We’ve all seen it, the dreaded one-star review. As much as we would like to think that our businesses would never get a bad review, they do happen. We all work hard to make our customers happy and ensure that the time spent with our businesses is as enjoyable as possible. When somebody has not had the perfect experience and chooses to speak out about it over Google, Yelp, Facebook or one of the other various review platforms, it can be damaging both emotionally and financially to your business. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with bad reviews and use them to our advantage.
Many people think of bad reviews as bad publicity, this is not the case. When handled correctly a bad review can actually help build a stronger relationship with customers than you had before. Think of a bad review as a time to show the world what great customer service you have and reel back in that customer that almost got away.
How to Reel
There are two essential steps to take when you are responding to a negative review. Responding publicly to a negative review and not getting defensive in your response is all you need to do to get the train back on the tracks. Getting defensive and listing all of the reasons why the upset customer is wrong is the incorrect way to go about handling poor reviews. Instead you want to be empathetic, apologetic and show the customer that you genuinely want to make things right. By doing this publicly it gives other customers the chance to see how you handle problems that arise in your business. Customers that see you deal with issues in a professional way will in turn have more trust in you and your business.
While it is important to respond to bad reviews in the correct way it’s equally important to make sure that you respond to as many reviews as you possibly can, both good and bad. Reviews are an important tool for a business and letting people know that you appreciate their opinion is crucial. Thanking people for their input and kind words also goes a long way in building strong customer relationships.
If you have any questions regarding handling good reviews, bad reviews and all other aspects of reputation management, contact our team at Midwest Marketing today!
605-716-5666
