How to Handle Negative Reviews

Online reviews have become commonplace as part of the shopping experience for consumers seeking local services. In fact, a recent Local Consumer Review Survey showed that 92% of consumers read online reviews, and 40% of consumers form an opinion after reading just 1-3 reviews. What’s more is that the star rating has become a leading factor by which consumers judge a business. This means that even one or two negative reviews of your business on sites like Yelp or Google+ could have a significant impact as potential customers search for services online. While standard practices of popular review sites will not let you simply delete most negative reviews, you can reduce the negative press of these reviews by joining the conversation and responding to customers who have had bad experiences with your business. Read on to discover more about the best strategies for handling negative reviews with ongoing reputation management.

Find the Source of the Review

Legitimate reviews from real customers will not usually be taken down by the review site, regardless of how negative the reviews are, because review sites are intended to serve as a forum for customers to share their experiences. You can, however, have non-legitimate reviews—those written by direct competitors, for example—taken down by contacting the review site directly and identifying the source of the review.

Respond to Legitimate Negative Reviews

Ignoring a one- or two- star review can be a detrimental step for your reputation management, because negative reviews actually present opportunities to offer great customer service. When you respond to negative reviews, you are not only taking important steps to turn a bad experience with your company into a positive one, but you are showing prospects that you care about customer satisfaction. In some cases, you might discuss the issue on the open forum of the review site, or it may be more appropriate to offer the customer a chance to resolve the issue via phone or email. In either situation, you will want to be polite and take strides to highlight the positive aspects of your business.

Encourage Clients to Post Positive Reviews

One negative review will be much less impactful when it is among a long list of positive customer reviews. While you should not offer direct incentives to get customers to post positive reviews, you might simply encourage clients to like your business on popular review sites. Of course, offering great customer service is the first step in prompting positive reviews, but you might also make it easier for customers to post reviews by using widgets from review and social sites on your own website.

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Negative reviews do not have to take down your business. To speak with one of our marketing experts about reputation management and other elements of a comprehensive online marketing strategy, give Local Search Essentials a call for your initial consultation with our team. (904) 823-9747

Reviews: How to Handle Negative Feedback | Local Search Essentials St. Augustine FL

Why Reviews Matter (Source: BrightLocal)

  • 92% of consumers read online reviews
  • Star rating is the number one factor used to judge a business
  • Only 13% of customers consider using a business with a 1-2 star rating

When Negative Feedback May Be Taken Down

  • Most review sites will not take down reviews written by real customers
  • Reviews may be removed if they have been written by competitors or contain defamatory remarks
  • Claiming business on review sites is necessary for having negative feedback removed

What to Do About Legitimate Negative Feedback

  • When a review cannot be removed, the best step is to respond directly
  • Responding to a customer review can prompt them to change their star rating of your business
  • Responses may take place on review site forums or via email/phone
  • When issues are resolved privately, post a public comment so that potential customers can see that you did respond to the review

How to Boost Positive Reviews

  • Do not bribe customers for positive feedback
  • Do use widgets to encourage customers to give forced feedback
  • Offer great customer service with every transaction

Our proprietary software enables local businesses to collect and syndicate customer reviews and predictively advertise to past customers.

  • Customer Review Management
  • Social Media Integration
  • Automatic Service Reminders
  • Review Syndication
  • Multi-channel review generation

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Working with our local search specialists, businesses get more new customers, build their online reputation and grow revenue from repeat customers with predictive advertising. Call for a free analysis! (904) 823-9747