Online reviews are like the weather. Good or bad, they are always there. In this age of Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube, consumer reviews are ubiquitous and continual, so it’s just a matter of time before your business receives a bad one.
The trick is knowing how to respond. This article on PRDaily outlines how to turn a bad review into a blessing. The first step is determining how to react. Is it truly a crisis or are your feelings just hurt?
According to South Florida public relations firm Durée & Company, a crisis is something that can have a long-lasting or severe impact upon your business. For example, a bad review about the service or temperature of the food at your restaurant is a fixable issue that can be answered quickly. However, a review about customer getting sick or being hospitalized, due to food they were served at your establishment, is a legitimate crisis.
As an outside, objective agency, Durée & Company can help in both situations. If it’s a bad review that can be fixed quickly, we help our clients craft a professional and sympathetic response in which they outline how they plan to address the complaint. Taking responsibility for a customer’s less-than-stellar experience demonstrates credibility and reliability. No one is perfect, and sometimes, a negative review can make your “flawless” company seem more real.
If our clients are experiencing a crisis, we can help them create a full-blown crisis communications plan, which starts with relaying how they plan to adjust their strategy to better protect their customers and stakeholders. Being silent is not a great option. But having a series of actionable messages, delivered by the right spokesperson, with verifiable results can help rebuild consumer confidence and position the company for a recovery in the public’s eye.
Yes, it’s a lot of work to answer online reviews, but it’s worth it. Customers respect honesty, and they are looking online for brands they can trust.
We can help you be one of them.