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No matter how robust your brand’s customer service is, you can’t avoid negative feedback — noise that can block out all the great things your business offers and does. Social media is rife with videos highlighting incidents where customers feel wronged and the torrent of negative comments that follow. Reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Open Table, TripAdvisor and other platforms are filled with dissatisfied customers, and that can upend a business’s good standing.
Sometimes, there are missteps, and the reviews and feedback reflect a breakdown in service or product delivery. Other times, people are venting or trolling with no cause. You can’t take it personally, but don’t ignore what they say. Customers rely on reviews when discovering or purchasing products and services. Bad reviews can turn them away and cause a reputational crisis for your business.
Your online business reputation depends on a proactive, strategic approach for identifying, monitoring, managing and responding to negative reviews. You’ll seize opportunities to build trust, improve customer service and enhance customer relations.
Related: Your Customers Are Talking About You — Here’s How to Turn Their Feedback Into Profit
Identifying customer issues
If a negative or bad comment appears on social media or one of the consumer review platforms, take a breath and figure out what’s behind the review. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes to see if the review or comment was justified. Go beyond the words and anger to determine where things went wrong. Then respond — genuinely and professionally.
Monitoring online reviews
You won’t know customer dissatisfaction exists without monitoring your online reviews. There are various tools and strategies available to do so. For example, you can use Google Alerts or ReviewTrackers to provide you with real-time alerts when new reviews are posted on platforms like Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor and Google.
Also, ensure your business is claimed and verified on the major platforms so you can respond to reviews and receive notifications of activities. Optimize your business profiles. You want potential customers to find accurate, useful information when they are looking up reviews about your brand. Make sure photos, location, hours and business description are up to date.
Managing online reviews
Designate a “review response” team or personnel to respond to reviews. Share these tips with the individual or team responsible for handling reviews:
- Don’t let emotions come into play when crafting responses to negative comments.
- Thank customers for their feedback and let them know your intention to do better.
- If the customer is justifiably dissatisfied, apologize and show empathy without overdoing it.
- Make things right if possible. For