early detection of this type of interpellations. Responsiveness is already a plus point. However, the fast response is not yet the greatest virtue of social networks and customer channel. Conversocial data indicate that, on average, retailers need more than 11 hours to respond. Only 1 in 5 companies was able to respond within an acceptable timeframe, which is around 2 hours.

Once registered customer request, handy to have a crisis plan in order to know how to act at all times. This requires having qualified personnel, who knows how to control the situation, has experience in online communication channels and use large doses of assertiveness and social skills to regain lost confidence.

Where appropriate, it is important to publicly take responsibility for the company, provide a useful solution and track your problem until solved. It also should apologize, and always give thanks. In short, this show is the most human do the company and promote closer.

The marks are still unaware of the benefits of growing satisfied customers. According Sentiment, the company could hold your hand 90% of customers who come to the company to show its problem. 71% of customers who have had a positive experience recommended brand among their peers, compared to only 19% of those who have not received a response.

Therefore, it should be borne in mind that a review is always an opportunity to improve, and that a timely response is a victory. More than hinder customers the possibility to openly show their opinion, should enable all possible channels, with the to collect in the first instance complaints and suggestions, and to control the situation from the start.