Shiny Reputation Publishes Insights to Handling Negative Consumer Reviews

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) December 16, 2012

Shiny Reputation acknowledges the efforts of AppFolio (along with Yelp) as it shares how a prompt and objective response to the reviewer can benefit the business.

In the world of online reviews, once negative reviews are posted, they cannot be removed legitimately. While negative reviews can spread rapidly and impact businesses, the fact remains that the implementation of a carefully, thought-out strategy to counter the effects of negative reviews can well enable the business to reap the dividends of avoiding a reactive approach.

While the arrival of the internet led to the evolution of novel marketing strategies, the advent of business review sites like Yelp has led to the emergence of a stronger word-of-mouth publicity for businesses. While strong customer relationships can become powerful drivers for the business, bad Yelp reviews can prove to be detrimental as well.

Having the impression that most people post negative reviews on Yelp is a mistaken assumption. 80% of Yelp reviews are 3-stars or higher, with 38% getting a 5-star rating. Bad experiences lead to negative reviews. For example, it could be possible that the reviewer had a bad experience when shopping i.e. maybe the website took an inordinately long time to load. This is something that can be addressed by utilizing a server monitoring service.

When framing a response to the negative review, other things to keep in mind are:

•     Avoid taking the review personally and look at it positively. After all, even if someone is posting negative feedback about the business, they are still speaking about the business and if so, their experience can be converted from a negative one to one that glows.
•     Post comments that would showcase your interest in setting things right and objectivity.
•     Thank the reviewer for highlighting the concern and clearly state your policy, if required.
•     Respond at the earliest possible so as to tell the customer – not just the one who posted the review, but even those who will be reading it – that you care that they had a bad experience and want to see how the products or services could be improved.

It is worth remembering that building up a reputation takes a long time. While a bad review can be a setback, it is important not to treat it as being the end of the world. One negative feedback can act as a validation tool for the tons of positive feedback. As a last recourse, business owners could follow the example of Craft & Commerce – a restaurant based in San Diego – and broadcast the bad reviews in the restroom. If nothing else, it will enable the business not to brood over the negative reviews and take them to heart.

AppFolio provides web-based property management software. They also create easy-to-use, web-based software that enables small and mid-sized businesses improve their workflow and thus, save time and money.

By preparing a well-framed response that highlights objectively the concern raised, the reason for the occurrence, the business policy (if applicable) and future course of action, a business owner can appear to be objective, concerned and willing to go the extra mile – all aspects that will endear the readers of the review to the owner, even if the reviewer remains skeptical.

About Shiny Reputation:
Shiny Reputation helps business owners by giving them simple tips to influence their Yelp reviews. For those interested in attending advanced training, they also pass on methods through which the business can improve their Yelp reviews.

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