Why That One Really Bad Review Matters

One bad review can really set you back from achieving your business goals. Think about it, Jay Baer, author of Hug Your Haters, suggests that only 5% of your customers will even take the time to give you a negative review online. Most are out there, talking to their friends about their negative experience with you so you never even know that they’re blasting your brand!

Why Online Reviews Matter

According to Walker's Customers 2020 report, 86 percent of consumers surveyed said that they were willing to pay more for a better experience, and 88% said they considered reviews a credible source of information. You can have amazing conversations with prospects only to have things halt (and catch fire) when they say they just read a negative online review of the company.

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Building Trust with Customers

That’s the thing with reviews, buyers don’t care about your side of the story. To them, there are no false narratives when it comes to reviews. What your other clients say is like gold to them, because here’s a secret for you….your customers don’t really trust you.

Although you can’t make everyone happy and you’ll certainly always have some brand ‘haters’, there are some things you can do to positively impact your online brand reputation.

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Getting Better Online Reviews

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One of our favorite rules for influencing your reviews:

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Be proactive! When a member of your sales or service team has a great call with a client, ask the person if they’d be willing to give you a short review online. The worst thing they can say is no.

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Don’t stop there! Ask that they mention the rep by name so you can see who’s really providing great experiences with your brand. Lastly, when you do see a team member's name mentioned, have them send a quick email or make a brief phone call just to say thanks for the review. That will really create a great experience with your brand!

This will help deepen the connection the customer has with your brand, and people always like to hear when they’re appreciated! Read on to learn 6 more guidelines on this important part of the customer experience here.