How Do You Respond to a Negative Attack on Your Reputation

A reputation, they say, takes years to build and just moments to destroy. A single negative comment that has been well-written can go viral in an instant, spreading bad news about you all over the world. This is why you have to invest in online reputation repair services. While you should be proactive in terms of avoiding these types of reviews in the first place, these services will also ensure you can be reactive when you have to be.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

When you receive a negative review, you should at all times be professional. Furthermore, you should:

• Make sure your response is actually geared to what the problem is. People can write entire essays, describing a problem from every possible angle. You don’t have to address those angles, you only have to address the problem. Doing this makes the conversation simpler and tempers negative emotions, while at the same time ensuring that you show your customer that you listen.
• Do not reply until you have researched the issue. When you are under attack, it is easy to become defensive and reply in too much of a reactive way. Your reply should be well-informed and solutions driven, which means you have to confirm your own side of the story first.
• Always be honest and polite. Start with an apology, even if you haven’t done anything wrong, and make sure you are thankful for the commentary. A simple sentence such as “thank you for taking the time to write to us, and we apologize for your experience” goes a very long way.
• Always identify yourself so that people know you are a person, and instantly feel more connected to your business. This makes them feel as if you take them seriously.
• Be prompt at all times. You should never wait longer than 48 hours before you reply, although 24 hours is much better. People will only become angrier if you make them wait.

How to Maintain Your Reputation

You must be consistent when it comes to your online reputation, and this means you should do a whole lot more than controlling any damage. Of course, you have to put out the fires of criticism, but your work doesn’t end there. Rather, things have to be done to make sure that you can maintain the positive as well. Once you have dealt reactively with the negative reviews, you have to become proactive and ensure people no longer have any reasons to leave more negative comments.

Can More Bad Reviews Be Avoided?

Unfortunately, there is no way that you can monitor absolutely everything at all times. Furthermore, you can never control what people want to say about you. The only thing you can control is how you reply and, to a degree, how people experience your product or service, giving them less cause to complain. Do also make sure that it is easy for them to leave comments on channels you can control.