As a business owner in the modern environment, you can expect people will go online and leave reviews about your business. Many of these will probably be positive and benefit your company in many ways. From time to time, you may have a bad review.
Bad business reviews can harm your business, but how you handle them can greatly decide what the impact may be. The U.S. Small Business Administration explains you should never react impulsively to a negative business review. It is better to take a measured approach that will put your business in a positive light despite what the reviewer says.
Offer help
One of the best ways to approach a bad review is to try to fix the problem. Extend a helping hand and let the person know you regret the bad experience he or she had and want to find a way to remedy it. People will like to see that you accept when you fail and are willing to make it better.
Always respond
You should not ignore negative reviews. You may think since you have many good ones, the bad ones will fade away, but they will not. Negative words will draw more attention than all the good ones. You need to say something in response.
Stay professional
Never let yourself get too passionate when responding. You need to keep a level head and avoid saying things that would put your business in a bad light. If you feel the customer is wrong, you should try to resolve that privately. There are only rare occasions in which you should reply by telling the customer he or she is wrong.
Negative business reviews happen. How you react to them can be the real sign of what type of business you have.
