Negative online customer reviews can feel like a punch to the gut, but they aren’t the business killer some make them out to be, says Megan Krause, a senior editor with Vertical Measures, a Phoenix-based digital marketing agency.
For starters, negative reviews provide you the opportunity to respond to the reviewer’s concerns and turn their impression of your business around. Take measures to make the customer happy. If you can’t turn them around, take solace in the fact that 77 percent of consumers discount reviews that are more than three months old, according to a study by BrightLocal.
In the same study, only 40 percent of respondents said they stay away from a business after reading negative reviews, down from 68 percent in 2016. In addition, negative reviews can alert you to problems you weren’t aware of. And they contribute to a search engine optimization bump, which adds legitimacy to your business.
In a recent post for Marketing Land (marketingland.com), Krause recommends these steps you can take to turn negative reviews into positive actions:
- Turn complaints into content marketing. Whatever your customers are talking negatively about in reviews can inspire new content.
- Offer help. Mine reviews for ways to amplify the level of customer service you provide.
- Use negative reviews in staff training. Alert your team to the reasons people express discontent about your business, and train your employees so that they go above and beyond in those areas.
“Next time you get a negative review, take a deep breath and relax,” says Krause. “It’s simply a chance for your business to get a new marketing win.”
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