What to do with bad (& good) online reviews


How to deal with online reviews

One of the major goals of any marketing strategy should be to build a strong brand reputation by improving trust and loyalty. However, there’s only so much you can do to convince your audience that your brand is trustworthy and reliable. This is because consumers, in general, tend to be a bit wary of companies as far as honesty is concerned. It’s why consumers will turn to reviews of the company for a better idea of their reputation. There’s nobody a consumer trusts more about the impression of a company than another consumer.

As a result, your reviews can be extremely helpful in building your reputation. You’ll want to take advantage of the positive reviews that you have earned. However, how you handle your negative reviews can also affect your reputation. The following are a few tips on how to leverage your positive reviews and how to deal with your negative reviews.

What to do With Your Positive Reviews

Positive reviews are great for your business, but only if people actually see them. The following are a few ways that you can leverage your positive reviews to improve your reputation:

  1. 63.3 percent of consumers have never heard back from a business after leaving a review.Respond to positive reviews – If someone leaves a particularly positive or insightful review, make sure that you respond to them and that you thank them for their time. This shows everyone that you appreciate the effort your customers take to provide feedback.
  2. Displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by 270%Post reviews on your product page – Make it easy for potential customers to research your products by posting positive reviews directly on the page of the product or service you’re selling.
  3. Displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by 270%Share reviews on social media – Sharing some of your positive reviews on your social channels once in a while is a good way to draw attention to not only certain products or services, but to the overall customer experience that you provide.80 percent of consumers say the star ratings they trust the most are 4.0, 4.5, and 5 stars. Use reviews in your marketing campaigns – Integrate some of your positive reviews into your ads as social proof.

 

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How to Handle Negative Reviews

First of all, it’s impossible to avoid negative reviews. They’re going to happen regardless of how hard you try to avoid them. You just can’t please everyone–and sometimes, you may make mistakes. As long as you don’t have overwhelmingly negative reviews, a few negative reviews here and there shouldn’t hurt your image as long as you know how to handle them. In fact, if you know how to handle them, they could even benefit you! The following are a few tips on handling negative reviews:

  1. 73% of consumers form an opinion by reading up to six reviewsDon’t delete them – Once something is on the Internet, it’s always on the Internet. You’re going to deal with a lot of backlash if people find out that you’re deleting negative reviews. Additionally, by keeping negative reviews up, you can actually shine a light on your positive reviews. You’re showing consumers that you’re transparent and honest. On top of that, having negative reviews lends validity to your positive reviews.
  2. 53 percent of customers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week.Publicly respond – Responding to the review shows that you’re making an effort to solve whatever issues the customer had and that you care about improving their experience, which will help improve your reputation. Doing this may even result in a follow-up to the review praising your customer service.
  3. If a business resolves its issue quickly and efficiently, 95% of unhappy customers returns back to your businessDon’t be defensive – When responding to negative reviews, don’t try to take them personally, even if the reviewer is being unfair or personal in their review. Be professional in addressing their feedback. If you get defensive, it will make you look unprofessional.

Pay attention to what customers have to say about you. Leveraging the reviews that they’ve left–both positive and negative–can help bolster your brand reputation.

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