How to Turn Negative Reviews into Positive Reviews
“Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” -Zig Ziglar
It’s almost scary when you realize the impact that negative reviews have on your business. Negative reviews can be the difference between making the sale and getting no sales at all. When you know that 8 out of 10 purchasing decisions are impacted by reviews, you have two choices:
1) Run, hide, seek shelter, and never come out; or
2) Take action.
Now it’s easy for me, sitting behind my computer screen, to tell you to take action. The hard part is up to you: figuring out how to take action. How do you manage your negative reviews? How do you ensure the success of your business? As scary as it sounds, negative reviews don’t just go away by themselves. They come back and tap on your shoulder, giving you a friendly reminder that it’s actively taking sales away from you.
Taking action
As a business owner, bad reviews are something you cannot escape. It’s human nature to complain and gripe. So now the question becomes how you deal with this inventible outcome. Well, if you follow these three simple steps, you will be turning that frown upside down in no time.
1) Responding
Currently I am looking for computer parts. There are several different pieces I need, and on every part that I intend to purchase I look at both the negative and positive reviews. Just recently I discovered something out about myself: I was fine with purchasing a product with bad reviews just as long as the supervisor simply apologized. Guess what? I’m not alone. 63% of consumers who left a negative review said that they would return to that company after leaving that review if they received an apology from the supervisor. The bottom line? Responding to those negative reviews could be the difference between a customer returning or not, and it also leaves a good impression on those browsing your products.
2) Discounts
What exactly does a discount tell a consumer? For one, it tells them that you, the owner, value their business so much that you are willing to make amends. But it also does much more than that; it tells them that you are going to take responsibility for their less-than-pleasant experience. That’s huge, and it tends to go a long way when someone is deciding to return to your company or not. In fact, it’s so huge that 52% of consumers would return to a company even after having a poor experience just as long as that company gave them a discount.
3) Enhanced Service
Do you want to know what can really make someone happy? Telling them that you have taken their complaint into account and have improved your product. That tells the customer that you value both them and their opinion. In fact, you value it to the point of improving your product. There’s a reason that 49% of consumers will return to the business if they improve the quality of their product based on past customers’ recommendations.
But how?!
By now I’m sure you’re asking, “How do I keep up with my reviews and how do I know when they’re posted?” Well, let me introduce to you Reputation Management. This is a major time saver; it’s a one-stop, constant website that gives you access to all of your Business Directories with the simple click of a button. Plus it also keeps you up-to-date with all the reviews that are posted about your business. You can sleep well knowing that, instead of having to hire an entire new section of your business to keep track of all of your reviews, you can just have an easy-to-use website that does all of that for you.
Summary
If you follow these three steps you will gain new customers, increase your sales, and boost your good reviews. Don’t let negative reviews rule your business. Take action and knock those negative reviews down. So I have to ask, are you ready to control your reputation?