How to fight back against negative customer reviews

Did you know that for every 1 positive review there are 10 negative customer reviews? There’s nothing like a negative customer’s opinion online to clog your sales pipeline. In order to push passed the negativity and continue to convert sales, you need to implement these 3 key skills.

1 – Come up with a polite, appropriate response

When you see a negative review, it can be easy to bite back with a negative response of your own, pointing out all of the flaws in the customer’s review. However, this will only add fuel to the fire and show you to be a hot-head who doesn’t deal well with a negative response.

So, take five minutes to breath and then start creating a response. 42% of consumers complaining on social media will expect a response in less than 60 minutes, so you don’t have long but you don’t actually have to say that much. Apologise for their experience, show you care and offer them an “olive branch” relevant to their complaint.

Yelp statistics show that brands who respond to their complaints actually rank higher and have a 20% chance of turning around angry consumers into happily paying customers – if they can resolve the complaint efficiently and effectively.

2 – Acknowledge where you went wrong

A lot of the time, we brush off negative reviews claiming the customer was fussy, rude or clearly blind about the value of your product. Of course, some of those reviews are like that or constructed by your competitors to crush your brand loyalty and morale.

However, some of the time the negative reviews are justified. You need to look at each negative review objectively and address the problems that customers have identified from you. Often you can take their negative comments and use it constructively to improve your product.

Consumers love brands who are honest enough to admit when they made a mistake. It makes the business seem more human and, therefore, more relatable. You just have to look at where Domino’s Pizza was 10 years ago compared to where they are now to see how owning up to your mistakes can help your business grow.

3 – Realise negative reviews aren’t the end of the world

Everyone has a negative review eventually. You shouldn’t worry about the occasional poor review. If you have a lot of negative reviews, then yes, maybe you should consider turning your business on its head and focus on the internal problems.

But for the majority of us, one negative review is just a drop in an ocean of customers. As long as you respond to it positively and take the appropriate steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again, you are doing all you can.

At the end of the day, take a look at some of the best brands in the world. Even they have 1-star reviews because you can’t please everyone. You shouldn’t please everyone either. Your brand and business should stand for something and not just be a “people pleaser”. After all, the businesses with only 5 star reviews are usually fake.

Head to CommuniGator’s blog to find out more.

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