Customer feedback is an unavoidable aspect of online brand reputation management. If you run an online business, you will definitely get customer feedback on your products and services.
It is important to note that customer feedback will not always favor your business. At some point, almost every retailer would receive negative feedback.
The good news is that both positive and negative reviews serve as opportunities to enhance your brand reputation and strengthen your sense of integrity and business credibility.
To help you make the most of those opportunities, we’ve rounded up common types of reviews that retailers can expect to receive and how you should deal with them.
TYPE 1: “YOU ARE AWESOME”
This is the category of reviews that come from customers who are actually your fans. They love your products and services and keep coming back for more while leaving positive reviews on your website.
So here, you don’t need to do anything but feel good about yourself and bask in the glory of positive customer vibes around your brand, right?
Wrong.
If used carefully, positive reviews can help you further improve your reputation, attract more prospects, and drive conversions.
How to respond;
- Thank the customer. Respond to each and every review in a personalized way to show your gratitude to customers and let them know that you care about their business.
- Mention your brand in your answer. This will help your business rank higher in the SERPs.
- Promote your products / services in the comment.. Many of your prospects will read your responses to assess their responsibility and liability. Give them a reason to test your offerings by stating something interesting about the product or mentioning your next range in response to feedback from your existing customers.
TYPE 2: “I placed an order and got something else”
This is where you (the seller) made a mistake. You sent the wrong item or the wrong size. Perhaps the item was damaged in transit. The product was delivered late.
Mistakes like these can happen when you sell online and there is nothing wrong with it. What’s wrong is not taking responsibility for your mistakes and not responding to such reviews and addressing the issue, further frustrating the customer.
How to answer:
- He admitted it. You know that you are the one who was wrong, so acknowledge your mistake and apologize. Sometimes even a simple apology does most of the reputation repair work.
- Don’t blame others (the shipping company or bad weather) even if it wasn’t technically your fault. This will make you seem even more irresponsible and will damage the responsibility and integrity of your business.
- Emphasize that this is unusual. Your prospects must be reading those not-so-good reviews. Therefore, inform the interested customer and potential customers in your reply that this is not how things generally work in your business.
- Offer a quick solution. Address the issue immediately and offer a favorable solution so the customer knows you care.
TYPE 3: HEY THERE, I’M HERE TO DESTROY YOUR REPUTATION
These are illegitimate reviews that come up with the sole objective of attacking your company’s reputation. False and dishonest reviews can come from unethical competitors, disgruntled customers, or people who have personal grudges against the business owner or anyone in the business.
How to answer:
- Do not delete the comment or review. This will make it look like you are hiding something and will make people more suspicious of your business and your offerings.
- Submit a removal request. Provide the review platform with evidence to show that the review is not genuine and legitimate so that the platform itself can safely remove it.
Don’t be a victim of online reviews, take control of your reputation
Even if you offer the best product on the market and are the preferred choice for most local buyers, your business can still receive negative reviews. They may be based on a blatant lie resulting from the frustration of one of your competitors, or they may be the result of a misunderstanding.
Whatever the source of the review or the underlying reason, a negative review is going to do the damage it’s supposed to do, anyway. Instead of sitting back and wondering why this happened to you when you were only selling the best quality, take steps to control your declining reputation.
In addition to following the recommendations above, you may consider hiring a professional reputation management company to handle customer reviews efficiently while maintaining a positive presence online.
