Negative reviews in the business world happen more often now than ever before. With greater access, online sharing communities, and the growth of social media, online reviews can now take place across multiple websites. With stellar reviews also come negative reviews. These can often be unavoidable at times and can seem to derail an entire aspect of your company. In the past, companies have often ignored negative reviews hoping that the issue would dissipate. However, many companies are now starting to realize the importance of responding to any and all reviews – especially negative.
Potential clients and customers look online to view products and services, but more importantly to read reviews. This can help them determine the quality of the business, discover the availability of customer service, and eventually decide if they would like to pursue or keep looking.
Not responding to negative reviews can often make it seem as if the firm is uninterested in solving a problem, doesn’t care what clients thinks, and doesn’t have the time to deal with issues posted online. Unfortunately this can often color the way current and even potential clients perceive the company, and can greatly influence many aspects. Responding to online reviews takes a thoughtful, hands-on approach. While no 2 responses should be the same, there are some aspects of responding to a negative review that ring true for all approaches.
Respond Quickly
Silence is never the correct response to a bad review. Not responding at all or taking a long time to respond gives the impression that the company is uncaring, impersonal, and cold. Mistakes happen, and responding to the situation quickly and confidently shows the customer that you are interested in resolving and providing a solution.
Resolve Issue Privately and Directly
Apologizing and seeking to explain the situation can often go along way when it comes to a negative review. If the customer only seems to be getting louder and is not interested in any response, it’s best to offer to either email or call directly to resolve the situation, rather than continuing a back-and-forth conversation online for all potential clients to see.
Offer Immediate Contact Information
Equally as important as responding quickly and directly, it’s also important to offer contact information that is genuine and to the point. If you can’t resolve the situation through a private email or phone call right away, let the customer know that you will respond within a certain time frame and most importantly, stick to it.
Learn From Their Feedback
The most important part of this process is seeking to actively learn from the bad review and implement change if necessary. Sometimes this can seem like the difficult, time-consuming, and unwanted thing to do. However, implementing needed change is vital for any business to grow and progress. Seeing negative reviews as a great way to help propel the business in the right direction makes it easier to see the reviews in a positive, helpful light.
All businesses can reap large benefits from responding to reviews, especially negative reviews. They provide the perfect opportunity to show genuine concern, offer outstanding customer service, and potentially retain a customer for life. Responding to reviews can become a huge business generator, and with careful planning and follow through large benefits can be reaped for your law firm.
