Worried about how bad reviews can impact your small business? Let us give you a hand. Read on for the low down on bad reviews.
Receiving a bad review may feel like the end of the world especially for small businesses. You thrive on getting your name out there and you want it to be positive.
But sometimes you can’t please everyone. Some customers think the only way to make themselves feel better about the experience is to write about it for everyone to see.
Even if you have a plethora of great reviews you may still receive some negative ones. There are many different ways you can handle a bad review that is written about your company.
If your business has received a bad review it isn’t the end of the world. Keep reading for everything you should know about bad reviews and how you can handle them.
Why Do Businesses Receive Bad Reviews?
Even if you try and provide each and every customer with 5-star service there are still some that will somehow fall through the cracks. But you need to realize that it may not always be your fault.
There are many different reasons that someone may write a bad review for your business such as wanting to be noticed. When writing a bad review people know that it will get noticed. It’s hard to write a 5-star review that doesn’t sound cliche, so bad reviews are the ones that will stand out and get noticed by other people.
They may also write a bad review because they think they’re helping other people. The people who take reviews seriously are the ones that think they can steer people towards good products or services and away from the bad. But business owners on the opposite end of the review may feel attacked.
Another reason to receive a bad review is that the writer feels like they need to process the event that occurred. Sometimes writing about a bad experience can help the person feel better and get over what happened.
Bad reviews are something that happens regardless of the type of service that you feel you’re giving your customers. As long as you strive to do your best, then you shouldn’t get too bent out of shape over a bad review.
Bad Reviews Can Be Good for Business
Most businesses strive to get as many 5-star reviews as possible but you may be surprised to learn that bad reviews can help your business too! Our world is filled with social media and different opinions and most people read reviews before deciding to purchase many different goods or services.
Lots of people actually look for the negative reviews before deciding to give their money to a business. This is so they can figure out the worst-case scenario. People want to know what the worst thing is before they give you their business.
Your negative reviews may not seem that bad to a potential client. By reading a bad review, they know what potentially could happen. If they still decide to give you their business and receive good service, then they may even be more inclined to write a good review to combat the bad one.
So How Do You Handle Them?
The way a business handles a bad review can tell the world a lot about that business. You shouldn’t ignore the negative reviews but rather embrace them.
You first need to plan how you will respond to negative reviews because you will want to keep the same language throughout all of your responses. You can’t make a joke about some and then take the others seriously.
You should also plan to respond to all customer questions or concerns within 24 hours or less. Customers want their voice to be heard and the quicker you can do that will help to lessen the flame.
Two Types of Bad Reviews
When it comes to bad reviews there are two different types. The first kind of bad reviews are authentic and come from people who are generally concerned about the service they received.
The second type of bad review comes from internet trolls. These are reviews that you and the general public will know are fake. They should not be taken into consideration when it comes to deciding if they should buy your product or service.
You need to figure out the best way to go about these two different types of reviews before responding.
Address the Bad Reviews
A bad review or negative experience will stay bad unless you address it right away. Sure, it would be easy to fix problems if they were brought to your attention while the customer is standing in front of you. But sometimes customers don’t want the confrontation and take it to the internet when they get home.
Try your best to respond in a positive light when it comes to bad reviews. There are many ways that you can interact with a customer through social media to try and correct the problem. If you publically show that you’re trying to fix a problem, then other potential customers will see that you do provide good customer service.
You can also address the bad review in a formal way and let them know that you did everything possible to fix the situation. Sometimes it is impossible to make people happy and not all experiences will be your best. As long as you show that you’re doing the best you can, then you shouldn’t worry too much about the bad reviews.
Your number one priority when you receive a bad review is showing your customers that you care about their feedback.
Bad Reviews Make You Look Authentic
People know that businesses will receive bad reviews. It is impossible to make every customer happy and potential customers should know that.
If you’re only receiving hundreds of good reviews, then customers may begin to question how authentic the reviews truly are. Potential customers may actually view your business negatively if they think that your reviews are fake. This may show that you’re trying to cover up bad business.
Read this blog post to learn how to get your google stars up and get authentic reviews.
Embrace Your Bad Reviews
Obviously, you should be trying your hardest to give your customers the best possible service but a few bad reviews won’t be detrimental. Embrace your bad reviews and always try to respond to them in a positive way.
You want customers to feel like their opinion is valued and you will do your best to fix any bad situation.
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