Is there such thing as bad press? Well, it’s a controversial subject, but many believe there’s no such thing. Now, if we assume that to be true, why do we care about bad reviews? Aren’t they just bad press in a different form?
Well, it’s tricky. We wouldn’t really call a negative review bad press. Then again, a lot of negative feedback could cause a major surge in your popularity, which could turn out to be good for you in one way or another and that’s kind of why we are here today. We’re going to talk to you about the surprising benefits of negative reviews and how you can turn those negative reviews around and improve your business. Let’s get started!
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Increased Exposure
Do you remember a few years ago when Apple came out with an iPhone that had that weird thing for a forehead called a notch? You certainly do. Do you remember what absolutely everyone said about it? If you don’t, let us refresh your memory – it was nothing good. Every review was negative. They called it horrendous, an eye-sore, monstrosity and so on. Reviewers claimed it looks so bad that it actually impacts the user experience and that it’s only a matter of time before Apple moves on.
Yet, here we are, several years into the future and iPhones still come with that same, ugly notch even though some manufacturers have found a way to hide the cameras under the display. Now, whether the notch is good or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that people have talked about “the notch” so much, that within the months, you saw a number of companies copying their design. Furthermore, iPhone X become became one of the top-selling mobile phones of all time and the second highest-selling device that year, even though it came out in November.
Now, the negative reviews of a notch certainly weren’t the main reason for this phone’s success, but it sure did help. Everyone was talking about it – that has to count for something!
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Salvaging Damaged Relationships
Let’s say a customer has a bad experience with your product or your service and just decides to turn around, not say a thing and walk away. Is there a way for you to know that? Well, no, because the customer has kept quiet. When you don’t know that you’ve made a mistake or that you’ve alienated a customer, there is absolutely no way for you to salvage that particular relationship. The bridge is burned and you’ve lost the customer for good.
On the other hand, if a customer decides to voice their opinion and write a negative review based on the experience they’ve had with you, your business or your product, you can act on it. You can acknowledge the negative review, realize you’ve made a mistake and learn how to improve. You can directly engage with the customer, handle whatever needs to be handled in the best, most professional way possible, solve the issue and repair the damaged relationship.
That is the best way to retain customers and show the new ones that you’re willing to put in work, improve and treat them with respect and understanding.
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Building Trust
Ask yourself this – is there anything perfect in this world? No, of course, there isn’t. You know it, we know it and your customers know it. According to PissedConsumer.com, customers tend to avoid product or service with only stellar, 5-star reviews because they seek fake. Potential customers that are reading the reviews on your business or product need to see some negativity in the comments and reviews.
To put it simply, customers are more likely to trust a business if there are some negative reviews because it shows both sides of the story and it gives the good reviews their credibility. You’ve probably heard that almost 40% of all Amazon reviews are fake, so, you can’t really blame the customers for being suspicious if they don’t see any bad reviews in your section.
Furthermore, if they notice that you’ve embraced those reviews, responded and acted on them professionally, apologetically and reasonably – you’re going to gain their trust and that’s essential for business growth.
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Chance For Improvement
Certainly, you’ve heard the expression that the key to every good relationship is communication. If you’re open and you don’t mind voicing your opinion and discussing both good and bad things – your relationship is going to grow and improve. The same thing applies to a business’ relationship with its customers.
Don’t look at the negative review as an attack on your business or product, look at it as an opportunity to grow and improve. Unless the review is a load of rubbish and it’s just someone being a hater, you can use the criticism to your advantage. Acknowledge that you’ve made a mistake and work out a way to solve it. It’s just like life. Every error, every mistake is nothing but an opportunity to grow and improve. Learn from your mistakes, own up to them and you’ll see improvement and growth sooner rather than later.
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Marketing
We’re circling back to the old “there’s no such thing as bad press” and for a good reason. Marketing is tricky and in the era of following trends, everyone’s swimming in the same pond, doing the same thing and that makes it very hard to stand out and market your business effectively.
Certainly, you’ve seen ads filled with screenshots or montages of positive reviews and happy customer feedback, right? Well, that’s getting a bit repetitive is you ask us. What you could do, for instance, is turn things around. Make a negative review montage and make a funny ad. Better yet, show how you’ve dealt with those negative reviews and how you’ve approached the issues that caused a customer to write a bad review.
Not only will that differ from the others and will showcase your creativity, but it will also show your willingness to work, improve and listen to customer feedback and that’s something every customer wants to hear.
Conclusion
As you can clearly see, a bad review isn’t all that bad, after all – you just have to know how to deal with them. Hopefully, we have managed to show you just how you can turn these around to your advantage so that the next time you see a bad, negative review – you’ll welcome it with your arms wide open.
