How to Deal With Negative Reviews Online
90% of consumers consult online reviews before dropping by a business.
Clearly, online reviews are immensely powerful. They have the capacity to build your digital reputation and influence conversion rates. Negative online reviews, however, can severely damage the way other customers view your business.
A lot of business owners are uncertain about navigating negative reviews, whether they’re real or fake.
In this post, we’ll look closely at what you can do to manage your online reputation effectively.
1. Assess A Review’s Validity
Every business will deal with an angry or unhappy customer at some point–it’s simply inevitable.
However, some negative reviews are valid, while others are not. It’s possible to receive poor reviews constructed by bots, for example. Other reviews may come down to personal preferences and ideas.
Every review gives a business owner the chance to reflect. Most can give you an idea of how to improve customer service and other operations.
Valid reviews may have to do with poorly trained employees, a fluke lack of organization, or a miscommunication. All of these can give you insight into how to run your business even better than it is already running.
Take some time to assess how valid the poor review is. This will be critical for crafting your response.
2. Respond Quickly
Responding right away to negative online reviews is critical.
Whether you’re responding to a positive or poor review, you can demonstrate attentiveness to your customers’ concerns by responding within an hour or two of a post.
Besides timeliness, make sure your response is professional and accommodating. Avoid any defensive language, profanity, or sarcasm. Be brief if necessary.
It’s always best to apologize as cordially as possible if the situation requires it. You may even want to offer the customer a product discount or other free gift, depending on the severity of the review.
3. Manage Other Positive Reviews
Don’t just respond to negative online reviews. It’s important to respond to all reviews you receive online.
This can demonstrate your devotion to the entirety of your customer base, not just the unhappy customers.
Of course, if you receive tons of online reviews all the time, you may not have time to respond to all of them. That’s where we come in. Learn more about our review management services.
4. Leverage the Good Reviews
While it may be difficult to impossible to delete a negative review, it is possible to bury a bad comment by showcasing your positive reviews.
You can do this by sharing positive reviews on social media, for example. Simply post a screenshot of a five-star Yelp review on your Facebook business profile and give a gratitude shout-out to the reviewer.
5. Ask for Feedback
Another great way to deal with negative feedback is to engage with your customers on their terms. Request further feedback when you respond to negative reviews.
Here’s some sample language:
We’re very sorry to hear that your experience at The Mountain Hotel was short of perfect. We’d love to hear more about what happened so that we can be the best we can be for future customers. Feel free to reach out to us through our website to leave further feedback.
That’s How to Deal With Negative Reviews
If you’re struggling with a series of negative reviews, it is possible to manage these in a way that can preserve your online reputation.
Respond quickly to all bad reviews after assessing their validity. Use poor reviews as an opportunity to improve your own services.
Respond equally to positive and negative reviews, and always ask for feedback when possible. Leverage those good reviews, too, so that you can focus on the positive!
AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros is all about helping you cultivate the online image you deserve. Start a conversation with us today to begin managing your online reputation!
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