If your business is suffering from negative online reviews, then it’s time to take action. But, how exactly should you respond to negative feedback? Well, there are actually several ways you can use this to your advantage by simply changing the outcome of the narrative. You can take a post that might reflect badly on your products or services, and turn it into a positive, shareable experience for your company.
The truth is, online reputation and reviews matter to both marketers and businesses, so whether positive or negative, you have to take action. According to a Podium survey, a whopping 93% of consumers say that they’re influenced by online reviews. Every single day, consumers turn to the Internet to share stories and experiences, find business locations, write reviews, get information, conduct research, and buy and sell products and services. With continuous, dedicated online habits such as these, it’s clear to see that what people say about your brand online directly affects your bottom line and can even define your brand’s reputation.
It’s for these reasons and more that we’re going to look at how you can appropriately respond to unhappy customers on social media, and address negative online content to improve your reputation. And, as we’ve already mentioned, negative reviews aren’t always necessarily a bad thing. Sure, when you find negative online content about your brand, your automatic reaction is to hit the delete button. But, it’s time to shift this thinking to recognize a bad review as not a threat but an opportunity.
How to Turn a Negative into a Positive
Believe it or not, you can actually turn a dissatisfied customer into a raving fan and even use their insight to improve your company’s customer service experience, services or even products. So long as your company is receiving mostly positive reviews, the odd criticism here or there will actually show customers that your business is credible, genuine and transparent.
The most important thing about using negative reviews to your advantage is all in how you respond the them. And, the game is simple, really. If you respond well, you earn brownie points not only with that one dissatisfied customer but with all who read your response. But, if you drag your feet in responding to negative feedback or simply don’t react in a positive, professional manner, then you can bet that you’ve lost that one dissatisfied customer for good and possibly others.
So, with this in mind, let’s take a look at a few ways you can respond and repair:
- Use Tools to Monitor Your Brand – It’s virtually impossible to manually register and monitor every spec of information in relation to your business online. But, you can’t address bad reviews or mentions unless you’re aware of them. So, employ the use of tools to help monitor your brand’s online reputation. Some free ones include Google Alerts, Rankur and Free Review Monitoring.
- Address and Resolve – You can turn genuine negative reviews and mentions to your advantage by simply being transparent. Remember, a solid business should operate with nothing to hide, so show that one reviewer and all others that you are doing everything you can to address and resolve the issue. Take the time to find out why they’re upset or dissatisfied, and respond on the channel they used to share their feedback. Even if the situation requires you to take the one-on-one conversation to a different channel, be sure to mention that in the review thread by asking the dissatisfied customer to email you or open a private message. Then, once you’ve reached a satisfactory resolution, go back to that same thread and update it with the resolution so that others can see how well you worked to resolve the issue and address their needs. This is what makes negative feedback meaningful for both your brand and your customer base.
- Protect Yourself – Not too long ago, before the Internet took over the way we think and conduct ourselves and business, a poor review was simply carried via word of mouth. Its reach was rarely significant enough to sway public opinion to have any sort of negative impact on business. Today, however, one bad review online can spread faster than a virus, reaching thousands, shredding a brand’s reputation in the blink of an eye. That is, if you don’t know how to properly manage the message. Unfortunately, in the Internet age there are always going to be those out there who just want to do anything they can to damage your brand’s reputation. That’s why you need to be proactive, and protect your reputation from unwarranted negative mentions and information. These can come from any direction, perhaps in the form of a disgruntled employee or competitor, maybe from a news article involving a single employee that paints a negative picture, even from product comparison reviews left on company pages that are in fact written by paid commissions. No matter the circumstance, handling damaging information of this magnitude requires a well-thought-out plan. Depending on the severity of the allegations, you can either handle things yourself or hire a PR professional to restore your reputation.
Protecting your online reputation is all about awareness and your ability to address issues head on in a timely, professional manner. By taking proactive measures and having a game plan in place to combat negative feedback when it happens, and it will happen, you can improve and restore your brand’s online reputation by showing the public that their best interests are your best interests.
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