Turning on your office computer at the beginning of your workday only to find a negative online review can be unsettling. You might provide thoughtful service to your customers everyday, but some will still be unsatisfied for one reason or another.
While no one ever wants to receive a negative review, we’re here to tell you… it’s not the end of the world, either! Your future customers read Yelp reviews before making most of their purchasing decisions, but a negative review or even a handful of negative reviews won’t kill your business.
In fact, there are a few ways that having negative reviews on your Yelp page actually helps your reputation.
They make you look well-rounded… and trustworthy.
The truth is that you’ll never be able to make every customer happy. (Again, it’s okay.) That’s not to say that you can’t bring them back from a negative place with a little clarification. But potential customers build more trust for a business when they read both positive and negative reviews. It makes you look real. When they read only positive reviews, 30% of those potential customers become suspicious of censorship. Having both types of reviews make you look comfortable with your reputation being (mostly) good.
They give you an opportunity to improve customer service.
Before you reprimand your office manager for a negative review about customer service at the front desk, remember one important thing. Negative reviews aren’t necessarily true. Sometimes they’re just a result of a misunderstanding. But use the information from any negative scenario described in a review and focus on implementing policies in your office to help minimize issues. Your customer service can always improve, and reviews are a great place for constructive feedback.
They allow you to highlight the positive aspects of your business (again).
Your response to a negative review can do two things: 1) Give you a forum to mention the positives about your business for potential customers; 2) Give you a chance to repair your relationship with a disgruntled customer. Potential customers will respect a genuine apology and appreciate additional information about you. Plus if you invite the negative reviewer to resolve the issue privately, both parties could come to an agreeable outcome.
They can help guide your SEO and content marketing plan.
Often times, negative reviews include misunderstandings, expectations that weren’t fulfilled, desires for more offerings, and additional questions. Knowing the topics that your customers care about can only make your marketing efforts stronger. Write blog articles and social media posts to provide more refined customer education.
While you probably don’t want negative reviews, your business can live through them and even turn them into positives. Also… we’d be happy to help you start writing your responses. Contact your Customer Success Team if you have any questions.
