Tips for Responding to Bad Business Reviews
Reviews are extremely important for your small business. Whether you want people to come in the door or are looking to book services for your clients, other customer experiences are vital to booking new clients.
Generally, when you ask for reviews, you are going to find you get customers from either end of the spectrum: those extremely grateful and excited about your business or those who wouldn’t wish your business on their worst enemy.
Yes, asking for business or product reviews is scary and overwhelming. It’s your reputation and depending on what you sell, even one bad review can sway a potential client. Here’s the thing: it’s not the customer’s experience that scares away new customers - it’s how you respond to that experience.
How you respond is going to make all the difference.
Tips for Responding to Bad Reviews
Do it publicly.
Yes, I said that. Respond to the bad review on whatever platform that it was published on. Any reputable review platform is going to allow you to respond publicly (and ps, they want you to!).
Don’t engage in a back and forth.
It’s not going to look good if you get into an online battle with an unhappy customer. If you’re concerned, the person will get defensive with a response because the original review was truly unkind. Then give a teaser of what you’d like to do for the person and ask them to DM you or call the shop immediately.
For instance, you could say, “We regret that your experience with us was anything less than satisfactory. We’d like to discuss options for a refund or a discount toward a future purchase, please give us a call and ask for Jenny. Or you can DM us your contact information and we will reach out to you at a time convenient for you.”
Stand your ground and defend your business.
The saying is ‘the customer is always right’, but let’s face it - that’s just not true. Customers are sometimes very wrong. I see it in my business now, and I saw it in every industry I have worked. But, regardless, you can’t let them think you’re winning. Sounds manipulative, but that’s just the way it is. For instance, if your service or product was executed as intended, but the customer didn’t like the end result or the experience. There is very little you’ll be able to do about that. Bottom line is, that’s ok to not be able to please everyone. Your product most likely isn’t for everyone.
A response to this review would look something like this: “We are very sorry that our [ insert product] wasn’t what you expected. We don’t currently have a product that would fit your need, but we would be happy to take the product back and give you a full refund.”
Don’t ask EVERYONE to give reviews.
A great way to avoid a lot of negative reviews is to avoid having unhappy people know you collect reviews. Extremely unhappy people will find a way, but you don’t have to be the person to show them the path. Ask loyal customers, returning customers, and extremely personable new customers to give you a review. Even if the extremely personable new customers leave a bad review, it’s probably going to be kind and understanding, rather than mean and aggressive.
Fake it until you make it.
You need to be confident and kind when you’re handling unhappy customers. You most likely aren’t going to feel that way, especially if this is one of the few bad reviews you have received. You are going to be a bundle of emotions because of the pride you feel for your business. So when you don’t feel confident, fake it. Pretend you are dealing with a loyal customer that had a rare bad experience - how would you interact with them? Do the same.
Shake it off.
In the immortal words of Taylor Swift, just shake it off. Once you’ve settled with the customer and they go their way, you go yours. You feel so much pride in your business and you may be a serious people pleaser (I know I am). But humility is important when you’re responding to bad reviews. You have to know that you won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and you won’t have something to please everyone.