Search Engine Optimization Journal points me to an interesting post by Jeff Sexton at Grokdotcom. Jeff is talking about how negative reviews on your website can actually improve your reputation:
It all boils down to credibility. Customer reviews simply have more credibility than your sales copy, so they inspire more confidence in the buyer. And negative reviews lend credibility to the review process itself, standing as visible proof that the reviews are not edited.
Of course, if all your reviews are bad, then reputation management is the least of your problems: there’s probably something seriously wrong with your product or service.
But Jeff makes a pretty good case that if you sweep bad reviews under the rug you’ll do more harm than good, and he gives an example from his own online shopping experience. Bad reviews just wind up migrating to other sectors of the web where searchers will still find them and where you’ll lose your power to respond. Anyway his post is worth a read.
He got me thinking about my own experiences with bad reviews, and how I’ve chosen to deal with them. Now, I’m not a Persuasion Architect like Jeff Sexton (though like him, I’ve had the privilege of making up my own silly job title: Cartoonist-in-Chief), so bear in mind that these are the ramblings of an amateur.
Seems to me there are three kinds of negative reviews:
- Case 1: You’ve genuinely screwed up and the reviewer is calling you on it.
- Case 2: You haven’t really screwed up, but because of miscommunication or misunderstanding, the reviewer thinks you have.
- Case 3: The reviewer is just a jerk.
In all three cases, you may be strongly tempted to just delete the review and pretend it never happened. But if you do, you’re missing an opportunity.
In Case 1, you deserved the bad review. Hopefully you’ll learn from it and do a better job next time. In any event, here’s a chance to demonstrate how on-the-ball you are. Leave a follow-up comment. Explain how you goofed and why it won’t happen again. Offer to make good. A bad review with a timely follow-up is almost as good as a good review, for the reason Jeff Sexton mentioned: credibility. A good review could be from anyone, but only the most paranoid visitor would accuse you of making up bad reviews and sticking them on your site.
In Case 2, you haven’t really screwed up, but because of confusion or bad information the reviewer thinks you have. Most likely this communication breakdown is due to clumsiness on your part: bad site design, fuzzy writing, a failure to make your product or service clear to outsiders. Then again, maybe your reviewer just isn’t very bright. Either way, now’s your chance to clear up the misunderstanding. Your follow-up comment will simultaneously demonstrate your attentiveness and help other confused visitors see the light.
In Case 3, someone is just yankin’ your chain. Don’t let it be yanked. Again, the follow-up comment is a valuable tool: blatant falsehoods can be corrected, insults can be deflected with good humour. (Outright slanders can just be ignored.) The goal here is simple: to demonstrate that you’re the bigger person and get visitors on your side.
Again, I’m not a Persuasion Architect; I’m just an average schmuck with his own set of biases. My preference is for openness and engagement, and luckily I work for a company that shares those values.
It’s something to think about, though. There’s a lot of hostility floating around the internet – for every honest, thoughtful, constructively-critical review on the web, there are a hundred imbecilic bleats. I suppose it has a lot to do with users being able to remain anonymous; there’s little incentive to restrain their worst impulses. Perhaps the growth of online communities like MyFrontSteps, communities with social context – where if you act like a jerk, all your real-world friends will see it – will help mitigate some of this rudeness. In the meantime, what’s the best way to deal with this culture of negativity?
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