Sometimes, brands and companies can face negative online reviews from their customers and others. It could either be because of lack of satisfaction on customer’s end (maybe they are not happy with your product or service), or it could be because of the company being involved in something controversial.
The point is, with the kind of reach and availability that social media has today you cannot stop people from posting such things.
However, to ensure that such harsh and spiteful reviews do not harm the reputation of your company severely, you can definitely deal with them tactfully by employing smart content marketing solutions.
Dealing With Negative Reviews
1. Face The Music
Remember all those times you posted Thank You messages, and other words of gratitude to each of the happy customers who praised you? Now, similarly, apologize to people for any inconvenience you may caused to them. Humility, always works well in the online world. A courteous apology will help you win some brownie points with your loyalists as well as those sitting on the fence.
So, face the negative comments, say sorry, connect with users individually, find out what is causing them grief. A good idea would be to take the conversation offline, by suggesting that the dissatisfied customers send in a mail at a specific address and you’ll have someone call them to resolve their issue.
2. Be Alert
Sometimes, it is possible that competitors are deliberately trying to leave malicious remarks about you here and there with fake identities, such that people choose them over you.
The best way to sort that out is to be alert, and be aware of what all is being said about you online. You need to keep a constant check on your online reputation to sort out rumors, false stories, controversies etc. A good way to do that is to set up Google Alerts for your business name. This way whenever your business’ name comes up in any blog, you’ll know.
In case you suspect your competitors of placing malicious reviews, send in a complaint to the website hosting the said remarks. Most third part sites have mechanisms to figure out if multiple reviews are being posted from the same or a limited number of ip addresses.
A very important thing that brands must realize is that at the end of the day it’s the customer experience they offer that matters . If they continue to offer poor service or products, then no matter how hard their social media team works, they will continue facing such remarks.