Receiving negative reviews is terrible for your business. We live in an age where reviews matter. Good reviews can push some people over the line and decide to buy what you offer. Negative reviews will turn them off and decide to look for better options. However, receiving negative reviews isn’t the end of the road. You can still do something to change them and create a better impression. Here’s what you must do.
Apologise if necessary
When people leave negative reviews, they probably have a good reason. They had a terrible experience in buying your products. If not, they disliked how you handled the orders. Learn to apologise if claims are proven to be true. You can’t be defensive if the experience was real. These people owe an apology. Promise to make it up to them and try your best not to let the same thing happen again.
Prepare for a counter-narrative
While some reviews are genuine, others aren’t. There’s an excellent chance these reviews are inaccurate or meant to destroy your reputation. Prepare to express a counter-narrative. Investigate the truthfulness of the review and explain why it’s not correct. Provide facts and evidence to counter the claims. You still have to maintain diplomacy while refuting the person who wrote the review. Keep responding until these negative reviews are no longer overwhelming. If some people don’t stop complaining, invite them for a private conversation to finish what they started publicly.
Improve your services
Identify the common complaints and deal with them. For instance, you can work with a fulfilment company if there’s a recurring issue with delayed deliveries. Most importantly, you can’t let the issue happen again since it will lead to more negative reviews and an increase in people jumping to other options.
You can also focus on improving customer service. Respond to questions and concerns. Use different tools to reach out to your customers. When they feel good about customer service, they will stay loyal. In addition, these people will feel that you care.
Evaluate your products
Perhaps, the accusations regarding your product quality are true. You might be defensive, but you should start by evaluating if these reviews are accurate. Then, consider changing something about what you sell if the reviews are similar. These products will make or break your business. If they’re problematic, everything else will go down. Don’t forget to survey your customers to ask what they want to see or if they desire changes in your products.
Hire a full-time reputation manager
Managing your company’s reputation isn’t an easy job. You should hire someone to ensure only positive narratives prevail. Your reputation manager should also respond quickly before things worsen. You may also use a review management software to identify reviews and mentions.
You can stop these bad reviews from drowning your business with these tips. You will also entice more people to buy your products and support your brand. Of course, it takes time to rehabilitate your image, but you will get there.
Leave a Reply