February 15, 2022

If you own a business, you’re likely to work hard all year round to provide excellent service for your customers. So, when you receive a negative review, it can be difficult to know how to respond. But crafting a speedy and thoughtful response is an essential part of business management.

In this blog, we highlight how you can respond to bad news as well as the importance of doing it.

1.      Responding to negative reviews

When you get a bad review, it’s easy to immediately think the worst and take it personally. But negative testimonials can be positive for your business. When a business only has five-star ratings, many believe it to be suspicious. Plus, if you’re able to respond to the negative review politely and professionally, it’s a great way of boosting your business reputation and showing that you are taking on customer feedback.

 

2.      Act quickly

Business owners have a lot of responsibilities but, when you see a negative review, responding to it should be a priority. Read it, draft your reply, and respond within 24 hours. Figures show that 20% of consumers will be expecting this. The customer who is upset wants to feel heard, and any apology or solution you do offer will seem more sincere the quicker it comes.

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An unread negative review either looks like the business doesn’t care or that they were at fault and don’t have a reply.

 

3.      Listen to the customer

In any situation, when we hear criticism, it’s easy to take it personally. But remember your customers are paying for a service or product and are entitled to feel satisfied. Control your emotions, take an objective view, and acknowledge their complaint in your reply.

Highlighting that you can see their point of view can help to change their perception of your brand and is a great way of showing off your business’ personality to other customers.

 

4.      Apologise and take responsibility

If someone has left you a complaint, the last thing they want to hear is excuses – even if you feel it wasn’t your fault. Be the bigger person, reinforce that this standard of service is not what you want your business to provide, and remember to say sorry.

By doing this, you’re also showing the human element of your business. If you can include a little personality and even the name of the customer service representative, it will help to show that there’s a real person behind the screen.

5.      Explain the situation

Just because you shouldn’t make excuses, doesn’t mean you can’t explain the situation. If the complaint or bad service was a result of a specific factor, explain what happened, without using it to justify the problem.

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As well as this, you could highlight how you’re going to ensure that the same experience doesn’t happen again.

 

6.      Make it right

Whether a refund, replacement, or discount, if the issue can be fixed, you should take action to ensure it is. This may even result in negative feedback being taken down or a new positive review.

You could even work with the customer on ways in which you can improve your service offering. This is an easy way to show that you care and that you’re listening to them.

Managing your business reviews

Review management needs to be carried out regularly, and it’s not always easy. However, doing it is a great way to help grow your business, its reputation, and your followers. Remember, every customer interaction counts, even those that take place after a sale is complete.

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