How Negative Reviews Can Help Your Business
First of all, if you have not set up a Yelp profile for your business, you need to get on that! Did you know that people can review you, even if you have never created a profile? Make sure you know what’s being said about you and where it’s being said.
But don’t be afraid of reviews. Whether they are good or bad, you can use reviews to leverage your business. The important part of review sites is that you engage with your reviewers.
Think about it. There’s a restaurant that you’ve been wanting to check out so you go to Yelp to see what people are saying. Sadly, a negative review pops up and the reviewer says the food was terrible and the service was crap. Bummer! But then you see that the owner of the restaurant replied to the negative comment; they addressed the situation, apologized and offered a refund. Wow!
You might have crossed that restaurant off your list or at least you might not be as eager to patronize it. However, when the owner jumped on and responded, it gives you the other side of the story. Clearly, the restaurant cares about their service and their product. It’s obvious that being crappy isn’t their standard.
So here are a few things to consider:
- Regardless of the review, engage with your reviewers.
- If it’s a bad review, be polite. Don’t get defensive.
- Avoid the back and forth arguing. Take the conversation offline before it gets out of hand.
Review sites are awesome. They provide insight for people who want to know more about the service you provide. Believe it or not, people are probably Googling your name. Make sure you know what information they will find.
Speaking of which, when was the last time you Googled yourself?
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