Part of your reputation management strategy should be replying to reviews. This gives you a chance to show your authenticity and that you care about your customers. In this article, we’ll discuss how you should respond to negative reviews on the internet, such as on Facebook, Google or Yelp.
Be Quick
Don’t leave negative reviews neglected with no response. A negative review that wasn’t responded to will drive away potential customers. Constantly monitor sites you have profiles on and set up alerts so that you are notified when new negative reviews appear.
Be Sympathetic
In your response, apologize and be sympathetic. Say that you are sorry that the customer did not derive satisfaction from your product or service. This is key — don’t put down your service itself by apologizing for the bad job you did. It’s a subtle difference but is important.
Take It Offline
You don’t want a whole back and forth discussion going on online with an angry customer. Be short and concise in your response and try to take the discussion offline. Give over your name and tell them how they can contact you. Assure them that their complaint is being looked into. If possible, contact them first.
Respond Appropriately
There are times when you will want to respond to a negative review online. For example, if you find that you don’t have any records of the reviewer being a customer of yours, make sure to mention that in your response. If there was a rare occurrence that was out of your control which caused the problem, explain what happened. This will inform potential customers what really happened so that they don’t get only one side of the story. If the review violates the terms and conditions of the platform it is on, you can request to have it removed.
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