What do you do when your followers ‘unlike’ you on Facebook?

From a great business idea, to an engaging website to a cool Facebook page – you had pooled together all the makings of a success story. Then one day, your ‘likes’ on Facebook began to dwindle. That’s not something to worry about, you heard yourself thinking. That must happen to all businesses, you almost said aloud. But deep inside, you knew it wasn’t a good sign. Your supporters are losing their faith in you. They are abandoning you. Your big idea isn’t big enough for them anymore. Crisis? Yes. Panic? No.

If you have suffered from a total or partial collapse of likes on your Facebook page, you know that sinking feeling you get when your inner sixth sense warns you of tougher times to come. What do you do? What steps do you take to cushion the damage? How do you bring back lost customers? Here’s our go-to list to reverse the damage.

Ask them why they don’t like you anymore

Facebook is, in many ways, an open medium. It makes it easy for the customer to find you and equally easy for you to find a customer, especially those who go from ‘Like’ to ‘Unlike’. Create a database of customers who have ‘unliked’ your page in the last week. Search Facebook for every customer in that database.

Next, reach out to the best communicator in your team. Once you find them, write to them. Keep the email, message or phone call exclusive and personal. Don’t apologise in advance. Ask them instead for reason(s) that made them unlike your page. Once you find out the reason, propose a viable solution and request the customer to like your page once again. Click here to know how to use Facebook Insights to see Facebook Page ‘unlikes’.

Use history to construct a reliable future

If you are lucky, you will find a few good things that the ‘ex-follower’ had said about you in the past. Create a database of the same. Write to your customer, reminding them of how your brand had made them feel. Such communication should be dealt with carefully. If the tone of your email bears the behaviour of an emotionally marred person falling at their feet, it might make the customer disapprove of you further. It’s important, therefore, to keep your dignity and integrity in place.

You can also get creative in this regard. By picking out customer posts that were not favourable, you can create a series of viral videos that talk to the generator of an unfavourable post. Self-deprecating humour combined with acknowledgement of the customer’s complaint can help you get back in their good books once again.

Gift your way into their hearts

A personalised gift is the best form of an apology. If the responses you receive point out a mistake or two you made in your delivery, product or communication, you’ll need to give more than an explanation or a solution. You will need to send your estranged customer a gift. Gifts work like a seal on a promise. Let it be something that can be of real use to them. Allow your gift to make them realise that you know them better than others do. There’s joy in this form of giving, as it will not only win you back your lost followers, but also make them appreciate your efforts.

Do a follow-up

If you forget to acknowledge a ‘fan’ who has come back to like your page, you will appear like a mean, short-sighted and opportunistic businessman. Following up with a fan who has ‘re-liked’ your page is like drinking water after your morning jog. That is to say, it is the right thing to do. When you follow-up, you ensure that the customer knows that you acknowledge their action. You can do this via a carefully drafted email or even a personal call.

If they ‘like’ you, it’s a good sign. If they ‘unlike’, it’s even better. No business is perfect and sometimes it takes the user than the creator to find out the flaws that could be holding it back. Therefore, when the ‘likes’ plummet, a real businessman will not panic but use their instincts to not only recover from the loss but make the most of it, too.