8 tips for getting the most out of negative customer reviews – t3n – Digital Pioneers

We all know this: mistakes or misunderstandings happen during the customer journey, and negative comments from frustrated customers inevitably appear on various rating portals. Don’t panic now and keep calm, because negative reviews can also bring important benefits to businesses if used properly.

Proactive and effective review management has a significant impact on a company’s online reputation, improving customer experience and ultimately increasing sales.

Even if it’s the most natural and easiest reaction: don’t ignore negative comments! They don’t go away on their own, and at worst, they can scare off new customers. Also, an impulsive and hasty response to a review is not recommended.

Instead, we should look at it in a different light: unhappy customers took time to express criticism and thus create space for communication – we should use this to point misunderstandings squarely and ease anger. Above all, it is a valuable opportunity to show that we care about our customers.

The truth is, it is much easier and more fun to respond to positive customer feedback. But it is also a fact that quick comments on negative reviews can do more than that. Many complaints stem from a small oversight and can be resolved with a prompt and professional response. Brands get a chance to shake things up again and perhaps win back customers.

At the same time, a negative review without an answer can give potential customers a wrong impression of the company, which can be avoided with proper review management. Once a solution is found, many users decide to delete or improve their rating.

A promising strategy here could be to prioritize according to “star ratings”: 1- and 2-star reviews are answered within 24 hours, 3-star ratings within 48 hours, and everything above within 72 hours. The following applies: Negative reviews should always take priority!

In most cases, consumers who leave negative reviews online are ultimately hoping for a solution to their concerns – our proactive support is a valuable way to show them we truly care.

From an apology to a freebie or voucher for a store visit, the solution can vary greatly depending on the complaint. However, it is important for customers to feel understood and valued.

Standardized templates for responding to reviews in a consistent manner are useful for planning responses and saving time. However, especially in the case of negative reviews, the goal should always be a personal and well-thought-out answer.

By responding to reviews on a case-by-case and individual basis, companies also foster more effective communications with other (potential) customers. Because many consumers make purchase decisions based on ratings. A goal-oriented response to negative feedback should always address customers directly by name, offer an apology, and be empathetic, honest, and responsible. It should provide a satisfactory solution and ideally end with a positive and humane sentence. This is how we show people that we take their feedback seriously and that a solution can be found together.

It is also important to rank high in the search engine results. Google and Bing and Co algorithms consider individual and balanced digital interaction with customers. However, if you only respond to negative reviews, they are more likely to appear before the more recent, positive reviews. To prevent this, it is best to respond to all comments.

Even when responding to a negative review, the brand image should not be forgotten. After all, it was the values ​​and identity of this brand that made customers decide to buy. When answering, brand values ​​need to be emphasized again and thus impress potential new customers.

So review management should also be a consistent and strategic part of brand management at the local level. The be-all and end-all of strategy success is uniform branding guidelines, agreement on a corresponding message and consistent tone when responding to all reviews.

While no one likes to admit defeat, sometimes there is no solution to a negative customer experience. It is important to acknowledge and accept this upfront.

If the conversation continues anyway, further communication should be moved from the public platform to an offline channel (such as a private message or phone call). However, in some cases, additional responses from the company can only fuel more discontent. In any case, the team must assess the situation and decide whether further discussion can lead to a solution or whether it is better not to.

In order to be able to respond effectively to negative reviews, all employees involved in the review process should always know their tasks and responsibilities and have appropriate solutions ready.

In particular, if multiple people are responsible for responding to customer reviews (eg in very large companies), it makes sense to introduce specific workflows. In this way, the audit management process of the different sites and the compliance associated with the brand strategy remains under control.

In the end, negative customer reviews (rather than positive ratings!) provide valuable insights for improving the customer experience—whether it’s in one location or across the entire business.

For example, a particular store may receive more negative reviews than other stores. Thus site-related problems can be identified directly and concrete measures of information can be derived from the evaluations in order to improve the customer’s journey on that site.

Reviews also provide useful insights into consumer attitudes and behaviour. They can be observed in the long term and used to make informed decisions or predict future patterns.

All in all, these eight steps emphasize one thing above all else: It is absolutely essential that we clearly show customers that we hear them and that we care about them. Proactive review management is an essential part of a successful hybrid customer journey and as such must be firmly integrated into a company’s brand strategy.

Thanks to negative reviews, we get a lot of valuable information for improvement and at the same time the opportunity to enter into a dialogue with our customers.

Lawrence Capdeville

Lawrence Capdeville He is the VP of Global Customer Success Total. A hybrid customer experience platform supports companies along the entire customer journey – from online search to store visit to recommendations to brand loyalty.