About 95% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase. Over 90% will read reviews to determine a local business’s quality. Meanwhile, 92% are more likely to make a purchase after reading a trusted review.
Unfortunately, negative reviews could impact a potential customer’s decision to purchase your product or service. It’s important to respond to negative business reviews right away. Otherwise, your online reputation could plummet.
Here are five tips that can help you learn how to handle negative online reviews. With these tips, you can give your reputation the boost it needs.
Start improving your reputation with these tips today.
- Respond Quickly
First, make an effort to check your business review sites regularly. That includes your Yelp business reviews and Zen business reviews. You don’t want to wait too long to respond to a negative comment.
Respond right away to show consumers you care. If you wait too long to respond, they might take their business elsewhere.
- Communicate Offline
As you respond to your negative business reviews, ask the customers if you can communicate offline. If you continue the conversation online, other consumers might want to join in on the conversation. Instead, try to get the consumer’s contact information to speak with them over the phone.
Online reviews influence over 67% of purchasing decisions. If other customers see the entire conversation, it might affect their buying decisions, too.
- Empathize
As you speak with the customer, take the time to listen to their point of view. Don’t interrupt them. Then, empathize with what happened.
Show the customer you care about what they experienced. You can use phrases like, “I’d feel frustrated, too,” to show your empathy.
Empathizing with customers will help you forge an emotional connection with them. Otherwise, they might think you don’t care about their experience. They might decide to take their business elsewhere as a result.
- Find a Resolution
Talk to the customer to find a resolution as quickly as possible. Ask them, “How can I make this right?” Find a solution that works for you both.
Take the time to diagnose what happened, too. Find a way to avoid the same mistake in the future. That way, you can avoid gathering negative business reviews about the same problem.
If you can’t find a resolution, use guaranteed removals to get rid of negative reviews.
- Keep Encouraging Reviews
In the meantime, make sure to continue encouraging customers to leave their comments on different business review sites. Gathering positive reviews will boost your online reputation. Even if you generate a few negative comments, the positive reviews will overshadow them.
Add a plugin to your website that feeds your Google My Business reviews to a designated page. Then, show off your positive reviews. Add a button on your site that encourages customers to leave their own comments.
Improve Your Reputation: 5 Tips for Dealing With Negative Business Reviews
Don’t let your brand reputation plummet. Instead, use these five tips for dealing with negative business reviews. With these tips, you can improve your online reputation with ease.
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