Marketing

5 Strategies for How to Handle Bad Reviews

5 Strategies for How to Handle Bad Reviews

Customer Experience, Marketing

As consumers, we know the importance of online reviews. As entrepreneurs, our relationship with them is, well, complicated. Because nothing feels better than getting positive feedback from a customer. And nothing can ruin our day quicker than a bad review. But the reality is that despite all your hard work and good intentions, bad reviews happen. Here are 5 strategies for how to handle bad reviews.

The influence of online reviews

As business owners, it’s impossible to ignore the influence of online reviews. Surveys show that 70% of people use ratings to filter out what local businesses they even consider. And over 92% of consumers rely on reviews to make purchasing decisions. A McKinsey study found that a small shift in rating makes a big difference. Just moving from 4.2 to 4.4 stars has the power to boost sales. So every review matters, and asking for feedback should be built into the customer experience journey.

The problem of fake reviews

At least 10% of online reviews are fake. The World Economic Forum estimates that fake reviews influence USD$152B of global online spending. From bots to review farms, it’s big business to create fake positive reviews to boost sales, and fake bad reviews to bring down competitors. Governments now recognize this problem, and in 2022 the UK announced reforms to protect consumers. More recently, the US Federal Trade Commission also proposed new rules. But legislation takes time to roll out, and enforcement can be challenging.

In the meantime, there are actions you can take to cope with the soul-crushing experience of negative reviews. Here are 5 strategies for how to handle bad reviews.

Strategy 1: Create a Boundary

The first thing to do is create a boundary to protect yourself from the impact of negative reviews. This means setting up the communication flow so that you don’t get dinged with the notification of a bad review just as you are about to head into an important meeting, or out for dinner with friends. 

This can be done using email settings, to send all review platform notifications to a special folder. Or, you can set up a new email, like “listen@company.com” or “reviews@company.com.” Use this email in all the places where your business is listed for reviews. Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, OpenTable -whatever makes sense for your sector, in your area. 

The point is to create a boundary between your usual activities, and review notifications. Then you don’t get your workflow destroyed by a 1 star review popping up and stealing all  your attention. Instead, you can build into your schedule time to check in on reviews, and deal with it in a methodical, controlled way. Or, if your company has a bigger team, monitoring reviews can be assigned to an operations manager, administrator, or marketing manager.

Strategy 2: Don’t Make it Personal

This one is tough. Because when it’s your business, it feels personal. But you are not your business. And sometimes, people leaving bad reviews are frustrated by more than whatever just happened as a customer of your business. They may have experienced a whole list of crappy things, and that small mistake set them off. People need to vent, and leaving a bad review online can release stress and annoyance. Accept that, and build up your own system to support you. Journaling is an excellent way to vent. Share with other entrepreneurs, who will certainly have their own stories of nightmare fake reviews and heartbreaking negative comments.

Strategy 3: Respond to Every Review

Yes, even the bad ones. How you respond to reviews is an opportunity to demonstrate the ethics of your company. Reasonable people know that things are not perfect 100% of the time. Therefore, how you handle problems and complaints can be a deciding factor in whether someone wants to buy from you. 

 

While it’s ok to have a standard line like “please reach out to our customer care team at care@email.com” don’t cut and paste the same response to every review. The point of the review is to show that your company is paying attention, and your team genuinely wants to do right by your customers. Using the same response for everyone looks like it’s automated and doesn’t come off as authentic.

 

For example, when I was running my household management franchise, a disgruntled former employee went on a binge with his young mates on a Friday night, leaving 3 1 star reviews within the space of an hour. In my response, I stated that we had no records of booking services for them, suggested they had left the review for the wrong company, and invited them to contact us to discuss. We actually landed a client out of this – she told us that the reviews seemed fake and that she respected the professionalism of our response.

bad reviews online

A real life example

Here is a story. When I was running my household management franchise, a disgruntled former employee went on a binge with his young mates on a Friday night, leaving 3 1 star reviews within the space of an hour.

In my response, I stated that we had no records of booking services for them, suggested they had left the review for the wrong company, and invited them to contact us to discuss.

Actually, we landed a client out of this! She shared that she felt the reviews were fake. And that she respected the professionalism of our response. The way we handled that bad online review built trust with our target audience and turned into sales.

Strategy 4: Research and Investigate

Sometimes, it is easy to spot the real reviews from the fake ones. Specific details may be clear that it was left by one of your customers. Be open to this opportunity to learn and improve. Research and investigate the circumstances. Even if it mentions a staff member that you think is a star. Because everyone can have a bad day. The review could indicate a chance to improve your processes, or training. And include this in your response, to show that you are taking steps to ensure the situation doesn’t happen again.

Related: Read 4 Assumptions that can hurt your business

Strategy 5: Build Other WOM Tactics

As explained at the start of the article, online reviews are an important part of the customer decision process. But social proof and word of mouth (WOM) can come from other places. A referral program to encourage your customers to tell people about your business is effective for bringing in more revenue.

Also, be aware of positive feedback from your communication channels. If you deal with customers in person, on the phone, or over email, watch out for comments expressing satisfaction and happiness. Ask them if you can use their comment, and share it on your website, social media, and marketing materials. Finally, be proactive and create a customer feedback survey. Include this in after sales followup, or in newsletters. Statistics like “98% of our customers would recommend our company” can be pulled from survey data, and this is a powerful social proof for your audience.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, it is impossible to avoid bad reviews. It’s just a fact of doing business. So these 5 strategies for how to handle them are valuable.

First, protect yourself from the flow of reviews to your phone and desktop. That way, you can control when you sit down to look at them, and prevent the stress of a surprising 1 star review when your focus is needed elsewhere.

Secondly, understand that it isn’t personal, and build your own support system. Then, respond to every review. This demonstrates your professionalism and willingness to do the right thing for your customers. And this can also highlight the fake reviews.

Next, take a moment to investigate, to see opportunities to improve processes, systems, and training.

Finally, build your own sources of testimonials and feedback. Customer surveys and normal customer interaction can provide a wealth of data that can be used across different marketing channels. This gives authentic, positive information for consumers researching their purchase decisions.

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4 assumptions that can hurt your business

4 Assumptions That Can Hurt Your Business

Customer Experience, Managing Staff, Marketing

We move through with world with sets of assumptions. And thank goodness! Because society needs them. It makes life easier. When we drive a car, we assume the drivers around us know the rules of the road. At a good restaurant, we assume the food will be fresh and prepared in a clean kitchen. As entrepreneurs, we assume our staff are doing their best and that our customers will pay their invoices on time. But as with everything, there are limits. Here are 4 assumptions that can hurt your business. Read these and consider if you need to reevaluate your beliefs and expectations. 

1. Assumptions about staff: thinking employees are as dedicated as you are

Remember that for them, it’s always a job. When a company is new and scrappy, it often feels that everyone is in it together. But when the business grows, it’s not unusual for staff to feel resentful. They see the owners getting a bigger slice of success than they get. Even with a competitive salary, perks, and a bonus, there may still be a sense that you are benefiting more from their hard work than they are.

Tips on how to manage this assumption:

  • Recognise the imbalance between owner and employee, and never assume staff are as dedicated as you
  • Document all tasks, policies and procedures so new staff can step into roles with minimal disruption to operations
  • Keep all business activites (email, documents, files) in company drives and systems
  • Don’t let staff do any work for your business using their personal email
  • Benchmark their compensation to confirm salary and benefits are in line for their role
  • Share compensation data so they see they are being paid fairly
Assumptions that can hurt your business example

Here is an example. I know a CEO who puts in 50-60 hour weeks, often steps in to fix staff mistakes, and has significant personal investment in the success of the business. The employees are paid well with full benefits, flexible hours, and work from home options. I just happened to be waiting at the company head office to meet with this CEO for a coaching session, when I overheard one of the staff say “I’m the only one who works around here.” 

2. Assumptions about pricing: thinking your rates are too high

It’s a natural reflex. When sales are slow, or a lead goes nowhere, it is easy to assume that the price is too high. You may actually hear prospective customers say that your rates are too high. But instead of slashing prices and giving away valuable profit margin, take a step back. Because is cutting rates really the answer? Or are you just not reaching the right audience?

Tips on how to manage this assumption:

  • Research the market and chart what competitors are charging
  • Clarify where your brand is positioned and how you compare among competitors
  • Know your customer avatar. Use this worksheet!
  • Review marketing message and placement to see if it aligns with your branding and target customer
  • Analyze all marketing data to see if you’ve been reaching your target customer
  • Readjust marketing if necessary
  • Adjust prices only if it better aligns with branding and target customer

3. Assumptions about suppliers: thinking you have the best deal

All businesses have suppliers. It might be parts for manufacturing, software to keep a product operating, or items used by staff. Supply chain management is a bigger task in some sectors than others. However, every business has some dealings with other businesses. Sometimes, there relationships are set up and then left alone, for years. 

Tips on how to manage this assumption:

  • Add supplier review to your annual strategic planning
  • Check in on quality and pricing every year
  • Monitor their financial health and customer ratings
  • Forecast growth for the coming year and confirm your supplier can keep up
  • Stay aware of who competes with suppliers. A small firm that wasn’t a fit 2 years ago may have grown and be able to better meet your needs now
  • Talk to your network for referrals and feedback

4. Assumptions about customers: thinking you know what they are thinking

It’s always thrilling to get a positive review from a customer. Personally hearing great feedback can make you feel on top of the world. But don’t think that all your customers feel the same way. That assumption closes down opportunities to make changes and improvements. 

The fact is, not everyone shares feedback. And when customers like you, they are less likely to speak up. Here is an example. When I ran my household service franchise, we introduced a new quality control review process. That revealed one particular employee who wasn’t meeting standards. When we approached the customer, they shared that they “liked him and didn’t want to say anything.” So we thought the customer was happy, but she was actually tolerating sub-standard services for the sake of being nice. But we were losing out on referrals, and it explained a couple of cancellations. That assumption cost us money. 

Tips on how to manage this assumption:

  • Include a feedback loop into the customer experience journey that is easy to complete. Digital forms can be added to email footers and invoices. 
  • Allow anonymous feedback surveys to get full honesty
  • Investigate every compliment and complaint to fully understand what is working, and what is not working, in your business
  • Monitor all sources of customer feedback, appropriate to your business. This may be Google Reviews, BBB, TripAdvisor, Yelp, TrustPilot, OpenTable

Questions for entrepreneurs to check assumptions

questions for entrepreneurs to check your assumptions

Do you have KPIs that you use to monitor the output and quality of your staff, or do you go by what they tell you and what you observe?

Do you provide customers with an anonymous evaluation process, to gather their honest feedback about their experience with your company?

When was the last time you asked staff for feedback on your performance as a leader?

Have you checked benchmarks for your industry to see how your business performance compares? Profit margins, year over year revenue growth, clickthrough rates?

Have you mapped out workflows to check for duplication, gaps, and opportunities to improve efficiency?

How assumptions can hurt your business

These are just 4 assumptions that can hurt your business by causing a loss of revenue, profits, productivity, and opportunity. Being aware of these expectations and biases is valuable for keeping your competitive edge. Include this awareness and these questions in your regular strategic planning process. This will help keep you open to change and improvement. 

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Reasons to not have your business online

Reasons to not have your business online

Marketing

Most of our lives are online. From basics like banking and bills, to communication, to entertainment; we use the internet every day. For some of us, all day every day. Same goes for running a business. I’ve rarely heard an entrepreneur say that they don’t need to be online. Even an offline business needs to be online. There are clear benefits for this.

But.

Does everyone need a website, social media channels, and a Google My Business profile? Here are reasons to not have your business online.

First, to share a story of why an offline business benefits from having an online presence. Recently, one of my daughters needed something, just hours before getting on a plane. It wasn’t urgent, or even a necessity. More of a comfort thing. Because it’s practical to remove the acrylic nails for graduation parties before backpacking in Europe with friends. But schedules and then a bank holiday got in the way, and suddenly it was the day of her flight.

So it was time to use Google to find a nearby business that’s open and can book an appointment within the hour.

Though I usually spend time checking reviews, this was urgent, so the first place that could book her was getting the business. Salons with Google My Business had the competitive advantage. Businesses that didn’t answer the phone lost out. There was the salon who said yes, we can take you, come on over. But when we arrived, there were 4 people waiting for service and the receptionist avoided eye contact. I’ll never go back.

Finally, there was the business who said yes, and did the service at the time we booked. I’ve since gone back to that nail salon, and would happily recommend them. All from answering the phone, being pleasant, and following through on what they said they would. These are critical for all service businesses.

 

The point is – this nail salon gained potentially hundreds of dollars in revenue just from me, because their offline business has an online presence. So what are the reasons to not have your business online?

What is being online?

Firstly, to clarify “being online”. Did you know that of the 1.12 billion websites in the world, 82% are inactive? Having an inactive website is just about the same as being offline. When information isn’t updated on a website, it isn’t giving an accurate representation of your business to prospective customers. Being online means:

    • Regularly updating a website for performance, loading time, accuracy, and site health
    • Configuring a website content for SEO to rank on search engines
    • Setting up Google My Business and updating the listing with contact details and operating hours
    • Posting to social media channels (Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc)
    • Monitoring incoming enquiries from online contact details (direct messages, phone calls, emails, website forms)

All these activities require time, energy, and a level of expertise. Many businesses will have someone on the team who handles it full time, because they are essential functions. E-commerce is an example of a business which must be online and doing these activities as part of their normal operations. What I’m talking about are the offline B2C service businesses. Nail salons, landscaping businesses, massage therapists, dog groomers, fitness instructors, child care centres – all the in-person businesses who deliver services in real time. If this sounds like you, there are reasons to not have your business online, and they may surprise you.

Reason 1 - Revenue growth is not a goal

Wait, what? Isn’t this the point of starting a business? To build revenue, maximize profits, and meet personal financial goals?

Most entrepreneurs want to increase their revenue. But this isn’t always the case.

Often, this is because they haven’t adjusted their targets. For example, someone starts a business with the goal of earning a certain amount, and calculates the revenue required to meet that. Then they meet it. And so they stay there. They don’t do the work on their business to see the opportunities to expand and grow, and to set new revenue targets.

I had a franchisee like this.

She had met her personal revenue goals and was happy with where her business was. She didn’t want to manage more staff or run a bigger business, so her revenue was flatlined.

Reason 2 - Capacity is maxed

At any given moment, every business has a limit on its output. For that nail salon, their capacity is limited by how many staff they have working, which is also limited by how many chairs they have in their place of business.

In a service business, capacity is dictated by staffing levels. When selling items, capacity is influenced by production levels and distribution channels.

When your capacity is maxed and you can’t handle more customers or orders, then you may not want to be online generating leads. Stepping away from online while you build up capacity is ok. But this can be a slippery slope. I’ve seen entrepreneurs turn off all marketing efforts because of maxed capacity, only to hit a slump later.

Reason 3 - Limiting beliefs

After all, Oprah said that “you don’t become what you want, you become what you believe.” So consider if your limiting beliefs holding you back from growing your business. For example, when you started out with the goal of your business looking a certain way. You worked hard and you’ve built what you imagined. You climbed the mountain. As a result, you don’t see the potential for more. More sales, more business, more profits. Another product line, another location, another set of services. Essentially, your limiting beliefs may not let you imagine yourself with a business that is bigger than where you are now, or to imagine yourself owning multiple businesses.

Reason 4 - Personal lifestyle goals

This reason is even more personal. Every entrepreneur gets to build a business that fits with their own lifestyle goals. This looks different for every person. And it changes depending on the age and stage you are at. When raising young children, this may mean setting a work schedule around school dropoffs and pickups. It could be embracing a 4 day workweek, as described by Timothy Ferriss in his book. For those of us with a passion for travel, this mean running a business that is not location-dependent and enjoying the benefits of being a digital nomad. The bottom line is that your personal lifestyle goals have a huge impact on business decisions, which is one of the reasons to not have your business online.

Reason 5 - Low customer turnover

Some businesses need to run a constant lead-gen process to keep revenue levels even. Others have very low customer turnover and enjoy a stable foundation of revenue year round. Once they acquire a customer, they just keep them for a long time. This depends on the sector and the average revenue per customer. I know an entrepreneur working in a tech field where landing a B2C customer meant a 3 year contract of 6-figure revenue. In a case like this, lead gen is more about direct sales and building relationships. Posting regular social media content and updating a website isn’t part of the strategy.

Reason 6 - Strong referral program

I know successful entrepreneurs who did zero marketing because they built a strong referral program. Providing outstanding value and customer experience is a must. But to follow it up with a customer appreciation process and ask for referrals? Every business benefits from putting the time in on this. Add an incentive, like a points system, a share code, or a referral gift. This doesn’t have to be sophisticated or high-tech. I know an entrepreneur who schedules an hour a week to send thank you notes to customers. A simple handwritten “thank you for your business” is powerful and stands out, especially when most of our communication is online. This leads to referrals. Then, writing a note to say “thank you for recommending us to…”  and including a gift card will almost guarantee that more referrals will come your way.

Conclusion

Obviously, it’s a digital world. As a result, it’s easy to feel that a strong online presence is necessary for a business to be successful. But the best thing about entrepreneurship is having the freedom to create a business to suit each individual person. Therefore, investing in an expensive website and posting frequently on social media is not right for every business owner.

As has been noted, for a service business operating locally, a basic site with Google My Business and a strong customer retention and referral system is of value.

By the way, if you are looking for a way to get your business online fast, I personally use and recommend IONOS for a simple web builder that is low cost and easy to manage.

Finally, align actions to meet your specific business goals, rather than copying any general formula for business. 

 

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