An online marketing agency should assist clients in all aspects of their business, including the most challenging parts, such as advising them on responding to harmful product or service reviews. Check out the Best info about Lokales Marketing.
Until recently, unhappy customers had few options for how loudly they could express their dissatisfaction with a company; however, with the advent of popular review sites, it has become increasingly easy for a customer to be heard.
A quick search on the internet will reveal dozens of well-meaning business owners who, in an attempt to protect their company’s reputation, have inadvertently caused a PR disaster by engaging in arguments with disgruntled customers.
The Four Reviewer Types and How to Respond to Them
It’s a good idea to try to resolve issues with dissatisfied customers before responding to them online. Once the problem has been resolved, it is often easier to issue a public response, which is naturally more flattering to your company because it demonstrates that you respond quickly to unhappy customers.
With that in mind, here are the four most common types of reviewers and how to deal with them effectively.
The truthful reviewer
This type of reviewer has legitimately used the company’s product or service and found it to fall short of their expectations.
How to respond: Acknowledge a mistake and thank the customer for bringing the problem to light. A simple apology and, in some cases, a gesture of goodwill can go a long way toward not only appeasing the customer but also making your company look good to potential customers who read the response.
Avoiding responding to this type of review is usually a mistake, as it can quickly turn off potential customers if they see that you ignore customer complaints. Never argue with people’s honest opinions because everyone has the right to their own opinion, and disagreeing with a customer in this manner makes your company appear argumentative.
The erroneous reviewer
This type of reviewer used the company’s product or service, but due to an incorrect assumption or misunderstanding, they expected something that the company never promised in the first place.
How to respond: We believe that the best approach is to thank the customer for providing feedback and explaining the misunderstanding from the company’s perspective. Then outline the measures (if any) being put in place to avoid customers being confused in the future.
Allowing this type of review to go unanswered can make your company appear prone to producing false promises, and arguing over minor details can make the company appear erratic and unprofessional.
The unidentified reviewer
This type of reviewer can sometimes be pretty vague, almost to the point of appearing to have never been a customer. But, of course, this is sometimes because they have never been a customer!
How to React: Avoid competitors who leave false or defamatory reviews. We always advise our clients to avoid responding to trolls and instead report the review as violating the site’s terms of service. Never feed the trolls by accusing them of dishonesty; doing so only makes your company appear crooked.
However, suppose the review was done honestly, and insufficient information was provided to identify the customer. In that case, we recommend apologizing and requesting that the customer contact the company privately to provide more details so that the company can try to make amends.
The irrational reviewer
This is the most challenging review type because no matter how reasonable you are with this previous customer, they will never be satisfied. They are frequently unsatisfied until your company’s brand is named live on national television.
How to respond: It’s sometimes worthwhile to apologize to this type of customer and explain the steps taken to resolve the issue.
However, we occasionally see responses that only aggravate this disgruntled reviewer. If this is the case, you could respond by simply outlining the facts from your perspective and the steps taken to resolve the issue. Instead, this message is more for future customers to see that the company is reasonable and logical while the reviewer is unreasonable.
We strongly advise against engaging in arguments with this type of reviewer, and we recommend against responding to any follow-up messages from this reviewer. A long, drawn-out discussion with this type of reviewer will give the negative issue more airtime.
Considering feedback
People who leave negative reviews online are often very passionate because they have gone through the trouble of writing a negative review. However, they are always the dissatisfied minority of your customer base, so keep this in mind when responding to reviewers by mentioning that poor customer service is unusual.
The other side of dealing with negative customer reviews is taking their feedback to improve customer service. Avoiding them first is the best way to deal with negative customer reviews!
New company review sites appear every week. In such an openly opinionated review landscape, it’s important to remember that the voice you choose to use when responding to negative reviews should be one you’d be proud to use for unhappy customers and future customers.
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