AMZ Seller Financing   •   October 29, 2018

When selling on Amazon, you will be in constant contact with thousands of people. And if you’re a top seller, maybe even with hundreds of thousands!

But with great numbers comes great responsibility. What sets great Amazon sellers apart from average ones is the ability to respond to negative customer feedback in the best possible way.

Every once in a while, you will have a customer that is not happy with your products or the purchase process. They will express their dissatisfaction in a negative way and expect you to sort everything out in a matter of minutes.

How do you do this? How do you handle a negative customer without losing your temper or destroying your business reputation along the way?

There are several things to keep in mind when addressing negative customer feedback.

How to Address Negative Customer Feedback

1. Get in Your Customers’ Shoes

Basically, it means that you should perceive your business from your customers’ standpoint as well. This will allow you to see things more clearly.

Don’t be always on your side of the fence. Try to understand what your customers want from your store.

In turn, this will enable you to address their problem much better. The key to any solution is to understand the problem. So, once you understand the issue a customer is having, you will start to understand the reason why you got negative feedback.

And then, you will be able to actually solve the problem, and even retain the customer in question. Negative feedback doesn’t automatically mean a lost client. This is the first step toward handling negative feedback in a professional manner.

2. Listen to Negative Customer Feedback Carefully

Many Amazon sellers make the mistake of assuming they know everything about their store. Remember, there is always something new you can learn, about yourself and your online store.

If you’re prepared to learn new things and grow as an online seller, you will actually start to listen to what your customers have to say. Don’t dismiss their negativity as something you’ve seen or heard a thousand times.

In many cases, you will be right, but it’s all about the details. A customer will give you negative feedback about something you know, but there might be just one sentence in there you’ve never heard before.

These details can completely change the way you see things. Also, if you listen to your customers carefully, paying attention to every single word, you will know how to construct a much better answer that will make things better.

3. Distance Yourself Emotionally

Don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s not personal. In the best possible way, customers are not interested in you. The only thing they care about is your product. And that’s the way it should be.

Therefore, it’s very important to distance yourself emotionally from the whole affair. Otherwise, it will affect you unnecessarily.

Whatever you do, be aware that this is business and you are a business owner. This is not a friend you’re arguing with, or a neighbor with whom you’re having a quarrel. This is strictly business.

The less you get involved emotionally, the better you will be able to handle negative customer feedback.

4. Ask a Lot of Questions

Never shy away from asking as many questions as you need in order to solve a problem. The more you ask, the more professional you will look.

Customers love when they are cared for. If you show genuine interest in their problem, you will be able to “repair what’s broken”.

You can ask questions along the line of:

• “Has this happened before?”
• “Is this the first time you’re shopping in our store?”
• “What do you feel is the biggest problem here?”

5. Never Put the Blame on the Customers

Customers are never to be blamed – this is extremely important. Even if you know deep down they are wrong, you should never tell them that. It will usually cause all the wrong effects.

What you should try is explain to them the situation in full detail and help them realize on their own they are wrong. This is crucial.

6. Admit Your Mistakes

If you’re the one to blame, meaning – you made a mistake – be sure to admit it right away. People love when they are right and hate when they are being lied to.

That’s why it’s extremely important to own up to your mistakes and offer a sincere apology.

You will be amazed by how well a lot of people usually respond to this.

7. Try Eeverything to Help Customers

If you have a negative customer, it doesn’t mean you will lose them for good. It also doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can to do ease the situation.

Go the extra mile to help your customers. If they see you really want to keep them, they will most likely stay.

You can offer them a free product or a discount, as a gesture of your sincere care about them. You can also thank them for being a valuable member of your online community. This will show them that you value their opinion – and it will help you go through the whole process unscathed.