Negative reviews can impact your business reputation as well as your bottom line, and while you can’t control what people say about your business online, you can manage how you respond to public criticism.
On the other hand, responding to positive reviews can help strengthen your brand reputation as well as build stronger customer relationships.
Responding to Poor Reviews
Outlined below are tips to help effectively manage and respond to poor reviews left on your Google My Business account.
Read the Review
It sounds straightforward, but before you start typing away, you should take a moment to carefully read the review and put yourself in the customers shoes.
Can you see their point of view? Would you feel the same way if you were in their situation? Is their criticism warranted?
Gaining this kind of initial understanding will stop you from getting emotional when it’s time to respond, which will help to avoid fueling the flames.
Respond Publicly
Address Your Mistakes
Nobody likes to admit their mistakes, and the more your business grows, the more likely you are to make mistakes. Different customers will have different needs, and it’ll become increasingly unlikely that you will please them all.
How you respond to these mistakes will ultimately shape the perception your brand has on your customer.
The best way to address your mistakes is to be open and honest. Research conducted by sproutsocial found that 86% of people surveyed say business transparency is more important than ever before.
No person or company is perfect but taking responsibility for your mistakes when they occur will help to build customer rapport.
Offer Solutions
Apologising to customers and admitting mistakes without providing solutions won’t actively solve their issue (or turn them into from a business detractor to a promoter).
Suggest actionable ways you can solve their issue and offer to make it right so they’re getting the value that they originally anticipated from your business.
Follow Up
It shouldn’t end with just the initial contact, following up with your customer is critical and can help positively shape their perception of your brand. Be prepared to have an in-depth conversation about their experiences with them.
Once you feel that your customer is satisfied with your response, and now has actionable outcomes, that will positively affect their experience and perception of your brand, ask them if they would be open to changing or updating their initial review.
It’s a powerful strategy that allows potential customers to watch how your business professionally handles criticism for its products or services, offers actionable steps to correct these issues, and ultimately leaves the customer walking away happy.
Showing customers that you value their feedback and take time out of your day to acknowledge their frustrations can go a long way to helping boost your Google ratings, customer loyalty as well as help to win over potential new customers. To discuss your online presence or digital marketing strategy, contact practiceedge.
