What is a negative online customer review going to cost your small business?

What is a negative online customer review going to cost your small business?

According to B2B Magazine (Feb 2011), a negative customer review on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook can cost a company 30 customers. That’s a pretty scary statistic isn’t it?

Social media is a great way to send your marketing messages to a wide audience. Until you fall foul of a negative opinion, that is – and then it feels like there’s no place to hide.

Making a complaint used to mean writing a Mr or Mrs Angry letter to a company’s customer service department or returning to a store to demand a refund. It was largely a private interaction between two parties, unless you told a few friends or had a slanging match with the store manager and attracted a large crowd.

But now, even the opinion of just one person can be shared with hundreds or even thousands of other customers.

The fear of bad customer experience

Such is the fear of negative online reviews that it’s probably one of the most common concerns that crop up when I discuss blogging and social media as part of a marketing plan with my clients. Nobody wants to risk their reputation or the possibility of losing or alienating customers because of a negative online review. But shying away from social media presents (potentially) an even greater risk — that of losing out on exposure to an audience that you may not otherwise reach.

It may feel like you don’t have full control of your brand — and it’s true, you don’t. Total control is history — the days of pushing out marketing messages and expecting your audience to simply listen and do what you want are long gone. What we have now is a two-way dialogue. And that’s priceless.

So when can a negative review be a good review?

Online reviews give you instant access to your customers’ thoughts and feelings. You can get a good understanding of how customers perceive your brand/service/products, and ALL feedback — good or bad — provides a way of measuring success and ensuring continual improvement of your business.

If someone does leave a negative comment, don’t feel humiliated or upset. That’s easy to say and you probably will feel hurt for a while. But pick yourself up and look on it as an opportunity. Yes, really.

A customer has brought something to your attention — you may even not have been aware of it, so this is your chance to make a positive change about that element of your service or product. Show that you’re prepared to listen — offer a refund, replace a faulty item, do whatever is necessary to give your customer a sense of satisfaction. Be considerate and sincere in your response.

Get it right and you will actually build greater customer loyalty and trust. Others will see that you actually care about keeping your customers happy. And that negative will become a positive.

Speed is of the essence

This morning I came across a negative review of a lettings agent in a particularly attractive part of London. It was left on Google Maps by a very disgruntled tenant in September 2010. The agent had written an excellent and well-considered response and I would have held it up as a textbook reply had it not been for the fact that it was written in April 2011 – seven months later! And so they committed the ultimate sin of not monitoring their reviews and not nipping problems in the bud.

Think about their business for a moment. If someone is looking to move into an area, the odds are they are going to Google local estate agents, so that one review will have been on display (in all its glory and unanswered) to all who were looking for rental property in that leafy corner of London. I’d lay bets on how many were completely turned off by that tenant’s opinion of the agent’s service – or lack of. For seven months!

This example demonstrates just how important it is to manage your reputation online. Always monitor the reviews you receive and act immediately on any that are negative. Post a reply and then take it offline to continue the dialogue and fully resolve the issue. If you’re lucky, that customer will then feel compelled to write a new review about the excellent customer service they have just received.

And finally…

However bad it may be, do resist the urge to remove a negative online review. Customers will be suspicious of reviews that are nothing less than glowing. Follow my advice and even negative reviews will end up working in your favour.

Sarah Orchard is an expert contributor to Marketing Donut and a consultant at Orchard Marketing Associates.

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