Negative feedback is the Achilles' heel of all businesses. Statistics reveal that a staggering 94% of consumers have avoided a business due to negative reviews. Moreover, businesses risk losing 22% of potential customers when just one negative review is found.
That’s why we are here. Understanding the underlying reasons for dissatisfied remarks is crucial for any business aiming to maintain a positive online presence and enhance customer satisfaction. This article will explore the reasons behind negative reviews and provide eight actionable prevention strategies.
Believe it or not, customers don't actually want to leave a bad review - they want great service, a quality product, and reliable delivery. So, when bad feedback is given, it's usually warranted.
The most common complaints in eCommerce, according to Gorgias, are:
When it comes to voicing these complaints, most customers do so to inform other consumers or giving feedback to the business, with very few doing so out of anger.
Pleasing your customers should be at the heart of everything you do. If you engrain that through your business model from start to finish, chances are, negative reviews will be few and far between.
Here are some easy ways to make your customers feel valued, looked-after and less likely to turn to the internet to vent their frustrations.
When was the last time you shopped at your own store or tried to access your own services? You may think you're doing a brilliant job, but until you put yourself in the shoes of your customers, there's no way to know for sure.
Regularly testing your company's performance from an outsider's viewpoint is a sure fire way to identify any problems your customers might be experiencing that could encourage negative reviews.
Go through the process from start to finish - placing an order, speaking to customer service, waiting for the delivery - and fix anything that causes you an inconvenience.
None of us are perfect, and even the best-run businesses in the world sometimes slip up. The key is to be prepared when issues do occur by making yourself easily contactable.
By giving your customers the opportunity to speak to you about issues they may have, they'll be able to vent their frustrations to you rather than online and it will also give you the opportunity to solve their problem with a solution, thereby preventing those negative reviews.
Every business should have some form of customer service in place that's easy to find and access - be it a call centre or online chat, communication is key.
Building on our previous point is increasing your lines of communication. If possible, don't just offer support via email but also a phone line - often, people prefer to hear someone's voice when dealing with a problem. Another great addition is live chat - this is one of the quickest ways for your customers to get answers and avoid negative reviews left on impulse.
Additionally, incorporating social media channels into your customer service strategy is crucial.
Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not only popular for social interactions but are also widely used by customers to voice their adverse opinions or seek assistance.
Statistics show that 47% of consumers use social media to complain about a product or service, making it essential for businesses to be responsive on these platforms.
The more opportunities you give the customer to contact you, the more confidence they will have in you as a business and the less likely they are to panic if things do go wrong.
Giving your customers these opportunities to contact you is great, but if they have to wait 48 hours for a response it's no good. 95% of unhappy customers will return if you resolve there issue quickly so speed is key here.
It's therefore essential not only to have support in place but a support system that's well staffed and functional. Make sure you can keep up with demand - providing slow, unreliable support is arguably worse than not providing any at all.
Take a look at the call centre data above - over 50% of callers abandoned after 45 seconds of waiting. If every unanswered caller were to go on to leave a negative review, you'd see a devastating drop in your star rating.
Customer service isn't just about solving the customer's problem - it's also about representing the brand in the best way possible.
If you send your customers pre-generated template responses, your customers are not going to feel heard or valued, and regardless of whether or not their problem is solved, they may harness unfriendly feelings toward you which could result in a negative review.
Personal replies are key to customer service success. Make them feel understood, appreciated and well looked after and those 5-stars should come rolling in.
Left to their own devices, customers can be quite passive when it comes to reviews, with many more reading them than leaving them. However, 77% of customers are willing to leave a review if asked.
By actively collecting reviews, you're likely to see positive feedback flooding in with customers eager to reward and thank you for your good service.
Whilst this won't prevent negative reviews per SE, it will help to cloud them and encourage customers to put them into perspective. After all, one negative review amongst fifty looks much better than one amongst three!
It's not enough to simply collect reviews - you need to act upon the feedback you receive, this includes responding to reviews.
Customer feedback is one of the most important assets your business can have. If you get recurring complaints, do something about it to prevent it from happening in the future and negative-review proof your business.
Having a system set up for handling negative reviews is paramount in preventing future ones.
Follow-up communication can be the key to avoiding customer dissatisfaction. It shows customers that you care about their experience and are committed to continuous improvement.
Follow-ups can be as simple as sending an email to check if the solution provided was satisfactory or to ask if they have any further concerns. This proactive approach can prevent customers from feeling neglected after an issue has been addressed, reducing the likelihood of them leaving a negative review.
Loyalty programs can significantly retain customers, minimize poor reviews, and encourage positive reviews.
An effective loyalty solution like Influence.io offers customers incentives such as discounts, points, or exclusive offers in return for their continued patronage.
By making customers feel valued and appreciated, loyalty programs can help turn potentially negative experiences into positive ones.
Happy, loyal customers are more likely to leave favorable reviews and less likely to post unsatisfactory assessments.
After all, having happy staff is the core of having happy customers. Effective staff training is essential in managing and preventing negative reviews.
Employees should be trained to handle complaints with empathy, patience, and professionalism.
Empowering staff to resolve issues on the spot without needing managerial approval can lead to quicker and more satisfactory resolutions for customers.
Regular training sessions can ensure that all team members are up-to-date with the best practices in customer service and are confident in their ability to manage difficult situations.
Implementing online review management tools is a productive strategy for tracking and managing customer feedback before it turns into negative reviews.
REVIEWS.io is more than a simple tool for collecting customer testimonials. Our powerful AI Insights help you with feedback analysis and identify areas for improvement in your businesses. We can do that thanks to advanced features to monitor customer sentiment in real-time and respond promptly to reviews.
By actively addressing customer concerns, businesses can address issues quickly and reduce the impact of negative feedback.
It's impossible to completely negative-review proof your business but there are steps you can take to make them less likely. Remember, when they do happen, don't be too hard on yourself! Keep calm and learn how to handle negative reviews correctly, and you'll be surprised at how many benefits they can have.
