Bad Reviews Are Inevitable
The moment you enable customers to post online reviews about your brand and product, you open the windows for negative feedback to flow in. The reality of the situation is that negative reviews are inevitable. Regardless of how successful or popular your brand is, there will always be a certain section of consumers who will be displeased with your performance. In the light of these circumstances, the best strategy that a business can adapt is one that aims to curb down negative reviews instead of avoiding it or hiding it. Remember, negative reviews can bring down your business’ ratings and push away other potential consumers.Dealing with Bad Reviews
The best way to negate the effects of a negative review is by countering it with state of the art customer service. In other words, you cannot afford to let your customer’s negative feedback go unnoticed. The longer you ignore it, the more intense the negative sentiment will grow. In certain cases, the negative sentiment may even spread to other customers who may be unimpressed by the lack of a professional response on your part.Before you can combat negative reviews, you must understand the root cause of such reviews. Why do customers post negative feedback in the first place? As an entrepreneur, you cannot consider the customer as your enemies who are intentionally trying to jeopardize your business. This is a very unhealthy and unprofessional perception of your customer. Rather, you should try to tap into the mind of the customer and understand customer psychology.
Problem Resolving
More often than not, bad reviews of customers are a result of inconvenience caused in the form of late deliveries, damaged goods or unanswered queries. In such cases, the first course of action is to right your wrongs and rectify all your mistakes. You need to have a dedicated customer service page where your consumers can easily air post their grievances and report all kinds of complaints. You need to make use of this complaint platform to get back to your clients as soon as possible with an appropriate response.In other words, make the problem resolution process as simple as you can. Let the customers know that you are willing to listen to their criticisms and handle their complaints in a professional way. However, that usually is not sufficient to convert a bad review into a good one. You have to do a lot more than simply resolve the issue to win back the heart of your customer.
Businesses with excellent customer care services go the extra mile and give the customers an incentive to not post a negative review. For instance, if you have a customer who is unsatisfied with a late delivery, then it is best to offer a complimentary gift card, voucher or even a complementary product along with the due delivery. Such benevolent acts can go a long way in turning a negative review into a positive one.
In cases where the problem resolving is beyond your control (external courier service causing a delivery mishap), it is your responsibility to calm down a complaining customer by being helpful and understanding. More often than not, the right attitude can help generate positive reviews. As long as the customer feels that you have done your best to give them their money’s worth, they will most certainly feel the need to commend you in their online review.
Mastering the Art of Interaction
The more you interact with the consumers, the better will be your chances of drawing in positive customer reviews. With that being said, it is worth noting that the quality of your interactions is as important, if not more, than the frequency. The wording of your social media posts and emails should be picture perfect.You should not incentivise positive reviews. Instead, use friendly, engaging and humorous content that will create a lasting impression on the mind of your customers and compel them to write something good about your customer service team and your business. Mastering the art of interaction is absolutely essential to create an influx of positive reviews.
