Bad reviews are pernicious to the growth of a business. Not only does it affect the finances of the business, it also reduces the customer base and mitigates your chances against other competitors. Negative reviews often result from bad products and services or the policies of the business and it is important to address the root causes of bad reviews. Regardless of these factors, the impacts of bad reviews are far-reaching as potential customers rely on the reviews of other customers before deciding to purchase a product or patronize a service. When dealing with bad or negative reviews, all hands must be on deck to properly respond to these reviews to avoid total damage to the reputation of the brand.
Consider these tips when dealing with negative reviews for your salon:
1. Stay Calm, Identify and Acknowledge the Issue and Address the Reviewer
Bad reviews can pop out of nowhere and can leave you feeling dumbfounded. The first step to take is to ensure you remain calm regardless of how negative the review sounds or if you do not think that the customer is right. In as much as you have to remain calm, ensure that you identify what the customer's complaints are and address them immediately. Immediate response to the issue prevents a ripple effect that can potentially damage your business reputation and affect your customer base. Address the reviewer by name, show empathy in your response to the issue, and thank the customer for bringing the issue to your notice. Addressing the customer by name gives a friendly approach and your interest in ensuring that the complaint is resolved.
2. Offer an Apology
Even though you do not agree with the complaint made, offer an apology to the reviewer. This is a crucial step when deciding how to respond to a negative review. Acknowledge the experience of the customer about your salon products or services and show strong empathy while addressing the issue. In a case where you do not agree with the complaint, handle the conversation professionally and avoid getting into an argument with the reviewer. Apologies and reasonable dialogue are the most professional ways how to reply to a negative review.
3. Keep it Short and Simple and Attend to Follow up Questions
In line with keeping a professional profile when deciding on how to deal with negative reviews, your replies should address the complaint of the reviewer in the most precise manner but witty enough to display your concern towards the issue. Avoid making long explanations except in a case where it is utmostly necessary. Remember that long responses would take the customers a lot of time to read and they may not have the patience to read through the response. Additionally, you should ensure to answer the follow-up questions. It is best to take the conversation to a private platform to avoid public criticism.
4. Take the Conversation Offline
Request to have a private conversation with the reviewer; this can be done via phone or mail or even in person. This would help to reduce public attention to the issue and your intention to respect the privacy of the individual and also to prevent a bad reputation for your business. Taking the conversation offline would call the situation down easily and avoid public criticism of the parties involved. Opting for other means of communication makes the conversation more personal and easier to resolve.
5. Take Action
Amidst all the conversation of acknowledging, addressing, and providing responses to get the facts, you must take actions to show that you're solving the problem or preventing a recurrence. Display a sense of understanding, genuineness, and humaneness. You can attempt to put your self in the shoes of the customer and decide how best to handle the issue. You can also decide to offer a gift or a form of compensation to the customer to alleviate the issue.
6. Ask the Customer to Change the Review
After the matter is resolved and the customer is satisfied you can ask the customer to remove the negative review privately. You can also ask them to remove the review after they patronized your salon services or products after the complaint. However, do not be too pushy about this to avoid sounding unprofessional.
7. Opt for Review Removal Options
You can decide to opt to remove negative reviews after the complaint has been resolved or of the review is inappropriate. You can also remove unfounded negative reviews. To do this you can discover ways how to remove negative reviews from Google. Simply go to Google and locate your business profile and select Reviews. Then locate the review, select More and click on Report. You can also use Google maps; Simply open Google maps, select your Business Profile, click on Reviews, click the review, then tap More, and press Report Review. However, this should only be done for inappropriate reviews.
8. Turn Negative Feedback Into New Opportunities
Negative feedbacks are one way to build a more loyal customer base. After following the steps on how to reply to negative reviews, you have successfully built a reputation for your interest in handling the dissatisfaction of customers and this would leave a good mark on your business products and services. From the complaints made, address the root causes of the issue and ensure that they do not reoccur in your salon. However, encourage your customers to leave feedback and use the bad reviews to create new opportunities for your business.
Conclusion
Bad reviews are unhealthy for the reputation of a business especially when they are not handled appropriately. However, with these steps laid out, businesses can leverage the opportunity to build a stronger base for their business. To do this, ensure that all negative reviews about your business are resolved and your customers are satisfied at the end of the process. When these customers return to patronize your business services, give them a warm welcome and make them feel comfortable. For inappropriate reviews, you can use the guidelines on how to remove negative google reviews. You can also check out the negative review response examples.
