Why and How to Respond to Negative Reviews

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In a world of highly competitive markets, businesses and entrepreneurs are increasingly “forced” to provide better service and quality.

Contrary to how it was before, consumers are now in charge.

Any buyer now has greater power than ever to impact a company's reputation through their digital platform comments.

So, if you have to work hard to maintain or build your reputation by earning those positive reviews, you are not alone.

As you have probably realized, even when you comply with the highest service standards, it's not rare for negative reviews to be left on your social channels or review platforms.

That feels bad at times, but is it really bad?

In this article, I will explore why it is important to never leave these types of negative messages unanswered and offer tips on how to address them effectively.

My goal is that you learn to deal with them in a way that they become a tool for you to grow your business instead of a source of disappointment or headache.

The Importance of Responding to Negative Reviews

Comments made about your business on various social media or reputation channels can be very uncomfortable at times and may not always be true or reflect what really happened.

Tricky, right?

However, instead of giving in to the temptation to ignore them or respond emotionally, it is first essential for you to understand that these reviews are an opportunity to show the type of service your business provides and how you care about your customers.

Whether we want to accept it or not, we all have a digital reputation.

So, the best thing you can do is protect your company’s reputation by responding to negative reviews.

In the meantime, your responses shared on a public review platform like Google Reviews or your Facebook page, say everything about your business the way it works and the values it stands for.

Not responding tells other users that what the review says is likely true (even if it’s not). It also shows that you have no genuine interest in helping your clients solve their problems or in taking responsibility for the results of their services or products.

Since neither you nor I want to give such an impression, it is best to respond promptly and not just respond for the sake of responding.

Instead, use the techniques I will teach you later in this article.

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Note: With these tools, you can turn this initially uncomfortable moment into a positive customer experience and increase the trust of your existing and future clients.

🧠 Understanding Negative Reviews

Before we continue, it is essential to note that not all negative customer reviews have the same cause.

The reasons why you are receiving negative comments may be different depending on your industry, the type of client you work with, and similar factors.

Some of them may:

Be motivated by a customer's honest desire to receive help, a better experience, or to feel they are receiving what they paid for.

Be related to a customer’s bad experience with one of your employees, systems, websites, or policies.

Be motivated by a “naughty” customer’s desire to obtain an unjustified refund or some additional bonus from the business.

Be fake, posted on purpose to hurt your business.

Your role as a business owner is to identify these root causes, understand what triggers them, make the necessary adjustments in your processes and systems, and respond accordingly to avoid issues from escalating or threatening your business.

You may be a new business owner, and what other people say about your product may affect you considerably.

I feel you. I understand this is not easy, especially at first.

But please embrace the truth that even if you do your best, you can’t make everyone happy.

Take the example of a legendary product like Dropbox. Personally, I love it.

But do you think that every person feels the same about it?

Or that it was always considered a great product.

All you have to do to realize the truth is check out this old Hacker News post.

The title is "My YC app: Dropbox - Throw away your USB drive.”

When Drew Houston, the founder of Dropbox, first posted the product on HN, BrandonM had the top comment.

It wasn’t a positive one. It doubted Dropbox’s viability/usefulness as a product.

“It does not seem very "viral" or income-generating,” said the comment.

Eventually, Dropbox became a great success.

This “non-income-generating” idea is now worth 8 billion.

Founders must accept “negative” reviews and use them to improve or discard them.

So, the sooner you stop taking these comments as personal, the faster you will grow.

I have realized from experience that my business started improving when I decided to see those comments as constructive feedback about my product and analyzed them objectively instead of focusing on details, blame, or shame.

Customers became more than just transactional names on a list.

📝 Crafting Your Response

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With the information in this section, you can build the structure of a template you can use in your business today to help you with this very important task.

Part 1 - Acknowledging and Empathizing

Start by letting your customer know that you understand his problem. Then, use a phrase that shows you empathize with him.

This part will vary slightly depending on the issue that triggered the negative comments.

For example, if the problem is actually from a mistake or error on your end, you could say something like:

Thanks so much for contacting us, [FIRST NAME].

First, I want to apologize for [ISSUE FACED].

This is definitely not our average customer experience at [COMPANY NAME], and we would like to rectify this for you.

If the root of the problem is unclear, not your fault, or is due to a different thing like a mismatch in expectations or something similar, you could say the following:

Thanks for your feedback, [FIRST NAME].

I am sorry to hear you are having issues with [ISSUE FACED].

Please be sure we’ll do our best to help you with it.

Part 2 - Context or Explanations

When necessary, offer a brief explanation or context to help clarify the situation.

Be transparent and honest in your response, but avoid making excuses or shifting blame.

Part 3 - Offer a solution/confirm a resolution

This section is why the person left you a negative review in the first place: they want a solution.

What you do at this point will differentiate your business from others.

Being proactive here will show that your business is trustworthy and effective.

Some businesses are friendly, acknowledge the problem, and empathize with their customers, but fail to provide a tangible, timely, or satisfactory solution.

Depending on the review, you should reply:

Proposing a solution (fix, compensation, refund, extension).

Proposing an action plan to address the issue.

Confirming the issue has been solved or escalated.

Some things to consider:

If your response comes with commitments, try to provide a defined or estimated date on which you will have a response, solution, or confirmation for this matter.

If you can’t solve the root issue, be honest about it. Your customer may be interested in alternative options to solve his issue or get compensated.

If you are not obliged to provide a solution for the issue or request to be transparent about it, too. You can politely say this fix may come in the future or that you don’t have plans for it but that you may revisit the fix or feature request in the future.

Part 4 - Close like a boss

The most difficult part is over.

You have learned about your customer’s issue, empathized with him, and provided context and a solution.

All you have to do now is close in a friendly and caring way.

Be warm, but keep the professional tone intact. You can:

Keep it simple and write a thankful and polite farewell.

If you have provided a solution, write a short sentences that emphasizes that is how you do things on your business.

Include a PS. line that invites the reviewer to:

Contact you again if the issue persists
Contact support for extra help or a bonus perk
Provide a discount code, contact number, or other information or value

✅ The Dos and Don'ts of Responding to Negative Reviews

Listing every tip possible on this topic would be challenging, but here you have the ones that I consider the most relevant dos and don’ts when dealing with negative comments.

Stay calm and be professional

Maintain a professional and relaxed tone in your response.

Some reviews may be particularly critical or emotional, but still, make an effort to avoid responding defensively or with hostility.

Getting offended or acting defensively will put you in a bad position.

Proofread your response to make sure you aren’t sending a reactive response.

This is how you SHOULD NOT approach a negative review:

Take the conversation to a different setting

If you can provide customer support in addition to the response, ask the reviewer to move to a different communication channel.

This is important because some cases shouldn’t be addressed in public.

Send your reply via the review platform, but if the case is tricky:

Ask the reviewer for a phone number or email address

Give them your number, email, or a link to your support chat

Share online resources that could be of help (including links to your help desk documents)

Don’t allow abusive behaviors

You are there to support and advocate for your business; however, you don’t have to comply with every request.

Some people may be rude, offensive, and even cruel. Do your best to stay calm and avoid getting involved in arguments.

Don’t allow reviews to be a way for people to extort you into getting refunded unfairly, an extra discount, or another type of forced compensation.

If you receive a fake review, expose it as what it is - a bad move from a competitor or angry customer.

Do it with grace and professionalism.

I love how Rob Murray handled this one:

Follow up

In many cases, your job doesn’t finish with your initial reply.

Follow up with your customer using their preferred contact method to show that you are committed to rectifying the situation.

This doesn't have to become a full-time job.

It would be enough to follow up quickly with your customer to confirm a fix or solution or to show that you are available for support.

Learn and Improve

Finally, use negative reviews as opportunities for learning and improvement.

As a previous Cisco employee, I never had a chance to talk to a single Cisco customer directly.

I didn’t know if they had any feedback. All I had were the supporting tickets and bug reports.

Now, I talk to my customers every single day. Knowing what they truly need and making it happen gives me great satisfaction.

One of the traits of successful founders and leaders is they improve their products fast from bad reviews.

Bad reviews are just that: customer feedback.

Some products in the MVP stage are crappy and are supposed to get criticized.

There is nothing wrong with that.

It is the opposite:

It proves there is a demand for your product, so people want it to be better so they can keep using it and (hopefully) pay you for it.

If you are receiving this feedback, do your best to identify potential areas of weakness or areas for enhancement in your products, services, customer experience, or overall systems.

It will always pay off very well.

I hope you find this article insightful.

If you want to build a more solid marketing strategy using reputation marketing and social proof, feel free to check Testimonial.

Testimonial is a tool that allows you to collect text and video testimonials from your customers with no need for a developer or website hosting.

In almost every case, a testimonial will yield better results than a review.

Think about your testimonials, like mini use cases, that you can use to attract new clients for your business.

The best is that using a Testimonial for your marketing efforts will give you a level of control and ownership over your social proof that you have never experienced before.

Have more than reviews. Own assets that you can use to grow your business exponentially.