The internet has provided endless opportunities for businesses, but it also poses a huge threat to their reputation.
Essentially, the World Wide Web acts as a large, open forum where consumers across the globe can make their voices heard; especially when it comes to their interactions with companies. If a customer is upset or annoyed by the service they’ve received, you can rest assured the first thing they’re going to do is log online and let the world know about it.
It takes years and a substantial amount of money to build up a business, yet just hours to be destroyed by an unhappy customer. That is of course, unless you handle it correctly. Here we’ll look at how to handle a negative reputation and turn it into a positive.
Acknowledging and apologising for your mistakes
You may think the best thing to do when you’ve received a negative review is to ignore it. After all, if you acknowledge the mistake, won’t that damage your reputation even further? Actually, it won’t. In fact, admitting to your mistakes and apologising personally to the company will do wonders for your brand.
However, that being said, it’s not enough to simply acknowledge you made a mistake, you’re going to need to at least try to rectify it. What are you going to do to ensure it doesn’t happen again? While the customer will certainly appreciate an apology, they also want to know how you’re going to make it right. Do this, and that negative review will quickly turn into a positive one.
Always respond to comments quickly
While some complaints are better handled privately, it’s important to show your potential customers you do actually reply. This means you’re going to have to keep up with your social media profiles, as well as your blog if you have one.
Respond to both good and bad comments. If a customer has praised you on your profile, thank them personally. If they’ve left a negative comment, respond politely, acknowledging and apologising for the issue as mentioned above. The quicker you respond to your comments, the better your reputation will become. Customers want to know they can rely upon your business and you’ll respond if anything does go wrong and what better way to show that than on your social media profiles?
Of course, it’s impossible to please everyone. Even if you follow the advice above, you could find yourself facing a potentially nasty dispute. As commercial disputes can become quite complex, it helps to hire a professional company such as Withers, to help you understand the process and minimise potential damage.
Overall, it’s challenging to turn a negative reputation into a positive one. However, it’s certainly not impossible. Follow the advice above and it will help you to deal with any issues which crop up quickly and efficiently.