You released a product online, and the reviews have arrived. Most people were singing your praises and loved your work. However, there’s a sneaky review online, with no name or picture, saying you’re a flop. Try not to stress yourself out over stuff like this. Most people can spot a fake review from a mile away, and one or two bad reviews shouldn’t hurt your ratings too much. However, if you’re starting to notice more and more poor reviews from paying customers, it’s time to take a look at the cause of the problem. Make the necessary changes and strive for better reviews in the future. In the meantime, you should be managing bad online reviews. There are a few things you can do to lower the number of bad reviews associated with your business and reduce the likelihood of receiving more.
Stay Professional While Managing Bad Online Reviews
The best piece of advice we can give you is to stay professional. The person answering or replying to online reviews represents the entire company. They need to respond to both negative and positive comments kindly and authentically. If someone is upset, just apologize and figure out how you can rectify the issue.
Sometimes achieving customer satisfaction isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do. But you should still try. After all, there is no company without customers. Of course, no matter how hard you try, some reviews will still be unpleasant. If it’s just a difficult customer and you’ve done as much as you can for them, try not to dwell on it. The same goes for nasty bots.
Another important thing to do is answer reviews within 24 hours. The internet never sleeps, and people expect an immediate response. Being polite and quick to reply can make a world of difference, and it is just one of many ways to lower the number of negative reviews.
Resolve the Issue
If there is a problem with a product or service, your number one priority is to solve it as quickly as possible. Sometimes these issues can be trivial. Still, if your customer is upset you should take care of the problem promptly.
Mistakes happen, and that’s okay. While everyone tries their best to prevent them, it’s not always something you can control. However, when you make a mistake, your goal should be to resolve it immediately.
The last thing you need is to lose potential customers over a small missed detail. Addressing the issue and admitting that the mistake happened shows professionalism, and it will help customers understand that they are in the right hands.
Take the Problem Offline
Once you get in touch with your client, try to resolve the issue offline. Sometimes, managing the bad online review can prove to be more difficult than you originally thought. For this reason, you need to keep the resolution process out of public view.
Share your email or another contact option with the client and deal with the problem privately. When the problem is solved, you can post the outcome online for everyone to see.
Remove Misleading or Fake Reviews
Reviews can also be malicious or fake, and there is nothing you could do about it. Most people will publish sincere reviews, regardless of whether they are good or bad. However, some will post fake reviews for the strangest reasons. They may not have even bought your product or utilized your services.
If this happens to you, you can always ask for those reviews to be removed. However, keep in mind that deleting fake or misleading reviews is different from removing the ones you don’t like.
Deleting fake feedback is perfectly fine. However, you should never remove a negative review just because it is negative. Hiding that your customers are not satisfied will lead to additional problems, and it can hurt your brand significantly. Instead of trying to sweep the problem under the rug, always address it.
Solving the problem will lead to satisfied customers, and they might even change their reviews from negative to positive.
Encourage Your Customers to Leave Feedback
Finally, you should encourage your customers to leave feedback. If they are satisfied with the service, they’ll probably be happy to praise you. It can also be an excellent way to tackle negative feedback and increase your overall score in online reputation.
You can add a message after they receive a service or product that will motivate them to leave a review. This way you’ll garner more positive reviews– taking your online reputation to a whole new level.
If you need help managing bad online reviews, or setting up Google My Business to help potential clients find you, Rise Local can help. Contact us today for a free consultation. We would love the opportunity to help you take control of your online reputation.