How To Handle Negative Feedback With The Grace Of A Swan.
It sucks to hear that you suck.
Receiving constructive criticism or negative feedback is never fun.
And it kinda ruins your buzz.
Customer and client feedback is everywhere from face-to-face to online DM’s, tweets, comments, Google reviews, Facebook reviews, Podcast reviews… the list goes on.
The point I’m trying to make is that there are loads of ways people can step on your buzz.
The key is identifying which ones are genuine and are worthy of your energy.
Because ignoring constructive criticism is a slow bleed, reputation killer.
And if you can adjust your mindset to using the feedback to turn yourself from ‘great’ to ‘phenomenal’, then you need to learn how to handle negative feedback with the grace of swan.
Scenario: Your brand is being absolutely rinsed online from a disgruntled customer.
We all know that online comments can be as harsh as the sun on a sweltering day.
Just ask anyone from #MAFS.
Being torn a new one – especially when it’s a genuine complaint – isn’t pleasant.
But it’s how you respond to those genuine irks and complaints that ultimately decides if you’re in this for the long game, and if you’ve got what it takes to turn around a situation.
The first thing you must understand is this:
It’s not personal!
It really isn’t!
And the sooner you can seperate your emotions from those complaints or negative reviews, the easier it becomes to find a solution.
There are a few PR tactics you can employ to ensure you’re handling any negative feedback with professional integrity.
No matter how tempting it is to tell someone to fuck right off – and trust me I KNOW how tempting that can be– never, ever engage in a public argument with a customer.
Acknowledge their frustration, respond genuinely and take it offline (ie. email, phone call – whatever your funnel for customer communication is).
The second point you need to know is this:
Deleting and/or blocking genuine customer complaints is not a smart PR move.
Don’t stick your head in the sand.
Swans don’t do that, and neither should you.
You cannot control the narrative when it comes to customer feedback, but what you CAN control is how you make them feel post complaint.
Nine out of ten times, you can come away with a satisfied customer if you handle it with empathy.
The main takeaway I want you to have though is this:
Shit will happen.
People will complain.
Over and over again.
It’s inevitable.
And when that happens, you can’t let it kill your vibe.
And that’s hard.
Very hard.
Because when you run your own business, it does feel personal. And handling a dissatisfied customer or client is so much more than just ‘putting out a fire’.
So how do you do that exactly?
When things go tits up, you need to perform no matter what. You GOT to provide the best experience you can.
Even if it means owning up to your mistake publicly.
Even if it means ‘copping it on the chin’.
Even if it costs you.
You have the opportunity to turn a bad experience into a delightful one.
The most respected brands in the world didn’t get there by ignoring complaints, or engaging in slinging matches with their clients.
They got there by showing empathy in the face of adversity.
And that my friends, is how to be a swan.
