Even well-managed businesses have off days, so the occasional negative online review is a normal part of doing business.
But false, defamatory reviews? Those can be irritating, infuriating and damaging to your bottom line.
If angry customers, disgruntled ex-employees or competitors post inaccurate reviews of your business online, you don’t have to just take it: You can fight back without doing any further harm to your reputation.
In business, nothing is as important as your reputation.
A good one can help you attract new customers or weather a tough economy; a bad one can sink you, even if your services and products are great. But a good reputation isn’t something that just happens or comes to you by chance.
Being proactive can help you shape the way people think and talk about your business, and it starts online.
Everyone from grade schoolers to great grandparents uses Facebook, so if your business doesn’t have a presence there, you’re leaving money on the table.
No matter what demographics you’re trying to reach, a significant chunk of your dream audience is on Facebook, where they’re sharing shopping recommendations with friends and perusing reviews written by strangers.
Use the social media giant to your advantage when trying to attract new customers or boost sales.
Even with carefully trained staff, great products and fair prices, your business is probably going to get a negative review every now and then.
But while an occasional cranky comment won’t tank your reputation, a slew of complaints can.
Systemize your approach to negative reviews on sites like Yelp, Facebook and Google in order to take the legwork out of responding to them, and remove the headache of them altogether.
If you’re a retail business owner, you know that online reviews are important for your business.
You’ve seen potential customers standing outside your door, consulting their phone or tablet to make sure your products and services are highly rated. You’ve gotten phone calls based on online reviews from Google and Facebook.
You may have even contacted a review service like Yelp to minimize the effect of negative reviews. Or maybe Yelp called you (don’t worry and don’t stress – you’re not alone).
The reason that positive online reviews help you is that they validate your mission and the experience you provide to your customers. They counteract bad press and negative reviews. They also give you feedback about what customers like about your business – and what they’d like you to improve.
Perhaps most importantly, online reviews provide “social proof” to other potential customers about what they can expect from your business.
And that’s why getting more positive online reviews can be a total game changer for your business.
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