Blog Post

7 Ways to Handle Negative Reviews

Alexis Mintz • Aug 10, 2018

Handling negative reviews can make all the difference for your online business. Here are 7 ways to tactfully handle a bad response.

Online reviews are more important than you might realize.

In fact, 84% of people trust reviews they read online just as much as they would trust a personal recommendation. It is for this reason that you need to understand how to handle negative reviews that customers leave on your business website, Yelp profile or other business review page.

When you can tactfully handle this negative feedback, you are helping your customers, amongst other things.

Aside from customer satisfaction, you are promoting your brand in a positive light, and assuring future sales from potential customers who may have decided to shop elsewhere.

Now that you understand how handling lousy customer reviews on your page can help, let's look at the top 7 ways to handle this kind of feedback.

1. Take Responsibility For Negative Reviews

The first thing you need to do when you get negative reviews on your page is to take responsibility if you made a mistake. Sometimes things don't always go as planned. We see it happen in businesses all around the world.

When something happens that disrupts the customer's satisfaction on a grand scale you may want to consider making a public announcement apologizing for the mistake.

While not all customers will appreciate the error, many will respect the fact that you were transparent with them when things got bad.

2. Make it Personal

On the same note, if something terrible happened to one customer, reach out to them personally and tell them that you apologize for their poor experience.

Much like the first tip, they will appreciate that you were kind enough to be transparent with them and accept responsibility for your mistake. Try to avoid using pre-made messages and the like; some customers can spot this kind of stuff a mile away.

Make sure that you use their name, relay the problem, and apologize that they had such a horrible experience. Then, you should move on to step 3.

3. Make it Right

Sometimes it can be hard to make it right with a customer if they are irate. If they are willing to have a conversation with you, explain what you are willing to do to make it right.

For example, if they ordered something from you and it was much later than anticipated you could do a number of things depending on the severity of the issue.

You could offer them free shipping on their next order, a discount perhaps, and depending on how bad their experience played out, maybe even free products.

Explain to them that you want to make it right and that you are willing to take their problem seriously and do whatever it takes to keep their business.

While it may seem sly, if you offer them free stuff or a discount, you are also assuring that they will come back to you for future business and not move on to a different company that offers similar services.

4. Assure Customers

Assure your customers that you are going to do everything in your power to make sure that these issues never happen again. Obviously, you can't say with 100% certainty that something is never going to happen again.

However, you can assure them that you will prepare for the issue in the future so that other customers don't have the same negative experience, nor will the customer in question should they choose to come back.

People leaving negative reviews are directly looking for you to assure them that you know you made a mistake and that you're going to fix it using everything in your power.

Let them know that you hear them loud and clear.

5. Check for Satisfaction

After you have talked to the customer, resolved their negative reviews, and gave them what they wanted, check for satisfaction. Ask them if they are happy with the service and if you did a good job making sure that they received proper customer service.

This step is essential because it encourages them to go back and change their review into one that is positive. This positive change will improve your overall score on these business websites and enhance your image.

Do not get discouraged if some customers are not happy and don't change their review. You can't win everyone, all you can do is try your heart out.

6. Follow Up

Now, you need to wait a while.

We recommend waiting 1-2 weeks, and simply follow up with the customer.

Say something like, "Hey, (customer name) hope you have been doing well. I wanted to follow up with you to make sure that you had a great experience with me after your issue. I also wanted to see if there is anything else I can do for you."

This step is crucial because it allows you to open the door to step 7. It also lets you test the water to make sure that the customer is now satisfied with their experience.

7. Turn Negative Reviews Positive

Finally, once your customer answers your email or call and says that they are happy and appreciate your help, you can close in on the review change.

Remember, don't act pushy. Simply suggest that they revise their review if they are not satisfied with the service and personal care that they received.

You might be able to avoid this step if the customers changed their negative reviews previously. However, if they didn't, this is your time to shine. Not every customer will change their review, but a simple suggestion can go a long way!

Get More Reviews

The more reviews you get, the more significant influence and presence your company will have online. You should do everything you can to encourage your customers to leave reviews on their experience.

Using this style, you are likely to run into negative reviews.

As long as you know how to handle these reviews you are going down the path of success.

Remember, negative reviews can turn into positive ones if you know how to handle them. Are you looking for more tips on handling reviews? Check out our blog ! You won't regret it!


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Click the button below to contact us for information on how our GetMoreReviews tool can help your business quickly generate more five star reviews.  Getting more reviews for your business will help improve your local SEO, highlight your shining reputation to potential customer and ultimately bring new business through your doors.  Call us at (888) 979-2379 or email us at help@GetMoreReviews.com
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