Effectively addressing negative online reviews is not easy. Someone may come at you on a personal level just to provoke you. The best thing is to maintain your cool for the sake of your business. You have added so much into your business to let one negative review ruin it. Although negative reviews do more harm to your business than good, one or two of them may boost your online credibility. Consumers tend to be skeptical about a business with all positive reviews. With all positive reviews, your business may pass off as fake. Having a reasonable number of negative reviews in there boosts the authenticity of your brand.
However, what the negative review says may not be important than the way you respond. Other customers will look at how you responded to know if you have their interests at heart. Here are effective ways of responding to negative customer reviews.
Respond promptly
Even if you are busy with rinning other business tasks, not responding to your business’s negative review is not understandable. A delayed response, especially about a problem, makes your customer feel less valued and will not be willing to do business with you in the future. No matter how busy you are, take some minutes to respond to that one negative review as soon as you can. A delayed response may come off as insincere. Again, other customers will see how long you took to respond, which impacts your business.
Always respond
No matter what you think, the intention of the reviewer is not always the same. Some people may be out there to provoke you. Remember that you are not responding to them, but to thousands of other customers who are keeping an eye on that and new customers who will view that in the future. Plus, many customers will understand when a complaint is valid and when a reviewer is aggressive. When you respond well, you pass off as someone that understands the importance of good customer service.
Do not take negative reviews personally.
Although some negative reviews may be too offensive, do not take them personally. When you do that, you respond personally, and you may pass off as an inconsiderate business owner repelling customers away. However, use that opportunity to show your personality’s positive side and let other customers know of your kindness through that response.
Appreciate the client for taking the time to respond
When a customer comments about your business, whether positively or negatively, it shows what they feel about your business. One way to create brand awareness is to get people talking about you. Start by thanking the customer for taking the time to write to you. That rapidly diffuses the review’s negativity, makes the customer feel valued, and shows the other customers that you are not petty.
Make your response authentic.
Although you can use online templates to help you respond to negative reviews, you should tailor the response and respond in the most authentic and personal way. You should only use the templates as a basic guideline and not copy them word by word. Before you send the response, reread it, and examine if it will come off as unique to the reader.
conclusion
When someone reviews negatively about your brand, it is easy to get defensive. However, that doesn’t make the condition any better. On the contrary, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and figure out how to solve their problem effectively. Be empathetic in your response.