How to Respond To Negative Reviews: 6 Best Practices

Customer complaints are an inevitable portion of doing business.

And while astir customer feedback is valuable (even erstwhile negative), receiving bad reviews connected public-facing platforms tin beryllium daunting. 

In this post, we’ll show you really to respond to antagonistic reviews connected Google and different platforms. 

The extremity is to thief you mitigate immoderate harm to your brand’s estimation and moreover triumph backmost unhappy customers.

Let’s dive in.

Why You Should Respond to Negative Reviews

Taking nan clip to prosecute pinch antagonistic customer comments demonstrates your business’s dedication to customer restitution and getting things right.

This tin thief you gain backmost nan spot of disgruntled customers. But moreover much importantly, it tin thief you gain nan assurance of imaginable customers who admit your willingness to correct mistakes.

However, responding to captious reviews isn’t conscionable astir harm power and reputation management. It’s besides an opportunity to place ways to actively amended your products and customer work practices. 

In nan agelong run, taking captious feedback good tin springiness your business a important competitory advantage.

6 Tips for Responding to Negative Reviews

Wondering really to respond to a antagonistic review? Here’s what you should know.

1. Respond Quickly

Prompt responses show that your business is attentive to customer feedback.

Unhappy customers whitethorn beryllium much apt to springiness you a 2nd chance if you reside their complaints quickly. The much goodwill you foster pinch nan customer, nan amended your likelihood of winning them back.

As a rule, you should purpose to respond to antagonistic reviews wrong 7 days, if not sooner. Remember that nan longer you time off a bad remark sitting without a response, nan much clip it has to negatively sway imaginable customers and erode spot successful your brand.

But really tin you guarantee that antagonistic reviews travel to your attraction swiftly? After all, location are truthful galore directories and platforms wherever customers time off feedback.

Use an online estimation guidance tool. 

These devices way reviews and marque mentions crossed nan net and aggregate them successful 1 easy-to-review location. That way, you tin much easy spot what group are saying astir you successful existent clip aliases done scheduled reports.

For example, nan Review Management instrumentality from Semrush connects pinch your Google Business Profile, allowing you to show and respond to customer reviews from a azygous dashboard. The instrumentality besides sends you play email alerts astir immoderate antagonistic reviews you’ve received complete nan erstwhile week.

To usage nan Review Management tool, first you request to subscribe to Semrush Local. 

This will springiness you afloat entree to a suite of devices and resources (including Review Management) designed to thief your section business summation and clasp customers pinch little effort. The premium scheme starts astatine $40 per period per location. 

To do this, click “Review Management” successful nan left-hand menu.

Here, participate your business sanction successful nan hunt bar. Then prime your business from nan pre populated drop-down menu.

Next, you will get a summary of your online presence. It includes nan number of listings you request to hole and nan mean prima rating.

You will get a pop-up asking you to subscribe to Semrush Local. Click “Proceed to payment.” You will beryllium directed to a page to insert your in installments paper information.

Once you’re each group up, you tin commencement utilizing nan Review Management tool.

To select betwixt affirmative and antagonistic reviews, prime nan corresponding position successful nan top-right area of nan “Reviews” section.

The Review Management instrumentality besides provides AI-generated suggested responses for your first 5 unanswered reviews. 

Click nan “Improve” fastener to unfastened a menu. You’ll spot options to translate, simplify, aliases alteration nan reside of your reply.

2. Stay Professional

Maintaining a master reside successful your responses is essential, nary matter really rude aliases unfair you deliberation a peculiar remark whitethorn be.

Remember that different group reference nan relationship will scope their ain conclusions astir whether a fixed disapproval is reasonable. As agelong arsenic you respond pinch courtesy and respect and attraction connected nan constituent of nan complaint, you’ll coming your business successful nan champion ray possible.

Uses phrases for illustration these to convey your professionalism:

• “Thank you for bringing this to our attention”
• “We understand your concerns and are taking them seriously”
• “We admit your feedback and are committed to making this right”

For example, here’s a master consequence to a somewhat scathing customer reappraisal by nan New York Comedy Club owner. 

3. Acknowledge nan Problem

The adjacent measurement is letting nan customer cognize you’ve acknowledged their complaint.

This intends thanking them for taking nan clip to time off a review, straight addressing nan rumor they’ve raised, and validating their feelings. 

It’s imaginable to do this without needfully admitting blasted if it’s not yet clear who’s responsible.

A simple, empathetic connection tin spell a agelong measurement toward showing nan customer (and anyone other reading) that you return their feedback seriously. Like this: “We understand your vexation and we regret that your acquisition did not meet your expectations.” 

4. Take Responsibility

Taking work is important for handling a antagonistic review.

This doesn’t mean accepting blasted for things beyond your control. Rather, it intends being accountable for immoderate mistakes made connected your portion aliases opportunities to forestall akin difficulties down nan line. And showing a willingness to make amends.

For example, you mightiness opportunity thing like, “We spot wherever we fell short successful this lawsuit and are taking contiguous steps to forestall it from happening again.” This attack lets nan customer and nan nationalist cognize that you are not only alert of nan rumor but besides proactively addressing it.

To reenforce that you genuinely return what your customers opportunity to heart, it’s a bully thought to outline nan circumstantial actions your business is taking to rectify nan problem. Whether it’s further unit training, revising definite policies, aliases changing your merchandise aliases service, transparency astir really you scheme to amended tin boost people’s assurance successful your brand.

5. Apologize

The adjacent measurement is to widen your sincere apologies to nan customer for immoderate inconvenience aliases disappointment they’ve experienced.

For instance, you mightiness say, “We’re genuinely sorry that your acquisition did not unrecorded up to nan precocious standards we group for ourselves. We admit really disappointing this must person been for you. Your feedback has highlighted areas wherever we request to improve, and we’re grateful for nan opportunity to make things right.”

It’s important that your apology comes crossed arsenic authentic and circumstantial to nan customer’s stated issue. Using generic responses risks exacerbating nan customer’s frustration.

Additionally, debar making excuses aliases deflecting blasted successful your apology. Most customers admit erstwhile a business owns up to its mistakes and shows a willingness to correct them.

Here’s an illustration of a sincere and personalized apology from The Phoenician Resort successful Scottsdale.

6. Offer a Solution

The last measurement is offering nan customer a applicable and satisfying solution to nan rumor astatine hand.

An apology isn’t worthy overmuch if nan customer is near empty-handed. Offering a actual solution aliases compensation for their troubles gives you a overmuch amended chance of turning a antagonistic acquisition into a affirmative one. Moreover, it proves to others reference nan reappraisal that you mean what you opportunity erstwhile you declare to worth customer satisfaction.

The solution could impact providing a refund, replacement, discount, aliases complimentary service—whatever is astir due fixed nan context.

For example, you mightiness say, “To make it up to you, we’d for illustration to connection you a refund for your acquisition and a 20% discount connected your adjacent order. Please interaction america astatine [email address] aliases telephone america astatine [phone number] truthful we tin put this for you.”

Turn Negative Reviews into Positive Testimonials

“It takes galore bully deeds to build a bully estimation and only 1 bad 1 to suffer it.”

This quote, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, accurately sums up nan fears businesses person astir antagonistic reviews of their products aliases services.

However, we’ve seen that online disapproval of your marque tin beryllium an opportunity to publically showcase your committedness to customer attraction and satisfaction. 

By monitoring what group opportunity astir your marque utilizing devices for illustration Review Management and responding to antagonistic feedback successful a master and conciliatory manner, you tin move imaginable setbacks into affirmative demonstrations of your brand’s values.