J: I’m sure most of you have heard the old cliché 'There is no such thing as bad publicity' or maybe

 ‘Even bad publicity is good publicity.’ But is that really true? What happens when you get a negative review about your company in a public forum like Google Reviews or Yelp? Or what about on your own company Facebook page? Should you just ignore it? Should you do something? CAN you do something? Today, we’ll be talking about that. We get asked to handle this type of “emergency” from time to time from our clients don’t we, Zachary?

 

Z: Yes we do. Look, bad reviews can certainly happen to good businesses because they come from people, and people have opinions. A lot of people feel good when they get to share those opinions, whether they may be constructive or not. That is to say, sometimes…people just like to complain.

 

J: As an agency, we offer what is called “Reputation Management”- - a service to help clients outsource how to handle these situations. But you can do it yourself, if you have the time and know how. Let’s talk about the how-to, Zachary.

 

Z: When this happens to you as a business owner there are a few things that you need to remember:

 

Remain calm 5:00

Often times, business owners get caught off-guard by a negative review or comment on their FB or Google and their first reaction is to panic. Or worse yet – argue with the reviewer. It is crucial to remember that this happens to everyone and it is not the end of the world. Stay calm and DO NOT get reactionary.

 

Do not engage in an argument with the reviewer – ESPECIALLY in a public forum 6:21

It is certainly tempting to defend yourself or your company when you feel it is under attack, but remember that other people are watching you and how you react to that review or comment matters. Arguing with a customer or even a former (disgruntled) employee can do more damage that good.

 

But, do not ignore it! 7:48

Another damaging thing you can do is to ignore the review or comment entirely. That sends the message that you don’t care that the customer experience was less than ideal and maybe you feel that way about all your customers. Plus, it leaves the door open for more people the jump on the band wagon…because let’s face it… misery loves company. Addressing this situation ASAP is the best way to get in front of it and to stop a potentially speeding train. That will require that you to stay up-to-date on all of your social media platforms by allowing notifications on your phone or computer so you can be alerted as soon as comments or reviews are ever made. And it means making periodic searches for your company on Google (or Bing) to see what people are saying about your business. Read the reviews on Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Angie’s List… whatever and whatever your business may show up. Maybe that means dedicating some time each week to yourself or a junior employee to sweep the internet for references to your company.

 

J: You can even set up a Google Alert that will alert you every time something is mentioned about your company name on Google. There are several options to help you stay in the know.

 

Take it offline immediately 13:55

That doesn’t mean delete it. The most constructive thing you can do is to reply to the post in a sincere and concerned manner. “I’m sorry to hear about the service you received. It has never been our policy to treat people in that way…” Or “I’m sorry to hear that you weren’t pleased with your experience, we will work to make things better in the future…” Now this next step is the more important here – private message them if possible or ask for an email or phone number and speak to them directly and PRIVATELY. Have whatever discussions or compensation and/or coupons in this private arena. Doing it in public might open the door for people to jump in and want the same coupons and “confess” to treatment they didn’t receive. Often, bad reviewers will go back after your discussion and amend their review. This is also good for you. It shows they’ve changed their mind and acts as a testimonial in a bad situation.

 

Is there relevance to their statements? 23:15

Of course, it is always important to really LISTEN to your customers. Ask yourself, “Is there any chance that what they are saying is true, actually happened and may be an actual issue in my company or with my staff?” Yes – sometimes there are scorned ex-employees and plain old impossible curmudgeons out there… And yeah, you can’t make everyone happy all the time, and people know that. But chances are highly likely that not all your reviews are from those people. Some complaints have legitimacy and shine light on issues you may need to correct. Consider those a “gift” and thank them for bringing those issues to your attention and actually making efforts to correct some things if you can. That will make your customers feel that you really do care about their experience with your company, that you respect them and want to keep them coming back.

 

Shake it off and move on 28:19

As we mentioned bad reviews can happen to anyone and everyone. It really isn’t the end of the world, and it is important that you not dwell on them for too long. Use these “constructive” reviews to guide you to a better product or service and as a way to instill trust and loyalty with your customers. Then get back to work!

 

As we mentioned before Reputation Management is one of the services that we offer here at Reformation Productions. And when this type of thing happens to our clients the first question we get is “Can I just delete these?” The short answer to that is NO. Depending on where the review or comment is – there is a chance that it simply CANNOT be removed. Otherwise we would only ever see positive reviews on everything and we all get food poisoning at that creeping looking seafood place next to the gas station. We all count on reviews to help us make decisions. So the negative ones will remain. BUT there are a few things you can do to manage them. Again – depending on the place they are displayed.

 

J: Zachary, can you highlight some of the ways a business owner can tackle “hiding” bad reviews?

 

Z: Well, it is not so much as hiding them as it is may be “push them down on the list” and essentially “bury” them. Since Google and other places make it difficult to remove reviews, it may be best to flood them with positive reviews. If there are some bad reviews that simply won’t go away, the best thing to do is to push them down on the list be getting more positive reviews than negative. Like I said, most people understand that some people will complain no matter what. They just need to make sure the scales are tipped favorable. So you should always be soliciting for favorable reviews.

 

 There are certainly calculated ways to do that as well.

 • A piece of printed collateral (card) handed out to customers at time of service directing them to a certain page (Google, Yelp, FB, etc) and asking them to place a positive review.

 • Creation of a webpage by you to get reviews

 • An email campaign

 

Straight Shot 40:23

J: So Zachary, what’s the Straight Shot here?

 

Z: In one sentence, Bad Reviews Happen. It’s knowing about them and then handling them that makes the difference.

• But measures in place so that you are immediately aware of negative comments and reviews

• Handle them proactively, in brand voice, and with kid-gloves

• Always, solicit for good reviews, not just in times of trouble, but as a normal part of your marketing strategy.

 

J: And if they need help, we’re here.

 

Z: Of course, we handle things like this for many companies all the time so we are well acquainted with how to manage it and we are always here to help any company in an capacity that we can.

 

J: So don’t NOT CARE about your bad reputation - just take proactive measure to manage your reputation.

 

Z: And this we’ve just discussed online reputation – once it gets into the public awareness on TV or worst yet, at the water cooler, it’s even harder to handle. But that can be managed as well. Some politicians and celebrities will “make bad things” happen just so they can do the clean up and stay top of mind with the public, so it can be complicated.

 

J: So we hope this episode helped someone. Please let us know in the comments on our facebook page, leave us a positive review on iTunes. And as always, you can reach out to us at 678.825.8086 x 300 with any questions you may have for future episodes, and we will talk with you again soon!