Bad reviews don’t have to mean the end of the world
Research has found that 91% of people at least occasionally read online reviews, with 84% of people trusting online reviews just as much as they would trust a personal recommendation from a friend or family member.
As you can see, every review holds a lot of weight. That’s why many business owners and managers think that bad reviews are the worst things that can happen to their growth prospects. But if you’ve ever gotten bad reviews before, you’ll be glad to know that, contrary to popular belief, they can actually benefit your business.
Here are the top five ways that bad reviews can actually be a good thing for your business:
#1. Bad reviews help to build trust
Nobody is perfect, and since businesses are run by human beings, mistakes are bound to happen. It’s for this reason that many people don’t trust businesses that only have five-star reviews or impeccable online reputations. When people see only positive reviews, it leads them to believe that either the reviews are fake or the business owner has tried to hide bad reviews. Either way, it’s not a good impression to leave on potential customers. Customers expect to see a few bad reviews mixed in with several good reviews, so do yourself a favor and don’t try to hide them or cover them up.
#2. Bad reviews help you show off your customer service skills
A bad review is an opportunity to turn around a client’s experience for the better and show the world that you truly value feedback and learn from it. It’s important that you always respond to your reviews, especially the bad ones. And when you do, you should apologize and then make the issue right, whether that means giving the client a refund, a gift certificate or redoing the work for free. Not only does responding to bad reviews help to turn around that individual customer’s experience (and could potentially lead to a customer for life), but it also shows other potential customers that, when issues come up, you’ll own up to them and make them right.
#3. Bad reviews help you get better as a company
No, most business owners aren’t in it to provide as little service as possible at the highest costs. Instead, most business owners do what they do because they genuinely want to provide a valuable service for their customers and to make their lives better. Bad reviews are great because they show you what you need to work on in order to become the kind of company you want to be. They help you learn from past mistakes, and they teach you how to provide more satisfaction for your customers in the future.
#4. Bad reviews give prospective clients a fuller picture of your services
As we mentioned before, many people utilize reviews when making purchasing decisions or deciding whether or not to work with a particular company. People like to know that they’re getting the full picture of a company or product when they read reviews, and if you only have positive, five-star reviews, it can often leave people feeling like you’re too good to be true. As we mentioned in our first point, bad reviews help to establish trust and humanity in a company, but they also paint a fuller picture of your business and lead to more informed decisions.
For example, say you’re a consumer deciding between working with two different plumbers. They both have mostly positive reviews with only a couple of bad reviews. One plumber’s bad review shows that they have accidentally underestimated the cost of a project in the past, but that they worked with the client to make it right. The other plumber’s bad review showed that they arrived at the job three hours late and ended up having to reschedule after they finally got there because they didn’t have the right equipment, and there are no responses from the plumber. Clearly, you’ll choose the first plumber in this scenario.
#5. Bad reviews make your good reviews stand out more
A few bad reviews in with multiple good reviews not only build trust and educate consumers, but they also make the good reviews stand out even more. When you have both good and bad reviews, it shows that, while you may not always succeed, you try your best with every customer.
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With so many people reading reviews and using them to make purchase decisions, it’s more important than ever before to closely monitor your online reputation. Luckily, reputation management software from Marketing 360 is here to help.
Learn more and see our plans and pricing.
Originally published on 11/1/18
