Can Bad Reviews Hurt Your Company’s Reputation?

Technology has widened the gap between most sectors of the economy. Surprisingly, you can market your business to any part of the globe with a single click. Nonetheless, every business occasionally faces negative client comments, and how you handle these matters matters. Similarly, a single nasty comment by a client can ruin your business, which affects your reputation worldwide. A negative review can cost you business; here’s how.

Bad Reviews

1. Use of social media

A dissatisfied client can post a negative comment on social media and wreck your business’s reputation. If you don’t handle this rightly, it may cost you more than you can imagine. Imagine a client with over 500 contacts on Facebook; if you sell a product worth $5, a negative review costs you $2500 of potential business. Many people will never buy from you if you don’t address this promptly.

2. Search engines

Customer reviews influence search engines in various ways. A negative review can find its way to leading search engines like Google and remain there forever. With stiff competition in most parts of the world like London and the Uk, this can affect your sales immensely.

All is not lost, though! Some Reputation Management London companies can help you remove such harmful content. And this safeguards your company’s reputation, making it easier to draw clients to your business.

3. Third-party review sites

You can easily lose customers with harmful content online. Nowadays, shoppers are more intelligent and empowered. They search for reviews online before making purchase decisions. There are multiple third-party review sites with thousands of customer feedback. Therefore, beware of what clients say about your company.

However, a good PR company can help you out. If you operate a London-based company, you can hire different professionals to remove the content and repair your online profile and reputation. You can also hire PR agencies in other parts of the world.

How can you build your online reputation?

Potential clients will always check how your company responds to criticism. Strive to receive more positive reviews and keep the negative ones minimal. A few negative comments show credibility and make the positive ones more meaningful. But you should monitor them to avoid losing clients. Here’s how;

  • Monitor your reputation- use online tools.

Monitoring tools are handy for all businesses. They notify you when new reviews are posted online, making it easier to respond promptly. You can use free or paid tools to learn about any mentions of your brand online. Some of the tools are;

#Google Alerts

#Free Review Monitoring

#Rankur

  • Use negative reviews to your advantage.

If you can address client issues publicly, that’s better. However, if you handle the matter privately, maybe through text or e-mail, remember to update the original thread once you resolve the issue. This shows transparency and builds trust among many other online users.

In summary

Negative feedback can affect your company’s reputation and sales. Address all negative comments and mentions promptly, and find ways to remove content that can dent your company’s image online. By so doing, you build your online reputation and trust.

Share

Alcohol scholar. Bacon fan. Internetaholic. Beer geek. Thinker. Coffee advocate. Reader. Have a strong interest in consulting about teddy bears in Nigeria. Spent 2001-2004 promoting glue in Pensacola, FL. My current pet project is testing the market for salsa in Las Vegas, NV. In 2008 I was getting to know birdhouses worldwide. Spent 2002-2008 buying and selling easy-bake-ovens in Bethesda, MD. Spent 2002-2009 marketing country music in the financial sector.