Responding To Negative Reviews

Responding to Negative Reviews

There are many things a contractor has to do to continue getting clients. One of these ensuring their online reputation stays intact. Knowing how to respond to negative reviews is important because it’s inevitable that negative reviews will come at some point in their career. CraftJack is here to help businesses track their online presence.

CraftJack’s Reputation Manager can help you monitor your online reviews and more. Contact us today to find out how can help your business.

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One thing that makes it difficult to manage your online reputation is that clients who aren’t fully satisfied with your work might leave negative reviews. What many contractors might not realize is that the way they respond to the negative reviews can have a positive impact on their business.

What Points Should You Remember About Responding To Negative Reviews?

When you find a negative review of your company online, you need to take a few moments to gather your thoughts. Don’t fire off a knee-jerk reaction that could make the situation inherently worse. It might help you to take a step away from the review for a few minutes.

Don’t fall into the temptation to ignore negative reviews. Around 1/3 of people who leave a negative review will delete that review if the company responds to them. The reason for this isn’t completely clear, but some suggest that it might be because the review was written in the heat of the moment, and seeing that the business saw it could make the person rethink their comments.

There’s also the fact that by responding to the complaint, you might be able to win the customer back. Around 18% of individuals who post a negative review of a company become loyal customers as a direct result of the company’s reply to their review.

Consider these tips when you’re ready to respond:

  • Remain respectful and professional in your reply. Other people besides the reviewer can read your response and it could change a homeowner’s perception of your business.
  • Offer information about the case. This is important if the reviewer provided inaccurate information. Share the facts of the situation and photos, if possible. Just make sure you have the appropriate permissions to share pictures if those are needed.
  • The most important part of your response is providing information about how you plan to correct the issue. If you don’t have a direct solution, outline the steps the customer should take. For example, you could instruct them to contact you and leave your business number on the review.
  • Follow up after the review. You can even document this on some review websites if they allow you to respond more than once to a complaint. If the customer doesn’t contact you after a few days, reiterate the desire for them to contact you.
  • Keep a record of what you do to correct the issue. This is important so you can continue to provide accurate information about the matter.

Can You Remove A Negative Google Review Or Any Other Negative Review?

Google doesn’t give business owners the option of removing negative reviews. One of the only ways that you’ll be able to have the review taken down is if it is inappropriate or doesn’t meet Google’s review standards. These standards forbid certain reviews, including those that are fraudulent or come from a false reviewer.

There are several reasons why a review might not meet the standards that Google set. This includes if the review contains false information. It’s fully possible that the individual who wrote the review was an unhappy customer, but it’s equally as possible that the review was written by a competitor that’s trying to discourage people from coming to your company. This goes against Google’s terms of service, so you can report them for this.

You’ll have to check with other websites to find out what you can do about negative reviews. Because most sites want to provide consumers with accurate information, they won’t allow contractors or businesses to remove negative reviews without cause. You may be able to have negative reviews removed if you flag them or submit a statement about why the review is providing incorrect information.

Where Can You Turn If You Don’t Know How To Reply To A Negative Review?

Whether you’re trying to decide how to respond to negative reviews on Google or another website, CraftJack is here to help. Our reputation management program is available to help you protect the way potential customers view your business in the online world.