Bad publicity is also publicity! We all have heard this line primarily from marketers and it stands true. A lot of brand managers feel that one negative review online is a state of emergency but it is important that you have a set template for both positive and negative online reviews. Digital marketing and education in digital marketing both are on a peak and handling the negative reviews via online reputation management is a big part of digital marketing training. If you have a bad review online and don’t know how to react, here’s a blog that will reveal the secrets to dealing with negative online reviews.
What is Online Reputation Management?
In digital marketing, online reputation management refers to the online presence of a business. By building and maintaining a positive online reputation, they can gain more customers. A lot of digital marketing courses emphasize their focus on managing online reputation as the first steps towards an audience-friendly brand.
Businesses can benefit from ORM in many ways. By building trust with potential customers, it can help them increase their customer base.
As a second benefit, it can ensure that their brand image is always seen by potential customers as trustworthy and professional.
As a third benefit, they can reduce the amount of time they spend managing negative reviews since a team of professionals is available 24/7 to assist them.
Managing your online reputation is more than just building a good image for your business. In addition, it involves safeguarding your company’s reputation from cyber-attacks, data breaches, and negative reviews. Businesses must implement an ORM strategy that covers these aspects and more in order to accomplish this.
What is the Problem with Negative Reviews?
Negative reviews are a problem for many businesses. The good news is that there are many ways to manage your online reputation and to prevent negative reviews from happening in the first place. The first step is to make sure that you have a social media strategy in place. You should also be proactive about responding to customer feedback, both positive and negative. You can also try using an online reputation management software to help you monitor what people are saying about your business and respond accordingly.
How do you Handle Negative Reviews?
Negative reviews can be a pain, but they are not always the end of the world. The key is to respond to them quickly, apologize and make amends.
This section will teach you how to handle negative reviews in different scenarios and how to recover from them.
- Approach the Negative Reviewers– The first thing you should do when receiving a negative review is to approach the reviewer. Because of this, it is important that you have a good relationship with your customers in order for them to be willing to listen. If you are not sure what to say, here are some common phrases: Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate hearing that you are not happy with our product and would love to help you out in any way we can.
- Respond to the Reviewer– If you are not able to reach out and apologise for the reviewer, then responding in a likable manner is important. This will make it seem like you have at least heard their opinion, however, your goal should be focused on showing that they were wrong.
- Post an Apology– The third step is posting an apology on your page and highlighting it on your story. This will show that you have remorse for the experience your reviewer had and hope that they can return to enjoy reading the story again. This will also remind other readers that you are still open for feedback and willing to improve your work.
Why Negative Feedback is Important and Why it Shouldn’t Stop You from Pursuing Your Goals
Negative feedback is an important part of online reputation management. It is important to take these negative comments with a grain of salt, and not to take them too personally. The first step in managing your online reputation is to know what people are saying about you online. This can be done by setting up Google Alerts or other monitoring tools. The second step is to respond appropriately when you see a negative comment. This can be done by responding privately or publicly, depending on the situation. If a private response is not appropriate, you can respond publicly by offering an explanation or apology.
Negative Reviews act as long-term catalysts for brand image. Companies that tend to their negative and positive reviews with equal attention are considered sensitive and are appreciated by the online public much more than those who choose to ignore a negative review.
Conclusion
Hope that by now, as a marketer or brand owner, you know how to deal with negative online reviews. With the Internet bringing the world together on one platform, it makes brands more sensitive to bad reputation. This guide on dealing with negative reviews online and reputation management will get you started with your ORM strategy.