It’s quite unpleasant to receive negative comments and complaints. You do your best and work hard and sincerely to give your all and receive bad feedback on that ‘stings’. However, every business has to face this at some point in time. Thus, how you handle those bad bumps in your journey could set you apart from others and can keep your customers coming back to you despite one less-than-stellar experience. 

People are now more than ever busy and spending their time on social media. So, remember that social media acts as a public forum and your audience (current, potential and targeted) pays attention to how you handle those nasty negative comments and handle criticism. 

Reading a bad or negative review comment about your business is a gut-wrenching feeling, and we totally understand why.

Surveys conducted on negative reviews have revealed on more than one occasion that 94% of consumers tend to avoid a business, and every four out of five shoppers admit to changing their minds about a recommended buy after coming across a negative review.

So, yes, you’re correct. Negative reviews are the worst evil in the realm of an online community which can in just a blink drive away customers, decrease your profitability, taint your online reputation, and tear down your popularity. However, given that you can’t please everyone, and bad things do happen sometimes, they’re unavoidable. 

And that’s why Wow Reviews is here to share with you some tips and ways on how you can use and turn negative reviews into a positive PR for your business, and attract more customers than ever!…

 

But, before that, let’s have a look at how negative reviews can be good for your business.

What are the benefits of negative reviews?

No, we are not joking. As counter-intuitive as it may sound, negative reviews, however, can actually do your business wonders, Here’s how it plays its trick –

Helps boost your SEO –

“Wait. Is that even possible?? Boost SEO with negative reviews? Really?” – that’s exactly what you must be thinking right now.

But you’ll be even more surprised to learn that a study conducted by RevenueJump revealed that the number of your reviews can possibly influence your business’ performance on local search results. The study found that businesses that have been ranked highest in the listing on average have 38 reviews. On the other hand, those with the lowest rank on average have 14.3 reviews.

And that being quoted, Wow Review believes that a couple of negative reviews won’t gravely hurt you, especially if you respond to them appropriately and sincerely. Try thinking of it as a way to increase the total quantity of your reviews which will help boost your SEO performance and show your audience that you acknowledge those faults wholeheartedly

Get seen as a legitimate business –

The internet is flooded with websites and the Playstore with apps. Amidst this jungle, people are keen to know which is genuine and trustable. Famous review websites are at times known to filter out fake reviews and sometimes in the process they filter out even the basic ones. This leads to the phenomena of “too good to be true” and assuming it to be fake people drift away.

At Wow Reviews, we encourage wow moments with your customers and we understand why negative or good criticism is important. 1-2 such comments will rather encourage your other consumer to share their views truly. This is quite a simple trick that you shouldn’t rule out to use negative reviews for your brand building.

Win the situation in your favour –

Gossip and bad words or remarks won’t offer you a chance to redeem your mistakes, because you have no idea of what they are talking about in the first place. However, with posted negative comments you can turn the tide in your favour.

When you respond promptly and genuinely address the complaints and instantly act upon them, you succeed in changing the perception your customers have about your business. This can even compel them to have a second thoughts and convince them to give you a second chance to rectify those errors.

But what if the customer behaves irrationally and unreasonably even though you’ve already corrected things from your end? BrightLocal reveals that almost 77% of consumers tend to ignore reviews that are more than three months old. So, don’t worry.

Brings your attention to things you weren’t aware of –

Things happen for a reason and negative reviews help to draw your attention toward those little errors and problems that you never knew existed. These opportunities bring you the best time to fix them and improve your business.

Boost your brand health –

Every person welcomes attention and wants to be treated well. Thus, addressing negative reviews and replying personally to both negative and positive ones in a professional-yet-friendly manner gives your audience a hint of your brand personality. It will encourage them to think of your business as true and approachable. This small and warm gesture will make them recommend your brand even more.

Smart ways to minimise your negative reviews and turn them into positive PR for your business –

Be attentive –

Show your customers that you’re truly sorry and are paying attention to those pain points. Doing so will make you appear caring and attentive and the interested audience won’t be disappointed by the error.

But, when you choose to ignore those nasty reviews, you give off the impression that you’re guilty, arrogant or simply just don’t care.

By being prompt with your responses, you can establish long-term relations, and add a personal touch to your interactions while addressing these reviews if you refer to the grieved person by their first name, then it will add an individual touch to your response.

When dealing with negative reviews, acknowledge your mistake and keep your tone of response humble and apologetic.  Being sincere with your apology is all they expect from you and this one thing is enough to change their perspective on your business and give you another chance.

Well, there still will be grumpy customers, who’ll want more, and dealing with them could get tricky at times. So, without them having to tell you what they expect from you, how can their time with you become more pleasant, what changes in the business will, and the rest by making it up to them by providing excellent customer service

Go the extra mile, if needed and offer them a refund, discounts, free shipping, and other perks.

Use your negative reviews to make FAQs -

Furious customers always come up with the most remarkable questions or comments. You can use it to your advantage by leveraging your negative reviews to create a frequently asked question section on your website to clear things up regarding those issues. 

Set the expectation bar right, debunk fake reviews, add as many details as possible and clear any point which may cause confusion.

At times, even after a thorough and detailed description your customers get disappointed because they might feel like your work, product or service isn’t up to the mark. So, it won’t hurt you an inch to come up with a compilation of every small thing which might possess a threat to your brand reputation.

Amplify your business with negative reviews –

Well, no business is perfect, however, you can’t use this as an excuse either.

Take note of the common reasons why people get disappointed and are discontented with your business. Ensure that you address them by improving your customer service, products, processes, employee training and every other thing which they are complaining about.

This is one of the simplest and best ways to grow and improve your business while keeping your customers satisfied.

Use negative reviews to inspire and expand your content –

Isn’t it a brilliant way idea? Sure it is, as you can use these negative reviews to come up with social media content or blog posts that will prevent your customers (existing and expected) to undergo such experiences again.

For instance, a customer complains about how the shade of concealer she bought from you differs from the one when she compared it to how it looks on the website. This could be due to several reasons, either the user isn’t aware of her undertone, or she might have got a tan, or the base of her foundation or her makeup overall doesn’t complement the shade of the given concealer.

In such cases, you can come up with a guide that will allow the other customers to consider these factors, check their skin type and their coverage expectations from the product, etc.

Share resolved negative reviews on your social media platform –

We did mention social media being online forums. Thus, there’s no better way of letting your customers know that you have successfully mastered the issue. 

Sharing resolved negative reviews on your social media platform allows your customers to participate in the process, sharing their experiences and at times, they could also end up posting how your initiative and approach regarding the same helped them. This in turn will automatically lift your reputation and show how deeply you care about your customers and are sincere towards providing excellent customer service. 

 

However, watch out for fake reviews or those who want to simply harass you. Develop a system that allows you to confirm whether a reviewer is being honest or not. And, the best way to deal with such fake reviews is to flag them as inappropriate and report them.

Looking for ways to save your business from negative reviews?

They say that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Don’t get disheartened or feel defeated when someone leaves a negative review about your business, instead, with the hereabove mentioned tips and tricks use them to your advantage! 

 

If you’re struggling with your online reputation, we would be glad to help you!  

With Wow Reviews, introduce your business in a new light to your customers. Allow us to assist you with a new aspect of “online reviews” that will enhance your brand, improve your rating and grow your business by building your credibility and establishing trust among your target audience.