A bad review is generally posted because what they buyer expected, was not what they received.
Now that doesn’t mean that the product was bad, or that your service was bad, it just means the product wasn’t right for them.
And lets face it, we all have had that happen. You buy something, you get home, and it’s not quite what you expected it to be.
So what should you do when negative feedback comes your way.
First off, make sure you’re actually monitoring what reviews come through your store. This will allow you to respond as necessary.
If you can identify the customer who gave the negative review, pick up the phone and call them. Get some more information from them. Offer to solve the problem however you can.
If the issue was service related, assure them that you’ll be reviewing the way things are done and retraining anyone who needs it.
Make sure you publish the review, along with your response. Remember, negative reviews do help to build your credibility and help other buyers make decisions.
Take the time to go and revise the item description on your website. For example, if you have lots of people saying that an item of clothing runs small, update your product to say
“our customers have found this item runs small, so you may prefer to order the next size up”.
It’s all about helping your customer make the right choices.
Do you need to retrain someone? We all end up taking shortcuts when we’ve been doing something for a long time, or, of course, if we’re new to that task.
So take a moment to look at whether you need to do a quick review on a specific task or process with your team.
And lastly, update your process folder to show any changes to processes or systems, that you’ve put in place. Your process folder should be dynamic, and when changes are made, they need to be communicated with all of your team.
As you can see, a negative review doesn’t have to be a bad thing. As retailers, they help us refine our product range, our service, our product descriptions and our processes and systems.
And if you’re doing that on a regular basis, your business is going to stand out from the rest, and have customers coming back again and again.
Make sure there is a healthy mix of positive and negative reviews, to increase the credibility of your product range and store.