If your company has just received its first negative review on Yelp, don’t panic. Many businesses make the mistake of trying to keep a squeaky-clean image by deleting any negative comments they see but you can use these for your advantage. You should embrace these types of reviews as long as they don’t talk about anything else other than your business and in return, they will end up making your brand more popular and look better.
Dealing with bad reviews will improve your image
Consumers are smart enough to get suspicious of any business with nothing but five-star ratings. It’s like “fake news”. Especially in an age where you can get hundreds of followers on Instagram from just one app. Integrity is important. Based on a study that Reevoo has conducted, 68% of customers trust the company more if they have both positive and negative reviews. So embrace a few negative reviews and humanize your brand.
Negative reviews can help attract leads
Building upon the concept of customer trust, bad reviews actually increase the number of leads you receive based solely on your company presenting its human side. When potential customers read less than glowing reviews about your business, they see a worst-case scenario. Presuming that the issues aren’t serious and you’ve got good customer service skills, the majority will opt to do business with you.
Bad reviews pave the way for great customer service
Of course, the moment a dissatisfied customer posts a negative review you need to reach out to them publicly in an effort to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Not only will that person be appreciative but others will notice the speed in which you responded and the effort you put in to correct the situation, possibly creating a brand champion in the process. So hold your head high while potential customers spend time on your negative Google+ reviews, your responses for every single complaint will show how much you care about your customers.
Above all, negative reviews provide valuable feedback
Understand that before social media it would have taken us months to figure out that something was wrong, if we ever did. Use the free customer feedback to improve your business. This will eventually stop many negative reviews from happening in the first place.
If you have any questions about how to handle specific negative reviews, send us a note with details. We’re happy to assist.
BARIS OZMORALI
Social Media Marketing Coordinator
Mystique Brand Communications
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