Believe it or not, the same premise applies to negative review response as it does to positive reviews. How you respond to a negative review impacts not only the reviewer, but all the sets of eyes that come afterward. Seeing a business handle a particularly challenging review online suggests that management is proud of their business and willing to go the extra mile to maintain their reputation!
Make potential clients see the light with these four steps: apologize, promote, get offline, keep it simple.
How to respond to negative reviews
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Apologize and sympathize
The first step towards fixing a problem is acknowledging that one occurred. Regardless of what happened, a simple apology and sympathy for your customer’s experience goes a long way.
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Promote
So the famous crab cakes weren’t up to par the day this particular customer visited. If they’re what you are known for, why not reiterate that? “Our crab cakes are usually a hit, we’re sorry to hear that they weren’t up to par when you visited!”
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Move the conversation offline
Don’t open a can of worms. Keep the lid on tight by offering the reviewer the chance to reach out via phone, email or both.
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Keep it simple
Avoid specifics and don’t ask questions. Those conversations are much better served in a space away from the prying public.
One last pro tip: leave your business name, location, and category out of this. You don’t want your negative reviews showing up in the search!
Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? You can use software to pull in your reviews from all over the web so you can respond quickly.
For more best practices, see ReviewTrackers’ guide to managing negative reviews.
