For small, local businesses, positive online reviews can significantly increase patronage. It’s also relatively easy to connect with your customers in a positive way and encourage them to go online and write a review. On the other hand, negative reviews can be devastating. Even just on negative review can turn customers away before you even get a chance to prove yourself and earn their business.
It’s your job as a business owner to stop negative reviews from being posted. You can’t do this by hitting a “delete review” button, and once someone is set on writing a negative review there’s little you can do but try to do damage control once it’s published. The key is to stop a negative review before it even starts, and here are some tips to help you do just that.
Focus on Customer Service
This should be obvious, but the quality of your customer service is paramount. Do whatever you can to improve customer service at your establishment. Make sure that all employees are trained on the proper ways to handle customer grievances. Stress how important it is that a customer never leave angry. If your employees are unable to remedy a situation, you should be called in to help. Always be polite and respectful, even to the rudest of customers. Unless they’re being abusive, remember that they’re “always right.” Helpful information, a concession, or an apology on your part can stop a bad review in its tracks. Make it clear to your employees that you won’t tolerate poor customer service.
Encourage Feedback
When customers leave bad reviews, it’s usually because they just want to be heard, and an online review is a way for them to vent their frustrations. Prevent negative reviews by giving customers as many opportunities as possible to give their feedback to your directly. Hand out comment cards with the bill at your restaurant, for example. Send out emails requesting feedback after purchases, or when someone unsubscribes from your email list or makes a return. On your website, consider a form for people to send anonymous feedback. If an upset customer can tell you about their bad experience directly, it will hopefully stop them from posting the same thing online in a public forum, too.
Right Your Wrongs
If a customer has a legitimate complaint about something your business has done to wrong them, you need to make things right. If you find out that a customer is upset and they’ve already left your store or made a purchase, reach out to them. The extra effort you put forth will impress people, and it may even get them to change their mind about your business. Exceptional customer service can make any business more likable. If you don’t make the effort to right a wrong (even just a perceived wrong), you might be paying for it later when the customer decides to post a bad review as a form of vindication.
If you’re a small business owner, what do you do to stop negative reviews?
This and many other educational articles helping web professionals understand the challenges of the web and how to promote business concepts online have been prepared for you by Lisa Hann thanks to SEOMap - the keyword strategy experts.
Photo By Ben+Sam on Flickr License By http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
It’s your job as a business owner to stop negative reviews from being posted. You can’t do this by hitting a “delete review” button, and once someone is set on writing a negative review there’s little you can do but try to do damage control once it’s published. The key is to stop a negative review before it even starts, and here are some tips to help you do just that.
Focus on Customer Service
This should be obvious, but the quality of your customer service is paramount. Do whatever you can to improve customer service at your establishment. Make sure that all employees are trained on the proper ways to handle customer grievances. Stress how important it is that a customer never leave angry. If your employees are unable to remedy a situation, you should be called in to help. Always be polite and respectful, even to the rudest of customers. Unless they’re being abusive, remember that they’re “always right.” Helpful information, a concession, or an apology on your part can stop a bad review in its tracks. Make it clear to your employees that you won’t tolerate poor customer service.
Encourage Feedback
When customers leave bad reviews, it’s usually because they just want to be heard, and an online review is a way for them to vent their frustrations. Prevent negative reviews by giving customers as many opportunities as possible to give their feedback to your directly. Hand out comment cards with the bill at your restaurant, for example. Send out emails requesting feedback after purchases, or when someone unsubscribes from your email list or makes a return. On your website, consider a form for people to send anonymous feedback. If an upset customer can tell you about their bad experience directly, it will hopefully stop them from posting the same thing online in a public forum, too.
Right Your Wrongs
If a customer has a legitimate complaint about something your business has done to wrong them, you need to make things right. If you find out that a customer is upset and they’ve already left your store or made a purchase, reach out to them. The extra effort you put forth will impress people, and it may even get them to change their mind about your business. Exceptional customer service can make any business more likable. If you don’t make the effort to right a wrong (even just a perceived wrong), you might be paying for it later when the customer decides to post a bad review as a form of vindication.
If you’re a small business owner, what do you do to stop negative reviews?
This and many other educational articles helping web professionals understand the challenges of the web and how to promote business concepts online have been prepared for you by Lisa Hann thanks to SEOMap - the keyword strategy experts.
Photo By Ben+Sam on Flickr License By http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
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