The Best Way to Respond to Negative Reviews

How you respond to negative reviews from customers not only affects your store’s image, but also its bottom line.

If you ignore the complaint, or are negative back, you’ll lose their business forever. And this, in turn, will make other customers wary of doing business with you.

That’s why it’s important to remain polite and amicable and focused on a solution. This will allow you to keep control, master the situation, and boost your business image as a result.

Take the criticism seriously

Read the review carefully. In other words, “listen” to their complaint objectively.

Also, you want to acknowledge the customer’s feedback as soon as possible. You don’t have to have a solution yet, but you do need to clearly communicate that you understand their grievance and are working on fixing it.

Negative feedback always has its reasons. It often brings to light certain problematic areas in a product or service that need improving. And so it can be quite constructive.

Show them you value their opinion

Don’t be defensive when you respond to negative reviews. Letting emotions get in the way will likely lead to an argumentative or confrontational situation with the customer.

And you don’t want that.

Instead, know that they cared enough to take the time to vent. And that, in effect, they are “asking” you to resolve their problem, albeit gruffly.

Thoughtfully responding to criticism shows customers you value their time and opinion. It can also serve as a catalyst for giving your business a second chance.

Summary

It’s not hard to see that the best way to respond to negative reviews is to do so without taking it personally. In fact, it’s the only way to begin regaining an unhappy customer’s trust and perhaps even their business.

Ultimately, your response to their situation has a ripple effect on all of your customers. That’s because consumers often rely on the opinions of others when making purchases and, moreover, they look at the responses of sellers to customer concerns.