Bad online reviews are always difficult to deal with because they stand out to customers looking for a reason not to use your service. They can and do affect your business’s sales and so when you start to collect more than is reasonable, you need to act. Of course, indeed, you cannot keep every customer happy, but you certainly need to work on keeping the majority of your customers satisfied with your services.
Look where change is needed!
Read the negative online reviews that your business has unfortunately attracted and start to work on ways you can fix the issue being reported customers. You will need to act fast because your business obviously does not need any further bad online reviews.
You will have to weigh up the cost involved in improving the issues at hand versus the profits/sales lost directly from negative online reviews.
Add ‘value’ that makes it hard for customers to leave a bad review
One good example of a business that harnesses good reviews consistently is Digitogy. This company has long been operating online and offers free postage, free replacements, and warranty on all its products.
The company also has many other added services to enhance the actual product being purchased. For instance, if delivery is late, then the company will issue an immediate discount voucher. It means that even when customers do not receive a smooth service, they will find it exceedingly difficult to have anything bad to say about the company.
Make it easy for customers to communicate with your business
When one of your customers has an issue, the first thing he or she will likely want to do is talk to someone. Now how they get in contact with someone in your business is entirely down to the type of business set up you have.
For example, if you are a local business or shop, then they can come in and visit you. However, they may want to email you or call you. You will need to make sure your customers are aware of the communications channels open to them. Facebook messenger, Twitter messaging, email, telephone, and even live chat apps on your website.
Having open lines of communications will help your business avoid those negative online reviews that were posted because there was no one available to explain why a certain issue arose.
Hire a reputation management company
If your business has the right budget available, then hire a reputation management firm to help fix issues with bad online reviews. Also, nothing is stopping you from hiring an expert in this field even if your business has zero bad online reviews. They can help you get more good reviews with just a few simple tactics.
However, for this guide, our focus is on how to fix bad online reviews. Reputation management firms have tons of ways to help get your business back on track.
VERY USEFUL TIP FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
If your business is a local firm, such as a sporting venue, gym café, restaurant, or bar and you are looking for an online reputation management firm, make sure you choose one that is a local firm. The reason being is that local firms will have contacts with local business, local people, and such like.
They will be able to fix any issue with bad reviews much faster than just hiring the first firm you see on a Google or Facebook search, and this is purely because of their local expertise and knowledge.
Make sure you check the reputation management company’s reviews too. Of course, their reviews should be outstanding across all social media, and other platforms. If they are not, or if the company has no reviews, then you have to ask yourself this ‘If the reputation management firm is unable to harness great reviews, then how can they help you?’.
Are bad reviews the end of the world for your business?
In most cases, the answer is no. Bad reviews can harm your business in the long run. However, they are not irreversible. You can use any of the suggestions above to get your business back on track. We understand that for some businesses, fixing bad reviews is difficult due to budgetary restrictions.
It could be that the reason the bad reviews have arisen is that your business is facing financial issues which leads to cost cuts, and inevitably a reduction in service quality. In such cases, you will need to be inventive.
For example, a takeaway food restaurant received bad reviews because the driver was always late, and the food arrived cold. The business could not afford another driver. After 2 bad reviews, the restaurant owner delivered the food too. Personal touch at the same time as gaining good reviews to grow the business to a point where he could hire a second driver.
Sometimes it is the simple things that fix bad reviews even when financial restrictions are an issue. Always try to think outside of the box. Plus, if you can avoid bad reviews in the first place, then put in place procedures as quickly as possible, and you can go one better by putting in procedures that will encourage good reviews.