Introduction
Sometimes companies make mistakes and fail to respond to them, resulting in unsatisfied customers.
With this frequency, disappointed customers write about these negative experiences in online reviews, and many potential customers will consider which company’s products or services to choose. Using negative reviews as a reference
As a result, even the smallest service failure can have a lasting negative impact on a company’s reputation and performance.
If your business receives a negative online review, you need to take appropriate action and take steps to minimize the damage.
In the age of consumer reviews and online word of mouth, there are standard service recovery strategies that businesses can use to enhance their online reputation, such as special offers and discounts for disappointed customers.
Many companies have begun to respond publicly to consumer reviews, explaining how they will apologize to customers and what steps they will take to avoid future service interruptions.
And the customer review platform insists that responding to reviews is the better way to go.
Responding to negative reviews
Three points to keep in mind when responding
Customers who post negative reviews need to be warned.
Online response messages can be misinterpreted by the reader, even if they are written with the best intentions.
There are three key points to consider when creating a response message for your customers
- The reviewer is a customer who has purchased your product or service
- Customers are people with emotions and sensitivities that are sometimes unpredictable.
- A review is a comment from a customer.
Do not take them personally
If you receive a negative review of your product or service online, you may feel too strongly that you must protect your business and take it personally.
“It’s important for business owners to be polite to customers who give negative reviews and not take it personally when replying to reviews.” Google My Business support advises.
It’s difficult to win an argument with a dissatisfied customer, so you need to be “helpful and useful”, “easy to read” and “polite” to your customers.
Therefore, it’s important to think twice before responding to negative reviews.
Before reacting to a negative review, take a deep breath and think carefully so that your reaction to what you want to write does not become emotional.
However, be flexible and don’t get stuck in overthinking.
Thank customers for their reviews and personalized responses
You may feel angry about a negative review, but your response should be professional, genuine and human.
First, apologize to the customer and then thank them for pointing out the problem.
This will help to turn a negative review into a positive one.
In your response, use the name of the customer who posted the negative review and summarize their specific complaint.
By customizing the content of your response, you can show the reviewer that your company really values their opinion, rather than just using a formatted response text.
Uploading photos in response to reviews
Yelp requires all businesses to upload a real photo before sending a message to their customers.
Use this method to make your message to customers more personal.
If you are responding to a negative review, please send a video response message or a photo related to your response.
By showing that you take complaints seriously and respond to them in good faith, you can build trust with your customers and turn their impression of you into a positive one, despite their negative experience. It is possible to do this.
Demonstrate that your company has taken the necessary actions
Feedback from your customers is crucial to improving your business performance.
If you receive a negative review, you can turn it into a positive one by showing that you have taken steps to resolve the issue.
Once you have addressed the issue raised by the customer, respond to the complaint on the review site so that other customers can read about it (Response).
Don’t make your response message too long
Our customers expect us to be helpful and sincere, but a lengthy response can be overwhelming.
Try to keep your response clear and not too long.
But be careful.
If the customer feels that you are rude, suspicious or insincere, they may get angry and make the situation worse.
This could result in your response being copied across the web, and consequently your response being spread across the web.
Responding to positive reviews
Responding to positive reviews may seem simple, but it’s easy to overlook things that can go wrong.
The purpose of responding to a positive review is to say thank you.
Never give gifts or invitations as a way of showing your appreciation.
Gifts and invitations may seem like a good idea, but they can be mistaken for bribes or rewards for reviews.
Remember that this customer already loves your product or service.
Take this opportunity to thank the customer for coming to you.
Google has already reviewed your customer, so instead of emphasizing the sales color, tell them what’s new about your product or service like you would tell good news to an acquaintance.
However, this is only recommended if you are dealing directly with the customer.
On a public review page like Yelp, where anyone can see it, only say thank you and avoid writing offers or promotions in the reply section.
Responding to bad reviews
We always recommend that you email the customer who posted the review directly to resolve the issue, but if you feel the need to respond on a public webpage, keep your response as simple and polite as possible. Do not, under any circumstances, attack the poster.
Remember that your reply comment is being read by a potential customer.
Make sure that your reply comments give a good impression of your company.
Show your customers that you are sincere, that you are willing to resolve and improve any problems, and that you appreciate their contribution to the growth of your business.