Sooner or later, every business owner will face their first negative review. Even beloved brands like Disney or Coca-Cola aren’t beloved by everyone all of the time, but as a business owner, it’s critical that you know how to respond to negative reviews appropriately. After all, brand loyalty and the reputation of your business can be easily influenced by reviews.
In this article, we’ll assess why reviews are so important, why your business might receive negative reviews in the first place, and how you can effectively use customer follow-up to respond to negative reviews.
Why Reviews Matter
Reviews are a critical part of a business ecosystem and should always be encouraged. They bring value to your business in a myriad of ways – it’s not just about your overall star rating! Reviews can actually boost the impression of your business across search engines by improving your website’s visibility, and Google actively motivates businesses to respond to and manage customer reviews.
Customers also trust other customers, so having reviews on your website or product pages could increase conversions. This is especially important for smaller businesses since they’re still growing a loyal customer base, and 97% of consumers will look at reviews before committing to a purchase. And 4 out of 5 customers will avoid a product altogether after reading a bad review, so it’s no surprise that negative reviews can be incredibly impactful!
More Information
- Key Online Review Statistics: If you want to learn more about the impact of negative reviews and online reviews in general, check out these 2023 statistics.
- 6 Great Ways to Add Testimonials to Your Website: Find out how you can add reviews and feedback to your site with these top tips.
- How to Respond to Google Reviews: If you’re looking for Google-specific reviews.
Why Do Businesses Receive Negative Reviews?
Even big brands, like Starbucks, receive bad reviews. Negative reviews can’t be avoided – every business will receive one eventually, and that’s okay. It could be a genuine customer grievance, a little business mistake, or simply internet trolls looking to stir up trouble. No matter what’s said in the review, it can be hard to take criticism, especially about something you care about (like your business).
The best thing you can do, as a business owner, is tackle negative reviews head-on and monitor your customer relationships closely. We’ll dive into how to respond to negative reviews in a moment, but first, let’s take a look at where you can find negative reviews:
| Platforms for Negative Reviews |
|---|
| Your business website |
| Social media accounts |
| Dedicated review platforms, such as Trustpilot or Yelp |
| Feedback forms & surveys |
| Business listing on Google |
| Specific industry websites |
| Face-to-face |
For example, if you’ve built your site from scratch, your website builder might provide useful elements, such as contact forms, so customers can easily leave reviews directly on your site. Or, you may find reviews elsewhere – if you’re a wedding photographer, for example, your business could be listed on a wedding-specific website.
That being said, you might not need to respond to reviews across every channel listed above since customers may prefer certain ones over others – we’d recommend getting to know where your customers are most vocal and adjusting your approach accordingly. Above all else, it’s important to keep an eye on how customers perceive your brand and products. Engaging with them is the next step!
How to Respond to Negative Reviews
We’ve discussed why reviews matter and why your business might receive negative reviews, but now it’s time to respond to them. Don’t worry if you’re not sure where to start or how to approach unhappy customers, we’ll guide you through the best practices below:
1. Respond Quickly
First things first, we’d recommend responding quickly to any negative reviews. In some cases, it can be beneficial to hold off until you’ve taken action, but usually, it’s best to address the problem right away. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes – they’ve felt strongly enough to leave a negative review, so the least you can do is respond to them promptly. If you leave them hanging for weeks or months, their opinion of your business will only get worse!
2. Be Appreciative
It’s important to show that you’ve listened to the customer, and an easy way to do this when responding to a negative review is to be appreciative. Apologize and find solutions, yes, but also take the time to thank the customer for sharing the feedback in the first place – even if it’s bad. It shows that your business values what customers think, which could encourage others to leave reviews in the future… though, hopefully, they’ll be positive!
3. Don’t Get Personal
Remember, anyone leaving a negative business review is directing it towards the business or product, not at you personally. This means any interaction with customers should be polite and professional in tone; it isn’t a social message. Don’t escalate the issue by getting personal – your response should be useful to the customer and not antagonistic. It’s important to see where the customer is coming from, so having empathy for their issue is the best approach.
4. Create Custom Responses
If a customer’s written a negative review, it means they’re unhappy, and the last thing they want to see is a bot-like, copy-and-paste answer. This goes back to our point about appreciation – customers want to know a business cares about, listens to, and values the opinion of its audience. As a business owner, you can achieve this by responding with customized answers. Use their name, focus on the issue at hand, and be authentic.
5. Take It Offline
If a negative review involves a complex issue or requires further discussion, it’s important to take it offline as soon as possible. The initial review and response are public, but there’s no need for everyone else to read the back-and-forth, especially if you need personal information to compensate the customer.
6. Outline Next Steps
A great way to spin a negative review into a positive is to show how your business plans to take action to resolve the issue, or even share what steps have already been taken. It could be anything from a small packaging change to the removal of a product altogether. This shows that your business truly listens to the feedback given and actively takes steps to rectify the problem.
7. Follow Up
Whether you’ve offered compensation or not, it’s good to check back in with the authors of negative reviews and see if their issue has been resolved. We recommend approximately two weeks after your initial response – not only does this give your business time to take action, but it also gives the customer space to reflect on the situation. If the issue is still ongoing after a couple of weeks, simply give the customer an update. Let them know you’re working on it! Your business then has an opportunity to make additional changes and – ideally – fix that customer relationship.
8. Report Fake Reviews
Now, we’ve said it’s important to respond to negative reviews as a
