Why Bad Reviews Aren’t Always Bad For Business
Negative reviews are a fact of business life. No matter how hard you try, you'll inevitably encounter unhappy customers who take to online platforms to express their dissatisfaction. While these reviews can be disheartening, they shouldn't be ignored. In fact, properly responding to negative reviews can be a powerful tool for building trust and strengthening your business reputation.
Studies by Business.com show that a staggering 67% to 90% of consumers consult reviews before making buying decisions. Seeing how you address negative feedback can actually impress potential customers. They'll be more likely to choose you if they see you take the time not only to respond but also to actively address the issues raised.
Let's face it, you can't please everyone. The more you grow, the higher the chance of encountering an unsatisfied customer. The key isn't eliminating negative reviews entirely, but learning how to respond effectively when they do occur.
Your response to negative reviews sets the tone for your entire business. Potential customers are watching how you handle these situations and will decide if they want to do business with you based on your actions. A well-crafted response can actually turn a negative situation into a positive one, showcasing your commitment to customer satisfaction.
While complete customer satisfaction might be ideal, it's not always achievable. However, by striving to address customer concerns and demonstrate a willingness to fix problems, you can steadily improve your online reputation.
This guide will equip you with the tools you need to navigate negative reviews with confidence. We'll explore best practices for staying calm, acknowledging and apologizing for customer experiences, responding with empathy and respect, and taking responsibility to find solutions. Remember, some unreasonable customers are inevitable, but your response sets the standard and builds trust for potential customers who are researching your business online.
Turning Mistakes into Trust: Strategies for Resolving Customer Issues
Admit There’s A Problem
Many businesses, when they hear a mistake has been made on their part, try to avoid the issue and hope it goes away. They may believe that drawing attention to it and admitting fault will tank their reputation.
This is false. In reality, the opposite is true. According to Blue Kite, admitting mistakes shows leadership, and others may put a little more faith in your business in turn.
One of the strongest, most mature things anyone can do is admit when they’re wrong. Taking accountability for what happens at your business is the first step to fixing the issue. Even if admitting it feels like shooting your own reputation in the foot, being transparent about your business struggles can actually end up increasing the trust people will have in you.
If your customers see that you’re taking responsibility and making an effort to fix a problem many were having, they’ll see that you care about their experiences and want to make them better. Never underestimate the human element.
You know what they say; honesty is the best policy!
Reasons To Admit Mistakes
Admitting mistakes shows integrity. When you apologize, you’re letting your customer(s) know that you recognize a mistake has been made. Staying silent and refusing to respond gives the impression that you don’t know it happened or worse, that you don’t care if it did.
Along with showing integrity, admitting mistakes reminds everyone that you and your employees are human too. They may relate more to you if you admit you’ve made a mistake.
Admitting when you’re wrong can actually increase the trust customers have in your business and make them more loyal to you. Not only does this show responsibility, but it makes your business stand out more from others.
Find A Solution
After admitting that there’s a problem, resolve yourself to fix it. Depending on what it is, fixing or at least improving the issue may take time. Take a moment to meet with your team and go over the situation to get their input, then come up with some possible solutions.
The solution to your problem will be different in each situation. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but here are just a few examples of how to solve common customer complaints.
“This isn’t what I ordered!”
If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, you’ll know that a common complaint from customers is that their order is wrong. Hey, these things happen, whether it’s caused by a staffing problem or if it was just a good, old-fashioned mix-up.
The easiest solution to this problem is to apologize and bring them their correct order, though if a customer is not abated by this, you may want to consider comping that food item.
This type of complaint also applies to e-commerce. If a customer receives the wrong product and complains, be sure to reply with an apology and either offer an exchange or send them what they ordered without asking for the wrong product back, depending on what it is.
In situations where these solutions are not viable, issuing coupons or some kind of store credit is also an option.
“There was poor customer service!”
Customer service complaints are very common for all businesses. Whether it was your employee who was rude or the customer who perceived the interaction as rude, your business has still been affected by that customer’s experience and subsequent complaint.
The best thing you can do is apologize to the customer, then talk to your employees about it and give them more training if needed. Make sure they understand that what they do reflects back on you and the business as a whole.
Proper and detailed training is one of the most essential parts of running your business and keeping it functioning smoothly.
“Everything was dirty!”
People are most comfortable in clean environments. If your location is sub-par in terms of cleanliness, you may want to step up your game.
Try making a checklist of everything that needs to be cleaned, including how often each area or object needs to be cleaned (daily, weekly, etc.) If you serve food, keeping a handbook of safety regulations nearby will make it easy for you and your employees to keep your location spick and span!
People who come to your business from then on might be impressed by how clean it is, and hopefully, they’ll leave reviews that mention it.
There’s a lot you and your employees can learn from reviews. From proper training to keeping things clean, listening to what your customers are telling you can help your business improve and increase their trust and loyalty in you.
How to Transform Negative Reviews into Positive Outcomes
Even if you do your best to fix problems when you see them happen, customers might still leave bad reviews. It may make your heart sink to see that single star offsetting your average, but these kinds of reviews can be the perfect opportunity to showcase who you are to the reviewer and to others online.
Since reviews are public, every interaction you have with reviewers is viewable to anyone looking for you. When potential customers stumble upon negative reviews about your business, wouldn’t you rather them see that you’ve responded and done your best to resolve the issues instead of ignored them completely?
Honesty and integrity go a long way in a potential customer’s mind, and how you respond to negative reviews will affect the opinion they form about you, even if they’ve never done business with you before.
#1 Acknowledge the Review
The first thing you should do is acknowledge the review. It isn’t going anywhere and ignoring it will just make things worse. Your customers need to know that you care if they have an issue. They need to feel heard.
Let’s say a customer has had a bad experience at your business and has come online to complain. They have given you a 1-star review and left a long list of complaints. It seems as though everything that could have gone wrong, did.
You dread responding to this review and are tempted to ignore it. However, you know that not responding will leave a bad impression on the rest of your customers.
Your customers are human beings, right? And human beings are social by nature. Acknowledging their feelings with a reply helps to create a connection with that customer. Plus, as a bonus, when they see your reply, it creates a better impression of your business.
Time is also of the essence. The quicker you respond to this review, the better. So, you go to the review and open it up to respond.
But what should you say?
#2 Apologize and Be Sympathetic
Customers who leave heated complaints usually do so immediately after the experience. The customer may still feel angry about what happened, so apologizing should be at the top of your list. A simple apology may make the customer feel better and help them calm down.
You should also be sympathetic to your customers. Telling them you understand why they are upset will help them feel validated.
Let’s say a customer leaves an angry review over being mistreated by an employee. In this situation, you could say something like:
“[Name of customer], I am so sorry to hear about your negative experience with our employee. I understand how frustrating and upsetting this must have been. We apologize for any distress it caused.”
Whether you respond as a single person or on behalf of the entire business is up to your discretion.
#3 Take Responsibility
You should always take responsibility for your business or employees. Make sure you let them know that the situation will be dealt with and you will work with your team to change things.
Never start an argument online with a customer. Remember, others can see your interactions with them. It is important to take responsibility and be the bigger person when it comes to customer service because it reflects poorly on you and your business if you respond in the same nasty manner as a negative online review.
Always speak respectfully with customers, even if they do not. Retaliating in kind, especially in front of everyone else online, can be catastrophic to your reputation. How you act when dealing with tough situations will show your customers who you really are.
Regarding the situation from earlier, you could continue your response with this:
“This type of behavior is against company policy as well as our values and it will not be tolerated. We are currently investigating this incident to prevent it from happening again.”
#4 Take It Offline
If the conversation must continue, try to take it offline. You can offer the customer details to contact your support through email or phone so that the discussion can be continued out of the public light. Here, you can speak freely to the customer to help them with their problem while avoiding the attention of the masses.
The customer may want to continue airing their grievances, and it’s better for them to do this directly toward your business instead of publicly. The key here is to turn a public conversation into a private one.
Try adding something like this to the end of your response:
“Please reach out to our customer support team at [email/phone number] so we can make this right.”
#5 Try to Make It Right
The final thing you should do is offer to make it right with the customer. This can be done in several ways, such as a coupon, refund, or free sample. Of course, depending on the type of business you have and the specific situation, these can vary.
Most customers will appreciate that you took the time to respond to them fairly and kindly. After you have had a private conversation and helped them, you may want to request that they either take down their negative review or even better, change it to a positive one.
When a negative review is changed to a positive one, other customers will be able to see that you helped a customer with their issue and didn’t ignore them. This will paint you in a better light and customers will be more likely to trust that if they have a problem, you will help to fix it.
Illegitimate Reviews
Sometimes, you will come across reviewers saying things that just aren’t true and didn’t happen at all, or things that aren’t relevant to your business. These can include trolls, spammers, and scammers. These types of reviewers will not be satisfied with anything you have to say, because they aren’t looking for a solution – they’re only looking to cause trouble.
For example, someone could leave a review of a restaurant talking about a horrible experience they had, but they’ve never actually been to the restaurant. These types of reviewers have most likely never visited your business and are not customers.
In most cases, illegitimate reviews can be requested to be taken down as long as they meet certain criteria. Each website has its own rules on what can and can’t be taken down. For example, Google Support has a detailed list of content they do not allow users to post.
Google does not allow the following:
Spam and fake content
Off-topic content
Restricted content
Illegal content
Terrorist content
Sexually explicit content
Offensive content
Dangerous and derogatory content
Impersonation
Conflict of interest
Other websites have similar rules for posting, with differences here and there. Make sure to brush up on the specific rules of content posting before you report a negative online review. But, if these types of posts are not allowed, you may be able to have them removed easily.
Until and unless that review is removed, you could add a note similar to:
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention, [name]. We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns. However, we're unable to locate a record of your business with us. It's possible that there may have been a misunderstanding. If you could provide us with more details about your experience, such as the date and time of your visit, we'd be happy to investigate further. For your convenience, you can reach our support team at [email/phone number]. We look forward to the opportunity to assist you.”
Unreasonable Reviews
Unlike people who leave illegitimate reviews, unreasonable reviewers are more likely to be actual customers. However, they’ll often often focus on subjective experiences or unrealistic expectations. Here are some common examples of their complaints…
Examples of Unreasonable Complaints
Product-Related Complaints:
Personal opinion: "The color of the product is ugly."
Unrealistic expectations: "The product didn't magically solve all my problems."
Service-Related Complaints:
Personal grievances: "The store was too crowded."
Unreasonable demands: "I demanded a full refund because I didn't like the product."
Business-Related Complaints:
Industry standards: "Your return policy is not as good as other stores."
Personal financial situation: "I can't afford your products."
The key to responding to unreasonable reviews is to be polite, professional, and concise. Avoid getting defensive or engaging in arguments.
Here’s an example…
"Thank you for sharing your feedback, [customer's name]. We appreciate hearing from our customers, both positive and negative.
We understand that personal preferences can vary, and we apologize if [product/service] didn't meet your expectations. We continually strive to improve our offerings based on customer feedback.
If you have any specific suggestions on how we can enhance your experience, please don't hesitate to contact our customer support team at [email/phone number]. We're always open to constructive feedback."
Key points of this response:
Acknowledges the feedback: Shows that the business values customer input.
Empathizes with personal preferences: Recognizes that tastes differ.
Offers a solution: Invites the customer to provide constructive feedback.
Maintains a professional tone: Avoids defensiveness or argumentative language.
Remember that sometimes, despite your best efforts, it may not be possible to satisfy an unreasonable reviewer. Focus on maintaining a positive image of your business and addressing legitimate concerns from other customers.
While it's important to respond to all reviews, it's equally important to prioritize your time and resources. Not every review needs a lengthy response. If a review is clearly unreasonable or off-topic, a brief acknowledgment will do.
Turning Negatives Into Positives
Negative reviews can easily make you feel overwhelmed, but by staying calm, being respectful, and talking it out, you might be able to flip the switch from negative to positive.
How you respond to negative online reviews defines who you are in the eyes of your customers. You can drive your business forward by being attentive and responsive to both your positive and negative reviews.
You can learn more by reading our article about how negative reviews affect your business reputation online. Discover the impact of negative reviews, what customers look for in reviews, and what happens if you leave negative reviews unchecked.
