It is worth recalling what the famous Warren Buffett said about reputation: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” There is no sadder moment for a business entrepreneur than to see the brand he has sedulously built with time and effort tarnished (sometimes irreparably) by an adverse review online.
But it is pointless losing heart over the damage caused by bad reviews. Instead, every business owner should evolve a strategy to keep their business’s reputation continuously in fine shape.
It is essential that you are honest, straightforward and transparent in all your dealings. If you have any covert or overt weakness, they could be the primary cause of bad reviews.
Maybe businesses fail to ship products as expeditiously as customers expect, or maybe your business’s return policy doesn’t allow for refunds or your quality control is not sufficiently rigid. These facts are often buried in the fine print. These businesses are understandably worried that customers won’t buy from them unless they hide their weaknesses. The result might be an occasional boost in sales on a given day. It is however difficult to sustain high sales as disappointed customers won’t come back. More than that, they will write bad reviews – leading to shrinkage of your customer-base.
Please know that businesses that end up getting the best reviews are those that make their weaknesses clear upfront, but explain them and then do their best to overcome them.
Sometimes deliveries can take a bit longer depending on your order position, but you must seek the customers excuse for the delay upfront. That way, if you do get your shipment out on time, the customer will be pleasantly surprised.
Businesses have come to appreciate that being a little more transparent upfront makes customers a lot more lenient, forgiving, loyal, and they may even write positive reviews.
Set up your well-conceived online review profile before you get negative reviews. The plain truth is it is impossible to please all your customers all the time, and occasional bad reviews are bound to occur.
However, bad reviews do not have to hurt seriously your business provided you have the right strategy in place to deal effectively with bad reviews.
It is still more preferable that instead of waiting for a bad review to appear and then scrambling to repair your online reputation, you have in place a professionally developed your online reputation management.
Respond to every review and never ignore any reviews – be they right or bad. Act swiftly to highlight all positive reviews and bury all negative reviews.