How important are reviews to your business?
The answer? Extremely.
Online customer reviews are becoming one of the most powerful tools for marketers while promoting their product or service. In fact, 97 percent of consumers read online reviews before making a buying decision in 2017. Meanwhile, 85 percent will trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Wowza.
That being said, it’s important for businesses to leverage customer feedback, both good and bad, to build their brands and stand out from the crowd.
In order to fully take advantage of the power of reviews to boost your brand, it’s important that you’re fully invested and engaged in what your customers are saying about your product or service. Did they love your product? Great! Thank them for their loyalty. Were they dissatisfied with your service? Check back in with them and learn where things went wrong.
How to Respond to Negative Customer Reviews
How customers perceive the quality of your product or service – and, more importantly, the quality of your customer relationship – is an important driver of business success.
With that, here are 10 tips on how to respond to negative customer reviews to help you take your business to the next level.
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Customer Review Tip #4
You should always respond to negative reviews, but be sure to tread lightly.. There are three steps to getting it right. First, listen. Yes, it might be painful, but don’t disregard the feedback.
Second, apologize. This simple gesture can go further than you might think. Most customers understand that everyone has a bad day.
Third, show how you’ll solve the problem. If you respond with an attempt to make things right, other customers are likely to keep an open mind about the situation. Moreover, research shows that up to 70% of complaining customers will use your business again if you resolve their concerns.
– Brad Plothow, VP of Brand and Communications, Womply
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