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Online Review Management

Managing Online ReviewsIt is never pleasant to see negative issues concerning your business posted on the web. Here is a little advice for online review management and how to react when negative feedback happens:

Online Review Management: Stay Calm

Before reacting to a negative review or comment, allow yourself some time to cool down. It is a natural response is to get emotional when someone is attacking you on a public forum.

Never give an emotional reaction to someone online, because this can make the situation even worse. If you don’t believe this is true with online review management, you should Google: Streisand effect.

Online Review Management: Respond to the Reviewer Privately

Begin with a private response to the reviewer through the review platform or email. Many online consumer review platforms like Yahoo Local, Citysearch, and TripAdvisor will allow business owners to create responses to their customer’s reviews. For example on Yelp, business owners are allowed to respond publicly or privately. Most marketing professionals recommend using a private, diplomatic reply.

A good online review management template to follow includes these steps:

  • Introduce yourself and your role in the company.
  • Thank the reviewer for the feedback and let them know you appreciate the concern.
  • Acknowledge the complaint, and Apologize for your business not meeting expectations.
  • Explain the steps you’ve taken to resolve this problem.
  • Avoid being dismissive or too defensive.
  • Invite the disgruntled customer to return.

It’s allows best to embrace the old mantra, “The customer is always right.” Jeff Diamond, of Farmstead Wine & Cheeses, offers some good advice:

“Try to respond to every review whether positive or negative. If there is something to be learned from the reviewer, engage in dialogue this can encourage them to update their thoughts and rewrite their review.”

Online Review Management: Respond to the Reviewer Publicly

If the customer will not change the review after you’ve already privately apologized, you can consider making a public response. If there is something factually inaccurate concerning the review, write a concise response to publicly correct the facts. For example, “The reviewer stated the stores closes at 8:00 PM, but we really close at 9:30.” Don’t look at the public features as a chance to bicker over at slight errors. Instead, use it to demonstrate that you stay on top of and are interested in providing good customer service.

The majority of consumers on review sites are reading reviews, not writing them. This means business owners should approach each public comment with caution. If something is miscommunicated, there can be serious repercussions because many other potential customers will read it too. The truth is that telling your story is not as important as showing that you respond calmly when problems arise and respond promptly to customer feedback.

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