A satisfied customer tells about their experience to 3 friends; an unsatisfied person – to at least 15 people. Even worse is if they leave a negative review that everyone can see. It can reach millions upon millions of people via the internet.
Reasons to receive negative feedback are numerous and they may have nothing to do with the quality of your product at service at all. It may be a misunderstanding like in the case when a client reached out with the request: ”I need help with my homework”. No matter how helpful you are, if you have a book-selling business, you just can’t solve someone’s biology assignment. Also, it can be because of a bad mood of a person leaving the review. Or a hundred other reasons, still not connected to you.
One thing you can do is to keep public negative feedback to a minimum. You must learn how to constructively respond to negative feedback.
How to respond to negative feedback
Negative feedback is beneficial for you. It will help you and your company to grow faster than the competition.
But, disgruntled customers can take it to the internet, and everyone on Facebook, Google My Business, and Yelp will see their one-star rating as well as their negative experience with your company.
This doesn’t mean that you have to lose your brand online. Negative reviews can be an opportunity to show your concern for customer satisfaction.
Here are 7 proven ways to deal with negative feedback.
1. Address the Customer by His Name
You may not realize it, but it is a simple psychological trick. Although it is possible to start your reply with a quick hello or “Dear Sir”, this isn’t as effective as writing the person’s name.
Unless you are running anonymous surveys, the name and email address of the person in the review is given. This makes it easy to locate them. Referring to their feedback and saying their name will show them that this is not a pre-written response. They are talking to someone who will take care of their problem.
If the reviewer is able to resolve their issue with your business, they will be more open to discussing it if you approach them in a friendly and professional manner.
2. Say Sorry to the Customer
You might think that the customer isn’t knowledgeable enough to write a review. Perhaps they were not in the best mood or you didn’t offer enough service. You might think they are a competitor or a reviewer.
You have to apologize to them, no matter what.
3. We sympathize with the Customer’s problem
As in the previous step you don’t necessarily have to agree with the customer to understand his frustration. Think about yourself as they are. You expect great service but it’s way below what you had hoped for. It can ruin your day.
It is important to show sympathy for someone who has left a negative comment. You should let them know you sympathize with their feelings so that they can move on to the next conversation.
Someone may be writing a review if they feel that the experience at your company has made their day miserable. An angry person needs to hear words of sympathy. If they can hear you, they might be more open to understanding.
4. Declare That You Solve the Problem
Sometimes, reviews that don’t like your company are only motivated by preferences.
Many other people had the same problem as you. Your customer service rep. was rude. Shipping took longer than expected. The product was damaged. The customer created a review rather than talking to support. If that is the case you must help the reviewer. It’s not enough to take the matter to your customer service team. Now, the review is up and you need to react.
For someone looking to buy from your company, it is a good sign to see you responding to random reviews offering assistance. It shows potential customers that you care about users and are capable of resolving any issues.
Mention reaching to the reviewer for help will reduce the negative impact of a review.
5. Send a gift
You can also ask for a second chance to give your reviewer a positive impression of your business. Offer a gift to the client if they had a problem that is not common.
It may be a discount or free shipping, depending upon the type of business. The problem that they complained about may be a frequent one. It is not a good idea to ask them to fix the problem again if this is the case.
6. Ask the customer to modify the review
Did you resolve the issue the reviewer encountered? Do they love your business and come back for a discount? Now it’s time for them to amend the review.
Asking about it in public is not a good idea. Don’t be pushy. If someone likes your business, and they give it another chance, then they are more likely to be willing to do it again.
It doesn’t matter if they don’t change it. You’re familiar with the majority of review-related public relations.
7. Don’t listen to Negative Reviews
Some reviewers don’t like the business. It could be the price, style, or one negative experience that they had with your business. This customer reacted negatively to a restaurant, even though she liked their food.
Their opinion is final and you can’t change it. It’s not necessary to do so. You can respond with grace, apologize, or focus on positive reviews rather than changing negative ones.
Why it is important to receive Customer Feedback?
It can be difficult to use social media to get feedback on your business. Although it is easier to collect feedback through your own social media account or on specialized sites, it is still reactive, not proactive.
Get feedback to monitor your performance. This will ensure that negative reviews on the web do not appear. It’s easier than you think to get feedback from your clients. You can send your customer a CSAT questionnaire in the channel they use the most.
It’s not intrusive, and it doesn’t disrupt customer experiences by asking for time to do a complete test. It could also reveal if you have an issue with your website, or internal processes. Focus on solving customer problems early and use a variety of customer happiness metrics. You might have to deal less with negative feedback from the public.
Negative feedback can be addressed to improve brand reputation, build customer loyalty and engagement, and boost financial results.
