You might have faced bullying once in your life. If you think they are bad, you are wrong. Online bullies are worse than them. And even if you manage and run your business properly, you will definitely face negative reviews. People comment on you, your brand, your product and it is so irritating to see them.
What Can be Done to Handle Negative Reviews?
There are certain ways. You simply cannot ignore them otherwise the situation will become more problematic. Given below are some suggestions that you can follow. Have a look:
1. You should give attention to them:
Ignoring such reviews is not a solution at all. And sometimes the business owners don’t get to know about such reviews. The best way to cope up with those reviews is to take control of them. You should constantly monitor your profile. You should pay attention to your online presence. It is very important for you to know what people are saying about you.
2. You should know whether to respond or not:
Yes, this is very important in order to save your time. You have to use your presence of mind. Negative reviews are bound to happen. Sometimes they are genuine, sometimes they are fake. You should know when you should give a reply and when you should not say anything. When replying becomes compulsory, you should do it without giving it a second thought. And when it is not required, you should control yourself. Sometimes responding at wrong time spoils everything.
3. You have to do proper research work:
Sometimes you may get confused about how to react on something. Proper research work and interaction with your loved ones is a must. You should try to know everything very well. What you have to do is to first check, if you have done something wrong and then take the necessary steps.
4. You have to say what you should say:
There are commonly two ways to respond. Either you can reply directly to the comment or you can text personally. Remember you are not trying to win; you are just rectifying what is wrong. Sometimes commenting publicly spoils your goodwill whereas sometimes replying publicly becomes compulsory. You have to decide what you can do.
5. You have to react immediately:
Before the situation becomes more complicated, you have to give your response. Handling negative reviews as soon as possible is very important. It can be a bully or an angry customer; you have to take care of it quickly. This will save you from unnecessary trouble.
Some Quick Tips to Fix Bad Reviews:
Getting a bad review definitely hurts a person. You are given some tips to be followed immediately after receiving the negative review. Remember them if you ever face negative reviews. Take down the following suggestions:
- Don’t take the comments personally. You have to maintain your decency and professionalism. Try to be calm and polite.
- You have to see if the review is genuine or not. Sometimes bad reviews are given just to tease the website owner.
- If you are replying, be precise and to-the-point. Don’t leave any space for any confusion and misinterpretation.
- You can accept the review and show your gratitude towards the customers. Assure them to rectify the mistake as soon as possible. Also, take it as an opportunity to satisfy your customer’s needs and wants.
- You have to show that you actually care about them. When you show that you are accepting their views and opinions, you satisfy their ego. You have to make them feel that they are important to you.
- At the same time, maintain your image and respect. Don’t let any customer spoil your day by giving wrong negative comments.
- If you think you are wrong, don’t hesitate in saying sorry. When you say sorry, you take responsibility for things that went wrong.
- And remember that sometimes you can’t win even if you are right. Despite making efforts, you can never satisfy everyone. So, it is better to let go of those things.
Don’ts of Dealing with Negative Reviews:
You should not do a few things while dealing with negative reviews. You will be benefitted if you ignore these things. Have a look at a few things you should avoid:
1. You need not be defensive:
It is a very natural thing that you will lose your temper. You cannot accept anyone insulting your business. But being defensive will only make things worse. You should not get angry.
2. You should not ignore it:
Not getting angry does not mean you start ignoring things. It is because it makes the consumer sure about what he has done. When you ignore comments, they feel that they are not important for you. Either respond positively or negatively but you cannot ignore it. You have no other choice than to reply.
3. You should not fight:
Try to be polite and calm and do not fight at any cost. It is because if you fight with the audience, you will be trolled badly. You need not indulge in unwanted gossips.
4. You should not insist on positive reviews:
This is one of the biggest mistakes committed by the owners. They start asking their customers to give a positive review. They do this to hide negative reviews. This spoils the image of the website.
Dos of Dealing with Negative Reviews:
These are some of the must-do things. They will not only save you but will also help you a lot. Have a look:
1. You should definitely say sorry:
If you think that you have actually done something wrong, you should accept it. Only accepting it will not solve the issue, you should apologize as well. You should not hesitate in accepting your mistake. It is far better than blaming others. This will save you from regretting later. And experts have concluded that it helps the owner to save their potential customers. It is important to get back to the upset customer.
2. You have to promote your business:
When the negative reviews are on their best, you should take every possible step to promote your brand. It is very important to dilute the negative effect of bad comments. You need to ask your consumers to tell you about what hurts them and try to know the reason behind their disappointment. Also, need to ensure you reply to them as immediate as possible.
3. You have to be genuine:
Try to take the situation very seriously and ensure you handle the case personally. Ensure you are using your name while replying to your customers by mentioning your role in the company. When you do this you win the hearts of your people. You can also share your contact details with them so that they can share more queries. You should be very sincere while replying back to your customers. This is one of the best ways to attract customers.
Is there any way to turn bad reviews into something positive?
Yes, there are ways to do so. Actually, everything happens for a reason. And every negative thing has something positive in it. Same is the case with negative reviews. Though they are negative, they can end up in something positive. The only problem with people is that they don’t know how to deal with them. Many times people only get satisfied when they deal with it. But if paid attention, these negative reviews actually contain something positive.
Given below are some suggestions. Go through them and be benefitted.
1. Face it to solve it:
You cannot get rid of negative thoughts. This will never happen. Gone are the days when people used to mail their issues to the company. Those were the days when people never let anyone else know about the problem. But nowadays. people are quite different, they not only complain but also make sure to tell it to others. So, you can control the situation by reverting back to them. You have to reply smartly to get them back.
2. Say something:
Customers feel great when they are acknowledged. When you don’t reply to their comments, you end up hurting them more. They feel that they devoted their time to give you feedback and you haven’t replied. You should say it to them when you feel grateful to them. You should not ignore the comments given by your consumers. So, when you show that you actually care about their feelings and opinions, you make them think well about you.
3. One negative review can spoil everything:
Many people simply ignore some comments just because they don’t think these comments are important. As a result, they get badly trapped. Each and every single comment affects the goodwill of the business. So, the best thing is that you can convert them into positive by paying attention to them.
4. Not all bad reviews are bad:
Yes, not every negative review is negative. It is because even if you try your best to deliver the best service, you won’t be able to satisfy everyone. Not everyone will always be satisfied with you. And so, getting a bad review doesn’t mean there is some defect in you. Sometimes getting a negative review helps your brand. It is because customers trust the website that gets some negative reviews. It makes everything look genuine and unique.
Ways to Respond to Negative Comments:
Have a look at some of the best ways. They will definitely help you. When you know how to react to negative things, you will win. You will end up satisfying your customers and you will not get much affected. The below-mentioned rules have been tried many times and they actually give a result. You should also apply them.
Try out these rules:
- You should react to your comments within a day. For this, it is important to be active the whole day. You should reply as soon as possible to get in touch with your customer.
- You should assure your customer that everything will be alright soon. You have to take charge of what has happened.
- You have to be yourself. Your customers expect to get a reply from a genuine source. You are suggested to be genuine, honest and that’s what customers love the most.
- You have to be very decent and relaxing. You have to be very polite. It is because if you use bad language, you will be trolled. You have to show that you are responsible.
- You have to be very empathetic. You have to show that you understand their opinions. When you make them feel that they are valued, they actually stay with you.
- You have to take step keeping in mind your future customers. You have to build your image. It is because your upcoming customers will take into consideration the reviews.
Some Mistakes to Avoid Bad Reviews:
- You should not be defensive. You cannot fight or quarrel with them.
- You shouldn’t reply to your customers when you are angry. You may reply wrong thing to the wrong comment.
- Your replies will be read by your future consumers, so you should be careful while replying.
- Your comments should be short and precise. It will be better if they are precise. Also copying the same comment and resending it will be wrong.
- Don’t take comments personally. You have to maintain your professionalism even if it hurts.