It only takes a few negative reviews to make a detrimental mark on your brand’s reputation. In today’s world of user-generated content and readily accessible online platforms, people have a voice in just about everything. Posting reviews on Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook and Twitter is the norm, as well as having lengthy discussions on forums like Reddit. While this can be good news for drawing awareness to your brand — 87% of customers read online reviews and 68% are influenced by good reviews — the flip side of this is that customers can quickly make a snap decision to patronize a business or engage with a brand. Or not.
So how should you handle negative reviews? Should you engage, or ignore completely? Savvy brands have a plan in place so they are well-equipped to address various negative review scenarios. With a little proactive planning, you’ll be prepared to handle and respond to adverse feedback and come out with your reputation and brand intact (and possibly even elevate public perception of your business).
What kind of negative review is it?
If you’re a retailer who sells products, negative feedback is likely to be centered around either the goods themselves or the sales experience a customer had in-store or online. Many big box retailers like Target, Walmart and Williams Sonoma have a Customer Review section on their product pages, where buyers can leave a detailed review of the product. This is an easy way to both offer transparency and allow shoppers to browse through product and compare before purchase. Lower ratings here tend to revolve around the quality or condition of product, hitches in online checkout or shipping, or a poor experience in-store. The brand typically employs a website administrator trained to respond to lower ratings, especially where it concerns an issue that the brand should rightfully correct, like shipping problems, faulty products or a negative interaction with a staff member. These responses typically include an apology for the experience along with an invitation for the customer to contact them directly to resolve the issue, thus politely taking it to a private channel while also publicly demonstrating their respect for, and attentiveness to, shoppers.
Homebuilders may face a different type of negative review, which could be related to low inventory, rising home prices or supply chain challenges. Some of these kinds of complaints, while beyond your control and due to an ever-shifting market, merit being handled professionally as well. If you are hearing from a prospective or current customer, then acknowledge the issue while trying to understand and resolve it. Aim to move most conversations offline to a private channel where you or a brand representative can call or email the customer directly to have a deeper conversation and work to resolve the issue. No matter the problem, swiftly and empathetically responding to complaints does work — in fact, 33% of Yelp reviews turn positive after the business takes the time to respond to customers.
Finally, it’s important to distinguish a professional review from a customer opinion. Although some customers might be writing fairly and stating factual issues about their experience with your business, others might be writing from more of a subjective point of view, making it more of an opinion. For example, if a customer visits an ice cream shop and doesn’t like a flavor, then posts about the flavor on Yelp in a negative way, that’s still their opinion, which they are entitled to. But this does make it different from a professional review on somewhere like CNET, where savvy, trained staff and bloggers review the newest tech products based on their extreme expertise and familiarity with them. A negative review here may have more weight amongst readers looking to purchase said products. Though negative customer reviews should be acknowledged and handled, a negative review from an industry expert should be taken very seriously — it might warrant a direct email or phone conversation in order to get to the bottom of the issue, rather than simply leaving an apology or response online.
Is there any consistency to the negative reviews?
People leave bad reviews for many different reasons. They might have experienced a random glitch with your e-commerce process, been misinformed about the product or service they were getting or they might be having a bad day. But when consistent negative reviews about a particular issue reveal a pattern, it’s time to put in additional legwork to resolve the problem. If it’s something easily fixed, like having IT tweak a UI or UX issue, or dealing with a bad attitude from an employee by having a formal sit-down with them, that’s one thing.
If it points to an intrinsic piece of your business, however, like a faulty service or product that doesn’t work as promised, a weakness with your basic business model or if it’s safety related, it might be time to work with your team and advisors to find the right solutions.
When to not respond.
Often, negative reviews should be acknowledged and resolved, but there are a few exceptions to this. Here are two clear-cut cases where ignoring comments is actually the wiser decision:
- It’s clear that you’re dealing with a “troll.” Trolls like to rile people (and brands) up to start arguments among other users or to make themselves heard — If you notice a negative review that has nothing to do with your brand, uses harsh language to make unfounded claims or intentionally provokes to see if you’ll react, it’s best to ignore or even delete the comment if possible. If it’s on Yelp or a public platform where you cannot act, you can alert Yelp administrators to the user so they can investigate the user’s account and take appropriate action, whether it’s banning them or deleting the comment.
- The user might not be a troll, exactly, but a real customer who’s mad at everything. For example, if someone leaves a harsh review on your business’ Yelp page, and upon clicking on their profile, you see a consistent pattern with nothing but angry reviews about other businesses, this is not someone whose mind you are going to change by acknowledging their comments. Similar to a troll, the user might be looking to pick an online fight and commenting back might actually do more harm than good. Other users (and potential customers) will be looking to see how your brand handles itself and responding to such a user might be seen as defensive or naïve on your part, thus potentially casting your brand in a more negative light. If more incendiary comments appear from the same user and it becomes clear they are a cyberbully, this is another case where you might want to delete or hide their comments, or alert system administrators within the platform they live on to determine if the user should be banned.
A more creative response.
Depending on your brand or business’ tone and voice, sometimes a more creative response to negative reviews works brilliantly. Wendy’s is well-known for having an extremely witty and responsive social media voice, with clever clapbacks to competitors and customers. One of their most infamous was when Burger King tried to upstage their “4 for $4” deal with a “5 is better than $4” Tweet. When a customer asked Wendy’s what they were firing back with, they responded “edible food.” The burn went viral, and Wendy’s cemented their reputation as one of the most socially savvy fast-food chains.
Other small businesses have used negative Yelp reviews to their advantage in humorous ways by actually promoting commentary from those reviews on their own advertising POS. By embracing a negative review and putting it on their sidewalk sign for passersby to see, JoeDough, a sandwich shop in NYC, spun a negative into a positive and actually drew more online publicity and acclaim, which in turn drove more visits.
However, responding to negativity in out-of-the-box ways is something that must be right for your brand tone. If your business normally takes a more buttoned-up approach to its advertising, out-of-the-blue cleverness can potentially come off as defensive or mean. Additionally, having a dedicated community manager or social media expert on hand to consult with and help guide responses in both tone and execution can help you stay true to your brand voice and strategy.
Finally, no matter the type of negative review you receive, it can serve as a learning experience for your brand. Just like a coach being critical to improve your performance, negative reviews may be taken in a positive light when they come from well-meaning, thoughtful customers or professionals. You can make it an educational moment for how to improve your brand or shed light on underlying issues that people are rightfully pointing out. Remember, potential customers are watching to see how you react to a poor rating, so be smart about how you respond and try to stay open-minded to course-correcting so your brand can shine and earn a strong reputation.
Whether you need a few pointers, a written strategy or someone to manage the front lines for you, we’ve got you. Reach out to Barbara at barbara@wickmarketing.com or (512) 479.9834.
