Negative reviews are a business owner’s worst nightmare. They pop out of nowhere or perhaps that’s what it looks like because you have been doing so well. You quickly discover that this single negative review can impact your business badly despite the numbers of great and positive reviews you have gotten. It gets worse when the number of negative reviews increases.
Panic is the first thing most business owners do. Panic gives way to anger and for those who lack experience or the necessary control needed they go out there to lash out at the client. You might have seen this a few times online and you can agree it is not pretty.
It is a big mistake on your reputation to let a grumpy customer kick professionalism off of you. You must remember that at that moment you might be getting back at the client but your prospective clients can get cold feet after viewing, such an exchange.
To remove or even handle a negative review it is important to always apply professionalism and think of only how you can salvage the situation to save your company’s credibility. Did you know that research has shown that bad reviews can sometimes increase sales? Well, this depends on how you respond to them. Read on to learn how to remove or handle negative reviews.
- Evaluate the situation
We have covered the preparatory step of not panicking or lashing out. The next thing to do is not to respond immediately, it is to evaluate the situation. This means checking out what the ‘customer’ is unsatisfied about. Then evaluate your business to know if you really have a problem.
In some cases, if such reviews are more than one, it is important to find out where you might be lacking in your business and fix that. Then, you also need to confirm if the customer is really a ‘customer’. This is one drawback of online businesses, especially on Google. Sneaky competitors, disgruntled employees, and spammers can try to ruin your online reputation with negative fake reviews. Figure out if this is one of such situations.
- Respond ASAP
Response is vital when you receive a negative review. First, it shows all your customers how you handle dissatisfaction. And it helps you take control of the situation. So the rules for responding are simple. You need to respond quickly within at least 24 hours; be polite and professional; address the issue and apologize; be brief; offer to fix the problem; reassure of better service or some upgrade in your service if necessary. At this point, you have controlled the situation.
- Remove the fakes
Fake negative reviews are real. After you have established that this review is indeed fake, flag it and reach out to Google or the platform in question to have it removed. Don’t hold back on responding though. You can even point out in your response that the review is fake.
- Build on the positives
You need positive reviews to really turn the situation in your favor. Put in the effort to get lots of positive reviews. Loyal clients become important at this time and providing your best service too.
