Stephanie Heitman
This is the fourth post in our Reviews FAQs series where we answer frequently asked questions about online reputation management.
Getting a negative review about your business is a huge bummer. You never want your customers to have anything but a positive experience, so to hear otherwise can be unfortunate. So, what can you do about negative reviews? Here are three options:
1. Respond to Them
The best thing you can do about a negative review is to respond to it. Follow our guidelines for responding to negative reviews here.
2. Flag or Report Them
Review sites have sets of guidelines that reviewers must follow when leaving a review. If you determine that the negative review doesn’t follow those guidelines, you often have the option to flag or report it.
Flagging or reporting the review doesn’t guarantee that the review will be removed, but it does give you a good option if the negative review contains false information, doesn’t describe a personal experience, or contains a conflict of interest.
3. Learn from Them
While this may not sound like the best option, negative reviews can often provide helpful information that can improve your business. It can also be a training moment for your employees if the review specifically mentions customer service. Try to find a common theme among your negative reviews and see how you can improve based on their feedback. If you correct whatever they’re complaining about, you may not receive as many negative reviews in the future!
Negative reviews aren’t too fun to deal with, but they are, unfortunately, part of many small business owners’ lives. How do you deal with negative reviews? Let us know in the comments!
Our next Reviews FAQs post will cover how reviews can affect your business.
Stephanie Heitman
