What To Do About Negative Customer Reviews Online

When we talk to small business owners regarding user reviews posted about their business online, the #1 concern is always this:

What about negative reviews?  I don’t want negative reviews!

On August 4, 2010 Google made a big announcement that gives you the business owner more control over your Google Places listing.

Google announced a new “respond to review” feature for Google Places listings for accounts that are owner verified.

If your company has a Google Places page, this is a big deal.

Owners now have the opportunity, not only to respond to customers and open lines of communication, but also improve their relationship with Google. 

One of the reasons Google implemented this feature is because they realized that most of the power in Google Places had swung to the customers. 

Negative reviews can have a negative impact on your local rankings…

And it seems that Google is trying to give businesses the opportunity to address those reviews.

It should be noted that businesses would do well to heed some caution when using this feature.  Because all comments are public, businesses should use discretion in how they respond to negative, as well as positive, comments. 

This doesn’t mean that a business needs to take total blame for all negative experiences.  This feature is about conversation, so converse.  This new feature allows a line of communication to be opened between the reviewer and the company.  If that communication is handled correctly, it could result in a negative review being withdrawn by the reviewer.

If there is a good excuse, explain it diplomatically. If there is no excuse, simply take responsibility and apologize for the experience.  “I’m sorry” are two of the most powerful words in the English language.

Again, this new Google Places feature allows businesses the opportunity to increase their exposure with customers, and improve their rankings in Google local search…so use it.

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