Dean KeipertIt’s the situation you want to avoid at all costs, but it happens. You step into your office in the morning, click on the computer, and start roaming through your online mentions.
Everything looks great, but then all of a sudden, your stomach drops as you start reading through a review or comment from an unhappy customer.
In reality, it’s not anything to get too worked up about. Chances are a professional response will alleviate the situation. But do you have to respond to these negative remarks from consumers? Is anyone even paying attention, or is it just this one person that has a problem? The thought runs through your head of just trying to sweep the negative remark under the rug and move on with your day.
If that’s the protocol your business is taking with negative reviews and comments, then the only thing you are doing is hurting your brand image.
According to surveys, nearly 90 percent of consumers viewed online reviews of products and services to be trustworthy, while another 80 percent decided to not purchase a particular product or service solely based on a negative review.
On the other end of the spectrum, an overwhelming 91 percent of respondents said that a positive online review influenced their decision to purchase.
So as you can see, people trust and make decisions based on the reviews they see online. But what about a businesses’ response? Does that have an impact on a person’s purchase decision?
Ninety-five percent of unhappy customers have reported returning to a business if that business resolved the complaint quickly and efficiently.
This just goes to show the kind of impact that responding to a negative review will have on your company. You have to keep in mind that a majority of the people leaving comments and reviews are not your enemy. Instead, they are trying to help better your business. If they didn’t care about your company, chances are they wouldn’t leave a review or comment at all.
If you’d like to learn some strategies on how to properly respond to negative reviews or comments, be sure to take a look at the quick video above.
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