What is the best way to deal with negative reviews about our brand on social media? I’m keen to turn any negatives into positives.

Independent, third-party reviews are a crucial part of many transactional websites, providing an element of integrity and trust. However, many retailers are also finding that they can create problems. Two situations typically arise.

The first results from a customer having a poor experience from the retailer in question. The second is malicious posts with no foundation in fact.

Richard Wood, managing director of ecommerce consultancy Gillissa, advises retailers to keep on top of all tweets and wallposts, submissions on their review systems, and on all internet postings about their companies through inbound alert mechanisms such as Google Alerts. Tweets and wallposts especially must be dealt with as quickly as possible.

“Key is taking the appropriate response to the comments that have been made,” says Wood. “A genuine customer grievance needs to be addressed promptly.” He adds that personal intervention from a senior member of the company, and dealing efficiently with the issue, can completely turn such situations around. He points to a case involving a very critical public post from someone outraged by BT’s perceived lack of support to an aged relative moving house. That post triggered rapid intervention at the highest level in the company, with the problem dealt with quickly, and a very different post being made by the original complainant.

Bad reviews or comments will of course influence people’s choice of purchase, but a sprinkling of poor reviews or comments among a host of good ones will, by and large, be accepted by site visitors. However, Wood explains, if a negative post reporting a poor experience is subsequently addressed by a brand, and a positive follow up comment from the same customer is posted, this is “a powerful indicator that company concerned has taken an interest in what their customers are saying and more importantly has done something about it”.