WATCH ON YOUTUBE

Oh, another negative review just popped up for your business. Now, what panic sets in? Do you ignore it? Do you delete it? Do you counter punch, which we don't recommend, but don't do any of that yet. I'm going to show you how on this video, how to turn a negative review for your business into a business boosting opportunity. Negative reviews can feel like a gut punch for our businesses, especially when it reflects ourselves or the team that we've invested in or the product that we are so passionate about and people are watching how we respond as a business to negative reviews. So this is your chance to show professionalism and turn some criticism into a positive interaction to turn the critic into a fan of your business and even to attract new customers. So here's a little fact that we all should know. 89% of people read how businesses respond to negative reviews before deciding to buy.

The reason for that is one of the big buyer objections that floats in all of our heads before we make a purchase is what's going to happen to me if things don't go right with X? What's going to happen to me if they don't cook my food? Well, what's going to happen to me if this part that I bought breaks? What's going to happen to me if the wheels fall off my new bicycle? Right? Who's going to take care of? So it's a common thing in our mind before we make our purchase that we have this last little negative thought noodling around in our brain that is making us second guess whether we should spend the money or not. And by showing in the way we respond to our reviews, negative reviews specifically, that we always take care of our customers, we can absorb that objection to new customers who might be a little hesitant about having a negative experience with the reassurance that we take care of people if things don't go right.

So let's keep going. First off, you got to have the right mindset when reading negative reviews. So instead of seeing them as bad reviews or personal attacks, and I have plenty of clients that have called me literally on weekends breaking down over stuff like this, you got to think of them as feedback and as an opportunity to get better. I always say some of our toughest business relationships, toughest interactions, are not to be hidden from, we don't want to shy away from that stuff. We want to lean into those interactions that are challenging because they make us as business owners and they make us as business organizations better if we frame them in the correct way and we approach them with the right mindset and a non-defensive sort of open receiving. And I think the best way to say that is with curiosity. And with curiosity, we can arrive at gratitude for the interaction.

So even the best businesses get negative reviews, period. You can think of the best businesses in the world. They still have some people that don't have a great experience and they need to handle that, right? You have to ask, would you trust a company with only perfect reviews? And the answer is, of course, no. Right? It just feels fake and inauthentic. So we want to handle these negative reviews like a boss. Let's talk about how to respond. Three step response formula is pretty simple, and you can just basically take this right from this video. Take it from the transcript. First off, stay calm and professional. No defensive reactions, no blame games. Take a breath before you type. And a lot of times I tell clients, if you're really upset about this thing, set it down and come back to it a day later. It's not a 9 1 1 emergency typically to reply to a review within five minutes.

That's a negative review. In fact, it's a little weird. Let some time go by, calm down, come back to it with a clear head and lower emotions. The first thing you want to do though is acknowledge and apologize. It's really important that you acknowledge that the person didn't have a negative experience instead of denying their claim. So do not deny their claim, even if it wasn't your fault. Show empathy for the fact that things didn't work out for them. That's really important. So acknowledging and showing some empathy for the fact that they didn't have the best experience, a simple like we're sorry you had this experience can go a long way in healing the situation and turning this person who previously not happy into an advocate for your business. And then you can offer solutions that keep those short, direct, and solution focused. And of course, you want to invite them to talk privately if needed.

Okay, now let's talk about how to turn negative reviews into positive business opportunities or positives in general for your business. Now, the first thing I would say is it's really important, and I mean I'm just going to state the obvious here. These reviews live in the public domain. They are in many ways, like the headlines, if you will, for our products and services. Every negative review is a chance to upgrade your business and the story about what's going on internally in your interactions with your customers. And all of that is public. So even if it's slow service or product issue or miscommunication, fix those things internally and say you are. And as an example, success stories. I mean, some of the best companies today really use negative reviews and negative feedback to become better organizations, better teams, better managers, and better operators. And you should do the same thing as well.

Let's talk about what not to do. Common mistakes. Don't try to delete 'em. That's shady. I know there's services that claim they can do that. Don't even go there. That's not the answer to your problems. That's just another version of denial. So I'm going to say that's a hard no. I don't know. It's illegal, but it's definitely unethical. Okay? And then the other thing that's like an absolute hard no is arguing or counterpunching with the people that leave the reviews. You just absolutely cannot do that. You do not argue and start flaring up and creating what's already kind of a bad situation and making it into a bonfire of problems and then ignoring it or hiding from it. Maybe it's another way to say that, or just silent treatment doesn't fix the issue because it leaves the negative as a headline with no response from you as a business owner.

And that simply tells the world that if any new customer has a bad experience, they're just going to get blown off by you. And of course, nobody likes to walk into a situation where that looks like that could be the outcome. So you're going to lose customers, new customers, mostly potential new customers. By ignoring these reviews, you need to address them. Alright, let's wrap this one up. This stuff's so important, but it really is an opportunity. I want you guys to lean into this. But again, if you get hot, you get upset, walk away, come back 24 hours later, follow the recommendations that I gave you here on this video. The bad reviews are not the end of the world. In fact, at the beginning of your business getting better, the beginning of your team getting better, the beginning of your product or service becoming better in the marketplace, be grateful that people spend time to share their thoughts with you and give you the opportunity to do better and be better.

Without that feedback, you're just flying blind. The worst customer, the worst situation in the world is you do a crappy job and nobody tells you, and then you just keep doing a crappy job thinking that's great, just driving customers away. So the people that do leave negative reviews are really sending you a lifeline for your business. And you should frankly thank them, or at least thank the whole process in general and be grateful that that's the environment that we live in, because it gives business owners a faster way to iterate and become better operators. And we didn't have that historically until the reality that we live in now, that's an amazing business tool if you take the attitude that I'm suggesting right now. So they will help. They can help your business, and they can help you grow. Now, tell me in the comments what I missed or what's the worst review you've ever seen or worst experience that you've ever seen. And then I would also love to hear some great responses from businesses or ways that you handle negative reviews and share those in the comments. Of course, those stay here with this video and probably can help somebody else. And if not, I will see you on the next one on YouTube.