Has your business ever received a bad review or negative message on social media?

You’re not alone.

Sprout Social have just released a survey showing that during Q3 alone, 46% of the consumers surveyed had called a brand out on social media.

The “call-out culture” needs to be taken seriously by brands. Gone are the days when a complaint could be dealt with privately; now these PR disasters are read by thousands and your responses are closely watched.

Note that 50% of people will actually boycott a brand if they feel their complaint hasn’t been addressed correctly, and there’s no telling how many other potential customers that negative review will put off.

Why Should You Care:

In a day and age where consumers do thorough online research before they buy, a bad online reputation is akin to a customer journey death sentence.

And remember: even if your business isn’t active on social media, it doesn’t mean your customers aren’t.

You need to be aware of the damage that can be caused by negative social reviews, and have a plan in place to deal with them when they arise.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Yes, a public complaint is a disaster – but it’s a disaster you can rectify by being aware and prepared.

Sprout concluded their survey by showing that 44% of consumers said that a great response from the company is enough to win them back, and 42% said a good review would do the trick.

The bottom line is, if you’re not already carefully monitoring your brand mentions on social, best you start now.

We use Sprout Social and Mention, but there are a wealth of tools out there that will notify you the instant you get a message or your brand name is mentioned.

Trust us, it’ll be worth it in the long run.

For more information, check out : sproutsocial.com