It's 2013 everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the festive holidays and have made your New Year's resolutions. :)
Now that we are in 2013, I would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year. Hope 2013 brings you good health, joy, happiness and prosperity. All the very best for the year ahead.
The first post of this year is by our regular guest author, Wayne Barker explaining how your business can cope with negative online reviews. I hope you find the post helpful and as always, don't forget to leave us your valued comments.
How Your Business Can Cope With Bad Online Reviews
In this technological age of social networking, not only is a public bad review seen by the business it's directed at, but it can also be seen by anyone and everyone with access to the internet. Worryingly, studies show that 4 out of 5 consumers changed their minds about a purchase after reading a negative review about it online.
No longer can a company ignore a bad review and hope for the best, here in this article are some practical and pre-emptive steps to take when dealing with a less than complimentary review.
1. Plan your response
Don't respond to a review unless you can fix the problems that are being raised, it's a fact that you just cannot please everyone so don't waste any time trying to. If you do have the power to improve the issue, offer an apology and a promise for an improved consuming experience for the aggravated customer as well as an assurance for all future customers that the issue will not arise again. Be sure to avoid personal feelings when responding to a review, you are coming from the point of view of a business!
2. Get to know local review websites
There are thousands upon thousands of review websites on the internet, and if you understand how these review websites work, you can really use them to your advantage. Different sites allow you to interact with reviews in different ways. Some sites will let you respond to reviews, some will let you delete bad reviews and others may even let you edit reviews. Spend some time researching popular review websites and get a good understanding how they work. Check them regularly for customers feedback and even check to see if you can be notified by email when you are mentioned in a review.
3. Learn to work bad reviews in your favour
Bad reviews are going to happen whether you like it or not but if you can manipulate your words and create constructive criticism, you can do yourself a lot of favours. It's vital to acknowledge that your customer is upset so don't brush that aside when responding to a bad review, but try and get the customer to see the story from your point of view as a professional. Not only will apology placate the customer making the complaint, but it will assure other potential customers that you listen to their feedback and work with it.
4. Don't ignore a bad review
Do not assume that a bad review won't be seen and that you can forget about it easily; the popularity of social networking means that negative publicity can spread like wildfire. The best way to control a bad review like this is to nip it in the bud before it gets heated; placate the upset customer with some calming words and hopefully calm down any hype that was building. Not only will you save yourself any misery but you might even gain some business from those whom respect your work ethic.
This post was written by Wayne Barker for Hallmark Consumer - experts in e-fulfilment.
Would you like to guest post on the blog? Please use the Contact tab above to get in touch if you write business-related articles or articles on the topics of Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Marketing/Optimisation (SMO), Blogging, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Related articles:
Why A Bad Business Reputation Is Harder To Ditch Than Ever Before
What Is Online PR And How Can It Help Your Business?
Are You Speaking The Right Language With Your Customers
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to +1 or share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
See you back here on Friday with a new post!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
Now that we are in 2013, I would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year. Hope 2013 brings you good health, joy, happiness and prosperity. All the very best for the year ahead.
The first post of this year is by our regular guest author, Wayne Barker explaining how your business can cope with negative online reviews. I hope you find the post helpful and as always, don't forget to leave us your valued comments.
How Your Business Can Cope With Bad Online Reviews
In this technological age of social networking, not only is a public bad review seen by the business it's directed at, but it can also be seen by anyone and everyone with access to the internet. Worryingly, studies show that 4 out of 5 consumers changed their minds about a purchase after reading a negative review about it online.
No longer can a company ignore a bad review and hope for the best, here in this article are some practical and pre-emptive steps to take when dealing with a less than complimentary review.
1. Plan your response
Don't respond to a review unless you can fix the problems that are being raised, it's a fact that you just cannot please everyone so don't waste any time trying to. If you do have the power to improve the issue, offer an apology and a promise for an improved consuming experience for the aggravated customer as well as an assurance for all future customers that the issue will not arise again. Be sure to avoid personal feelings when responding to a review, you are coming from the point of view of a business!
2. Get to know local review websites
There are thousands upon thousands of review websites on the internet, and if you understand how these review websites work, you can really use them to your advantage. Different sites allow you to interact with reviews in different ways. Some sites will let you respond to reviews, some will let you delete bad reviews and others may even let you edit reviews. Spend some time researching popular review websites and get a good understanding how they work. Check them regularly for customers feedback and even check to see if you can be notified by email when you are mentioned in a review.
3. Learn to work bad reviews in your favour
Bad reviews are going to happen whether you like it or not but if you can manipulate your words and create constructive criticism, you can do yourself a lot of favours. It's vital to acknowledge that your customer is upset so don't brush that aside when responding to a bad review, but try and get the customer to see the story from your point of view as a professional. Not only will apology placate the customer making the complaint, but it will assure other potential customers that you listen to their feedback and work with it.
4. Don't ignore a bad review
Do not assume that a bad review won't be seen and that you can forget about it easily; the popularity of social networking means that negative publicity can spread like wildfire. The best way to control a bad review like this is to nip it in the bud before it gets heated; placate the upset customer with some calming words and hopefully calm down any hype that was building. Not only will you save yourself any misery but you might even gain some business from those whom respect your work ethic.
This post was written by Wayne Barker for Hallmark Consumer - experts in e-fulfilment.
Would you like to guest post on the blog? Please use the Contact tab above to get in touch if you write business-related articles or articles on the topics of Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Marketing/Optimisation (SMO), Blogging, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Related articles:
Why A Bad Business Reputation Is Harder To Ditch Than Ever Before
What Is Online PR And How Can It Help Your Business?
Are You Speaking The Right Language With Your Customers
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to +1 or share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
See you back here on Friday with a new post!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
great article. dealing with bad online reviews is a crucial task and your tips makes it little simple. Thank you.
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