Why Responding to Negative Reviews is Imperative

Everyone understands that user reviews are essential. However, several websites and business owners flat out neglect to engage with users who leave reviews. That’s not a good thing. Simply responding to bad (or even good) reviews can go a long way towards showing your customers that you care about their experience. However, that begs the question: Why is engagement with your users critical? Let’s break it down.

Why Are Online Reviews Important?

Online reviews are essential. But just how important are they? Well, here are a few statistics to help shed some light on how users view reviews online:

• According to BrightLocal, 57% of consumers only use businesses with an online review ranking of four or more stars.
• Most companies only ever see four percent of their negative reviews. This implies that there are several negative reviews that business owners will never lay eyes on (Ruby Speaks)
• Around 89% of prospective consumers read business’ responses to reviews online (BrightLocal)
• 91% of 18-34 year-olds trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations from friends and family(BrightLocal).

Why Bad Reviews Shouldn’t Induce a Panic

Let’s say your company winds up with a few negative reviews. Of course, we all understand that negative reviews make your company look bad to prospective customers. However, a few bad reviews are nothing to panic over. Instead, bad reviews should be looked at as an opportunity to turn a dissatisfied customer into a satisfied one. Remember, online reviews (at least most of them) are living, breathing organisms. In other words, a bad review doesn’t have to stay a bad review.

How to Respond to a Negative Review and Potentially Save a Customer or Gain a New One

Okay, you now know not to panic when you’re faced with a negative review from a dissatisfied customer. However, that begs the question: What’s the biggest weapon in your arsenal against the negative nancies of the world? Well, the answer may surprise you. All you have to do to potentially neutralize the majority of the adverse effects associated with bad reviews is respond to them. However, don’t just give some generic, meaningless “we’ve read your review, and we’ll work on making things right” schtick. Make your replies count. Positively engage with your customer. Try to do right by the customer and work on turning their negative experience into a positive one.

Okay, that was a little cheesy. However, the point is still valid. Simply engaging with your customers can help you make some serious strides towards more positive interactions and reviews in the future.

Don’t Have Time to Manage All Your Reviews? We Can Help

Negative reviews are no fun. They can hurt your business, and responding/reacting to them takes serious time and consideration. Unfortunately, not every business and website owner has the time and ability to handle their negative reviews adequately. However, that’s where the expert review management professionals from Contractor Advertising step in. We can help manage your reviews, respond to them, and turn negative reviews into positive customer experiences. So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch with us and ask about our review management services today!