When you receive a negative review about your business it is natural to panic. You may be wondering if other people feel the same way as this person. You may even worry about how many people are going to read this review and believe it. The reputation of your business has now been compromised. However, the key to effectively dealing with this sort of thing is not to over-react. When you go on the defense, you could potentially be doing more harm than good. You send the message that makes it clear that you only welcome feed-back if it is favorable. However, a business needs to know where they can improve and thus some negative reviews can be beneficial. When you face such a situation, just know that there are ways to manage your online reputation. You just need to know some steps that you can take to effectively manage your brand reputation online.
Effective Steps to Protect Your Brand
Sometimes a competitor will write bad reviews, for obvious reasons. There is little that you can do to stop them from doing this. If you are sure that the review you received was untrue and you can prove this, you can often contact the administrator of the review and dispute the validity of the posting. They will often ask for details to corroborate what you are telling them. If they discover that what you are disputing is true, they will may remove the posting. While this doesn’t always work, just remember that your goal, at this point, is to get customers see you in a more positive light. You want them to know that you value and appreciate their business. One way to do this is by not cowering away. Instead, when you come across a negative posting, respond. Try to locate the reviewer to discuss the matter. If they see the effort that you have taken to try to resolve a matter, this may impress them enough to remove the review and write something more favorable. It is certainly worth the effort. Trying to change peoples perception about your brand isn’t easy; however, it is possible. As long as you care enough to be consistent about managing your online reputation, you can survive negative comments about your business.
