How to Properly Deal with Negative Online Reviews

Your company has taken every step to adapt to modernity. It has been outfitted with social media profiles, an email marketing campaign and all the digital marketing bells and whistles. 

But it turns out there's one thing you didn't prepare for when you embraced the internet age. What is it? Negative online reviews.

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Those dreaded comments on social media profiles and Yelp pages can come as a nasty shock and a little emotional blow. But how do you deal with it properly so that the bad ratings of one or the other dissatisfied customer can be more than just a bad start to the day? 

Read on for 6 of our top tips on staying positive in the face of negative online reviews! 

1. Remember, you can't please everyone,

When it comes to dealing with negative reviews from customers, it's imperative that you realize that there has never been a business or organization that hasn't had a bad review had received. 

You may take these negative words personally, but you are far from the first to do so. With over 7.6 billion people on earth, there is bound to be someone having a bad day. There's bound to be another who had unrealistic expectations and another who caught your employees on a day off. 

It is unrealistic to expect to please everyone every day. A bad review doesn't mean the end of your business—it just means someone felt like they had something to say. Read it and accept the feedback, then move on!

2. Know that bad reviews aren't always indicative of your quality. Remember that moody customer we mentioned? The one who had a horrible day when everything kept going wrong, then your website was slow to load, or their order was taking a little long to fulfill, and it just pushed them over the edge? 

Your bad day isn't always indicative of the overall quality of your business. So don't think it is! Chances are, for every negative review you've received, there are two, three, or ten good ones to match. You probably have hordes of customers walking through your doors or inbox who are perfectly happy with their experience. 

They might just not go to Yelp to talk about it. Just because you got a bad review or two doesn't mean your business is doing something fundamentally wrong. Negative feedback is rarely, if ever, an indication of the overall quality of your business! 

3. Understand that Bad Reviews Can Build Credibility Have you ever scrolled through a list of reviews for a business and felt skeptical about those reviews? 

They are all 5 stars! Can they even be real? Did this company pay for fake reviews? The occasional bad review can actually help the credibility of your business and the credibility of the good reviews. It shows that your company has nothing to hide. 

If there is one bad review for every 10 positive reviews, your customers can easily dismiss the negative comments from that one bitter customer. In fact, a study conducted by Harvard University proves that 95% of customers are more likely to believe and trust a company that has a mix of good and negative reviews. 

Your customers know that nobody is perfect; They appreciate a company's willingness to admit this fact about themselves.

4. Remember that every bad review is an opportunity to grow Okay, we'll admit it: some bad reviews are just… bad. Some customers like to complain about the sake of the complaint. But in the case of many negative reviews, there is something you can take away and implement to improve your business and its services. 

Try to put emotions aside when reading bad reviews. If you need help with this department, visit this helpful site. Look at them objectively and ask yourself if there is anything your company can do to prevent future negative experiences. 

Ask yourself how your team could use this negative feedback to improve their overall processes. An important aspect of any type of business is the ability to grow and adapt to an ever-changing marketplace. If you don't grow and adapt, your business will fall out of favor in no time! See your negative reviews as a constructive tool—advice to help you grow.

5. Respond publicly to your bad reviews,

There is only one thing that gives a negative review real power against your business. It is your team's failure to respond to this negative review with efforts to correct the situation. 

However, responding publicly to the situation will help your business in many ways. It gives you an opportunity to win back the respect of the customer who posted the negative review. Furthermore, it also shows your commitment to making things right for the rest of your customers. 

If you think customers will disregard your reaction to negative situations, think again. Studies indicate that businesses like hotels that respond publicly to negative reviews actually see a significant increase in revenue once they establish a regular pattern of responding to negative feedback.

6. Encourage all types of reviews

One of the most proactive ways to manage negative reviews is to make every effort to ask customers for reviews. This does several things. First, it shows customers that you value their opinion. 

Second, it helps you increase the concentration of positive reviews on your page. Finally, there is a better sample size of reviews from a wider range of customers. Consider offering small incentives to customers who take the trouble to rate your services. 

A small coupon or giveaway for participating customers can go a long way. Plus, encouraging reviews from your customers gives you a larger pool of feedback to work with. 

This is how you can show your customers how you have implemented their feedback! You'll see firsthand what a customer-centric company you are.  

Dealing with online reviews—good and bad—can be a bit overwhelming. 

Just remember that all feedback from your customers can be useful feedback, and remember not to get discouraged. For more information on how to deal with online reviews and other digital marketing content, see.