As the famous line
goes, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin
it." For this reason and many more, there is often no worse feeling for an
entrepreneur than to see the brand he or she spent years building tarnished by
a bad review online.
Below are few things
every business owner can follow in order to maintain their business image
intact.
1.
Become transparent
One of the main cause of bad reviews is because of hidden or
understated shortcomings.
Maybe a business doesn’t ship products as quickly as customers
expect, or maybe a business’s return policy doesn’t allow for refunds and that
fact is buried in the fine print. In any case, these businesses are often
worried that customers won’t buy from them in the first place if they don’t
hide their weaknesses. The result might be a slight bump in sales today, but
disappointed customers won’t come back and will write bad reviews, resulting in
fewer customers in the long term.
What we’ve seen work is a policy of transparency—businesses that
end up getting the best reviews are those that make their weaknesses clear
upfront, but explain them and then do their best to overcome them.
So if you’re a small business, you might explain that you’re an
independent or family-owned shop and do your best to get orders out on time,
but sometimes things can take a bit longer, and ask them to please excuse the
delay upfront. That way, if you do get your shipment out on time, the customer
is pleasantly surprised.
Businesses have found that being even a little more transparent
upfront yields customers that are more forgiving, loyal, and likely to write
positive reviews.
2.
Set up your online review profile before you get negative
reviews
We all know that it’s impossible to please all our customers all
the time. However, bad reviews do not have to hurt your business given the
proper preparations.
So, instead of waiting for a bad review to appear and then
scrambling to repair your online reputation, the best thing you can do is to
get out in front of negative reviews by claiming and developing your online
reputation as soon as possible.
That way, you can fill out all your contact information, tell
your business’s unique story through text and pictures, and invite some of your
customers to review your business. Having a well-developed online profile on
review sites can be a valuable tool to help you generate new business, but also
should your business receive a negative review, it can be read in the boarder
context of your business.
3.
Be responsive
Businesses that respond to every review tend to get better
reviews over time.
We recommend publicly thanking all reviewers regardless of how
they’ve rated your business, because it communicates to existing and potential
customers that you care, and it doesn’t just look like you’re doing damage
control when you respond to a negative review because you’ve been engaging with
all your customers all along.
Smart consumers can spot an engaged and customer-service
oriented business from miles away, and are always happy to reward them with
more business.
4.
Properly address negative reviews
For a small business owner, negative reviews can feel
particularly painful and personal. However, if you respond the right way, it’s
possible to not only prevent damage to your online reputation, but to improve
it.
By engaging a reviewer and establishing a human connection, you
can often help the situation and even change the customer’s mind. You’d be
surprised how often a polite response to a bad review can result in the
reviewer giving your business a second chance. If you feel like you can resolve
a customer’s complaint, send a private message offering the resolution. Once
the customer’s concern has been satisfied, politely ask the customer to
reconsider their review.
If you are not able to resolve the customer’s issue, simply
write a short and polite public response, thanking them for their business and
feedback. If you can respond to the customer’s specific experience and mention
any changes you may have made as a result, this could go far in earning trust
and a second chance even if you are not able to resolve their issue.
Your response will also be read by other potential customers,
who will be able to see your professionalism and commitment to providing all
customers the best possible experience.
5.
Get free services as much as possible
Claiming and managing your basic business profile on review
sites should be free. Avoid services that charge you to remove reviews or
complaints, or otherwise promise to “manage your reputation.”
Also avoid sites that charge you by the number of reviews you
collect and force you to collect a certain number of reviews in order to earn
higher star ratings. These services are not aligned with the success of your
business.
