With so much competition on the market and businesses fighting for their share of the pie, it is a true challenge to maintain a great reputation and keep customers happy.
If you’ve been in business long enough, you’re bound to receive a negative customer value review.
However, if a customer has taken the time to create a negative review of your brand or business, is that necessarily a bad thing?
Negative customer reviews are often considered a bad thing for companies. But, if handled correctly, you can use them to your company’s advantage.
What is customer value?
Customer value is a concept that’s all around us: it’s the reason we do business with some companies and not others, the reason we pick one restaurant over another when we’re looking for a meal, and the reason we choose one airline over another when we’re booking a flight.
It’s also the intangible thing that every company strives to create and provide to their customers, and thus, it is the lifeblood of any business or organisation.
There are many different facets of customer value, but ultimately it comes down to satisfying your customers’ needs at the lowest possible cost.
This means providing them with goods and services that are worth more than what you charge for them. But how do you measure what your customers really value? And how can you get to know your customers so well that you can create a product or service that meets their needs in just the way they want it?
When trying to understand customer value, it’s important to remember that people place different values on different things. People may have different values related to price versus quality or convenience versus speed. To find out what your customers value most, it’s important to receive honest reviews.
The importance of reviews for a business
The importance of reviews for a business cannot be overstated. Reviews on websites such as Yelp, Google, TrustPilot and TripAdvisor are now the first place that most potential customers look to when deciding whether or not a business is for them. In fact, 62% of people have admitted that reading reviews is the most influential factor in their purchasing decisions.
Before businesses were able to easily find their way onto websites like these, they had to rely on word of mouth. But now, it’s much easier to get reviews posted online, and businesses that have a good review presence are almost guaranteed to attract customers.
In fact, most people read between 4-6 reviews before deciding if they trust a business.
Reviews, especially online, foster the kind of communication and transparency that can help a business grow and evolve—and can also make or break a business. Today’s consumers rely on reviews to know what businesses are worth their time and what businesses deserve to be avoided.
Additionally, reviews are important for a business because they allow you to understand who your target customers are, and how they enjoy interacting with your company. Reviews can also give you a better understanding of what people don’t like about your product or service, which allows you to improve upon it accordingly.
What do negative reviews bring to your business?
Negative reviews are a part of life. You can’t please everyone, and no matter how hard you try or how good your product is, there will always be some people who aren’t happy with your service or product.
If you’re reading this article, chances are that you’ve already had a negative review posted about your business. Maybe it was posted by someone who had an unreasonable expectation of what you could provide, or maybe they were just having a bad day when they wrote it. Whatever the case may be, here are two key things that all businesses can earn from negative reviews:
1. Credibility
Negative reviews give you credibility. Customers don’t trust businesses that only have positive reviews. Negative reviews show that you’re real and that people can actually leave feedback about their experiences with your company.
They show that your brand is important enough for them to take the time to tell others about their experiences with your company — both good and bad. This is especially true if you have an active social media presence and respond quickly to any issues or complaints in a timely manner.
2. Opportunities for improvement.
If you look at it from another perspective, negative customer reviews are a blessing in disguise. They are a goldmine of information about how to improve your business.
If you take the time to read through every single negative review, you’ll be able to identify patterns that affect multiple customers over time. Then you can use this data to make real changes that will improve your business as a whole.
Use them to identify areas where customers feel dissatisfied with your product or service. This can be anything from long wait times, pricing, poor quality products or services, etc.
Then, make changes that will make your company more appealing to future customers who may be looking for a new provider of goods or services based on their needs and expectations.
How can you respond to a negative customer review?
Reviews have power, and they can be used constructively or destructively. The impact of a review on your business depends entirely on how you respond to it. If you respond poorly, there’s a chance that you might actually hurt your reputation more than you’d hurt if you just ignored the review.
If you’re able to, contact the customer directly through the platform they used to review you. It’s important to be respectful and understanding, as well as professional. In this case, it’s best not to get into a back-and-forth argument about who was right or wrong. If a customer is upset with you, it’s likely that they have more than one complaint — so rather than focusing on one specific issue, try to understand what else is bothering them.
If you don’t have direct access to the reviewer but still want your response heard by future customers, consider posting a public response on social media or your website (or both!). This will show potential clients that you care about their experience and want to resolve any issues they may have had.
Additionally, there are several things you should take into account before responding:
1. Don’t fight fire with fire.
You don’t want to respond in a way that seems defensive, mean or angry. Instead, own up to mistakes without making excuses. You want to show that you’re taking the customer’s concerns seriously.
2. Apologize.
Don’t just apologize — apologize specifically for what went wrong. For example, “I’m sorry we didn’t send you the email you requested.” This shows that you’re taking responsibility for the issue and it’s not something the customer has to worry about happening again.
3. Be empathetic.
If there was a mistake made on your end, then let customers know that you understand how frustrating it can be when things don’t go as planned and encourage them to contact you if they have any further questions or concerns about their order. It also helps to offer some kind of compensation for any inconvenience caused by the mistake (such as a discount code or free shipping).
Ways to achieve the optimal star rating
According to Statista, the most important factor when judging a local business based on reviews is the overall star rating. If your business doesn’t have a high enough rating, people will assume it’s not worth visiting.
In order to achieve the optimal star rating, you need to get more reviews than you currently do. Here are some ways to accomplish this:
1. Encourage honest reviews.
Be transparent about the number of reviews you have received. If your business has no reviews yet, let people know that those reviews will help other customers make an informed decision about whether they want to purchase from your business.
If you’re online, make sure that your website includes a page where recent customers can leave feedback. You might also consider including a link on each invoice or receipt so that customers can easily leave feedback once they’ve made their purchase.
Last but not least, encourage current customers to leave positive reviews by thanking them for their visit or purchase and asking if there was anything you could do better next time.
2. Read your reviews and improve based on feedback.
Whether it’s one star or five, read every single review that comes through for your business. Don’t just skim them—read them thoroughly, paying attention to both what customers are saying and how they are saying it. This will help you understand their perspective and what they expect from your business.
If you’re getting a lot of negative feedback about shipping times, make sure that you’re able to ship products on time and meet deadlines. If customers are complaining about poor service, take steps to resolve these issues quickly and efficiently.
Also, keep track of common themes from these reviews so that you can address them directly in future marketing campaigns or product releases.
3. Be responsive.
It can be tempting to ignore bad press or bury your head in the sand when it comes to negative reviews, but don’t do it!
If a customer has taken time out of their day to tell you about their bad experience with your company, then you should make every effort to apologize for the inconvenience and address any concerns or issues that caused them to write the review in the first place.
This will not only make them feel better about their experience but also improve your reputation as an ethical company that listens to its customers and cares about their needs.
Also, if a customer mentions something about your business that isn’t true, respond to their review and clarify any misconceptions they may have. This will help prevent other customers from making the same mistake as well as give them more confidence in doing business with you again in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you’re still frustrated about your business’s negative reviews, we’d love to help you do some damage control. Book a free discovery call with us to explore long-term strategies to improve your business’s rankings.
Now, let’s get on with some of our most frequently asked questions.
What is a negative review?
A negative review is a statement that is not favourable about a business, product or service. They can be caused by many things, but the most common are due to bad customer service, faulty products or scams. They are valuable in helping others find a good business to buy from, and in helping businesses improve their services and products.
How do you respond to offensive reviews and comments?
The first thing to do when you encounter an offensive review is to not respond immediately—you’ll want to give yourself time to cool down and think rationally.
If the review was offensive, be sure to respond politely and professionally.
Most importantly, your response should be real: if there was a mistake made on your end, explain what happened and why; if there was a misunderstanding between you and the customer on something small, own up and let people know how you’re going to handle it moving forward.
Final thoughts
Ultimately, it is important for companies to recognize that negative customer value reviews are part of the business landscape and can be beneficial.
They happen to everyone, and they don’t have to be devastating.
Whether good or bad, reviews provide valuable feedback on what the customer thinks of your product or services. As a business owner, consider using this information as an opportunity to improve your offerings in order to retain customers and grow your business.
