How Should You Respond to Negative Reviews Without Losing Customers?

Imagine you have developed a product or service that can help millions of people, but how do you know your customers or consumers are satisfied or getting a great experience? It is obviously by taking feedback or hearing what they say. Reviews do the same job for you. Smart customers put their reviews on several platforms like Google Reviews, Yelp, Reddit, and some social media platforms where they share their experiences. If you receive significant bad reviews, your products and services need urgent improvement because they can harm the company's reputation. This page consists of information about

Reasons why customers write negative  reviews

Have you ever wondered why someone would write a bad review about your product and service? If people write nasty things about your company, you must be conscious and try to fix it immediately. Here are some of the most common reasons behind negative reviews written by customers, which you can read and find useful.

• Order Status: Customers usually don't like it when they don't get their product on time or are unaware of their order status.
• Product Availability: If your product is excellent but customers can't get it due to unavailability, this can affect your customer and your company's relationship and raise concerns over your company's operations.
• Feedback: Most negative reviews provide feedback on how to work hard and improve your company's internal operations. 
• Suggestions: Some negative reviews also include suggestions you can implement to improve the user experience. 
• Return or replacement concerns: Sometimes, customers write a negative review because they find it difficult to request a return or replacement. 
• Questions: When you read reviews, you would rather not avoid reading questions about product build quality, pre-order, cancellation, and refund, which might potentially tend to attract more collective negative reviews. 
• Others: Market competitors, trends, demand and supply, and operations can be other reasons or factors behind why your customers are writing negative comments or feedback.

That's How You Should Respond To Negative Reviews Without Losing Customers

You might lose your customers if you make any mistakes when handling a customer's negative review. Many examples on the internet result in bad results. Here's how it should be done so that you might consider it.

Don't consider it a personal attack.

First of all, you must be calm and not take it personally. Understandably, negative reviews can hit so hard, but you should not let your personal emotions cloud your judgment. See the frustration behind the words. 

Take a step back before responding to a customer.

You must not instantly give a reply in the heat of the moment; let the heat cool and get some perspective on the issue, then prepare a response. 

Understand the customer's perspective.

It is essential to have a clear understanding of the customer's perspective. Here you can get help by asking yourself-

• Was the customer's expectation unclear?
• Did the customer have to face it due to a poor process?
• Is there any confusion that led the customer to have a negative experience?

Track and find out the cause

When preparing a response, ensure that you mention the cause and dig into the details, such as order history, delivery status, chat logs of support, talking to the shipping and product teams, and more.

Don't react; respond professionally.

When you write a reply, do not forget that you are speaking on your brand's behalf, so don't react; respond professionally. Make your customers believe that your brand listens to their queries. 

Do not hide negative feedback.

Do not practice to hide the negative feedback; instead, you can use it by converting it into positive engagement. Here, you can publish a thoughtful response that highlights the transparency.  

Ask customers politely to edit their review.

When you have successfully resolved the matter and completely satisfied your customer with your service, you can ask them to leave a reply, update, or add to their review. This will portray your brand as a trusted brand that listens and cares for others, and there is nothing wrong with asking for an extra line. 

Share feedback internally

You must take the negative review or feedback as a chance to improve your internal operations, product, logistics, or support teams. Respond to any such healthy criticism or negative feedback with a commitment that your brand is working on it and will soon improve it.

Crafting a response to negative reviews

When responding to a negative review, there are many things you must consider. Here are some vital keys to crafting the best response and turning a negative review into a positive reputation. 

• Say Thank You. Start with "Thank you for your review." This expresses gratitude for your customers who have pointed out something and allowed you to work on it. It also helps customers become calm.
• Apologies for the inconvenience. You should ask for pardon for any inconvenience caused to customers by your products and services. This will allow you to handle customers and emotionally connect with them politely.
• Personalize Your Responses. Don't just respond with predefined canned responses. Craft personalized responses that highlight your customer's issue and address the necessary future actions.
• Offer a Solution. After highlighting and understanding the customer's issues, you can prepare a practical solution, such as return, replacement, refund, etc., to proactively resolve the issue.
• Present Your Company's Ethics. You can highlight your company's ethics and vision, making customers believe that whatever they experienced is an exception.
• Offer a Follow-Up. You can provide them with contact details for your company's customer relations department, where executives will personally handle their concerns. 
• Avoid mentioning compensation. You must not mention everything publicly; try to discuss the matter privately with the customer, and if it involves compensation, ensure that it is kept private.