How Negative Reviews Can Benefit Your Small Business
The rise of online retailing has changed the way we shop and how we interact with businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed retailers to move quickly to address the shift towards online retailing in the 2020s. The problem facing small business owners is how to address the problems posed by negative reviews left online.
Negative Reviews are not Always bad
Businessowners have the chance to engage with their customers in several different ways in the 21st-century. Online reviews are just one way a customer interacts with a business. Recent studies have shown the star rating of a brand is less important to potential customers than the content of reviews. A review a business owner sees as bad may not seem as problematic to a potential customer.
Engage in a Conversation
When a business owner sees a negative review, they will feel several feelings. The initial outrage and distress a business owner feels when faced with a negative review will quickly fade away when they engage in a conversation with the reviewer. A company that does carpet cleaning in Thornton responds to reviews by asking what they can do better or how to make it right. It is easy to become embroiled in an argument with a reviewer, but asking what went wrong with their experience can open up the conversation. Potential customers will be impressed by your professional manner and willingness to interact with unhappy customers and be more willing to take a risk on your brand.
Learn From Negative Reviews
The best business leaders use negative interactions as a learning experience. Whether you are offering a service or launching a new product, your customers are at the sharp end of the customer experience. Even the biggest brands in the world have faced problems, look at Coca-Cola’s launch of New Coke. A negative review is a chance to learn what your customers feel is wrong with your business or product offerings. Take the criticism and identify where your business can improve in the future.
Identify Patterns of Information
One way potential customers decide which brands they trust is to look for patterns of behavior. A brand that consistently has shipping issues should address this area because it can quickly become an area of concern. Brand leaders need to look over the comments for their products and services to identify if they are affected by patterns of negativity. Negative patterns are one of the most important areas for potential customers, who will look at the overall review scores of a brand and jump directly to the negative reviews.
A negative review should never be responded to in the heat of the moment. Instead, formulate a response before engaging in a conversation with a customer. negative reviews should be seen as an opportunity to learn and educate a brand about the quality of their customer service.
