Handling Negative Online Reviews Professionally

It can be tough to remain positive and professional in the face of negative online reviews and commentary concerning a business you've worked so hard to build. Because bad reviews can encourage your targeted demographic to take their business elsewhere, they negatively impact your bottom line, even if that wasn't the intention of the customer who left the review. 

Even just a few bad reviews can have an impact, but minimizing the damage before it becomes irreversible is possible. If you've recently received a poor review, here are a few things you can do to deal with it calmly and professionally.

Provide a Response

Most consumers who leave a bad review do not think the company will respond, and in many cases, they don't. Ignoring a bad review is one of the worst things you can do. Ignorance won't make the review go away, but it will leave your lack of response open to interpretation by new or existing clients. 

Responding to customer reviews, good or bad, can result in better SEO ratings and improve the overall online reputation of your brand. According to the HBR (Harvard Business Review) and a study regarding TripAdvisor and hotel responses, hotels that answered customer reviews had 12% more reviews and increased ratings. 

Answering customer reviews is a fantastic way to learn from and about your customer base. You can build a positive relationship with your most vocal clients in this way. 

Remain Calm and Kind

You'll want to take the time to think deeply about how you want to respond, primarily in the face of a negative review. BusySeed reviews can be of help here, handling your responses for you in the event of a poor review. 

It will always be tempting for you to defend your business in any way possible, including attacking the customer who left a bad review, which is often done in the heat of the moment. Many business owners make the mistake of defending their business and offending the customer, on a personal level, in the process. 

Whatever you do, remain polite and avoid getting too personal. Every reply to a customer review should be helpful and courteous. Remember that it's nearly impossible to win an argument with a consumer who feels unsatisfied or as if they've been wronged. 

If a negative reviewer believes you're being disingenuous or rude, they're likely to become angrier and worsen the situation. Kindness goes a long way, especially when dealing with negative online reviews. 

Customize Responses

One of the things that BusySeed reviews can do for your brand is customized responses and ensure that you thank every person who leaves a review. Anger over a bad review can only get you so far, and your answer should be professional, customized to that customer, and authentic. 

There's nothing wrong with apologizing to a consumer who had a bad experience with your company, as it doesn't define you or your business. When you apologize and genuinely try to right a wrong, you can begin the process of transforming a negative review into something positive.

If you choose to respond to negative reviews without the help of a marketing team, you'll want to ensure that you use the reviewer's name and reiterate their complaint so they know you're real and not an automated response service. When you customize responses, you show how much their feedback means to you and that you intend to help them toward the ultimate goal, which is a good customer experience. 

Include a Photo

Business review sites like Yelp require businesses to upload visual content when replying to a customer review. Not only does this personalize the message, but it also ensures the customer that you're really you and that you aim to fix the issue at hand. 

Responding to a bad review can go very well when you add personal touches, such as a video message or photos relevant to the complaint. These measures show your client that you take the complaint seriously and intend to respond diligently throughout the ordeal. 

Proper responses to negative reviews can help build trust with all of your clients, not just the ones who feel unsatisfied with your products and services. It is possible to win customers back after a negative experience, which is all in how you respond to them. 

Prove Necessary Action

You can respond to reviews all day long, promising you'll follow up and improve the situation for unsatisfied customers, but you have to take steps to resolve the problem. BusySeed reviews can help you manage your online responses, but it's up to you to follow through. 

As much as negative online reviews may irritate you, it's essential to look at them as valuable feedback, and few things can improve a business more than consumer input. When you deal with a negative online review, show the reviewer and those reading the review that you have taken action to resolve the problem. 

Even if taking action doesn't help the reviewer come around, other people will see that you tried to help. You won't be able to successfully turn every negative review into a positive experience. Still, you can sway others to purchase from you based on your transparency and the fact that you did everything within your power to make things right. 

How Marketing Teams Help with Negative Reviews

Marketing teams, like the one at BusySeed reviews, can help you handle negative reviews the moment they pop up. Not only can they provide personal responses to every reviewer, but reputable and experienced marketing teams understand how to turn negative reviews into an overall win for your brand. 

Create Brand Loyalty

Marketing companies can take your negative reviews and create a slew of brand loyalty by showing your customers that you genuinely care. Negative reviews are your opportunity to showcase your phenomenal customer service, and any marketing guru will encourage you to jump at the chance!

Provide Information

When it comes to negative reviews, you're presented with an option to provide helpful information regarding your business to the masses. In some cases, you can upload videos or instructions to demonstrate the best ways to use your products or services, helping more than just the reviewer receive the best experience possible. From a marketing perspective, this is golden. 

Improve Your Products

Your marketing team will likely encourage you to look closely at your online reviews to understand what they're telling you. What can you fix or improve upon to make the consumer experience better? Dealing with negative online reviews isn't always all about damage control, and you have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. 

Reputation Management

Working with a marketing team like BusySeed reviews can help you build a strategy regarding how you'll handle your negative reviews and manage your brand reputation in the wake of them. As we've mentioned, one negative review can do much harm, so it's always a good idea to have a reputation repair strategy. 

Paid Targeted Advertising

From a marketing perspective, a fantastic way to mitigate bad reviews is to run targeted, paid advertisements to target new consumers and acquire positive reviews. BusySeed reviews can also help you in this aspect, showing you how to provide excellent customer service throughout every transaction. 

Early Intervention

A marketing team can catch problems before they grow. An early intervention tactic is one of the best ways to implement positive customer service and resolve issues while they're manageable. BusySeed can help you track and manage reviews, allowing you to see consistencies within the negatives and work toward a solution that will fix things moving forward. 

BusySeed Reviews and Your Brand Reputation

At BusySeed, we understand how important your business is to you. It's your livelihood, and you've poured precious time into providing products and services you believe in. However, we also understand how easy it is for a couple of negative online reviews to destroy what you've built, decreasing revenue and hurting your brand reputation. 

As an award-winning marketing team with plenty of brand management experience, we can help you handle your bad reviews and work toward a resolution with each unsatisfied consumer. If you're ready to build trust among your potential, new, existing, and past clients, reach out to BusySeed today for more information!