*Lee Fong Yee, Ong Ai Ling, Kok Jia Wern

Abstract:

Understanding the genuine reasons for a customer complaint, getting to the root of the problem and following up with the customer with effective communication strategies would turn a negative situation into a positive outcome. The objective of the study is to explore communication strategies to help handle e-complaints on social media. However, there are difficulties and challenges when dealing with extreme negativity such as public criticism, and hateful speech from trolls, flamers, or keyboard warriors. Not all companies manage to resolve their customer complaints smoothly and retain customer loyalty. A systematic review of published literature on dealing with negative comments and e-complaints on social media was conducted to answer two questions: (i) What is the process flow of managing e-complaints on social media? and (ii) What communication tactics can be used in responding to customer complaints on social media for resolution or to minimise the effects of negative situations?

Keywords: Social media, negative comments, communication tactics, complaint resolution, e-complaint handling