Ah, it’s tough to not get miffed with negative consumer reviews. How many times have you resisted the urge to smash your laptop on the wall, or give your CPU a good, hard punch, after reading a negative comment about your business?
It’s natural to become annoyed about blatant criticism, since most unsatisfied clients don’t tend to be eloquent. However, it’s your ability to stay cool and handle such negativity in a way that it would benefit your business which speaks volumes about your entrepreneurial ethics. Here are a few good tips to get you going.
Is He/She a Troll or a Genuine Customer?
This is the biggest question that haunts every business owner. How to determine if the review you get is sent by a troll or a genuine client? Just check your records.
There may be hardcore trolls who would deign to purchase your product before submitting their absurd views, but they are few and far between. And most probably, they may be employed by your competition.
If you’re competing against a multinational company already established in the trade, then it’s not uncommon for them to resort to unethical methods to discredit your services, especially in the virtual world.
Don’t go abusing them soon after you realize that. Send a polite reply to their comments, asking them to submit proofs of their claims. Have the last laugh!
Don’t Get Defensive
If a negative consumer review is genuine, then know that it is not targeted at you, personally. It’s aimed at your business, and you should take it from a professional viewpoint. Don’t reply as if the customer has a personal grudge against you. Understand what they’re trying to say, analyze every negative point they have mentioned, and reply as if you’re brimming with alacrity.
David Anderson, an author at IHateWritingEssays, says that online reviews are nothing but a test of a businessman’s imagination. And if you’re governed by your emotions, then it’s far better to outsource that particular review to a professional social media marketer before replying to it.
A social media expert can objectively reply to the customer comments that target your emotional chords. He/she will take a ringside view of things and respond accordingly.
The right response can easily convert a potential genuine customer with a warped sense of understanding into a faithful client in the near future.
Empathize and Take Action
Admittedly, it’s tough to empathize with a comment that shakes your entire marketing philosophy. A social media expert will be better able to handle the situation. If, for any reason, you’re unable to hire one, then know that it is critical to empathize, and even sympathize, with the views of certain genuine consumers. If you were to simply state your issues like a robotic professional, it would only lead to unnecessary animosity between you two, leading the client to respond still more aggressively.
Finally, once you have taken the customer’s views into account, placed yourself in their shoes, and realized where you went wrong, take the necessary action to correct that mistake right away.
The longer you wait, the worse will it affect your business. Just let the particular customer know that you’re working on the issue and send them a polite message after the problem has been resolved. Remove or flag that negative testimonial after client approval, or just let it be so that other potential customers may know that your business isn’t entirely fake.
Oh yeah, a website that’s flooded with ONLY positive customer reviews comes out as fake to knowledgeable, worldly clients. Sprinkle in a credible negative review every now and then and there you have it: a perfectly genuine business that is active in resolving any bugs it may have!
To conclude, I’d like to sign off with a motivational poem of sorts.
Don’t sweat a negative consumer review
coz it’s bound to change your business view,
take it with a pinch of salt,
and march on ahead without the semblance of a halt!
Usually trolls fade away once you ask them to provide the details of his/her purchase. because if you know the pattern of purchase it becomes clear whether the person is lying or not. Another way is to check the social media profiles, trolls and spam-bots do not have/waste time on filling up the information about themselves
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once you have taken the customer’s views into account, placed yourself in their shoes, and realized where you went wrong, take the necessary action to correct that mistake right away.