It can be more than just annoying, even angering when someone gets online and leaves a bad review of your business. It can be extremely easy to spot fraudulent reviews, which may be left by a vindictive customer, or by your competition, in order to make your company look bad. And bad reviews work—85% of consumers will hesitate before buying when they see a bad review.
How do you deal with bad reviews online in a manner that both makes you look good and diffuses that review? Here are some tips:
- Don’t ignore those reviews. Even if you are not in the practice of responding to reviews of any kind, it is important to not ignore a negative and/or fake review. You might look like you’re wearing a tinfoil hat if you immediately cry “fraud” every time someone leaves a bad review on your page, but you are probably more than capable of differentiating between a real review and a paid one. As soon as you suspect a review is fraudulent, it’s time to get to work.
Do not just go and leave a bad review on your competitor’s page. If you think you know who left the review, you may be tempted to reciprocate. Do not do this. Not only could you be wrong about who left the review, even if you are right, you could get into trouble for leaving a fake review yourself.
- Pay attention to tone and to the facts stated. One of the best ways to identify a fake review is to look for any facts that are mentioned in the text of the review. If the review says that you or your business did things that you know you didn’t do, it’s probably a fake. A particularly vicious tone can also be a sign that this is not just someone who had a bad experience, but someone who wants to hurt your business.
- Respond politely and calmly. In the moment, it can be difficult to be polite or calm—but do make a response, and make it as congenial as possible. As you gather information to try to prove that the review is fake, a calm, clear response can negate the effects of a bad review. Just don’t forget to flag that review and provide the website with any relevant evidence of fraudulence.
It can be more than just annoying, even angering when someone gets online and leaves a bad review of your business. It can be extremely easy to spot fraudulent reviews, which may be left by a vindictive customer, or by your competition, in order to make your company look bad. And bad reviews work—85% of consumers will hesitate before buying when they see a bad review.
How do you deal with bad reviews online in a manner that both makes you look good and diffuses that review? Here are some tips:
- Don’t ignore those reviews. Even if you are not in the practice of responding to reviews of any kind, it is important to not ignore a negative and/or fake review. You might look like you’re wearing a tinfoil hat if you immediately cry “fraud” every time someone leaves a bad review on your page, but you are probably more than capable of differentiating between a real review and a paid one. As soon as you suspect a review is fraudulent, it’s time to get to work.
- Do not just go and leave a bad review on your competitor’s page. If you think you know who left the review, you may be tempted to reciprocate. Do not do this. Not only could you be wrong about who left the review, even if you are right, you could get into trouble for leaving a fake review yourself.
- Pay attention to tone and to the facts stated. One of the best ways to identify a fake review is to look for any facts that are mentioned in the text of the review. If the review says that you or your business did things that you know you didn’t do, it’s probably a fake. A particularly vicious tone can also be a sign that this is not just someone who had a bad experience, but someone who wants to hurt your business.
- Respond politely and calmly. In the moment, it can be difficult to be polite or calm—but do make a response, and make it as congenial as possible. As you gather information to try to prove that the review is fake, a calm, clear response can negate the effects of a bad review. Just don’t forget to flag that review and provide the website with any relevant evidence of fraudulence.