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Whether you participate in the online space called social media or not, you or your company can fall victim to a negative review by an unhappy customer. Maybe the review is honest and you need to get your act together, but that negative review might also be completely false. Either way, you’re probably embarrassed, and wishing it would just go away. Unfortunately, that’s just not going to happen.Your response or lack thereof can help or hinder your business reputation. What is the best way to respond and then move beyond a negative online review?
The Best Defense is a Good Offense
Larger companies with a strong web presence have an easier time pushing down negative publicity than the small business owner. Why? The key is the existing strong web presence. If as a small business owner, a search on your name only brings up the negative review, that’s ALL your potential customer will find.
The basic non-optimized information site isn’t much better off because it’s still all but invisible online.
Make Sure the Good Stuff is Visible
Let’s say you’re looking for a new restaurant for a nice meal out with your significant other. You search for local restaurants online and find one that looks promising. It’s accompanied by several five-star reviews and a few comments from happy patrons and only one negative review. How much weight would that one negative review carry?
What if you found several other mentions for that same restaurant online, but on other sites? And what if the restaurant’s website featured photos of the interior to show off the ambience, appetizing photos and descriptions of the food, maybe a few articles about anything relating to the restaurant, staff or food served? Same question … look at the whole picture and consider how much weight one negative review would carry.
Contrast these scenarios with ONLY finding a negative review of the restaurant. I wouldn’t eat there. Would you?
If Your Reputation Has Already Been Tarnished, What Can You Do?
Start with beefing up your online visibility. This isn’t the time to hide. Publish articles that show your true colors on a blog or in article directories. If you’ve messed up, make it right, and do so publicly. Set up free accounts on Yelp, MerchantCircle, Yahoo Local, Google Local, etc. and ask your satisfied customers to post a review of your services. Make sure your existing website is relevant and visible via search.
In some parts of the country, review services such as Angie’s List are very popular. More than one merchant has been burned by these services by a dishonest customer posting a negative review. Good luck trying to get that review removed! But just as in the restaurant example, that negative review will carry much less weight when accompanied by the accolades of satisfied customers.
In short, provide quality products and services. Treat your customers like you’d want to be treated. Own up to and fix any mistakes. Make sure the “good stuff” about your business is highly visible, then the rest will take care of itself.
Related Articles from Other Blogs:
For Small Companies, Blogger Relations’ Double-Edged Sword Bites Deeper
SEO Tactics for Reputation Management
You Don’t Own Your Brand Online, But You Can Own The Search Results
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Entries (RSS)
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:31 am
I’m not just saying this because you dropped a link to my post, but because I love hearing the golden rule mentioned in any marketers blog. it is too rare and when it is spoken, it is typically just for pats on the back or some form of manipulation. I have seen your work in the past, spoken with you in other communities, and it has become obvious that you are not only business savvy, but you practice what you preach.
Always nice to visit this blog Shari. Thanks for the tips.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:22 am
Thanks, Kimberly. I appreciate your kind words! I’d like to see more written on the golden rule by marketers, as well. If we’d market the way we’d like to be marketed to … wouldn’t that change the world?
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I think the first line of your post is a very important point. It’s not always the intention of a website publisher to have their content pushed into a social network. The reviews are usually unsolicited.
It seems that many comments on sites like Digg and StumbleUpon seem to be written with the impression that the site’s owner was looking for praise from that community. Often, they don’t even know that the site was Dugg/Stumbled until some time later.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 am
Thanks for your comment, Colin. That’s actually what prompted this post. One of my contacts received an unfair negative review on Angie’s List. Their business does not have a strong online presence and the review has damaged their local reputation. Unfortunately this kind of stuff happens, and when it does, the local business owner feels powerless. So you fight fire with fire … overwhelm the negative review with a strong and positive online presence that reflects how you really conduct business.