Customers write Bad Reviews for all kinds of reasons: they felt ignored or disrespected by staff, they don’t like the quality of a product, they feel they’ve been overcharged, or they’re just crabby.
Once those reviews are published online, they have a big impact on Business and Company.
While no one wants to get Bad or Negative Reviews, they sometimes happen. Here are 6 ways to deal with them.
1. Don’t Panic or Sad!
Negative, Bad reviews are not that bad and they can actually help your business.
2. Be Polite
A negative review, particularly one that expresses a strong opinion, such as in the example below, may stimulate emotions that could lead to a sterner response than necessary.
Strongly worded review from a customer.
Take time to collect your thoughts and respond by saying something like, “Thank you for your valuable feedback. I would cherish the opportunity to speak with you about your experience. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.”
If, after talking with the person, you find there is merit to his comments, take proactive steps to remedy the situation. When warranted, provide restitution in the form of a coupon or discount.
3. Respond To Negative Reviews Publicly
Show that you care about the issue and have resolved it with a public response.
Customers pay attention to how you react to mistakes and problems, and they remember the results.
Research shows that hotels that respond to negative reviews actually see a big lift in revenue, an excellent customer retention tactic.
4. Learn From Negative Product & Business Reviews
Is there anything you can learn about your products or service from the bad feedback?
Ask from Customers How You Can Improve it.
5. Offer incentives for reviews
When your customers write a review for you, they’re doing you a favor, so it only makes sense to repay them. Businesses that offer small incentives — like a coupon or promo code — for writing reviews, see a big bump in the volume of reviews they get and it helps with measuring customer engagement.
6. Take Negative Reviews Seriously
In most cases, people who leave negative reviews aren’t out to defame you. They merely want to express their opinion about the experience. Take such reviews on their merits, as they may reveal an area of your business that could benefit from improvement.
