Bad reviews happen for every small business. They can stem from a rare circumstance that is anomalous to your everyday operation or signify the need for change in your team or process. Regardless of the reason for the review, a prompt response that follows specific guidelines is necessary.
Response Time
The first step in dealing with a poor review is to respond. Many business owners leave negative reviews lingering online without making an attempt at damage control. The time to begin crafting a response to a negative review is upon its inception. This stops what could be a long thread of negativity. While you do want to carefully consider your response, you don’t want a bad review sitting long enough to affect future business. Engage with the customer as soon as you’ve decided how you would like to approach the situation. Having a set of guidelines to follow will help reduce your response time and increase the effectiveness of your reply.
Be Understanding
Show empathy toward the customer and ask for further details if their issue is unclear. Communicate to them that your intension is to come to a reasonable resolution. Be careful with your words as review sites are public forums and you have your brand’s image to consider. Stay calm and collected and consider the customer’s feelings about the issue. Handle every review situation with the customer experience in mind. A negative review gives you a chance to shine and can turn positive very quickly if handled properly.
Refine Your Refund Policy
In many cases the best thing to do is offer a refund or discount on future services. Most small business owners will tell you that they rarely regret giving a refund and consider it a necessary practice for maintaining a positive brand image. Often times a refund can result in a customer changing their tune and providing a positive review. If offered promptly, refunds can diffuse situations before the bad review becomes damaging to your business. As the owner of a business it is important to know when a refund is necessary. With a bad online review, a reply with an offer of reconciliation can often help your brand.
Loyal Customer Reviews
One way to counteract negative reviews is with a bunch of positive ones. Encourage your loyal customers to review your company online. Simply posting a sign in your establishment and posting links on social media will make it easy for those that follow you to write reviews. Ask that they be upfront and honest about their experience with your company. It is also a good idea to encourage employees to write online reviews regarding their hiring and employee experience. This can help develop your online presence, give you positive press, and ideas to improve your process. If your positive reviews far outweigh your negative ones, you can call that a win for your online reputation.
Learn From Them
Online reviews can give you great insights on ways to improve your business or potential problems that you may be unaware of. Both positive and negative reviews should be taken seriously as they can be very educational. The aim of your business is to bring in and keep customers. Listening to what they have to say about your product or service can help you better meet their wants and needs.
While the customer may not always be right, online reviews offer you a chance to shine as a small business. Handling them well and doing the right thing will turn your reviews into advertisements.
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