By Laura Shaheen

The times of business are changing, and the internet has been at the forefront, leading the charge. Now, instead of searching through phonebooks to find specialized services, most people bring their hunt to the internet. There are endless reasons why: speed, convenience, etc., but also because the internet provides what the yellow pages do not: customer reviews.

As human beings in the internet generation, we feel more comfortable in taking advice from complete strangers than simply picking a name from a hat. Typically, this is a good thing. Truly excellent businesses are allowed to shine through their positive reviews, while their lesser competition gets bogged down by deserved negative reviews. However, there are always the one of two negative reviews that really scare people off of a certain service or company. There reviews might be there for a whole host of reasons. Honestly, some people simply like to stir up trouble. They might have had a less than satisfactory time with your company, or perhaps they’re mistaking you for a different company. No matter the reason, negative reviews need to be dealt with, for better or worse.

But how? You may ask. I have no control over the website and this review is chasing off sales!

Never fear, there is hope. Follow these tips to battle negativity and encourage likability and your company will reap the benefits of a greater and more positive online presence.

1.)    Stay calm and never lash out when angry: There are probably very few things in the world more aggravating than Googling your company only to encounter an atrocious and malicious negative review about your company. The review might be an outright lie, but the most important thing to remember is to never lash out when angry. The internet is like an elephant, it never forgets, and people have long memories. If another prospective customer logs on, reads a negative review and then reads you screaming back at the negative customer, they aren’t going to be prospective for long. Remove yourself from the situation and do not post anything for at least 24 hours. By then hopefully your rage will have cooled, and you can begin to make amends to your online reputation.

2.)    Offer to meet and discuss the issue: So you’ve waited 24 hours, you log back in and the review still gets your blood boiling. That’s normal, especially if the critique is warrantless. The best way to run damage control on the situation is to respond to the review in a calm, collected manner and offer to make reparations. Perhaps you could respond by saying: I’m sorry you feel this way about your recent service with Your Company. We would like to get to the bottom of this issue. Please contact us at this number, or feel free to come into our office to discuss your situation personally. We look forward to seeing you. This approach doesn’t just nip the issue in the bud, it makes you look coolly rational and willing to deal with even the most fractious consumers.

3.)    Don’t get bulldozed: No matter the business, there will always be people in the world bent on tugging the tiger’s tail. These people might be looking to take advantage of you, or perhaps chancing on the bet that you would rather pay them off than deal with them. They might be looking for refunds or rebates, and they most likely will have done things like this before. If you truly look at the situation and realize that they are making outrageous demands with no fact to substantiate them, do not simply give in to what effectively is blackmail. They are holding your company’s reputation hostage, and giving in will not serve the company’s best interests. Be polite, but firm.

4.)    Ask yourself if there truly is a problem: Though there are always the pranksters and scum looking to simply ruin a day, oftentimes customers who post negative reviews really do feel cheated and wronged, and this is something to take very seriously. Perhaps your employees mishandled a situation, or maybe something went wrong on your end. Investigation into complaints can turn your most staunch opponent into your biggest fan if you resolve their issue quickly and show that you value their opinion.

5.)    Build reputation in other ways, effectively drowning out the bad noise: A lot of the time, you cannot simply wave a magic wand and remove the bad review from the review site. The best way to counter a bad review is to drown it out with positive ones. Give people a little credit, most people will not take the one negative review seriously if it is lost in the flow of happy customers. Build your company’s reputation by providing excellent service, but also by boosting your online presence. This will also help with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and will drown out the negative voices.

1.)    Converse, don’t just sell: People don’t want to be lectured to, and the minute you start rolling into a sales pitch, oftentimes people begin building their reasons why not to submit. Build relationships and it will become their idea to use your services. The different is palpable.

2.)    Respond! The glories of social media: Oh social media. You’ve added a face and a personality to companies. No longer are we simple names in the phonebook, or even an address on the web. Now, through social media, companies are living, breathing entities that can interact personally with their customers. If a customer posts something on your Facebook, negative or positive, write back to them.

3.)    Inquire and ask for opinions: People love to give their opinions and they love to answer questions. Make your social media pages as interactive as possible and your online reputation will become infinitely more likeable.

4.)    Honesty and genuineness: Perhaps the most important point, it’s very easy to read something for its genuineness. Your customers are going to go with the company that they feel is the most honest, hardworking and which will ultimately give them the best deal and experience. Allow your honesty to shine through and negative reviews will become a moot point.