Respond to Negative Reviews

One reason you should read and respond to reviews is to learn from mistakes. As you listen to the people buying your product or service, you may see things that need to be changed in your business or your product to prevent future unsatisfied customers.

You could also turn an unsatisfied customer into a loyal one, for life.  45% of people say they are more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews. They see that you care about their experience with your product or service. Answering and taking responsibility also tells them that if something goes wrong, you will make it right.

Improve your SEO

Responding to reviews, both good and bad, will help you serve your customers well and improve your SEO. Google even says so!  They also recommend encouraging customers to leave feedback by creating a link to where they can write a review. All review platforms can help your SEO, and responses only help you to build trust.

How should you respond to a negative review?

Use the 3 Ps. Be:

•         Prompt
•         Polite
•         Professional

Never argue with the customer. It won’t help you to regain their business and will put other customers off when they read about it online. Instead, thank the customer for taking the time to review your business. Acknowledge the issue and offer to work out a solution offline. Once you have solved the problem, you can write a brief comment online to share how you handled it.

Don’t copy/paste your response. A canned response to everyone can be tempting to do to save time, but it is crucial to personalize your message. Your clientele will respect the personal touch and deserve it. Also, if your message is canned, your audience will smell it from a mile away. No one likes insincerity.

What About Fake Negative Reviews?

These are sometimes posted by “trolls.” The poster could be a stranger, a competitor, or even someone you know who is trying to cause trouble for you. If someone has written a misleading, false review, you can request the website to remove it. The process for this will be different from one site to the next, so you will have to ask the site administrator for some guidance if you can’t find it in the help section.

Why not ask for all the negative reviews to be removed?

Legitimate reviews should be left up and responded to constructively. It is how you build relationships with customers. Also, a few negative reviews amidst many four, and 5-star reviews add authenticity to your brand. Have you ever seen a product with no bad reviews? It seems unreal and can cause people to question whether the positive reviews are even legitimate.

Instead, always offer to make it right.

Making things right might mean replacing the item, giving their money back, or working out another resolution appropriate to the situation.

Your response isn’t just for the reviewer. It’s for everyone who reads the review. If you resolve the issue well, and the customer is happy, you can even ask them to write a testimonial to share online.

How to know if you receive a negative review

Iceberg Web Design’s Reputation Management Services can notify you in real-time of the reviews you receive across 150+ review sites. You can use this to respond to both positive and negative reviews. Find out more about how our reputation management services can lift your business to the next level. Contact us to learn how we can help you. We are web developers that answer the phone.

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What is my online reputation?

Your online reputation is exactly what it sounds like. It is made up of all the things people say about your business online and includes reviews, comments, pictures and posts. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation ₍₁₎. It is important that you are not only aware of these online reviews, but also highlighting the positive reviews and actively working to mitigate the negative ones.

Do you currently have a process for collecting reviews from your customers? What do you do with the reviews you receive? How do you highlight positive reviews? Do you respond quickly to negative reviews? If you can’t readily answer these questions, it’s time to invest in an online reputation management strategy. Here are Iceberg’s tips

Online Reputation Management Do’s and Don’ts

Do

• Ask for feedback. Give people a channel to talk openly and honestly about your products and services.
• React quickly and politely. A prompt reply saying you have heard their concern and are working on a resolution is better than a late reply with more information.
• Be transparent. Allow customers to publicly see how you respond to negative reviews.
• Learn from your criticisms. They can be an opportunity to improve your product or message.

Don’t

• Pretend people aren’t talking about your company. They are.
• Hide or ignore negative feedback.
• Respond defensively or aggressively. Even if you think your customer’s comments are unwarranted or out of line, fighting fire with fire is never a good strategy.

Reputation Management Tools

If you have a Google My Business profile set up, users can rate and review your business on Google and your ranking and reviews will show in the search results when your business is searched online. This a great choice for many businesses just getting started with reputation management, but there are also more advanced reputation management tools available that can streamline the process of collecting and responding to reviews.

As part of our SEO package, you get access to a Reputation Management Dashboard that automates this process for you and provides essential insight. You will also receive a monthly reputation management report that analyzes everything that your customers are saying about you online – all in one place!

Our case studies show a tremendous difference after implementing this service.  Call Shane at 763-350-8762 to schedule your free consultation and get started!

₍₁₎ Local Consumer Review Survey, 2014

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