You may not want to admit it, but if you’re like most normal people owning a business, online reviews and ratings can really make or spoil your day. Positive reviews are always great and boost your online reputation, encouraging new customers to bring their business to you.
On the other hand, negative reviews have the potential of not just turning away new customers, but turning the whole world against you – even people who’ve never done business with you. This is why you cannot possibly afford to ignore bad review.
Here’s a short guide on how to fix a bad Google review, or any other online review for that matter:
1. Fix your product or service
No matter how difficult it may feel to be rational about a negative review, you need to stay calm. The best first step to take is to assume the customer is right and is in fact justified in posting the review and it’s your job to fix what’s wrong.
With such an attitude, you will be in the best position to identify what may perhaps need improvement on your part.
2. Turn on the customer care charm
Your online marketing could be the best in town, but without an equally strong customer care culture to back it up, you may as well be stabbing yourself in the back. Good customer care actually demands that you go the extra mile in making things right, even if you think the customer is wrong.
Try your best to contact the customer and see whether you can make things right. This is not about serving egos – it’s about investing in your reputation, which is a crucial ingredient in your company’s success.
3. Make it up to them
It’s not just enough to acknowledge customer complaints. If there’s a way to make it up to them, make sure you do just that. In an instance when the customer’s complaint is genuine and legitimate, make amends by apologizing and then offering something at no cost to them.
If you’re offering a service, offer a redo of the service, but make sure this time the customer will have nothing to complain about. If you haven’t fixed the problem, you may make things worse by repeating your mistake.
4. Acknowledge negative reviews
Not all reviews will be fair, but if they’re on a reputable site, they should at least be acknowledged. Even if you have no intention of making it up to an unreasonable customer, you still need to apologize for his or her experience.
However, this should only be done on reputable review sites. Bad reviews on negative rant sites such as RipOff Report should be left as they are, since replying will only build their rankings and increase the chances that they’ll come up on Google when your company name is searched.
Helpful tip: Always respond positively to a negative review. You may be tempted to justify yourself because you’re right and the customer is wrong, but this will do more harm than good. If you can’t be pleasant, then at least be neutral.
If you need expert help building your online reputation and making yours a business success story, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.