4 Best Practices When Responding to Negative Customer Reviews

 Are you a business owner? Have you received a negative review in the past? How does it feel?

No one likes to read or hear about a negative comment a customer has made about your services or products. The better the reviews, the higher the spirit soars. But negative reviews are an inevitable part of any business, and you should know the right way to deal with these customer reviews. There are two kinds of outcome for a bad customer review; it can either tarnish the reputation of your company if you allow it or you could use it to make your institution look better.

Assess the Situation

There are very few companies that spend a lot of time responding to negative comments. Unless the number of negative reviews is minimal, it is not possible for the company to respond to each one. However, this is not an excuse to pay no attention to it at all. It is imperative for the company to take a look at the reason behind the negative review and then respond when they are sure that the issue is taken care of and the customer will not have to face it again. By offering a dissatisfied customer high-quality customer service after the assessment of the problem you can gain the upper hand in the situation which will then allow you to carry out the rest of the processes with a level head and recover from the initial sting that you may have experienced.

Write for your audience

The reply to your customer review is public in most cases. With the rise of social media most customers take to it to get the attention of the company. At times like this, it is crucial that you remember you are not only writing for the dissatisfied customer but even for potential customers that come across this review. You can use this opportunity to address your entire customer base as a whole and give them a glimpse of your company while showing them that excellent customer service is a priority for you.

Accept your mistakes

Even if you may not agree with what the customer has to say about your service or product, it is crucial that you find the courage and take responsibility for what happened. You do not want to get into an argument and discuss the nitty-gritty of what happened. It can cause the entire situation to blow right out of proportion in a matter of minutes. Most people reading the review are also potential customers and as the saying goes “The customer is always right” they are more likely to side with the customer in any argument. At times like this, it is best that you swallow your ego and apologize before you find a way to remedy the situation.

Fix the Situation

Now that you have found out the reason behind the complaint, and also apologized to the customer for any inconvenience it is time to be the hero. Give your customer what they are asking for, if it is the product that they are not satisfied with then replace it, if you think there is a product that would help them better then upgrade it do whatever you need to to ensure that the customer leaves the conversation satisfied. Once this is done, they usually update their reply to a more positive one most often without you even having to ask.

However, there are times when the customer can even refuse this offer there is no way they are changing their review then. But just offering them that extra solution shows your potential customers that you care about providing better customer service and that you will do whatever needs to be done to ensure that you achieve customer satisfaction.

Not only does this show your customers that you value them but also shows them that the negative review was not intentional and that you went out of your way to solve it to the best of your ability.

No customer is ever a lost cause no matter how dissatisfied they may be. If they have taken the time to get in touch with you and write the review, they are expecting you to do something about it. They expect you to address the situation and consider what can be done about it. As a business, you cannot always expect to get positive reviews every time. When a negative review comes, you need to first appreciate the fact that you are getting to know the reason behind the dissatisfaction among your customers and then take the opportunity to improve their services which would, in turn, help the company build trust within their customers.

In today's technologically advanced world you can also use customer support solution that can help you identify and address a negative customer complaint quickly. It in turns helps you to avoid any escalation in the situation and take a few steps towards gaining back your customers' confidence. A dissatisfied customer can be your best teacher so don’t let the review get you down but use it to rise higher than you were.