The dreaded one-star review is enough to make any business owner put their head in their hands.
Online reviews are vital for building up a healthy line of customers. Most people nowadays will search for a company online to check what the reviews are like, especially if you’re selling an ongoing service.
According to this study from Populus, 59% of consumers say that their purchasing decisions are influenced by online reviews. Positive reviews directly lift sales and negative reviews do the opposite so in order to compete and grow your business, customer reviews should be a priority.
Rethink your customer service
There’s no getting around it. If your customers aren’t happy with your service, they’ll tell you about it and potential customers will see it and go elsewhere.
With the amount of competitors out there, businesses can’t afford to give shoddy service because customers can always find somewhere else.
Customer service is one of the hardest areas to address if it means changing the attitudes of all your staff and the approach your company usually takes. However, it is essential that these conversations are had and big changes are made if customer service is a common complaint in reviews.
Approach reviewers
Don’t just leave the bad reviews to pile up and gather dust. Go out and contact each of them and offer your help in resolving the issue. Be calm and professional when doing so. Arguing back with reviewers will just make you look worse.
Apologies are best followed up with a solution to the problem, a promise that the situation has been rectified so it won’t happen again or with an offer or free gift to compensate them for their trouble.
Respond quickly
In the world of instant messaging and social media, people expect fast response times now. As a business, you need to keep on top of queries and reviews and respond quickly. Not responding to queries or complaints will cause anger and frustration which could lead to bad reviews.
Monitor your mentions
To ensure you’re responsive to negative reviews you need to keep on top of what people are posting online about you. Regularly check review sites you’re featured for new reviews to see how you’re doing and what you can improve on.
Also check email inboxes and social media channels daily to ensure you’re picking up on any queries or complaints before they become reviews that leave a more permanent mark on your reputation.
Ask for positive reviews
When you’ve ironed out the problems that were causing bad reviews, you can get to work on rectifying them and climbing up from that one-star status.
When you’ve made a customer happy, ask them to leave a review. Build up a solid amount of positive reviews and watch your sales lift.
It will take time and patience to work away from your old reputation but with determination and consistently good service, it is possible. Good luck!
How do you deal with bad reviews? Do you have any other tips for businesses struggling with them? Let us know your thoughts.
