Blog Post

How to Respond to Google Negative Reviews

Gabriela Carretero • Mar 15, 2021

Google is the most widely used search engine worldwide. Because of this, many potential customers are using this platform to find businesses for their desired needs. When searching these businesses, business listings appear to potential customers along with the business’s recent customer reviews with starred ratings and comments. Because of this, it’s safe to say that your Google My Business listing can greatly impact on how potential customers choose your business. 

Responding to reviews is a great way to engage with your customers, as well as show potential customers you care about your customers experience with your business. Responding to reviews -- good or bad -- can increase your ratings. Responding to these reviews, especially those on the negative side, can help you improve your business 

You can either respond to Google reviews via your desktop or a mobile device through your Google My Business account. It is also important that you enable Google My Business notifications, so you can be notified anytime a new customer review is posted. In order to respond to reviews, one must: 

1. Sign in to Google My Business by navigating to business.google.com.

2. Click the three horizontal bars in the top left-hand corner to choose your listing.

3. Click "Manage reviews." Once you find a review you want to engage with, click "View and reply" to type out a response.


When responding to negative reviews specifically, it is important to not be defensive and be open to the customers experience. This should be an opportunity to improve your brand and customer service. 


 So how should you respond to these reviews?


1. Assess and evaluate the feedback internally first.

Take time to assess the situation. Many customers feel they have power over the internet and responding quickly could potentially add fuel to an angry customer. They have the potential to spread negativity throughout your online presence, so do not get emotional when you respond, instead have a logical procedure before replying. 


2. Publicly respond to the review.

Don’t avoid digital confrontation. Responding publicly to bad reviews shows your current and potential customers that you care about what they have to say and are attentive to their feedback, which can, in turn, lead to increased business. Note that privately responding alongside a public response is good as well. 


3. Work towards a 1:1 conversation. 

Review sites are not a place for a customer service conversation. It's not a real-time communication channel nor is it a 1:1 interaction with the customer. Other people can like their comments and write additional reviews supporting or adding context to the first customer's experience. 


If you know a negative review is going to take some time to reconcile, then you should work towards a 1:1 conversation with the customer. You're not trying to hide the problem or save face online, but rather, your priority is to meet customer's needs and that means communicating with them on the best channels available. It's time to rely on your trusted customer support channels like phone, live chat, and email, to solve the problem. 


4. Be transparent about mistakes.

Businesses are bound to make mistakes, especially as their customer base grows. No business is perfect and customers have conflicting needs that make it impossible to satisfy everyone. How you respond to these reviews determines how your brand is perceived. 


Being transparent is the best course to take when replying to a review. Customers know your team isn't going to be perfect, but they expect you to take responsibility for your mistakes when they occur. This builds customer rapport and leads to long-term, loyal advocates.


5. Ask questions when details aren't clear.

Many customers will focus more on submitting a negative score then explaining their problem with your company. You might come across a vague review like this one where it's hard to determine the customer's problem.


In order to effectively respond to these kinds of reviews, you must ask questions and get more information from the customer. This will start a healthy dialogue that will help us diagnose the customer's roadblock. Once we know the problem, we can provide a solution.


6. Empathize and offer solutions.

If you just spend your time writing an apology back to the customer for their negative experience, but did not provide some sort of solution or actionable items to mitigate the issue, then you haven't properly responded to a negative review. Make sure to offer to make it right by providing some sort of solution.


7. Provide an incentive if necessary. 

Occasionally customers just write negative reviews to rant and are not expecting a response.  In these cases, reclaim their attention by offering incentives that emphasize the sincerity of your response. 


While you shouldn’t do this with every negative review, using the customer lifetime value can help you determine if someone should get an incentive or not. If you offer the customer a discount every time they complain, you'll end up losing money trying to please this customer when that discount could have been used to bring in a new customer or keep a customer with a higher lifetime value.


8. Sign your name.

This is something small, but it could go a long way. By signing your name, you are showing the customer that you are a real person making it a genuine response. This makes customers better talking to a human agent and shows your company is invested in their review.


9. Request an update for review.

It's important to remember that customer reviews are just a start. The customer's perception of your brand can change as they continue to interact with your company.


In sending your initial response, be prepared to have an open conversation with the customer. Don’t be afraid to discuss their experience and try to pinpoint where your company needs to improve. If you feel the customer had a positive experience through your communication, ask them if they would mind updating their review. 




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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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