Today, brands and influencers can communicate more easily with their customers or followers through social media. Thanks to Facebook, for example, your customers can contact you directly, which makes things easier. However, sometimes customers may be dissatisfied—whether due to a mistake on your part or for some other reason. In any case, they may leave negative reviews on your social media pages or on your Google My Business listing. In these situations, how should you handle negative reviews? Let’s find out in the rest of this article.
What impact do negative reviews have on online reputation?
As a business or influencer, customer or member reviews (in general) continue to have a major impact on youronline visibility. Indeed, when they are positive, they can have an extremely favorable and beneficial effect on strengthening andimproving your image. However, negative reviews severely undermine the credibility of your services and, by extension, your brand.
On Google My Business, negative reviews or comments canlower your average rating. You can therefore understand that your website visitors will interpret this as a strong signal that your business lacks efficiency and professionalism—regardless of whether these reviews are justified or not! Your online reputation will consequently be tarnished and weakened. It is precisely for these reasons that you need to learn how to respond to these negative comments with tact and subtlety in order to handle them as effectively as possible.
How should you handle negative reviews on social media?
Social media is a platform where customers can publicly and freely express their dissatisfaction. But on social media, things tend to escalate very quickly. It’s therefore essential that when you receive a negative comment or review—whether justified or not—you take it seriously. But how can you handle these situations without causing negative repercussions? Discover the best practices to follow.
1. Respond quickly, but not immediately
Aquick responseis undoubtedly the best way to address a negative review. You could choose to bury your head in the sand and remain silent. But that’s the worst possible reaction. Because, of course, the customer or user who posted the review will expect you to respond. But even if you’re in the right, your silence will only reinforce the negative review and automatically make you look at fault. And that will be a major problem for your brand image!
You certainly need to respond quickly, but not in the heat of the moment. In other words,don’t be impulsive inyour response. Instead of resolving the situation, you risk giving subjective and disproportionate responses. To put it plainly, you should respond to negative reviewsfairly quickly, but take the time to collect your thoughts first.
Data has shown that the majority of customers want a response to their commentswithin 7 days. We therefore recommend that you wait until the next day to address a negative comment, once you’ve reviewed it. After all, on social media, people expect a response within hours, not days. By doing so, you’ll be able to respond in a composed, calm, courteous, polite, and professional manner.
But there’s one thing you absolutely must keep in mind:Negative reviews aren’t always a bad thing. When you handle them well, you can even turn them into a positive and strengthen your company’s credibility with your prospects.
When it comes to a justified negative review
After reviewing the customer’s history, if you realize you’ve made a mistake, you must acknowledge it. After all, as the saying goes, “the customer is king.” Based on this principle, accept that the customer’s complaint is entirely legitimate. When you’ve made a mistake, truly admit it.
As we mentioned, take a step back and respond quickly, taking care to be courteous, humble, and, above all, polite. So don’t ignore a member’s or customer’s dissatisfaction—apologize. Your customer needs to feel that you take their complaint—and them as a person—seriously. They’ll appreciate this, and more often than not, it helps resolve the conflict without things escalating into an argument.
When it comes to a malicious negative review
Negative reviews aren’t always justified. Of course, it’s now commonplace to encounter abusive, insulting, unfounded, defamatory, or malicious comments on social media. It’s these negative reviews that, if left unchecked, can end up seriously harming a company or leading to negative buzz.
It’s therefore essential to be careful about how you respond. Mainly because your potential customers won’t focus on the customer’s review, but ratheron your reaction. So, if you respond the right way, this conversation could help you gain new followers!
So, in these situations involving unfair criticism, take a step back, be kind and compassionate, and above all, apologize. You can even add a touch of humor to your response to defuse the situation. Never give in to anger, and don’t be aggressive or rude—even if that’s not at all easy.
2. Eliminating negative reviews: Is it a good idea?
On social media, you have the ability to delete comments you find inappropriate, since you have technical control over your pages. So it’s perfectly normal to be tempted to delete a negative review from your social media accounts. Who wouldn’t think of doing that? Such a reaction would be understandable, but it wouldn’t be the best option. Admittedly, negative reviews aren’t flattering, but deleting justified and sincere negative reviews wouldn’t be either.
In addition, by leaving them online, other internet users may be convinced of your honesty and the importance you place on people. Just be sure to be accommodating and attentive to your customer and torespond constructively.
However, in the case of abusive negative reviews—such as unwarranted insults or racist remarks—you can delete these reviews. This will help you avoid any escalation. But in the case of defamatory remarks, your response should be slightly different. This is a criminal offense punishable by law. So don’t play into your detractor’s hands; remain humble and courteous. Only by maintaining this attitude will you be able to set the record straight.
In addition, it would be a good idea to save a screenshot of what was posted. And since you’ll be responding publicly, all other prospective and former customers will truly understand what this is really about. After that, you can leave the rest to your legal counsel to pursue legal action. You don’t have to put up with the bad behavior oftrolls(internet users who stir up hostile debates by posting provocative messages)!
3. Don't take comments personally, and respond in a personalized way
It’s certainly not easy to stay calm in the face of negative reviews. But as we’ve pointed out, you need to show empathy. Above all, you mustremainOBJECTIVE. Don’t let anger or frustration get the better of you.So don’t take negative reviews personally. The best way to do this is to start by putting yourself in the user’s shoes to understand their point of view.
On top of that, you should do everything you can to respond to the user in apersonalized way. So avoid using boilerplate messages and truly show them that you’re taking their feedback seriously—even if it’s negative. To do this, be sure to at least mention their first or last name in your response. Personalize your reply to show that you’re genuinely sorry.
In addition, to avoid public confrontations, suggest to the customer or member that they continue the discussion in private—eithervia private message, email, or phone, if possible. Whether in private or publicly, it is essential to resolve the issue caused by the dissatisfaction of the user who posted the negative review.
4. Solve the problem
The surest way to put an end to these negative reviews is to resolve the issue they raise. Whether they’re justified or not, by providing your customer withan appropriate solution, they’ll be satisfied. By listening with a friendly and professional attitude, you’ll be able to easily identify the problem and resolve the issue. Once their dissatisfaction has been addressed, you can rebuild a strong relationship.
If, for example, a product is malfunctioning, you can suggest that the customer return it. If the product is indeed found to be defective, you can then exchange it. On the other hand, if the customer is simply unable to get their device to work, clearly explain how to do so.
In short, try to resolve your customer's issue and reassure them that you've taken their feedback into account. After that, they might even update their negative review and turn it into a positive one!
See also: Local SEO: How to Use Google Maps for Your Business
5. Implement preventive measures
To minimize the risks associated with negative user reviews, you need to make predictions. But how? Let's take a look at two key techniques you should implement.
Set rules
Whether you’re an influencer or a brand, it’s always a good idea to plan for potential crises. You can do this by drafting a code of conduct and posting it on your various social media pages. This is a simple yet effective way to let your community know that any defamatory, offensive, or inappropriate comments will be deleted without exception.
This actually allows you to limit your liability. But it also—and most importantly—lets you enforce rules to limit negative comments. That way, when you’re faced with abusive or inappropriate negative reviews, you can remove them automatically and with peace of mind. Smart move! Also, try to update your guidelines regularly, learning from each new experience.
Take Advantage of Social Listening
On social media, you can set up social media monitoring. This is essentially a way to anticipate negative incidents—but also to address them as quickly as possible when you haven’t been able to prevent them. To do this, you don’t need to monitor every activity on your social media accounts around the clock. All you have to do is let social media monitoring tools handle this task for you.
In other words,social listening platformswill act as your ears on various social media platforms. Among these platforms are Reddit, Geopiq, Mention, Google Alerts, Alerti, and many others. These tools are either paid or free, but they’re all effective depending on your needs. So try setting them up to stay on the lookout for negative reviews.
6. Respond to positive reviews
To handle negative reviews even more effectively, you certainly shouldn’t ignore the positive ones. These show that, despite a few negative reviews, your visitors appreciate what you do. It would therefore be disrespectful to remain indifferent to the positive comments left on your Facebook page. So show these many customers that you care by thanking them with warm, personal responses. This is, in fact, one of the best ways to build customer loyalty and strengthen your community.
How do you handle negative reviews on Google?
On your Google My Business page, you also need to learn how to handle negative reviews. The process isn’t that different from managing your social media pages. In fact, everything is public on Google, just like on social media. The only difference is that on your Google page, you can’t delete negative reviews. At least, you don’t have the authority to do so, since Google has technical control over your business’s page.
When you’re faced with an abusive review, you can take legal action. But if you also want Google to remove the comment in question, you’ll need to be very patient. This is because you’ll need to clearly demonstrate, with supporting evidence, that the comment violates the platform’s rules. Without this, you won’t receive their assistance. A simple, sincere negative review is therefore considered to fall within the bounds of free speech.
1. Anticipate and identify negative reviews
To minimize the damage caused by negative reviews, you need to anticipate them. To do this, anticipate potential issues and identify the negative reviews that might arise from them. This will allow you to consider them and think about how to respond. But the truth is, it’s difficult to anticipate them with precision.
That’s why you need to set up digital monitoring. If you’re a large company, your dedicated teams will serve as your monitoring system. But for smaller businesses, you can set up Google Alerts. That way, you’ll stay constantly informed about all posts related to your company. Doing so will make it easier to identify fake negative reviews.
2. Respond promptly while remaining professional and polite
Responding quickly to a negative review is always the best way to handle it. You know, even on Google, most of the techniques for managing negative reviews on social media apply here as well. So, if you want to convince the user to remove their review, you need to respond without delay. You should also respond while always keeping best practices in mind.
Be courteous and professional
Whether you feel the customer’s comments are truly hurtful or unwarranted, you should not react immediately in the heat of the moment. Stay calm and don’t take the negative feedback personally. Respond to the customer with professionalism, respect, and courtesy. As we’ve discussed, show genuine interest in their concerns and address all the points they’ve raised—doing so with tact and composure. Also, don’t forget to thank your customer for their feedback and personalize your response. In fact, the key to success lies in maintaininga cordial and professional attitude.
Be friendly and empathetic
When you’re faced with justified dissatisfaction, sincerely acknowledge your mistake and apologize. You need to show that you understand the user’s perspective. And to find the right solution, you can suggest that the user discuss the matter with you via private message or over the phone. This will help you reach a better understanding.
But in any case, you absolutely mustcome up with a solution that will solve the problem. This is essential!
3. Collect positive reviews on a regular basis
An excellent way to make people forget about negative reviews is to get a lot of positive ones. So be sure to provide your customers with high-quality (exemplary and effective) service. This will help you gather positive customer reviews. As a result, prospective customers will no longer place much importance on negative comments, since there will be more positive reviews from satisfied customers.
So be sure to frequently ask your loyal customers, friends, and community to attest to the quality of your services through positive reviews. And don’t forget to respond to them as well. Show your customers that their reviews matter. This is essential for your online reputation. Finally, considerhiring a Community Manager to manage your pages. They’re trained to handle negative reviews appropriately.
How to Handle Negative Reviews: A Summary
Ultimately, it’s essential to effectively manage negative reviews on social media and Google. So don’t ignore any negative reviews, never respond with anger or resentment, don’t make excuses, and don’t deny your mistakes. Furthermore, on your social media platforms, unless the review is defamatory or abusive, do not delete it, in order to avoid any escalation.
So, have you ever had to deal with negative reviews on social media or Google? If so, how did you handle it?
