How To Positively Deal With Negative Feedback To Improve Your Company’s Online Presence

The data gathered by Reviewtrackers in 2018 found out that 34 percent of customers would leave negative feedback for a business after a bad experience. This could have an adverse effect on the decision-making of potential customers when dealing with companies that earned a bad review. Earning a bad review could negate your efforts in improving your online and social media presence. But receiving unfavorable feedback does not mean the end for your business. Here are several tips to positively deal with negative feedback and use it to your company’s advantage.

Show Empathy To Your Customers 

According to Complaint Base Business Reviews, if you receive negative reviews online, you should immediately respond to the customer. This will let them know that their opinion matters. You also need to begin your response with empathy to show the reviewer and other review readers that you are serious about improving your company. In this day and age, when everyone can post real negative reviews about a company due to the Consumer Review Freedom Act, you must always see to it that you gave the right reply to appease the anger of the online reviewer.    

Strive To Get More Positive Reviews

Most review sites will not allow any businesses to remove any negative feedback that is already posted. You can only combat this by getting more positive ratings. This will happen if you encourage your customers to give you positive reviews after satisfying their needs. If the ratings go up, it will naturally overshadow the negative score.  

Always Respond As Soon As Possible

An article posted on Forbes suggested that business owners must respond to all negative reviews, even if the complaints are outrageous. This is because the potential customers will base their opinion about the company based on the response to the complaint. If your business received such feedback, you need to reply to the review rapidly. Most of the time, an unanswered complaint could result in more negative perception. Without any reply, future clients may believe that the reviewer’s complaint is valid. Take this opportunity to respectfully explain your side so the reviewer and other readers will understand the situation and address the problem promptly. 

Communicate With The Reviewer Privately

Most of the time, it would be best to have a more detailed conversation with the complainant through email. You may also message them privately as soon as possible. This will prevent any incidents of further conflict in public. 

Use The Negative Review To Your Advantage

There is a term in business called the service recovery paradox (SRP) where negative experiences can turn into something positive for your company. This will happen if you face bad feedback with a positive response. By making sure that you answer with compassion, you will gain the trust and loyalty of your past and future clients. 

So if your company receives negative feedback, you must immediately assess the concerns raised by the reviewer and respond to it immediately. Turn the review into constructive criticism to improve the way you manage your business. You must sincerely apologize if needed. You must also address the root of the problem as soon as you can, so your past and future customers will feel that you really mean business. This way, you will be able to regain their trust. 

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