When you do business with the general public, it is just a matter of time before you receive a negative online review. After all, no matter how flawlessly you run your company, it is impossible to please everyone.
Of course, when you do receive a bad review, it is vital that you respond to it in the right way. The following five tips can help you do just that:
Be empathetic
Begin your response by recognizing that the user is upset and offering an apology for their bad experience. The objective is to “contain the fire” in some way. Don’t make excuses about the experience the client went through. Be kind and gentle and ask for a chance to make it up to them. Bottom line: be empathic.
Spin it into something positive
You can’t control the other person’s reaction, but you can turn it into something good for everyone. How? After admitting the mistake, offer a quick and easy solution while treating them like a special client. They will appreciate your effort and be back for more.
Solve the problem in private
If a customer complains on social media, try to move the conversation to a private space. Email and direct messages on social media are excellent options for this. This will to avoid ‘contagion’ to other users and it will show the dissatisfied customer that they have your undivided attention.
Be in sync
Every company should have a policy in place for dealing with negative reviews. Make sure that your community managers clearly understand the procedure.
It can actually help your branding if your responses to negative reviews use the same language as your ads and posts.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Study what others have done and try to make use of some of their best practices. Over time, you can improve on their successes by speeding up your outreach efforts and being original. Your followers will start looking forward to your responses and the reputation of your company will increase.
In Closing
It can certainly be tough to know how to respond to negative or angry reviews online. However, by following the tips outlined above, you will be able to resolve the upset customer’s issue and impress any other onlookers in the process.
