Trust and reputation take a lifetime to build, but can be shaken and damaged within a day.

If you went to college, reputation probably played a role in your choice of college. You may have checked the reviews and ratings of your teacher before selecting her or his class. I know I am not being operated on by a surgeon unless he has either a clean slate or at the very least, a good reputation.

In the brick and mortar business model, referral is key in building your client base. At the heart of the referral system is trust and reputation. You would definitely refer your mom to the new dentist that you saw, whose very delicate and considerate and gave you an outstanding experience.

At the end of the day, your reputation is your brand. It sticks to you and follows your brand.

Online it is easier than ever for your clients to leave reviews. And guess what? most people who were satisfied with your services will not leave a good review. They will just leave satisfied and come back when the need arise.

However, a lot of your unsatisfied clients will find a way to vent by giving you a bad review and expressing their frustration.

How you handle bad reviews is what defines your business and your character.

If you have an untrained professional handling your social media, make sure that they follow a training on how to handle negative review, and make sure that you share this article with them.

How do you handle a bad review?

First thing that we recommend that you do, is acknowledge that something has happened and as a result, a client was frustrated enough to leave a negative review. Don’t get on the defensive and try to recall the situation and recollect your memories about the events that happened during that particular day.

Thank your client for expressing their opinion, apologize for the sub-par experience that they received.

Show them that their feedback will help improve your process so that the user experience gets better. Take something negative and create something positive from it.

Depending on the case and your business, you can sometimes offer a compensation.

Don’t neglect negative feedback, and keep in mind, even good people sometimes get bad reviews.

Call us now, we handle your reviews and improve your reputation.