What’s the Right Way to Deal with Negative Reviews
The downside of requesting customers to write an online review of your business or product is that they could provide a negative feedback.
That’s absolutely normal, as you can’t expect that everyone would be happy with your service or product quality, no matter how hard you try. So, don’t let the possibility of receiving negative reviews scare you. Consider them a helpful feedback to improve on the quality and delivery of your service.
But when you get a negative review, do you just fold your arms and act like it isn’t there? Doing or saying nothing or even taking too long to respond could come back to hurt you and your business.
So, what’s the right way to deal with negative reviews?
The first thing you should do is to listen carefully and attentively to what the customer is saying in the review. Keep an open and objective mind about the review. Put aside your emotions and see if there are truths in the angry review.
Of course, that’s a tough thing to do, but it’s necessary if you hope to have long term success as a business owner. Reading a negative review with an open, objective mind could help provide you insight about something you need to address with your offering or business.
If you chose to ignore the points raised in the negative review, the consequence could be what you’d never anticipated: More negative reviews hammering on the same point. That hurts, right?
The result is that your attempts to generate more business reviews online will simply produce a bunch of angry reviews, which can be harmful to your business especially if your target market often likes to read reviews before making a buying decision.
Second, acknowledge the comments of the reviewer and let the writer know that you’re doing something about their complaint. While at it, make sure to avoid arguing with the customer, even if you disagree with their comments. Doing so may make a bad situation worse and could irreparably damage the online reputation of your business.
Maintain a professional and objective posture. According to data, 67% of customers rated customer service interaction bad because the company representative they were dealing with was cold and unfriendly.
It’s recommended to respond to the negative review in the same place it was left rather than sending the complaining customer a private email. This tells a prospective consumer that your company is proactive and eager to correct negative experiences with your customers.
Generally follow this guideline when dealing with a negative review:
- Listen: Allow the customer to state their grudges without interrupting them. Sometimes, we just want to know someone is listening to us.
- Show empathy: Let the customer see and feel that you understand and are concerned about their complaint.
- Apologise: Even if you’re not entirely or directly responsible for what upset the customer, make an apology and be sincere about it; at least since your brand is involved in some way.
- Fix the problem: Solve the issue right away and let the customer know you or someone in the organisation is working on it. Give the initiative to the customer by asking them if there’s anything specific they’d want in solving the problem.
- Investigate: Find out internally why the problem occurred in the first place, without necessarily holding anyone responsible. Your focus should be on fixing the process, so it doesn’t reoccur.
Stating in the comment or reply box that you or a qualified member of your team is fixing the issue the customer complained about gives prospective customer confidence about your brand and communicates it as responsive, caring and customer friendly.
Excellent customer service is one of the most valued areas of a company culture; and will boost brand trust in the target audience, and consequently the sales volume.
In conclusion…
First, you should determine how important online reviews are for your business, and then decide on the steps to take to trigger more rave reviews for your product and brand. Business reviews online are arguably the powerful yet cost effective marketing tools for small businesses today that could make or mar their fortunes in the marketplace.
Getting more business reviews online may look like a difficult task; the truth is it can be easy, seamless and effective if the right strategies are adopted and it is anchored by a qualified professional. Sign up here to get your business reviews online project done to your complete satisfaction.
