Negative Google Reviews — Here's How You Should React

Are you also one of those customers who first read the company's Google reviews before visiting a restaurant or buying a product? Then you're not alone. A 2019 study by BrightLocal shows that the average consumer reads 10 reviews before they can trust a company. In addition, every second consumer requires at least a 4-star rating before choosing a provider. Good and authentic reviews are therefore essential. This applies in particular to gastronomy, restaurants, cafés or bars. But gyms, hairdressers and doctors are also closely watched on rating portals first. Google reviews can be equated with a big barrel of emotions. Accordingly, joy and praise meet criticism and ridicule about services, products or companies. It is important to thank you for the positive reviews on the one hand and to respond to the negative reviews on the other hand and take them seriously. We will show you why Google reviews are important for your company and how you can deal with negative reviews below:

Why are Google reviews important?

In order for search engines to rank your company high in search results for local searches, it is important to do local search engine optimization. Google reviews help improve local search engine optimization. If you now enter a local search term (such as “hairdresser”) in the search bar on Google, the ranking of the websites counted depends on 3 factors:

1. relevancy
2. distance
3. Level of familiarity

Reviews belong to the notoriety category. According to this, a hairdresser with a hundred of highly rated reviews can be higher in the listing than a more localized hairdresser with fewer reviews. Companies that always receive a high number of reviews are also given more attention. To be able to manage your reviews, it's important to create a Google My Business account. Here, Google will notify you of new comments and you can respond to each entry individually. To do this, select the appropriate review, click on the “Reply” button, write your answer and confirm the whole thing. If you want to change the answer again, Google gives you one minute until the answer is published for everyone to see.

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Respond professionally and respectfully

In particular, you should react immediately to less positive Google reviews. An answer should therefore be given within the first few days. In the case of negative reviews, it is first important to clarify the problem internally. Because incorrect information could annoy the author, so you should consider a strategy before answering. For example, if you run a burger shop and the customer complains about poor quality, you can start by thanking you for the feedback. Apologize to him and maybe ask the customer for another chance to prove them wrong. Always address the customer by name and always use varied answers. Negative reviews are of course not very pleasant. However, you should be careful not to take the review personally and treat it with respect. That is why you should always write your answer in a factual and friendly tone. Your statements should therefore be characterized by empathy and understanding, easily accessible and accurate. Also try to keep your answers short and to the point. Long justifications are ignored by most customers. To make the customer feel taken seriously, standard answers must be avoided. Address and relate to the points raised individually.

Understanding customer concerns well and offering solutions

So that you can work out a solution more quickly, it is first important to find out the cause of the reaction. If the statements are unclear, it is important to ask more carefully. However, lengthy discussions should be avoided on the platform. It is helpful to offer the customer a solution to the problem by telephone or e-mail. Since we're all human, mistakes can of course happen. At this point, you should stand by the mistakes and apologize. After you've found a solution together with the customer and their attitude has changed for the better, feel free to proactively ask them to adjust the rating

Have negative and inappropriate Google reviews deleted

In certain cases, you can also have Google reviews deleted. However, this requires certain conditions. For example, the review in question should meet one of the following conditions:

• Spam and fake content
• Off-topic content
• Terrorist content
• Illegal content
• Sexual content
• Offensive content
• Dangerous or derogatory content
• identity theft
• conflicts of interest

If any of these points apply, you can request that the review be deleted. This is done in three steps:

1. Go to the business listing on Google and search for the relevant review. Next to the post, click on the 3-dot icon and report the review to Google.
2. If the review violates the Google guidelines above, you can fill out the legal infringement form and request deletion.
3. Your request will be reviewed by Google and you will be notified of the decision by email. Processing may take some time.

Only if a review clearly violates the guidelines is it possible to have it deleted. In most cases, this is very difficult. It is therefore all the more important to consistently ensure positive reviews.

Get more positive reviews

Positive Google reviews increase your presence online. There are various ways to generate positive reviews. With the Socialwave marketing package, for example, you can easily collect Google reviews and provide your customers with free WiFi at the same time. After the first visit, your customers will receive an automated email asking them to rate you. You can find positive reviews directly on Google, negative ones will be forwarded to you via email as a feedback form. More information about Socialwave's marketing package can be found here.

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conclusion

Whether positive or negative — every review is helpful. Based on positive reviews, you will receive encouragement and get a good public image. Negative reviews, on the other hand, show you the weak points that you can address and improve. However, in order for the number of positive reviews to (to a large extent) exceed the number of negative reviews, it takes not only excellent products and services, but also a little time to deal with them. Or you can rely on the Socialwave marketing package.