We understand that you're not happy to receive a negative review, but take heart - all good businesses get an occasional negative review. We'd like to help you respond in a way that minimizes any negative impact to your reputation. In fact, many studies have shown that skillfully responding to negative reviews can positively impact your reputation!
Tips for responding to a negative review:
-
cool down first - an emotional response almost never helps the situation
-
thank the customer for their business, and for their feedback. Express regret that they are unhappy in any way
-
ask for the opportunity to make things right. Suggest that the customer contact you directly (take the conversation offline) to discuss the problem. NOTE: if you've already taken steps to address the situation, include a brief description of what you've done in the response.
-
if there are inaccuracies in the review, state the facts but be careful here - being perceived as sympathetic to a customer's concerns is much more important to your reputation than just publishing "your side of the story".
-
encourage your satisfied customers to post positive reviews
Reviews have become a vital piece of an online marketing strategy, and HometownLocal believes that it is in our client's best interest to collect and publish all real reviews. We are committed to verifying that all reviews we publish are real. Our Review Agents talk live to each reviewer before we mark a review ready for publication on our website. That said, if you ever believe that your review is not REAL, (you did not perform the work being reviewed), please let us know and we will investigate.
Additional resources:
Tackle Online Reviews without Getting Dirty!
Your Customers Are Talking About You – Online Reputation Management
Was this article helpful?
That’s Great!
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry! We couldn't be helpful
Thank you for your feedback
Feedback sent
We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article