Negative reviews.
For most people, just seeing those two words make them cringe a little on the inside.
It’s one thing to see a negative review about yourself, but what if someone posts a harsh review about your business? Something must be done since it’s your professional reputation at stake here.
But how should it be handled? Is there a way to handle such a review to turn things around and save your reputation in the process?
Yes. Yes, there is.
In fact, when handled correctly, a negative review can not only be a golden opportunity to reach new clients, but it can improve your business image altogether.
Talk about a win-win.
Our Marketing Coordinator, Amie Hurst, made a video explaining what the best route is when handling a negative review about your practice. Click the video to watch or keep scrolling to read the full transcript below:
Video transcript as follows:
Amie: Someone just left you a scathing review or a negative comment on one of your business pages, your social media. It’s a negative comment. It’s out there for the whole world to see. What do you do?
A common knee jerk reaction is to get upset about it. Anybody would be, nobody likes negative comments about themselves, but the worst thing you could do is to get angry about it and then react on it in the heat of the moment.
Don’t do that.
The next worst thing you could do, surprisingly, is to leave that negative comment or negative review unanswered.
Leaving an unanswered negative comment on your page just tells the world that you just don’t care, and you don’t want that either.
So how do you handle the negativity online with grace?
First, breathe, go take a walk, go do something that’ll get yourself busy and give you a chance to relax, give you a chance to process it and think about it first before you reply back.
If this is a negative comment or a review that is a genuine review that they had a bad experience with you, this is your golden opportunity to not only remedy their problem, but it will also show your viewers that although you’re not perfect, that you really care and that you want the person to have a better experience with you next time.
This is your golden opportunity to show that you really care.
This is Amie Hurst, I am the marketing coordinator here at Bambiz Marketing, where we help elder law and estate planning attorneys expand their practice.
Takeaway
The next time a disgruntled client leaves a negative review, do not leave it unanswered and try to reply back as quickly as you can. But first, make sure you are in the right frame of mind to want to genuinely help them find a solution to their problem with your practice.
Reach out to the client, ask them how you can solve this issue and let them know you will do whatever you can to make amends.
Sometimes, people just want to be heard. Responding this way will not only show that you care, but you will have put out the “fire” of the negative comment but it will show your viewers that every person matters.
And that is how you build up a good reputation.
These tips will help you continue to grow your practice all year long!
At Bambiz, we work with elder law and estate planning firms and have extensive experience in developing social media marketing strategies unique to your firm, location, and potential client base.
To learn more about how we can help grow your business using online marketing, schedule a free 15-minute call with us.
