Whether you agree or disagree and whether your company did anything wrong or not, most businesses are unfortunately bound to get some sort of negative review at a point in their time of operation. Many experts from Forbes.com say how a company handles that negative review can really make or break the situation, and in extreme instances, the company or organization. Point Takes discusses how to respond to negative reviews.

Let’s face it, we’re all human. That means we’re bound to make mistakes from time to time and unfortunately, many times those mistakes can impact customers. If a customer is extremely unhappy with a business, in particular the way the business handled a mistake, writing a negative review is a way some people seem to blow off steam. Forbes says you can’t do anything about the negative review, but you can control the way your business responds.

A Harvard Business Review study found that companies who responded to reviews online, whether good or bad, actually saw their rating points increase. The study suggests the reason is because many people avoid confrontation. If someone is about to write a negative review and then they see the company has responded to a similar negative review already posted, that person is more likely to change their mind and not leave any review.

So what’s the best way to respond to a negative review, even if you don’t agree with it? Here is some advice:

• Acknowledge the mistake and apologize. You may disagree, but a reviewer is posting about their feelings towards a specific situation and you can’t really argue with someone’s feelings. 
• Try and be specific with your response as it will likely make the person who left the review feel like your company genuinely cares.
• Sometimes it’s best to take the conversation to the telephone, as words can get lost in translation online. 
• Keep it short and sweet. An online post is not the place to try and prove your point and include follow up questions. 

If you are struggling with negative reviews, Point Taken has experience in writing responses to reviews and can help turn your business and rating score around. Contact us today.