Dealing with bad reviews is a nightmare for any business. But it’s the reality of running a company.
It’s impossible to keep every customer happy so it’s best to plan ahead for these inevitable moments.
Unfortunately, negative experiences turn into negative reviews, which means your brand is put on blast by disgruntled customers.
The internet makes this quick and easy for consumers to do and they do it freely.
What can you do about it?
If you’re currently dealing with bad reviews or want to prepare in advance, then this quick guide is for you.
Let’s take a look at the three proven steps you should take today.
Analyze the Negative Reviews
The first thing you should do when you receive a bad review is to see the “why.” Is it something that was done wrong by your brand? Maybe an employee was rude or a product was defective.
In this case, you can remedy the situation by offering a replacement product. Or simply let them know you disapprove of the employee’s manner and that they’re being dealt with.
Learn from the constructive criticisms that your customers are leaving you. Use that feedback to improve your business and reduce the chances of future negative reviews.
Always Respond Immediately
It’s important that you keep a close ear to the ground so you can find bad reviews quickly. You can set up alerts on Google and social media networks relating to your brand and/or product names.
It’s also ideal to keep watch of the reviews made on your business directory listings.
This way, you can sift through all the mentions to identify whether they’re negative or positive reviews. Once you find a negative comment, make sure to respond to it quickly and publicly.
Not only will this help stop the fire from spreading, but it’ll also paint your brand in a better light.
If other prospects see you quickly resolving an issue, they’ll be more inclined to do business with you.
Also, make sure you keep emotions out of all responses. This will only fuel the fire and make the situation worse.
One caveat, however.
If you feel the negative review you received was fake or violates the review site’s guidelines, do not respond immediately.
Often times the algorithm itself will sift through and detect the fake negative reviews and delete them from the platform without you having to do anything.
However, if you acknowledge the review with a response, it won’t delete it without further platform review.
Follow-Up with the Negative Reviewers
After communicating with the reviewer (and maybe even reaching out privately), make sure to follow-up. You want to ensure that the remedies you use satisfy the customer.
This will further position your brand as one that cares about all of its customers.
For example, if a product was defective and you sent the customer another one, find out if they’re enjoying it. If so, you can leave it at that or use it as an opportunity to ask for a review.
Get Help Managing Your Reviews
The best thing a brand can do is take a proactive approach to their online reputation management. You can do this easier when you have the help of experts.
As a business owner, you should focus on operations, not managing your negative reviews. That’s what the experts at LocalBizGuru are here for.
We can assist you with generating and managing your business reviews. If this sounds like something that interests you, then contact us today!
For more in-depth solutions to dealing with any type of online review, you may receive, check out our post – ‘How to Respond to Online Reviews – The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly‘
