Dealing with negative reviews

It happens to the best online store, not fully satisfied customers. It is even more annoying that it is often these customers who air their opinion on the Internet. Harmful for your webshop, or not? The impact of a negative experience often depends on how you deal with it. When you handle it well, negative reviews about your store don't have to be negative. Even customers understand that things can go wrong, a review page with only positive reviews always gives me the creeps. I quickly get the idea that the experiences are fabricated or that negative comments are removed. It is the negative experiences and the reaction to them that I want to see as a customer. Here are some tips on how to deal with customer experiences.

React, not argue!

Many review systems (including those of ValuedShops) offer merchants the opportunity to respond to customer reviews. Immediately below the customer's response is then the business owner's response. Don't go on the attack there, trying to win the discussion whether the review is justified or not is not going to work. Choosing to go on the attack not only worsens the relationship with the customer, future customers will also fear that if problems arise, there will be no resolution.

Show understanding

Whether something went wrong or the customer is very demanding, showing understanding is very important. This shows that you take the customer seriously and understand them (understanding is different from agreeing completely). When something has gone wrong, in many cases apologies do a lot of good. Even when you don't think anything is wrong at all and the customer is demanding to say the least, it doesn't hurt to show some compassion.

Come up with a solution

Did something go wrong? Mistakes are no big deal, it's all about how you handle this. If the fault lies with you or the delivery person, it is good to come up with a solution. Is the suffering already done and a solution no longer possible? Then an apology combined with a small compensation will do wonders. Is no solution possible for whatever reason and is the problem not yours? Then just respond briefly and powerfully, show understanding and indicate that you find it annoying that the customer is dissatisfied. State your position clearly and objectively (no attacks) and let them know that unfortunately you cannot help them any further.

Do not escalate

In some cases, a whole process precedes before a customer posts their experience online. A customer feels misunderstood and badly treated (rightly or wrongly) and has the personal goal of blackening you. With such customers you can do little good, so better to proactively offer a solution at an early stage (even though this may not be legally necessary). In many cases it is cheaper for your web store to make some costs to satisfy a customer, than the costs that an escalation will generate. Again, do not go on the offensive even in the case of an unjustified review. Prospective customers would much rather see you rise above the conflict than win the conflict.

Encourage sharing reviews

You probably have far more satisfied customers than dissatisfied ones, but dissatisfied customers are much more likely to write a review on their own accord. Therefore, encouraging all your customers to share their experience is important. For example, include a bill with the order asking the customer to share their experience, or even better, automate this into your process. For example, send the customer an email a week after receiving the order to share his or her review, that way the customer remembers your online store and at the same time you have a positive review to deal with. Two birds with one stone!Negative reviews have a positive effect!

And however contradictory it may sound ... Negative reviews can have a positive turn. After all, it contributes to the credibility of your online store. A perfect score can seem suspicious. The balance between positive and negative reviews actually builds trust. And with a negative review, you can show good customer service. Respond to a negative experience, do not start a yes/no discussion, but show empathy and provide a solution if possible, even though you may not be to blame.

Moderation request for incorrect review

And is the negative review really incorrect? Then of course you can submit a moderation request.