The Dos and Don’ts of Dealing with Negative Online Reviews 

Online reviews play a very important role in making or breaking a business. It is very challenging to please every client, so make your mind, if you’re organizing a business you have to deal with all types of reviews. Both positive and negative reviews are the part of every business.

Every business owner struggles in responding to negative reviews especially when it is directly related to maintaining the reputation of a business. There are several questions like “how to respond to negative reviews?” and “How long should one wait to respond?” come into the mind.

To maintain the reputation and image of your brand, you need to answer the clients' queries. Here are some dos and don’ts of dealing with bad reviews online:

Responding to Negative Reviews

Dos:

Respond promptly: Gone are the days when you could come up with excuses like “I haven’t checked my phone” to get away, as people are on their computers and phones constantly. Respond quickly in a timely fashion to show how attentive and responsible you’re to your clients.

Acknowledge the problem and apologize:

If you want to maintain your brand’s identity, it is important to apologize when you are wrong. Learn to say “thank you or sorry” as per the situation. By apologizing and explaining the issue calmly you can change the mind of that reviewer. Be sure to give a satisfactory response to an unhappy client.

Be authentic:

When it comes to responding to bad reviews online, sincerity is very necessary. Always be personal and authentic. Use your real name, give a direct email address or phone number while replying to negative online reviews. Try to reach out to a client on a personal level, the easiest idea to be authentic.

Don’ts of dealing with negative online reviews

Don’t Respond hastily:

While it is necessary to reply to bad reviews promptly, it’s important to not be hasty. Take your time to think, gather all the information and respond accordingly. Stay calm and take a deep breath before responding to negative reviews.

Never ignore:

Ignoring negative reviews adds a negative impact on your brand. You can avoid negative comments but the internet will never. If you don’t respond, it will look like that you don’t care or insulting the customers. So, reply but keep your tone calm.

Don’t be emotional:

It is essential to be compassionate but it should not be confused with being emotional. A bad review on your business website can disappoint you and stir up your emotions. Don’t take a bad review personally and don’t let your emotions show in your reply. Maintain your temper if you don’t want to damage your brand reputation or don’t want to lose your customers.

These are some basic but must-know dos and don’ts of responding to negative reviews online. As you know, it is not possible to keep all clients’ satisfied, so always be prepared to deal with every upcoming situation. Do use all bad reviews as a learning experience. Don’t feel bad, take them in a positive way, learn from your mistakes, and try to avoid the same mistakes in the future. Be professional, prepared, and prompt, and most importantly, be yourself.