There is little doubt that customers are the people who contribute to the success of your business and have the final word on it. It is a wrong attitude to expect that all the customers would review your product in a positive manner, and it is best to anticipate negative reviews also. In this digitized world, customers review their purchases on many platforms on the Internet.
Social Media is one accessible page, and many post their review over here. One bad review travels faster among the participants in Social media ahead of the positive ones. There is a way to handle this. One should be neither defensive nor offensive targeting the client but responding in such a way that would calm down the customer and help convert a bad client into a good one. An expert reputation management firm can help you in the removal of fake and negative content from sites like cheaterland removal and complaints board.
Following are the five strategies that would help solve this issue.
Being Proactive:
Prevention is better than cure is an adage. When there is no response or a delayed one, the customer is bound to get more upset and post more negative remarks that would hamper your business. The right way to tackle this is by creating a system where you can read all the reviews. Google Alerts, Review Trackers are handy applications that would help you notice the review on time.
Sincere Response to Customers negative review:
One wrong way to respond to a negative review is an emotional response. It is best not to attack or defend. The review may be without any base and not factual, but it is wise to appreciate the customer on whatever view he has posted online. Such a response would only make the customer happy, and he would be loyal till the end. The truth is that even if you are unable to respond appropriately, customers would appreciate your efforts.
Usage of appropriate keywords:
A response from you to a negative review should be appropriately phrased. For this purpose, one should develop such keywords that would suit any complaint. Responding in a general manner would cause more damage, and the keywords should pertain to the location and the context. It is also advisable to keep such phrases smaller, and a limited number of keywords are essential.
Respect and address the customer:
Every customer who writes a negative review would prefer to be addressed directly as an individual, and not as part of a general procedure. Therefore, it is imperative to address the customer as “Dear sir” or ‘Dear Mr. William ‘ as the case may be. The client’s first name can also be addressed since most of the reviews are on Social media, and information is more accessible.
Bearing Responsibility:
It is best to acknowledge the problem of your client without trying to excuse yourself. One can point out that the customer’s bad experience was a rare one or unfortunate and proceed to control the damage. Any customer would be happy with such a response and would turn the whole situation into a pleasant one.
Conclusion:
One can infer from the above that the first part of the strategy is to respond, and the second part is on how to respond. These measures would help build customer loyalty better than before.